,the ,story of ,,the ,,airship 7,,non-,,rigid7 ,a ,study of ,one of ,america's ,lesser ,known ,defense ,weapons ,,by ,,hugh ,,allen ,illustration3 ,airship in flight ,,akron1 ,,ohio1 #aidc ,illustration3 ,,admiral ,w4 ,a4 ,,moffett ,to whom this book is dedicated ,,first ,,printing1 ,,february1 #aidb ,,second ,,printing1 ,,february1 #aidc ,,third ,,printing1 ,,december1 #aidc ,,printed ,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,of ,,america ,,the ,,lakeside ,,press1 ,r4 ,r4 ,,donnelley ,,sons ,,company1 ,,chicago ,,and ,,crawfordsville1 ,,indiana ,dedication ,to ,admiral ,william ,a4 ,moffett1 and the men his leadership inspired--to ,landsdowne1 ,mc,cord and ,berry--to ,calnan and ,dugan and other able juniors1 to ,maxfield and ,hoyt1 ,hancock and ,lawrence of an earlier decade--to the ,army's ,hawthorne ,gray1 and as well to ,england's ,scott1 ,france's de ,grenadin1 ,germany's ,lehmann and ,goodyear's ,brannigan and ,morton--names taken from lighter-than-air's brief but distinguished casualty list--of men who believed in airships and accepted gallantly the penalty which progress eternally exacts from men--this book is dedicated4 ,not forgetting the living men1 the ,navy's ,rosendahl1 ,fulton1 ,mills1 ,settle2 ,goodyear's ,litchfield and ,arnstein1 and hundreds of others who have carried on with unshaken faith1 in the face of great setbacks4 ,much of devotion and courage1 of scientific research and engineering achievement has gone into this enterprise--and much has been proved4 ,today1 airships of the non-rigid type are taking on a new responsibility to the nation4 ,if they succeed1 they may well bring back the great rigid airships1 to act as long range scouts against enemy raid or surprise fleet movement1 as fast moving bases and refueling points for fighting airplanes far at sea--and as factors in world commerce in days to come4 ,it is this impulse which is driving forward the men who believe in airships--that the sacrifices and efforts of ,admiral ,moffett and the rest shall not have gone in vain4 ,illustration3 ,e4 ,j4 ,,thomas ,president of the ,goodyear ,company ,illustration3 ,,captain ,c4 ,e4 ,,rosendahl1 ,u4,s4,n4 ,he never gave up his ships ,illustration3 ,,commander ,t4 ,g4 ,w4 ,,settle1 ,u4,s4,n4 ,he explored the ,stratosphere ,illustration3 ,,charles ,,brannigan ,his courage still inspires airship men ,illustration3 ,p4 ,w4 ,,litchfield ,an industrial leader1 chairman of the ,goodyear board1 who has believed for #cj years that airships would prove useful to his country in peace or war ,foreword ,high admirals of the ,american fleet faced in #aidj the gravest responsibility in the ,national ,defense the ,navy had ever known4 ,wherever they turned1 north1 east1 south1 west1 perils lurked4 ,if they swung their binoculars toward ,iceland1 toward the ,caribbean1 toward ,singapore1 ,alaska1 or the ,canal1 everywhere waited potential threats against our ,american way of life1 which they must meet with ships and men1 with guns and stout hearts4 ,this was not merely national defense1 perhaps not even hemisphere defense1 it was ,world ,war4 ,surveying their gigantic task1 and moving swiftly to meet it1 they found a place in their program for half forgotten craft1 long over-shadowed by other arms of the fleet1 the non-rigid airship1 sometimes called a dirigible1 but more often a 8blimp40 ,couldn't the airship be used as a watchdog along the coast1 against enemy submarines1 in discovering enemy mines--relieve for sterner tasks the destroyers and other craft now wallowing their innards out in those restless shallow waters8 ,great ,britain and ,france had used airships effectively in this service over the ,english ,channel during the last war4 ,the areas within their patrol range1 a hundred or #bjj miles out to sea1 within the #ajj fathom curve1 was a vital one4 ,there steamship lanes converge1 great harbors lie1 coastwise merchantmen cruise1 there is the greatest concentration of military and commercial shipping4 ,with depth bombs and machine guns the blimps might strike a stout blow of their own1 even if they weren't rated as combat craft4 ,at least they could sound the alarm1 call out reinforcements from swift moving shore-based craft1 keep the intruder under surveillance4 ,after all the main thing was to find the submarines in those endless miles of water4 ,and in this field the very slowness of the airship1 as compared to the airplane1 would be an advantage1 permit a more thorough search of the ocean's surface1 while its speed as compared to any man-of-war1 would enable it to cover more ground within a given #bd hours4 ,so on the ,navy's recommendation ,congress in #aidj approved the building of the airship fleet up to substantial proportions1 together with bases from which they might operate along the ,atlantic and ,pacific coasts4 ,that program is now being put into effect and the ,goodyear company which had built most of the airships used in the first ,world ,war1 began again to build ships4 ,the story of the great rigid airships1 the ,los ,angeles1 the ,akron1 ,macon and ,graf ,zeppelin is fairly well known4 ,that of the smaller non-rigids is less familiar4 ,the larger airships still hold vital commercial and military promise for the future4 ,however1 this book will confine itself to the non-rigid airship1 with only enough reference to the larger ships to round out the picture4 ,every new vehicle of combat or transport has had to fight its way to acceptance against misunderstanding and lack of understanding4 ,steamships had to prove themselves against sailing ships4 ,submarines had an uphill battle to establish themselves4 ,the airplane was long on probation1 and now the airship is on trial4 ,this book will tell something about these ships1 cite what is claimed for them and what has been reasonably proved they can do1 see what progress has been made in performance1 and point out what may be expected from them hereafter--not avoiding the moot question of vulnerability4 ,lighter-than-air is older by a century than the heavier-than-air branch of aeronautics4 ,its history is marked by long research and experiment and continued progress4 ,like every pioneering development it has had its setbacks4 ,but the sincerity of the effort and solid accomplishment made1 entitles the project to thoughtful consideration4 ,contents ,dedication v ,foreword vii ,i4 ,german ,submarines in ,american ,waters #a ,a little known story from the first ,world ,war4 ,,ii4 ,british ,airships in the ,first ,world ,war #i ,the use of non-rigid airships in ,europe in #aiad-ah--;as convoys1 and as scouts against mines and ,u-boats4 ,,iii4 ,american ,airships in ,two ,wars #ac ,activities in first war1 though building of ships1 training of men and erecting of bases had to be done after war broke out4 ,,iv4 ,the ,beginnings of ,flight #ba ,difference between airships and airplanes--classes of airships--progress1 from ,montgolfiers to ,santos ,dumont to #aiad4 ,v4 ,effect on ,aeronautics of ,post-,war ,reaction #bh ,blimps overshadowed by ,zeppelins and airplanes--only rigid airships had anything like continuing program1 and they because of possible commercial value--effect on public opinion of ,lindbergh flight and first arrival of the ,graf ,zeppelin4 ,,vi4 ,airship ,improvements ,between ,wars #cb ,helium gas--structural changes--development of mooring mast--,navy experiments in picking up water ballast from the ocean4 ,,vii4 ,adventures of the ,goodyear ,fleet #de ,reason for starting--adventures--familiarize country with airships--safety record--evolution of masting technique4 ,,viii4 ,results of ,fleet ,operations #fa ,weather information--effect on flying and ground handling practice--on ship design--created bases1 ships and construction plants which might prove useful in emergency4 ,,ix4 ,vulnerability of ,airships #fg ,references #gb ,index #gc ,,chapter ,i ,german ,submarines in ,american ,waters ,illustration3 ,submarine ,in the last six months of the first ,world ,war ,germany sent six submarines to ,america at intervals starting in ,april1 to lay mines along our shipping lanes1 attack merchantmen1 drive the fishing fleet ashore1 try to force this country to call back part of its ,european fleet for home defense--and in any case to give ,america1 geographically aloof from the war1 a taste of what war was like4 ,these activities were overshadowed at the time by graver events1 or hidden by military secrecy4 ,few people even today know that ships were sunk and men killed by ,german ,u-boats within sight of our coast4#a ,it was in no sense an all-out effort4 ,only a handful of submarines were used4 ,the attack was launched late in the war1 in fact one of the six didn't even reach ,american waters1 was called back by news of the ,armistice4 ,submarines of that day had a cruising range of some three months1 could spend only three weeks in our coastal waters1 used the rest of the time getting over and back4 ,but in