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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0906.PDF
THE TRANSATLANTIC VOYAGE OF R 34 THE Transatlantic voyage has at last been accomplished by an airship. The R 34 has arrived at Mineola, Long Island, under her own power, after being in the air for 108 hours 12 minutes. In connection with this splendid achievement it may be of interest to recall an unsuccessful attempt made nine years ago. A Previous Attempt We are referring to the Wellman airship " America," on which Mr. Walter Wellman intended to make the trip from Atlantic City to London. It may be remembered that previously Mr. Wellman had made an attempt to reach the North Pole by airship, the venture, however, being un successful, and the airship coming to grief. The rebuilt airship, " America II," had a length of 228 ft., and a maximum diameter of 52 ft., while her capacity was about 350,000 cub. ft. The power plant consisted of two engines of 80 h.p. each. A smaller engine of about 10 h.p. supplied air to the balloonets. The two engines were mounted transversely in the keel of the airship, each driving two airscrews through bevel gearing. The screws of the aft engine were of the swivelling type to allow of steering in a vertical plane and also to give direst lift or anti-lift when the airship was about to ascend or alight. There was a long keel extending nearly the whole length of the envelope, and in this enclosed keel were the crew's quarters. Slung underneath the keel was a lifeboat stocked with "provisions. The most novel feature Brig.-Gen. E. M. Maitland, C.M.G., D.S.O. of the Wellman airship was the equilibrator, which was intended to keep the airship at a more or less constant alti tude, and which consisted of 30 cylindrical tanks strung to gether on a steel cable of some 330 ft. length. As the airship tended to rise she had to support an increased length of this cable, while if she lost litt she descended and a greater pro portion of the cable became submerged in and supported by the sea. Ingenious as this arrangement was, it ultimately proved to be the undoing of the airship. After waiting for favourable weather Mr. Wellman decided to make a start, and at 8 o'clock on the morning of Saturday, October 15, 1910, he announced that everything was ready and that the conditions were favourable. He, therefore, climbed aboard with his companions, including Capt. Murray Simon (pilot), Mr. Melvin Vaniman (engineer), Mr. Jack Irwin (wireless operator), and Messrs. F. B. Aubrey and Louis Lond (mechanics), and in the presence of an enthusiastic crowd the " America II " rose from her moorings at Atlantic City and headed out to sea where she was soon lost in a thick fog. During the day numerous messages were received by wireless from the airship, and everything seemed to indicate that good progress was being made. On the following (Sunday) morning the airship was reported off Nantucket, and Mr. Wellman's message was " Going O.K." After that no further news was heard of the airship until the Tuesday afternoon, and there was naturally a great deal of anxiety felt at the absence of news. Finally on the Tuesday after noon, a wireless message was received from the R.M.S. Trent saying that in answer to a distress signal by the airship the Trent had stood by and had rescued the crew. When it was found that the equilibrator, from which so much had been expected, prevented the airship from being steered properly and also gave rise to serious vibration on account of being dragged through a rising sea, preparations were made for launching the lifeboat, and after the airship had been brought down close to the sea the crew got into the boat and were later picked up by the Trent. The airship after being relieved of so much weight, rose to a great height and soon disappeared. Thus ended this plucky attempt to cross the Atlantic by air ship, and it has remained for a British airship, manned by a British crew, to accomplish this feat. The Successful Voyage of R 34 After many hours of anxiety, chiefly caused by the know ledge that the fuel supply must be running low, the R 34 and her gallant crew arrived at their destination at 3 p.m. (British Summer Time) on Sunday last, July 6. The landing of the airship is thus described by The Times special cor respondent :— " With the band playing ' God Save the King' and thousands of spectators standing bareheaded, the R 34 dipped groundwards and dropped anchor at 10 o'clock this morning,* after a voyage which up to late last night even experts feared might end in disaster. " It was at 8.55 that the news that the giant airship was overhead brought the thousand inhabitants of Garden City and Mineola into the streets to see the R 34 slowly circling overhead as she manoeuvred herself in position for landing. The number was clearly visible on her side, and her great bulk was gleaming in the morning sunshine. * " Almost immediately streams of motor-cars appeared on the roads leading to the aerodrome. A few minutes later a shout went up as a tiny object detached itself from the rear gondola and floated earthwards. It was Maj. John Pritchard, who had jumped out in a parachute to give landing instruc tions. He came to earth in front of the grand stand and was taken to headquarters on a motor-cycle. " Meanwhile the R 34 continued to circle above Roosevelt Field. Soon she released a quantity of ballast from the stem her nose dipped, and, shutting off the forward propeller^ she came slowly earthwards. At a height of about 300 ft' 906
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