FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1860.PDF
SEPTEMBER 7TH, I944 The M.i. wer irough her trials with flying colours, and now it can be taken that this class will be adopted and put into » f\ <-nmrr.;cc;nr. " Note the length of the car compared with those of earlier models. commission. .S. Naval Airships In Spite of Early Sethacks^NblaBty^uffered by the Rigid J Arhericar^Non*rigi< sHfwe Been TS^veloped and Hatfe Done Qoofi ytfork in the Prfyent War By LORD VENTRY WHEN the present war broke out tlid U.S. Navy had only one airship station in comnussion, that at 'Lakehurst, New Jersey, and it rrrmiiiifirl, tnr following airships: The C-i, J-4, L-i and the T.C-13-14. There was also the interesting metal-clad Z.MC-2, which had been in existence since 1929, and last but not least, the K-2. She was of 404,000 cu. ft. and a prototype of the present operational "K" class, which has done such good work against the U-boats. Further details will be found in the table at the end of this article. These airships, then, made up the U.S. Navy fleet, but they were backed by five airships belonging to the Goodyear Company, who had kept the flag flying all through the often difficult inter-war years. Now, some five years later, the U.S. Naval Air ship Service has grown con siderably, and the locations of at least eight stations have been published. Since then, other stations have been built, and, in addition, there are mooring-out bases. Finally, there are by now probably more than 100 air ships in commission, many of which are operating off % and %e r THE author of this article is an airship enthusiast, probably almost the only one left in this country. His service career has been with the lighter-than-air side, and when he could not get airships he has been content with balloons. There is only one thing he prefers to hydrogen and that is helium. That Lord Ventry's enthusiasm is sincere was demonstrated some years ago when he started a little journal called " Air ships." It was a good little journal as such journals go, and as lighter-than-air aircraft go it went. He must have had to dig fairly deeply into his pocket before he was finally compelled to give up. But he is still a great believer in airships. In this article he admits it ! the Atlantic and/Pacific coasts, -jjjfe Gulf of Mexico Caribbean Sa Thj^jit^t:increase is largrfy due to officers like Rear- Imiral Rosendahl, who h^ve fought for airships in spite of all setbacks, and also-to the good service record of the naval non-rigids in peacetime, and the excellence of the naval pilots. Nor must the efforts of the Army be forgotten. For many years this service was mainly responsible for the development of the non-rigid and semi-rigid types of air ship, the Navy concentrating rather more on rigids. The Army built a targe airship station at Scottfield, Illinois, and from iojrt)until 1937, when Congress refused them more funds, there was a con tinuous development pro gramme. As time went on, the efficiency of this branch of the Service grew, and by the time the T.C-13 and 14 were handed over to the Navy, flights up to 76 hours in duration had been made. The Army also played a leading part in developing the technique of taking off under heavy load, like air craft, by the use of run ways, and in experimenting
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