those few weeks these six submarines destroyed exactly #ajj ships1 of all sizes1 types and registry1 killed #dce people4 ,most of the ships were peaceful unarmed merchantmen1 coastwise ships from the ,west ,indies and ,south ,america1 tankers from ,galveston1 fishing ships heading back from the ,grand ,banks1 supply ships carrying guns and war materials to ,england1 a few stragglers from convoys4 ,the subs' biggest catch was the ,,uss ,san ,diego1 a cruiser1 sunk by mine off ,fire ,island1 just outside ,new ,york harbor1 ,july #ai1 #aiah1 with #a1ahj officers and men aboard4 ,only six lives1 fortunately1 were lost4 ,the battleship ,minnesota1 escorted by a destroyer1 struck a mine off ,fenwick shoals light ship1 early in the morning of ,september #bi1 but made temporary repairs and limped back into ,philadelphia ,navy ,yard #ah hours later4 ,a fragment of the mine was found imbedded in her frame work4 ,illustration3 ,reproduced from ,u4,s4 ,navy map showing track of submarines operating in ,american waters during last few months of first ,world ,war4 ,mines were laid at strategic points4 ,one field1 with its mines #ejj to #a1jjj yards apart was laid off ,cape ,hatteras1 one at the mouth of ,chesapeake ,bay1 one across ,delaware ,bay1 two in between these key inlets1 another off ,barnegat1 and the last off ,fire ,island4 ,some of the mines drifted ashore1 others were found and destroyed--the last ones not till the following ,january4 ,but mines accounted for six of the ships lost4 ,one of the submarines1 the ,u-#aag1 built as a mine layer1 planted #df of the #eh mines laid along our shores2 four others were merchant subs of the ,deutschland type1 including the ,deutschland itself1 which had twice previously visited this country on ostensibly friendly missions4 ,though the subs encountered a few victims on the way over or back1 most of the ships were destroyed in the shallower waters within #bjj miles of the ,american and ,canadian coast4 ,the fishing was better close in4 ,naval ,intelligence knew1 through ,admiral ,sims' office in ,london1 just when each submarine left ,kiel1 what its probable destination was1 and its approximate arrival date4 ,the ,navy could not broadcast this information1 lest ,u-boat captains learn they were expected1 but took appropriate defense measures4 ,even so1 each submarine traveled directly to its destination1 carried out its mission4 ,u-boats operated almost with immunity from ,newfoundland to the ,virginia capes4 ,twice ,american men of war passed over submerging craft so close as almost to ram them4 ,the ,u-#aea worked at cutting cables for three days1 near enough to ,new ,york ,city that the crew could see the lights of ,broadway at night4 ,the ,u-#aae1 lying off the ,virginia capes1 came to the surface one afternoon just in time for its periscope to disclose a cruiser1 two destroyers and a ,navy tug a mile away1 peacefully returning from routine target practice1 entirely unaware that the ,u-boat was lurking in the vicinity4 ,the submarines got a poor press that summer1 not only for reasons of military secrecy1 but because more stirring news held the attention of the public4 ,the ,,aef was beginning to see action in ,france4 ,still headlines flashed occasionally as censorship was raised1 or survivors brought in stories4 ,from the ,philadelphia ,evening ,bulletin during this period3 8,hun ,u-boats ,raid ,new ,jersey coast--,schooner ,edward ,h4 ,cole ,attacked by two ,submarines1 ,destroyed--,two ,attacked ,off ,new ,england--,atlantic ,ports ,closed0--and the story1 under ,new ,york date line3 8,germany has carried her unrestricted submarine warfare to this side of the ocean--at least five vessels sunk--submarine chasers ordered out from ,cape ,may--,coast ,guard stations on special lookout--marine insurance companies announce sharp increase in rates40 ,news ,flash--8,wireless report from passenger steamer ,carolina says she is under attack0--,the ,carolina is sunk1 #cjj survivors are landed at ,barnegat ,bay1 #ai at ,lewes ,del41 #cj at ,atlantic ,city1 others picked up in open boats4 ,illustration3 ,on this map of actual ship sinkings and mine layings in #aiah is superimposed a sketch of the area which a handful of modern patrol blimps might cover4 ,then3 8,navy mine sweepers sent out to destroy mines and floating torpedoes which had missed target--tanker ,herbert ,l4 ,pratt strikes mine in shallow water on maiden voyage--,war ,department asks ,congress for #aj1jjj1jjj to set up balloon and plane stations along the coast to combat sub menace--,british steamer ,harpathian torpedoed off ,virginia capes--,american vessel1 name withheld1 puts back to #8an ,atlantic port' after being chased by ,u-boat40 ,the record continues3 8,san ,diego sunk by mine--tug and four barges sunk--,british freighter attacked--sub sends landing crew on board lumber schooner off ,maine coast1 set her afire--,steamer ,merak sunk off ,hatteras--tanker torpedoed off ,barnegat ,bay1 beaches blanketed with oil--,norwegian steamer ,vinland--,british steamer ,peniston and ,swedish steamer ,sydland off ,nantucket--nine ,u4 ,s4 fishing vessels off ,massachusetts coast--,british tanker ,mirlo--,u4,s4 ,schooner ,dorothy ,barrett--tanker ,frederick ,r4 ,kellogg0 and so on and on4 ,events of the time and since have swept these happenings out of the minds of most ,americans--even if they knew of it at the time4 ,but somewhere1 half forgotten in ,naval files1 is an official report1 painstakingly compiled after the war1 from ship logs1 from stories by merchant captains and crews1 even by officers of surrendered ,german submarines1 to make up as complete a record as possible of one of the amazing operations of the war--and one whose magnitude1 in territory covered and damage done1 few suspected1 even within the ,navy1 at the time4 ,only two subs had so much as a brush with ,american ships4 ,the transport von ,steuben1 former ,german liner1 proceeding to the rescue of men in life boats from a merchant ship1 dropped depth bombs which the ,u-boat escaped by diving to #hc meters1 lying low till the enemy had gone4 ,closer call had the ,u-#adj1 largest and most modern of the fleet1 which after sinking several ships off ,diamond ,shoals1 including the light ship itself1 almost caught a tartar when the ,brazilian passenger liner1 ,uberabe1 zigzagging furiously to escape1 sent out ,s4,o4,s4 messages which brought four ,u4,s4 destroyers hurrying to the rescue4 ,nearest was the ,,uss ,stringham1 which proceeding under full speed1 using the ,uberabe as a screen1 charged on the ,u-boat1 dropped #ae depth charges when the ,u-boat dived1 timed to explode at different levels4 ,illustration3 ,training exercises with ,u4 ,s4 submarines have taught airship captains much about the habits1 movements and characteristics of the underseas craft4 7,u4 ,s4 ,navy photo74 ,illustration3 ,the year before ,america got into the last war the ,german submarine ,u-#ea sank a half dozen merchant ships off ,nantucket ,island then proceeded into ,newport4 7,u4 ,s4 ,navy photo7 ,illustration3 ,navy airships in practice patrols identify1 as to class and nationality1 all surface ships in their area1 learn to recognize the silhouette of a submarine from afar4 7,u4 ,s4 ,navy photo7 ,the ,u-boat captain1 one of the best in the ,german navy1 drove his craft at a sharp angle to #djj feet4 ,one charge exploding underneath the sub turned it stern upward till it stood almost perpendicular4 ,he managed to level out finally at #dae feet1 lay there as long as he dared1 finally reached the surface4 ,his ship was so badly crippled it had to abandon its mission and set out for home--though it sunk a couple more ships in the mid-,atlantic on the way back4 ,the only ,u-boat casualty was the ,u-#aef which after getting #cd victims in ,american waters1 getting eight in one day1 was itself sunk by mines--but off ,faroe ,island as it was almost home4 ,this then is the story of submarine operations in ,u4 ,s4 waters in #aiah--;a half hearted effort of short duration started late in the day--but which destroyed #ajj ships1 totalling #bjj1jjj tons1 most of them close to our shores4 ,no one could doubt but that in the event of another war submarines would be used again1 and in more vigorous fashion4 ,the ,american fleet might easily keep major enemy ships at a safe distance1 and bombing attack from any part of ,europe or over the ,pacific would have little military value4 ,but certainly submarines would find their way past the screen of ,navy craft1 bob up off ,american harbors1 again to lay mines in the path of coastwise steamers1 deliver hit-and-run attack by torpedo and gunfire at ,american craft4 ,we could be equally sure that these ugly motorized sharks1 churning the muddy sub-surface waters1 would not be satisfied to attack merchantmen only1 would be looking for bigger prey4 ,on the map showing the operations of ,german submarines in #aiah let us superimpose1 as an