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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0667.PDF
JUNE 24, 1920 F. F. F. F. F. 3 4 5 6 7 A Leng t ft. ins. 295 295 295 295 360 4 4 4 4 10 S Diame l ft. ins. 59 59 65 65 75 0 0 7 7 5 Tota l cub 529 529 670 670 1,059 capac i ft. ,500 ,500 ,700 ,700 ,000 Ga s cub 487. 490, 628, 628, 988, 1 capaci ' .ft. 140 670 34O 340 400 Tota l ^ "?ac a, ?-• E lbs. 23 20 21 22 33 IOO 460 340 660 44O Weigh t cub . ft . | lbs. •050 •041 •°33-O 35 •033 Usef u loa d lbs. — 3,080 7,700 6,380 12,100 '— ^-, > c£ aJ hp. 4 X 100 2 X l6o 2 X2;|O 4 X190 4X350 1 <n m.p.h. 46 45 43 46 50 Bombing raids were the operations usually allocated tothese ships. They are able to fly at great heights, and, in addition to guns and ammunition, are able to carry approxi-mately two tons of explosives. The following tabulated statement gives the leading dimen-sions and also the capabilities of the five different types of airships described in this article :— Length Breadth Overall heightCapacity Max. speed Useful lift .. M. type it. ins, 285 0 57 0 72 0 45,000 c.ft. 46-5 m.p.h 13,000 lbs. D.E.type ft. ins. 159 0 34 6 55 9 92,000 c.ft. 40 m.p.h. Usuelli ft. ins. 180 6 36 0 54 2 141,000 c.ft. 45"88 m.p.h. 4,136 lbs. P. type ft. ins. 203 6 39 4 70 7 176,500 c.ft. 40-30 m.p.h.56 P. Vel. 2,860 lbs. Forlaniri 5 ft. ins. $95 4 65 788 7 628,340 c.ft 43 m.p.h 7^700 lbs. Italians were not sufficiently impressed with thepossibilities of rigid airships, and construction was ultimately abandoned.Although the Italian airships appear to have accomplished what was required of them duringthe War, they do not seem likely in their present state of development to be of any great valuecommercially. The advantage possessed by the airship over the aeroplane for commercial pur-poses is its power to remain in the air for long periods, and in this the Italian military airships areentirely lacking. We ma> be sure that those in authority in that country will not be slow to graspthis fact, and the future development of their design and construction will be awaited with considerable curiosity.The Italians have proved themselves to be both skilful aviators and clever designers, and should they fail from lackof interest to tackle the. problems presented by commercial airship flying universal disappointment will be occasioned.Since the armistice, it is true, a certain amount of develop- ment has been carried on as regards the c ommercialside. For instance, the M-i type has been con- verted for a passenger service at Rome. In thiscase a huge double-decked gondola replaced the former one. Each deck is provided with light com -fortable chairs, and both are enclosed but have • large side windows giving an excellent view. Thethree engines are mounted at the stern, two high up at each side, and one in betweena little furtheraft, all driving propellers. A new and apparently successful Usuelli type hasalso been built, capable of carrying 25 passengers. A. TypeA new design of airship is the A. type, which as regards envelope, keel, control planes, etc., resembles to a greatextent the M. ship, but the cars and engine arrangements are entirely different. The cars are boat-shaped in accordancewith the latest principles of the Institute, and are suspended one forward, the other amidships. In each car two 225 h.p. S.P.A. engines are carried ontubuler gantries on the port and starboard sides, driving direct pusher propellers. This design eliminates the compli-cated system of transmission so noticeable in other ships. G.TypeDuring the War a rigid design was considered, but at a later date was abandoned. This ship was to be of approximatelyi£ million cubic feet capacity, giving an estimated useful lift of 39,000 lbs. Six Itala engines, giving a total horse-power of 11,000, were to supply the motive power at an estimated maximum speed of 55 m.p.h., with an enduranceof 50 hours. It would have been interesting to have com- pared this ship with our earlier rigids, but unfortunately the MODERN ITALIAN AIRSHIPS: The " A." type,which has two cars, each with two engines 1 MODERN ITALIAN AIRSHIPS : The Forlanini. On the left the F.4, and below the car ; on the right a view of the tail, and below a side view of the F3. 667 . Z-:.'.' . :«m,.--. :.r".!'.. :.\:-fc..\ " •'
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