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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1865.PDF
SEPTEMBER 7TH, 1944 moored never exceeded 125,000 cu. ft. fc transporter mast is a development of the rigid-airship mast as developed in this country, and the first trans porter mast was actually made at Kingsnorth, in 1915. The envelope of the old airship Delta was used, and although this particular effort was not successful, it showed the way for future development. Unfortunately, operational requirements made it im possible to go on with the experiment, but the names of the late Wing Com mander N. F. Usborne, Wing Com mander T. R. Cave-Brown-Cave, and the late Colonel C. M. Waterlow, should not be forgotten in this con nection, while the late Major G. H. Scott devised mooring mast details and thf present-day method of moor ing. * f ' There is one drawback to mooring-out, however. Airship envelopes, when exposed for long periods, deteriorate more quickly than when housed in a shed, and in really hot climates with plenty of sunshine such deterioration might be relatively rapid. The utmost care has been taken to develop a really good fabric, and so successful has this effort been that the peace time Goodyear ships used to be inflated continuously, in some cases for as long as two years, in spite of frequent mooring-out. At the same time, on an average, they con sumed only 50 per cent., and sometimes only 30 per cent, of their volume of gas during a year, a great improvement on the not uncommon 100 per cent, per month of the hydrogen-inflated ships. Helium can be purified while an airship is still inflated, at a loss of gas* which used to be about 10 per cent, of the airship's voj^fne. Now, the U.S. Navy have developed a scheme or spraying water on airship envelopes when moored-out in hot weather, and this helps to prevent exces sive superheat, and tends to preserve the envelope. Thanks to transporter masts and the wise provision of large sheds, each 1,000ft. long and 246ft. wide, the Ameri can airships have seldom been weather-bound, and the only thing that normally keeps them- on the ground is severe icing and electric storms. It is interesting to note that, thanks to their ability to fly in very poor weather, airships have at times flown for more days than aircraft. Flying in bad visibility has always been a speciality of the airship. As long ago as 1913 the, old N.A.-3, piloted by the late Wing Commander NyF. Usborne, left Farnborough for *Sastchurch to take the present Prime Minister for a flight, when the fog was so thick that the ground was out of sight at rather less than 250ft. Just before this Major E. M. Maitland took Delta over the enemy's lines in the Army exercises when, thanks to low clouds and rain, all aircraft were grounded. [They would not have been in modern times.—ED.] Yew 1926 1929 1929 1931 1933 ] !«<". i»3a 1939 FLIGHT 269 U.S. NAVAL AIRSHIPS, SEPTEMBER, 193*. Name and Type J4 MC2 Gl (training type) Kl T.C.13 T.C.14 L.l (training type) K2 Volume cu. H. 212,000 202,200 178,000 320,000 300,000 380,000 123,000 414,000 Length It r 149.5 184 220 233 237 147 246 Diam. a 528 44 — 54 57 37.8 Motive Power, h.p. ~- 2-200 2-105 Wright Whirlwind 2-300 2-375 Pratt and Whitney 2-300 2-145 Warner 2-Pratt and Whitney Mai. speed (approx.) m.p.h. 50 08 63 73 75 75 65 About 75 Remarks Only U.S. ship with car slung at a distance from envelope Envelope of a palish Mn colour. Metal-clad. Since probably deleted. Ex Goodyear Defender. • First non-rigid to fly on Blaugas. Ex Army. Ex Army. An improved edition of the Goodyear ships. Enterprise and Puritan which were also in existence at the beginning of the war. - The main job of the airship so far has been to escort coastal convoys, but when the large " M'"' ships come along it will be possible to accompany the convoy for much greater distances out to sea. The airships are organised into groups and squadrons and although up-to-date figures may not be given, it can be stated that even in 1942, there were three squadrons at work with bases at Lakehurst, South Weymouth and Elizabeth City. Since then new airship stations have been built at Richmond. Brunswick, Houna and at other points. Thus gradually the whole U.S. eastern seaboard has been protected by airships, and the same progress has been made on the Pacific coast, with Moffat Field, Sunnyvale, again in full commission as the headquarters of several squadrons, and with other stations at Santa Ana and in the Upper Oregon, etc. Airship Advantages As for the airships themselves, they are heavily armed and are by no means purely a defensive weapon. Besides being ideal vessels for escorting sea-going convoys, they have the priceless advantage of being able to hover, if need be for hours on end, over a spot where a submarine has been seen to submerge or is supposed to be lurking, thus making it impossible for a U-boat to surface. Hot meals are cooked on board; photographs can be taken, developed and printed whilst in flight; radio and radar equipment is carried ; and many a U-boat has fallen a victim to these prowling terrors. Even more important is that up to the spring of this year, not one single sea going ship while under airship escort has been lost to U-boat attack. Indeed, so successful have the airship operations been that, after the war, the Royal Canadian and Empire navies might well take an interest in the subject, organise an airship service, and so add a valuable auxiliary to the fleet. AIR DEFENCE OF THE COLONIES ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET LORD CHATFIELD, former Minister of Defence, envisages the development of local air forces throughout the Colonies as part of the Empire defence system after the war. He makes this point in a pamphlet issued by the National Liberal Party, price 6d., entitled "The Colonies and Their Future." After referring to the changes in the imperial defence problem arising from the vast development of air weapons, he states: "Until recent times the attack on our Colonies had been mainly expected from seaborne raids, mine laying, sub marine attacks, and sporadic attack by seaborne aircraft. This last form of attack will increase, because there will be a great increase in naval air weapons. " But in addition there will be the menace from long-distance land'fcased aircraft. This will have to be met. Inter aha, by defensive measures such as A.A. guns and balloon barrages, aided by radio location and also by methods of counter-attack by fighter squadrons. "Thus the cost will be increased, but it can be lessened by developing local air forces and bv the development of air transport aircraft convertible into bombers. On the credit side, each colony will be a site for airfields, to build up our imperial air forces and so strengthen imperial defence in many ways. In this, Dominion air strength will play an important part. "Only those who have taken part in this war and have experience of air strategy and tactics and of the cost involved can advise on the various sides of the problem in detail. But it is probably the biggest one that Colonial defence has to face. '' We may postulate that the peace settlement will ensure the removal of the air menace to our Colonies, as far as possible, by denying to potential foes air bases from which land-based or sea-based air attack can be effectively made upon them and on our line of Imperial communications." The pamphlet has been prepared by an advisory committee of the party under the chairmanship of Sir Geoffrey Shake speare, M.P. They declare that British sovereignty in the Colonies should remain unimpaired and reject any suggestion that the lands concerned should be put under international administration.
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