example1 the patrol area which two blimps1 basing at ,boston1 ,lakehurst1 ,cape ,may and ,norfolk might effectively cover in a #ab hour period4 ,a patrol area of #b1jjj square miles per ship is conservative4 ,it assumes the ship flying at no faster than #ce knots1 having visibility of five miles in all directions4 ,as a matter of fact1 allowing a little more than #dj knots speed--and the airship cruises considerably faster than that--we might say that a modern blimp could patrol an area #aj miles wide and #ejj miles long in the #ab hours1 or an area of #e1jjj square miles4 ,but by criss-crossing back and forth in accordance with a progressive plan1 an area of #b1jjj square miles could be made reasonably secure--except under extremely adverse conditions of visibility4 ,laying these patrol areas down over the map of submarine operations of #aiah it is apparent that such patrols would cover much of the territory where ship sinkings were achieved1 cover all of the areas where mines were laid4 ,with blimps operating from such bases1 in addition to the patrols being executed by other naval craft1 we might conclude that no submarine could venture within #ajj miles of the ,american coast during daylight hours without considerable risk of detection1 and that blimps should be able to make contribution to the safety of coastwise shipping and harbor cities4 ,the patrol areas assigned to the blimps would have their flanks exposed1 but airship patrol would be co-ordinated with that of airplanes and surface craft1 guarding the areas farther out4 ,that this conclusion is reasonable is indicated by the fact that from #aici on1 ,lakehurst ,naval ,air ,station1 under command of ,commander ,g4 ,h4 ,mills had been doing just this1 patroling areas all the way from ,nantucket to ,cape ,hatteras4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,british ,airships in the ,first ,war ,illustration3 ,airship over water ,germany entered the first ,world ,war with high expectations as to one1 perhaps two of its new weapons of war4 ,its submarines might offset ,britain's superiority at sea1 and certainly the ,zeppelins1 which had proved themselves in four years of commercial flying1 would be able to cross the ,english ,channel and carry the war to the island which had seen no invasion since ,william the ,conqueror4 ,no nation except ,germany had ,zeppelins4 ,and as the ,german people began to feel the pinch of the blockade1 cutting their life line of food and supplies1 they brought increasing public pressure on ,high ,command to use these weapons to punish ,england4 ,later commentators have speculated as to whether1 if ,germany had held its fire1 waited till it could assemble an overpowering force of ,zeppelins and submarines and stage a joint attack1 it might not have been able to force a quick decision4 ,but the ,zeppelins were sent over a few at a time1 as fast as they could be built1 and ,england was given time to devise defenses4 ,these were chiefly higher altitude airplanes1 farther ranging anti-aircraft guns1 sky piercing searchlights1 which combined to force the invaders to fly continuously higher as the war wore on1 as high as #be1jjj feet at times1 with corresponding sacrifice of bombing accuracy4 ,and when machine guns1 synchronized with the propellers1 were mounted in airplane cockpits1 and began to spit inflammable bullets into the hydrogen filled bags and send them down in flames1 the duel took on more even terms4 ,less spectacularly the ,zeppelins were used on a wide scale as reconnaissance and scouting craft1 which flying fast and far were given credit on more than one occasion for saving ,german ,naval squadrons from being cut off by superior ,allied forces1 were acknowledged even by the ,british to have played an important part in the ,battle of ,jutland4 ,it is a little hard to realize today that whatever air battles were waged over water in the last war were conducted chiefly by lighter-than-air craft4 ,planes staged spectacular battles along the ,allied lines in ,france1 but lack of range and carrying capacity forced them to leave sea battles to the airship4 ,as a measure of that situation1 the great hangars at ,friedrichshafen1 spawning ground of the ,zeppelins1 one of the outstanding targets in all ,europe if ,england were to draw the dirigible's fangs1 lay hardly more than a hundred miles from the ,french borders1 but even that distance was too great for effective attack4 ,while these greater events were taking place1 ,british airships1 smaller in size1 less spectacular1 were playing no small part in repelling ,germany's other threat1 the submarine4 ,blimps ,used to ,search for ,u-,boats ,navy opinion around the world was skeptical at the beginning of the ,war as to whether submarines would ever be practical4 ,there were mechanical troubles1 accidents1 usually costly4 ,even ,germany1 prior to #aiad1 used to send an escort of warships along to convoy its subs to their station--then send out for them afterward to bring them home again4 ,but the war was only a few weeks old when the captain of the ,u-#i1 cruising down the ,dutch coast1 discovered that his gyro compass was off1 and when he got his bearings saw that he was #ej miles off course4 ,he wasted no breath1 however1 on many-syllabled ,german swear words1 for off on his southern horizon were the masts of three ,british ships4 ,he dived1 came up alongside1 and in #cj minutes1 single handed1 with well directed torpedoes1 had sunk in turn ,,hms ,aboukir1 ,hogue and ,cressy4 ,the morning of ,september #bb1 #aiad1 marked the beginning of a new era in ,naval warfare4 ,the warring nations grew furiously busy building their own ,u-boats and devising defenses against the enemy's4 ,among these defenses was the non-rigid airship4 ,these two vehicles1 so widely different1 have much in common4 ,if we may be technical for a minute we may say that the airship and the submarine are both buoyant bodies1 completely immersed and floating in a medium--air and water respectively--of changing pressures1 that each uses dual sets of steering gear and rudders to control direction and altitude4 ,and further1 that the airship in #aida faces the same division of opinion as the submarine faced in #aiad1 as to whether1 particularly with rigid airships1 it will ever be widely used and accepted4 ,in any event in #aiad there was an urgent and immediate job to be done4 ,indicator nets and high explosive mines might give some protection to harbors1 might be stretched across steamship lanes and planted around the hiding places of the submarines1 if those could be discovered4 ,but troop ships and munition ships and food ships must be dispatched without interruption across the tricky waters of the ,english ,channel to ,france1 and for this purpose convoy escorts were devised1 with camouflaged warships zigzagging alongside1 while high aloft in lookout stations men with binoculars strained their eyes1 searching the waters1 ahead1 astern1 alongside1 their search lingering long over every bit of floating wreckage--and there was a lot of it--to make sure it was not a periscope4 ,these lookouts aboard ship quickly had a new ally in the air4 ,as the submarine menace grew1 binoculars began to flash too from the fuselages of bobbing blimps overhead4 ,at a few hundred or perhaps a thousand feet elevation they could see deep below the surface1 and quickly learned to recognize at considerable distance the tell-tale trail of bubbles or feathered waters or smear of oil which denoted the enemy's presence1 might even pick out the shadowy form of the submerged craft itself4 ,the value of the airship in convoy was that it could fly slowly1 could throttle down its motors and march in step with its charges1 cruise ahead1 alongside1 behind4 ,the very speed of its sister craft1 the airplane1 handicapped its use in this field4 ,this characteristic of the blimp was even more useful in hunting ,u-boat nests4 ,the blimp could head into the wind1 with its motors barely turning over1 hover for hours at zero speed over suspect areas4 ,it could fly at low altitudes1 follow even slender clues4 ,seagulls following a periscope sometimes gave highly useful information4 ,an orange crate moving against the tide attracted the attention of one alert pilot1 for the crate concealed a periscope1 and the blimp dropped bombs--successfully4 ,when a blimp discovered a submarine1 it would give chase4 ,with its #ej knots of reserve speed it was faster than any warship1 much faster than the poky wartime submarine1 which could do only #aj or #ab knots on the surface1 much less than half that when submerged4 ,if it was lucky the airship might drop a bomb alongside before the sub got away4 ,and run for cover the submarine always did4 ,it wanted no argument with a ship which could see it under water1 could out-run it1 and might plunk a bomb alongside before its presence was even suspected4 ,airships did get their subs during the war4 ,the records1 always incomplete in the case of submarines1 whose casualties were invisible1 show that ,british blimps sighted #di ,u-boats1 led to the destruction of #bg4 ,but their greater usefulness lay in the fact that their mere presence sent the underseas craft scuttling for submerged safety4 ,between ,june1 #aiag1 and the end of the war ,british blimps flew #a1ejj1jjj miles1 nearly as many as the ,zeppelins4 ,a ,french ,commission made an exhaustive study of dirigible operations after the war1 and the late ,rear ,admiral ,w4 ,a4 ,moffett quoted from its reports in summarizing lighter-than-air lessons taken from the war1 when he told the ,naval ,affairs ,committee of the ,house of ,representatives that 8as far as they could learn1 no steamer was ever molested by submarines when escorted by a non-rigid airship40 ,france and ,italy had long coast lines1 used the blimps extensively along the ,bay of ,biscay1 the ,mediterranean and the ,adriatic1 but ,england found still greater use for them because it was an island4 ,so blimp scouts played a singularly useful role from ,land's ,end to the ,orkneys1 stood watch at the mouth of the ,firth of ,forth1 the ,solway1 the ,humber1 and the ,thames4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,american ,airships in ,two ,wars ,illustration3 ,airship and hangar ,compared to ,british and ,french airships1 ,american dirigibles made a less impressive record during the first war4 ,this for the reasons that there were few enemy activities in our waters until the very end1 and that there were few ,american airships to oppose them4 ,virtually the entire airship organization had to be created after we got into the war4 ,naval attachs abroad had been watching blimp operations over the ,english channel1 and on the basis of rather meager information which they furnished1 ,navy designers were working on plans1 when the ,secretary of the ,navy1 in ,february #aiag1 #fj days before the declaration of war1 ordered #af blimps started at once4 ,nine of these were to be built by ,goodyear which had at least given some study to the principles1 had built a few balloons1 one of which1 flown by its engineers out of ,paris1 had won the ,james ,gordon ,bennett ,cup ,race4 ,no one in this country1 however1 knew much about building airships1 and less about flying them after they were built4 ,operating bases would have to be built and the very construction plants as well4 ,the first ,goodyear airship under the ,navy order was completed before the airship dock 7hangar7 at ,wingfoot ,lake was ready1 and the ship had to be erected in ,chicago and flown in4 ,the engineers who built it1 ,upson and ,preston1 made their first airship flight in delivering the ship to ,akron1 using theoretical principles applied in the international balloon race the year before1 to make up for their lack of practical experience4 ,those first ships were small1 slow1 lacked range1 uncovered many shortcomings4 ,flight training was done under adverse circumstances4 ,men had to teach themselves to fly airships1 then teach others to fly them4 ,the pilots were chiefly engineering students from the colleges1 with a sprinkling of ,navy officers4 ,they had to take their advanced training abroad at ,british and ,french bases1 because there were no facilities here1 and in fact did most of their flying abroad4 ,by the end of the war ,american pilots were manning three ,british airship bases and had taken over practically all the ,french operations1 including the large base at ,paimboeuf1 across the ,loire from ,st4 ,nazaire1 on the ,french coast4 ,so the war was well along before ,american bases were set up and manned4 ,these were at ,chatham1 ,mass41 at ,montauk and ,rockaway1 ,n4 ,y41 at ,cape ,may1 ,norfolk and ,key ,west4 ,like the airplane patrols the blimps saw little action1 though they had an advantage in that they could stay out all day1 while the short range planes of #aiag-ah had to come back every few hours to refuel4 ,a patrol airship at ,chatham1 ,mass4 missed its chance in that it was adrift at sea with engine trouble when the ,german ,u-#aef slipped into the harbor at nearby ,orleans and wiped out some fishing boats--though it might have done no better than the first plane which reached the scene1 whose few bombs did not explode4 ,the blimp patrols1 however1 uncovered one other type of activity4 ,more than once they spotted suspicious looking craft emerging under cover of fog1 from remote coves and inlets along the ,long ,island coast1 fishing boats and barges with improvised power plant and curious looking paraphernalia on deck4 ,keeping the stranger in sight the blimp summoned armored craft from shore which sent boarding crews on1 found mines destined for the ,new ,york steamship lanes4 ,a more important result of the blimp operations was the improvements in design which were found1 particularly in the 8,c0 type ship1 brought out in #aiah1 of which #bj were built4 ,they had much better performance in range1 power1 could make #fj miles speed1 were faster than any airships except the ,zeppelins4 ,navy officers and crews came to have high respect for them4 ,illustration3 ,here's the gallant ,c-#e1 which with a bit of luck would have been the first aircraft to cross the ,atlantic4 7,u4 ,s4 ,navy photo7 ,illustration3 ,wingfoot ,lake1 ,akron1 was a busy place during the first war1 as the spawning ground of scores of blimps1 hundreds of training and observation balloons4 ,illustration3 8,finger patches0 of rope ends raveled out and cemented to the outside of the bag were used in #aiah to support the weight of the gondola--an improvised airplane fuselage4 ,illustration3 ,during most of the period between ,world wars the ,navy had only a few ,j-type ships1 but used them effectively in training and experimental work4 7,u4 ,s4 ,navy photo7 ,which led to one of the interesting aeronautic adventure stories of the period4 ,it happened just after the ,armistice4 ,men had come out of the war with imaginations afire over the possibilities of aircraft4 ,one challenge lay open--the ,atlantic--no one had flown it4 ,in the breathing spell brought by the ,armistice1 the ,british were preparing their new ,zeppelin ,r-#cd for the crossing2 two ,english planes were being shipped to ,newfoundland to try to fly back2 the ,u4 ,s4 ,navy had a seaplane crossing in prospect4 ,there was even a ,german plan4 ,a new ,zeppelin had just been finished at ,friedrichshafen when the ,armistice was signed1 and the crew planned to fly it to ,america as a demonstration--but authorities got wind of it and blocked the venture4 ,but of all the ,atlantic crossings about which men were dreaming in early #aiai1 none is more interesting than the one projected for the little blimps4 ,the ,c-#e1 newest of the non-rigid airships built for the ,navy1 was stationed at ,montauk1 and there one night a group of officers sat intensively studying charts and weather maps4 ,st4 ,john's1 ,newfoundland1 #a1djj miles away1 would be the first leg of the trip4 ,it was easily within the cruising radius of the ship1 particularly if they got helping winds1 which they should if the time was carefully picked4 ,from there to ,ireland was another #ahej miles1 also within range with the prevailing westerly winds4 ,permission was asked from ,washington1 and the ,navy flashed back its approval and its blessing1 assigned five experienced officers to the project3 ,lieut4 ,comdr4 ,coil1 ,lieuts4 ,lawrence1 ,little1 ,preston1 and ,peck4 ,the ,,uss ,chicago was sent ahead to ,st4 ,john's to stand by and give any help needed4 ,shortly after sunrise on ,may #ae1 #aiai1 motors were warmed up and the ship shoved off from the tip of ,long ,island with six men aboard headed for ,newfoundland4 ,at #g o'clock the next morning they circled over the deck of the ,chicago1 dropped their handling lines to the waiting ground crew on a rocky point at ,st4 ,john's4 ,the first leg had been made in a little more than #bd hours1 at an average speed of nearly #fj miles per hour4 ,the morning was clear and comparatively calm4 ,coil and ,lawrence went aboard the ,chicago to catch a little sleep before the final hop over the ocean4 ,the others saw to re-fueling the ,c-#e1 stowing provisions aboard1 topping off a bit of hydrogen from the cylinders alongside4 ,mechanics swarmed over the motors4 ,all was well4 ,but about #aj o'clock gusts began to sweep down from ,hudson's ,bay1 dragging the ground crew over the rocks4 ,there were no mooring masts in those days4 ,a modern mast would have saved the ship4 ,more sailors were put on the lines and word sent to ,coil and ,lawrence4 ,if the ground crew could hold the ship till the pilots could get aboard and cut loose1 the storm would give them a flying start over the ,atlantic4 ,but the wind blew steadily stronger as the commander was hurrying ashore4 ,it reached gale force1 hurricane force1 #dj knots1 #fj knots in gusts1 varying in direction crazily around a #fj-;degree arc4 ,it picked the ship up and slammed it down1 damaging the fuselage1 breaking a propeller4 ,little and ,peck climbed aboard to pull the rip panel and let the gas out4 ,after the storm passed1 they could cement the panel back in1 reinflate the bag and go on4 ,but the fates were against them4 ,the cord leading to the rip panel broke4 ,desperately1 the two men started climbing up the suspension cables to the gas bag with knives1 planning to rip the panel out by hand4 ,but a tremendous gust caught the ship1 lifted it up4 ,seeing the danger to the crew1 ,peck shouted to them to let go1 and he and ,little dropped over the side4 ,little broke an ankle4 ,the ship surged upward1 crewless1 set off like another 8,flying ,dutchman0 across the ,atlantic1 was never seen again4 ,just three days later ,hawker and ,grieve set out from ,st4 ,john's1 landed in the ocean4 ,alcock and ,brown cut loose their landing gear a month later and landed in ,ireland4 ,one of the three ,navy seaplanes1 the ,,nc-#d1 reached ,europe on ,may #ca and the ,british dirigible ,r-#cd set out on ,july #b for its successful round trip to ,mitchel ,field4 ,but for a trick of fate and the lack of equipment available today1 a blimp would have been first to get across4 ,many things happened in the airship field between the two wars1 but most of them affected non-rigid airships only indirectly1 as the ,navy was primarily concerned with the larger rigids4 ,the loss of the ,hindenburg by hydrogen fire 7which ,american helium would have prevented71 coming on the heels of tragic setbacks in this country was enough to dismay anyone except ,commander ,c4 ,e4 ,rosendahl and his stouthearted associates at ,lakehurst ,naval ,air ,station4 ,they didn't give up4 ,setbacks were inevitable to progress4 ,count ,zeppelin had built and lost five rigid airships prior to #aiji1 but he went on to build ships which were flown successfully in war and peace4 ,if the ,germans1 using hydrogen1 could do this1 ,americans1 with helium1 should not find it impossible1 ,lakehurst reasoned4 ,and if they had no rigid airships to fly and no immediate likelihood of getting any they would use blimps4 ,the ,navy was more familiar than the public with what the ,british and ,french airships had accomplished in the first war4 ,studying1 as all ,navy officers were doing in that period1 the various possibilities of attack and defense1 in case the war then threatening ,europe should sweep across the ,atlantic1 they came to the conclusion that the coast line of ,america was no more remote from ,german submarines in #aich than the coast of ,england was in #aiad4 ,the airplane had improved vastly in speed1 range1 and striking power1 and their very multiplicity had ruled out the blimps over the ,english channel1 even if helium was available1 but those conclusions did not hold along the ,american coast4 ,the heroic part played by ,allied blimps was a part of the legend of the airship service4 ,nothing new developed in war had subtracted anything from the ability of ,american airships to do in this war what ,british non-rigids had done in the last4 ,commander ,j4 ,l4 ,kenworthy and after him ,commander ,g4 ,h4 ,mills as commanding officer at ,lakehurst turned to non-rigids4 ,under ,mills was instituted1 quietly1 unostentatiously1 with what ships he had1 a series of practice patrols to determine the usefulness of airships in this field1 to discover and perfect technique1 and to train officers and men4 ,lakehurst had a curious conglomeration of airships to start with4 ,there were two ,j ships of immediate post-war type1 with open cockpits1 #baj1jjj cubic feet capacity2 two ,,tc ships1 inherited from the ,army1 of more modern design1 and larger size2 the ,,zmc#b1 an experimental job built to study the use of a metal cover1 and about to be scrapped after nine years of existence2 the ,l-#a1 the same size as the ,goodyear ships1 #abc1jjj cubic feet1 the first modern training ship1 which would be joined later by the ,l-#b and ,l-#c2 the ,g-#a1 a larger trainer of ,goodyear ,defender size1 useful for group instruction1 and the #cbj1jjj cubic foot ,k-#a1 which had been built for experiments in the use of fuel gas4 ,only the ,k-#b1 prototype of the #daf1jjj cubic foot patrol ships later ordered could be called a modern airship1 though the ,army dirigibles also had good cruising radius4 ,yet with this curious assortment of airships of various sizes1 types and ages1 the ,navy carried on practice patrols covering the areas between ,montauk and the ,virginia ,capes1 flying day after day1 built an impressive accumulation of flight data1 missed very few days on account of weather1 made it a point not to miss a rendezvous with the surface fleet4 ,more than any one thing it was this demonstration1 over an #ah-month period1 which led to the revival of an airship program in this country1 the ordering of ships and land bases4 ,let us see what a blimp patrol is like4 ,the airship can fly up to #fe knots or better1 but this is no speed flight4 ,the motors are throttled down to #dj knots1 so that the crew may see clearly1 take its time1 study the moving surface underneath1 scrutinize every trace of oil smear on the surface1 alert for the tell-tale 8feather0 of the submarine's wake1 air bubbles1 a phosphorescent glow at night1 for even a bit of debris which might conceal a periscope4 ,a school of whales1 a lone hammerhead shark on the surface or submerged stirs the interest of the patrol1 offers a tempting live target for the bombs1--light charges with little more powder than a shot gun shell uses4 ,now a ship records a direct hit on a shark's back #ejj feet below4 ,he shakes his head1 dives to escape this unseen enemy aloft4 ,the airship gives chase1 follows the moving shadow below1 so strikingly resembling a submarine1 finds the practice useful4 ,of the crew of eight1 everyone on the airship is on watch1 with an observation tower open on all sides1 without interference of wings1 as in the airplane4 ,compared with surface craft1 the airship can patrol more area in a dawn to dusk patrol because of its speed and its wide range of unbroken observation4 ,the submarine is more efficient in relatively shallow depths1 but airships have spotted the silhouetted shadow of ,u-boats in clear water as deep as #gj feet below the surface4 ,the submarine will attempt to maneuver within a mile of its target to launch its torpedoes effectively4 ,but even at a mile away the ten inches of periscope which projects above the surface is difficult for other craft to detect1--either for a cruiser at sea level1 or an airplane1 flying at relatively high speed1 a threat either may miss4 ,airship crews are at action stations even during peace time1 on the alert against the appearance of strange craft4 ,they identify each passing ship through binoculars1 by voice or radio1 taking no chances that attack without warning by a seeming peaceful ship might not be a declaration of war4 ,as many as #dj or #ej ships may be encountered and identified in a day's patrol4 ,the airships are off at sun-up1 back at sundown1 unless on more extended reconnaissance1 move quietly into the big dock4 ,patrol is tedious work4 ,occasionally there is a break in the routine4 ,lt4 ,boyd has been assigned command of the big ,,tc-#ad for the next day's patrol4 ,he is up late studying the curious tracks he is to follow in coordination with the other airships4 ,at midnight however the radio brings startling word4 ,an airplane leaving ,norfolk with a crew of ten for ,newport1 is reported missing4 ,nearby destroyers1 airplanes1 airships1 are ordered out as a searching party4 ,the ,,tc-#ad1 having the longest cruising radius1 #eb hours without refueling1 is sent off at once1 with a senior officer1 ,lt4 ,trotter1 in charge4 ,men's lives may be at stake4 ,by daylight1 the ,,tc-#ad has flown over the entire northern half of the plane's track and back1 watching intently for distress signals or flares or any sign of the distressed plane4 ,three miles north of ,hog ,island light outside ,norfolk1 the ship encounters fog extending clear to the water4 ,search of this area is hopeless and the ship scouts the edges1 waits for the fog to burn off4 ,at noon as it lifts1 pieces of wreckage are spotted at the very area which it had hidden1 and which the ,,tc-#ad had flown over five hours earlier4 ,the airship cruised around1 hoping that some bit of wreckage might support a survivor1 finally returned to its station after #bj hours1 during which time it had covered #a1jjj miles1 intensively in parallel courses #bj miles wide4 ,had the luckless plane or any of its crew been able to send up flares anywhere within an area of #bj1jjj square miles of water1 the airship could have come up alongside and effected a rescue in a matter of minutes4 ,in the meantime1 ,lt4 ,boyd1 originally assigned to ,,tc-#ad1 was up at dawn only to learn of the change in plans4 ,he was assigned to pilot the smaller ,g-#a trainer to ,new ,london1 keep a sharp look-out enroute for the missing plane1 then work with the destroyers on torpedo exercises4 ,the ,g-#a had no galley aboard and in the rush the matter of food for an #ah-;hour cruise was somehow overlooked1 and ,boyd and his crew set off with only a couple of sardine sandwiches apiece and a pot of coffee1 which quickly grew cold4 ,late in the afternoon1 seeing his crew growing hungrier and hungrier1--for airshipping is excellent for the appetite1--,boyd had an idea4 ,he radioed the ,destroyer ,division ,commander3 8,after last torpedo recovered1 would you be able to furnish us with some hot coffee and a loaf of bread1 if we lower a container on a #bjj-;foot line across your after deck80 ,never in naval history had an airship borrowed chow from a surface craft4 ,but the answer came promptly4 8,affirmative4 ,do you wish cream and sugar80 ,there was nothing in the books giving the procedure for borrowing a meal from the air1 but the crew rigged up a line from a target sleeve reel1 fastened a hook with a quick release at the end1 attached a monkey wrench to weight it down1 stood by for the word to come alongside4 ,then while the crews of three destroyers watched1 the ,g-#a swung slowly over the destroyer's deck4 ,one sailor caught the line held it while a second filled the coffee pot1 and a third attached a load of sandwiches4 ,then the airship sailors hauled away1 radioed their thanks1 set off for the #bjj mile trip back to ,lakehurst1 while hundreds of sailors below waved their white caps and cheered1 a little inter-ship courtesy between sky and sea which all hands will long remember4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,the ,beginnings of ,flight ,illustration3 ,hot-air balloon ,in the spring of #aghc1 as the ,american ,revolution was nearing a successful conclusion1 two brothers named ,montgolfier sitting before a fire at a little town in ,france found themselves wondering why smoke went up into the air4 ,that was just as foolish as ,newton wondering why an apple1 detached from the tree1 fell down4 ,smoke had always gone up and apples had always come down4 ,that was all there was to it4 ,but when men wonder momentous events may be in the making4 ,in these instances epochal discoveries resulted3 the law of gravitation and the possibility of human flight4 ,the legends of ,icarus and the narrative of ,darius ,green are symbols of the long ambition of earth-bound men1 even before the days of recorded history1 to leave the earth and soar into the air4 ,the ,montgolfiers had found the key4 ,but a hundred years would pass before the discovery would be put to use4 ,it was in #aijc that another pair of brothers1 the ,wrights1 made their first flight from ,kill ,devil ,hill in ,north ,carolina4 ,the first ,zeppelin took off from the shores of ,lake ,constance in #aijj4 ,the ,montgolfiers wasted no time testing out their conclusion that smoke rose because it was lighter than the air4 ,they built a great paper bag #ce feet high1 hung a brazier of burning charcoal under it1 and off it went4 ,annonnay is a small town but the story of that miracle spread far and wide4 ,the ,academy of ,science invited them to the capital to repeat the experiment4 ,but while they were building a new bag a ,french physicist1 ,prof4 ,j4 ,a4 ,c4 ,charles1 stole a march on them4 ,he knew that hydrogen was also lighter than air1 so constructed a bag of silk1 inflated it with hydrogen1 sent it aloft before the ,montgolfiers were ready4 ,still the countrymen were not to lose their hour of glory4 ,merely to repeat what had already been done was not enough4 ,their balloon was to be flown from the grounds of the ,palace of ,versailles1 before the king and court and all the great folk of ,paris1 with half the people of the city craning their necks to watch it pass over4 ,so they loaded aboard a basket containing a sheep1 a duck and a rooster1 and these three became aircraft's first passengers4 ,when the ,u4 ,s4 ,army ,air ,corps years later sought an appropriate insignia for its lighter-than-air division1 it could think of nothing more fitting than a design which included a rooster1 a duck and a sheep4 ,everyone was ready for the next step4 ,a ,french judge had the solution4 ,he offered the choice to several prisoners awaiting execution--a balloon flight or the guillotine4 ,two volunteered1 felt they had at least a chance with the balloon1 whereas the guillotine was distressingly final4 ,they had nothing to lose4 ,that word rang through ,paris4 ,a young gallant named ,de ,rozier objected4 8,the chance might succeed10 he said4 8,the honor of being the first man to fly should not go to a convict1 but to a gentleman of ,france4 ,i offer my life40 ,even the king protested at this needless risk1 but ,de ,rozier took off the following month1 flew half way over ,paris1 landed safely4 ,this happened on ,nov4 #ba1 #aghc4 ,among the witnesses to these experiments was ,benjamin ,franklin1 the ,american ambassador1 himself a scientist of no small renown4 ,he predicted great things for aeronautics4 8,but of what use is a balloon80 asked a practical-minded friend4 8,of what use10 replied the ,american1 8is a baby80 ,a little later1 on ,january #g1 #aghe1 ,jean ,pierre ,francois ,blanchard1 a ,frenchman1 and ,dr4 ,john ,jeffries1 an ,american1 practicing medicine in ,england1 inflated a balloon1 took off from the cliffs of ,dover at one o'clock in the afternoon1 arrived safely in ,calais three hours later4 ,illustration3 ,santos ,dumont startled ,paris in #aiaj1 when he let an ,american girl fly one of his airships over the city4 ,to descend she threw her weight forward1 to climb she moved back a step4 ,illustration3 ,a dramatic meeting of two rivals for the honor of making the first ,atlantic crossing4 ,the ,navy's ,,nc flying boats and the non-rigid ,c-#e1 photographed shortly before their take-off4 ,illustration3 ,blimps too may use masts aboard surface ships as anchorage point on long cruises1 as the ,u4,s4,s4 ,los ,angeles successfully demonstrated when moored to the ,u4,s4,s4 ,patoka4 7,u4 ,s4 ,navy photo7 ,illustration3 ,the ,army's ,,tc-#g demonstrates the first airplane pick-up at ,dayton4 ,army pilots found that at flying speed the plane weighed nothing1 was sustained by dynamic forces4 7,u4 ,s4 ,army photo7 ,flight was here1 though it would be a long time becoming practical4 ,dr4 ,charles and many others contributed1 even at that early day4 ,knowing that hydrogen expanded as the air pressure grew less1 at higher altitudes1 ,charles devised a valve at the top of the balloon1 so that the surplus gas could be released1 not burst the balloon4 ,he devised a net from which the basket could be suspended1 distributing its load over the entire bag4 ,the drag rope was evolved1 an ingenious device to stabilize the balloon's flight in unstable air4 ,if the balloon tended to rise it would have to carry the entire weight of the rope4 ,if it grew sluggish and drifted low1 it had less weight to carry1 as much of the rope now lay on the ground4 ,these ballooning principles1 early found1 are still in use4 ,but the 8dirigible0 balloon1 or airship must wait for light weight1 dependable motors1 despite the hundreds of ingenious experiments made by men over a full century4 ,since this is an airship story1 we should first make clear the difference between the airship and the airplane4 ,the ,french hit on an apt phrase to distinguish them1 dividing aircraft into those which are lighter than the air1 such as airships1 and those which are heavier than the air1 like airplanes4 ,airships are literally lighter than air4 ,so are all free balloons1 used for training and racing1 and all anchored balloons1 such as the observation balloon widely used in the last war and the barrage balloons of the present war4 ,the airship goes up and stays up because the buoyancy given by its lifting gas makes it actually lighter than the air it displaces1 and even with the load of motors1 fuel1 equipment and passengers1 must still use ballast to hold it in equilibrium4 ,the airplane1 on the other hand1 is heavier than the air4 ,even the lightest plane can stay up only if it is moving fast enough to get a lifting effect from the movement of air along the wings1 similar to that which makes a kite stay up4 ,a kite may be flown in calm weather only if the one who holds the cord keeps running4 ,on a windy day1 the kite may be anchored on the ground1 and the movement of the wind alone will have sufficient lifting effect4 ,so powerful are these air forces that a plane weighing #bj tons may climb to an altitude of #aj1jjj feet if its speed is great enough1 and its area of wing surface broad enough to produce this kiting effect4 ,but an airplane can remain aloft only as long as it is moving faster than a certain minimum speed4 ,cut the motors1 or even throttle down below this stalling speed1 and the plane will start earthward4 ,the airship needs its motors only to propel it forward4 ,it can cut its speed1 even stop its engines1 and nothing happens4 ,it retains its buoyancy1 continues to float4 ,the airplane's lift is dynamic1 that of the airship is static4 ,the airship has some dynamic lift1 also1 because its horizontal fins or rudders1 and the body of the airship have some kiting effect in flight4 ,the blimp pilot1 starting on a long trip1 will fill up his tanks with all the fuel the ship can lift statically1 then take on another #b1jjj pounds1 taxi across the airport till he gets flying speed and so get under way with many more miles added to his cruising speed4 ,this dynamic lift however1 while useful in certain operations is still incidental4 ,primarily the airship gets its lift from the fact that the gas in the envelope is much lighter than the air4 ,hydrogen is only one-fifteenth the weight of air1 helium1 the non-inflammable ,american gas1 is a little heavier1 about one-seventh4 ,the practical lift is #fh pounds to the thousand cubic feet of hydrogen1 #fc pounds in the case of helium4 ,lighter-than-air ships are of three classes1 rigid1 semi-rigid and non-rigid4 ,the rigid airship has a complete metal skeleton1 which gives the ship strength and shape4 ,into the metal frame of the rigid airship are built quarters1 shops1 communication ways1 even engine rooms in the case of the ,akron and ,macon1 with only the control car1 fins1 and propellers projecting outside the symmetrical hull4 ,the lifting gas is carried in a dozen or more separate gas cells1 nested within the bays of the ship4 ,the non-rigid airship has no such internal support4 ,the bag keeps its taut shape only from the gas and air pressure maintained within4 ,release the gas and the bag becomes merely a flabby mass of fabric on the hangar floor4 ,ship crews do not live in the balloon section1 but in the control car below4 ,the ,british1 apt at nicknames1 differentiated between the two types of airships by calling them 8rigid0 and 8limp0 types1 and since an early 8,type ,b0 was widely used in the first ,world ,war1 quickly contracted 8,b1 limp0 into the handier word 8,blimp40 ,the third type1 semi-rigid1 has a metal keel extending the length of the ship1 to which control surfaces and the car are attached1 and with a metal cone to stiffen the bow section4 ,the rigid ship is of ,german origin4 ,developed by ,count ,zeppelin1 retired army officer1 and largely used by that nation during the war of #aiad-ah1 it was taken up after the war started1 by the ,british and ,americans1 and to a small extent later by ,france and ,italy4 ,non-rigid ships were widely used by the ,british and ,french1 to a less extent by ,italy and ,united ,states4 ,the intermediate semi-rigid was largely ,italian and ,french in war use1 though ,united ,states bought one ship after the war from the ,italians1 built one itself4 ,the ,germans also built smaller ,parseval semi-rigids4 ,the rigid airships are the largest1 the non-rigids smallest4 ,the rigid has to be large to hold enough gas to lift its metal frame along with the load of fuel1 oil1 crew1 supplies1 passengers and cargo4 ,the blimps can be much smaller4 ,the ,army's first airship1 built by ,major ,tom ,baldwin1 old time balloonist1 had #ai1ejj cubic feet capacity4 ,goodyear's pioneer helium ship 8,pilgrim0 had #ea1jjj cubic feet4 ,these contrast with the seven million feet capacity of the ,hindenburg1 and the ten million cubic feet of ships projected for the future4 ,the following table will show the range of sizes3 ,rigid ,airships3 ,hindenburg 7,german7 #g1jgj1jjj cubic feet ,akron-,macon 7,u4 ,s47 #f1ejj1jjj cubic feet ,r-#ajj1 #aja 7,british7 #e1jjj1jjj cubic feet ,graf ,zeppelin 7,german7 #c1gjj1jjj cubic feet ,los ,angeles 7,u4 ,s47 #b1ejj1jjj cubic feet ,r-#cd 7,british7 #b1jjj1jjj cubic feet ,semi-,rigids3 ,norge 7,italian7 #fgj1jjj cubic feet ,,rs-#a 7,u4 ,s47 #gai1jjj cubic feet ,non-,rigids3 ,navy ,k type 7,patrol7 #daf1jjj cubic feet ,navy ,g type 7,advanced ,training7 #ahj1jjj cubic feet ,navy ,l type 7,trainer7 #abc1jjj cubic feet ,goodyear 7,passenger7 #abc1jjj cubic feet ,pilgrim 7,goodyear7 #ea1jjj cubic feet ,the ,akron and ,macon were #ghe feet in length1 the ,k type non-rigid1 #bej feet long1 the ,navy 8,l's0 #aej feet long4 ,let's cut back now to the ,montgolfiers4 ,progress was disappointingly slow4 ,the simple balloon would only go up and down1 and in the direction of the wind4 ,before it could be practical1 men must be able to drive it wherever they liked1 make it dirigible1 or directable4 ,ingenious men1 ,meusnier1 ,giffard1 ,tissandier1 ,renard1 ,krebs1 many others worked over that problem through the entire nineteenth century4 ,they devised ballonets or air compartments to keep the pressure up4 ,they built airships of cylinder shape1 spindle shape1 torpedo shape1 airships shaped like a cigar1 like a string bean1 like a whale4 ,but the stumbling block remained1 the need of an efficient power plant4 ,the steam engine was dependable1 but once you had installed firebox1 boiler and cord wood aboard1 there was little if any lift remaining for crew or cargo4 ,giffard in #aheb built an ingenious small engine using steam but it still weighed #ajj pounds per horsepower1 drove the ship at a speed of only three miles an hour4 ,automobile engines today weigh as little as six pounds per horsepower1 modern airplane engines one pound per horsepower4 ,man experimented with feather-bladed oars1 with a screw propeller1 turned by hand1 using a crew of eight men4 ,haenlein1 ,german1 built a motor that would use the lifting gas from the ship--coal gas or hydrogen4 ,rennard in #ahhd built an electric motor1 taking power from a storage battery4 ,but real progress would have to wait for the discovery of petroleum in ,pennsylvania and the invention of the internal combustion engine4 ,when the gasoline engine came in1 in the #ij's1 the dirigible builders saw the long sought key to their problem4 ,while ,count ,zeppelin was experimenting with his big ships in ,germany1 ,lebaudy1 ,juliot1 ,clement ,bayard in ,france and most conspicuously the young ,brazilian1 ,santos ,dumont1 were working with the smaller dirigibles4 ,santos ,dumont built #ad airships in the first decade of the century1 brought the attention of the world to this project4 ,he won a #ajj1jjj franc prize in #aija for flying across ,paris to circle ,eiffel ,tower and return to his starting point--and gave the money to the ,paris poor4 ,the ,wright ,brothers made their historic flight at ,kitty ,hawk1 in #aijc1 opening a different field of experiment4 ,france pushed both lines of research4 ,after ,santos ,dumont's dirigible flight1 ,bleriot started from the little town of ,toury in an airplane1 flew to the next town and back1 a distance of #ag miles1 making only two en route stops1--and the town erected a monument to him4 ,in #aiji1 ,bleriot flew a plane across the ,english ,channel and in the following year the airship ,clement ,bayard ,,ii duplicated the feat1 carrying a crew of seven1 made the #bdb miles to ,london in six hours4 ,the year #aiaj was a momentous one for all aircraft1 with ,france as the world center4 ,bleriot and ,farman1 ,frenchmen1 ,latham1 ,british1 the ,wrights and ,curtiss1 ,americans1 broke records almost daily at a big meet in ,august that year1 while at longer range the ,french and ,english dirigibles and the ,parsevals of ,germany1 and still more important the great ,zeppelins at ,lake ,constance droned the news of a new epoch4 ,a young ,american engineer1 ,p4 ,w4 ,litchfield1 attended the ,paris meet1 saw these wonders1 made notes4 ,he stopped in ,scotland on his way back1 bought a machine for spreading rubber on fabric1 hired the two men tending it 7those men1 ,ferguson and ,aikman1 were still at their posts in ,akron thirty odd years later71 hired two young technical graduates on his return1 tied in the fortunes of his struggling company with what he believed was a coming industry4 ,the next five years would see the nations of the world bending their efforts toward perfecting these vehicles of flight1--little realizing they were building a combat weapon which would revolutionize warfare4 ,,chapter ,v ,effect on ,aeronautics of ,post-,war ,reaction ,illustration3 ,airship and escort planes ,development of non-rigid airships slowed down after the impetus of the war had spent itself1 as was the case in aeronautics generally and in all defense efforts4 ,with the ,armistice of ,november1 #aiah1 the world was through with war4 ,men relaxed and reaction set in4 ,there would not be another major war in a hundred years4 ,well-meaning people everywhere grasped at the straw of universal peace1 of negotiated settlement of difficulties between nations1 of disarmament of military forces to the point of being little more than an international police force4 ,germany1 the trouble-maker1 had been disarmed and handcuffed1 would make no more trouble4 ,the world1 breathing freely after four years1 wanted only to be left alone4 ,today with major countries striving feverishly to build guns and navies1 it is hard to believe that nave nations were scrapping ships only a few years ago and pledging themselves to limit future building4 ,no one in the immediate post-war era could believe that men must prepare for another war1 an all-out war more terrible and ruthless than men had known1--one which would send flame-spitting machines down from the air and through woods and fields1 against which conventional foot soldiers would be as helpless as if they carried bows and arrows4 ,wishing only to live at peace with other nations1 we could conceive no need to make defense preparation against frightfulness4 ,congress was divided between 8big navy men0 and 8little navy men10 and generals and admirals who brought in programs for expansion or even reasonable maintenance were shouted down4 ,the public was in no mood to listen4 ,if the usefulness of the ,army and ,navy was discounted during this period1 more so was the rising new ,air ,force4 ,few were interested in airplanes1 and these chiefly wartime pilots1 who sought to keep aviation alive1 made a precarious living flying wartime 8,jennies0 and 8,standards0 out of cow pastures1 carrying passengers at a dollar a head1 or how much have you4 ,the word 8haywire0 came into the language1 as they made open-air repairs to wings and fuselage with baling wire4 ,lighter-than-air had no ,rickenbackers or ,richthofens to point to1 but got some advantage during this period from the activities of the ,shenandoah1 completed in #aibc1 and the ,los ,angeles1 delivered in #aibd4 ,these ships could not be regarded as military craft1 carried no arms4 ,the ,shenandoah was experimental1 based on a #aiaf design4 ,the ,los ,angeles was technically a commercial ship1 with passenger accommodations built in1 could be used only for training4 ,this grew out of the fact that the ,allies planned to order the ,zeppelin works at ,friedrichshafen torn down but had held up the order long enough for it to turn out one more ship4 ,this last ship would be given to ,united ,states in lieu of the ,zeppelin this country would have received from ,germany1 if the airship crews1 like those of the surface fleet1 had not scuttled their craft after the ,armistice1 to keep them from falling into enemy hands4 ,the ,allies stipulated that the ,los ,angeles should carry no armament4 ,it took a specific waiver from them for the ship to take part several years later in fleet maneuvers4 ,other airship activities in this country were at a minimum4 ,the blimps1 little heard of in this country during ,war ,i1 remained in the background4 ,a joint board of the two services gave the ,navy responsibility for developing rigid airships1 the ,army to take non-rigids and semi-rigids4 ,the ,navy maintained a few post-war blimps for training1 had little funds except for maintenance4 ,the ,army1 having ,wright ,field to do its engineering and experimental work1 fared somewhat better1 carried on a training and something of a development program4 ,it built bases at ,scott ,field1 ,ill41 and ,langley ,field1 ,va41 ordered one or two non-rigid ships a year1 purchased a semi-rigid ship from ,italy1 ordered another1 the ,,rs-#a1 from ,goodyear1 operated it successfully4 ,the ,army's non-rigids1 however1 were overshadowed by the ,navy's rigids and even more by its own airplanes1 with the result finally that the ,chief of the ,air ,corps1 ,major ,general ,o4 ,o4 ,westover1 a believer in lighter-than-air1 an airship as well as airplane pilot1 and a former winner of the ,james ,gordon ,bennett cup in international balloon racing1 told ,congress bluntly that there was no point in dragging along1 that unless funds were appropriated for a real airship program the ,army might as well close up shop4 ,and this step ,congress1 in the end1 took1 and the ,army blimps and equipment were transferred to the ,navy1 and the experimental program started by the one service was carried on by the other4 ,the rigid ships were in more favorable position because they seemed to have commercial possibilities1 and it was the long-range policy of the government to aid transportation4 ,government support to commercial airships could be justified under the policy by which the government gave land grants to the railways1 built highways for the automobile1 deepened harbors and built lighthouses for the steamships1 laid out airports for planes1 gave airmail contracts to keep the ,u4 ,s4 merchant flag floating on the high seas and air routes open over land4 ,on this theory ,navy airships1 even though semi-military1 got some support during the reaction period1 because they might blaze a trail later for commercial lines--which1 with ships and crews and terminals1 would be available in emergency as a secondary line of defense1 like the merchant marine4 ,the little non-rigid blimps remained the neglected ,cinderellas of post-war days4 ,the ,goodyear ,company at ,akron1 which had built #ajjj balloons of all types and #ajj airships during and after the war1 stepped into the picture during this period with a modest program of its own4 ,the first of the ,goodyear fleet1 the pioneer1 helium-inflated ,pilgrim1 now in the ,smithsonian ,institute1 was built in #aibe4 ,illustration3 ,the ,atlantic crossing of the ,graf ,zeppelin in #aibh and its round-the-world flight in the following year gave new stimulus to all aeronautics4 ,with a relatively tiny ,goodyear blimp as escort1 the ,graf lands at ,los ,angeles after crossing the ,pacific4 ,illustration3 ,at ,lakehurst the ,graf tries out the 8,iron ,horse10 the ,u4,s4 ,navy's mobile mooring mast1 finds it highly useful1 utilized masting equipment thereafter to compile an unusual record for regularity of departures1 even under highly unfavorable weather conditions4 7,u4 ,s4 ,navy photo7 ,illustration3 ,the ,u4,s4,s4 ,akron1 first result growing out of renewed interest in aeronautics after the reaction period1 goes on the mast inside the ,goodyear air dock1 prior to leaving for her trial flights4 ,illustration3 ,no large ground crews are needed with the mobile mast4 ,even the mighty ,akron swings around easily at anchorage1 heads into the wind like a weather vane1 its control car resting on the ground4 ,in building this ship1 ,mr4 ,litchfield and his company indicated their belief in the value of big airships for trans-oceanic travel1 for which the blimps would provide inexpensive training for pilots1 and experience in operating under varying weather conditions4 ,the ,pilgrim1 the ,puritan1 the ,vigilant1 the ,mayflower and the rest of the ,goodyear fleet which followed--named after cup defenders in international yacht racing--would also uncover during the course of day-after-day operations1 improvements in ships and operating technique1 which would be available to its customers1 the ,army and ,navy4 ,in building its own ships1 ,goodyear was following the tradition of ,american industry1 which does not sit back and merely build goods to order1 but has sought by developing better goods to anticipate and stimulate customer demand4 ,in the automobile industry1 for example1 self-starters1 closed cars1 steel bodies1 balloon tires1 streamlining1 and the rest were initiated by industry to increase public acceptance and further popularize the automobile4 ,by building its own airships and flying them1 ,goodyear hoped to expand the market for military and commercial airships4 ,the doldrum period1 which made progress difficult1 came to an end with dramatic suddenness4 ,in the year #aibg a youthful pilot flew an airplane1 alone1 across the ,atlantic ocean1 and in the following year a middle-aged scientist made a round trip from ,europe to ,america by airship1 with #bd people aboard4 ,the imagination of ,america and the world took fire4 ,aeronautics started anew4 ,perhaps no events in years have appealed so fully to the public consciousness or had such dynamic effects4 ,almost from the day of ,lindbergh's flight and the ,graf ,zeppelin's arrival at ,lakehurst1 aeronautical engineers found themselves with money to spend in research and machinery4 ,airports unrolled across the carpet of ,america1 night lighting came in1 pilots became business men1 appropriations were rushed through ,congress1 state assemblies1 and city councils1 and aeronautics became ,big ,business almost over night4 ,the period of inaction and of reaction was over4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,airship ,improvements ,between ,wars ,illustration3 ,docked airship ,the wartime airship was a cigar-shaped gas bag with an airplane cockpit1 open to the weather1 slung below4 ,the contrast between it and the sleek1 fast1 streamlined ,navy airship of today is almost as striking as that between wartime planes and automobiles and modern ones4 ,many improvements have been made1 even though the airship has not had the experience of building thousands of units1 as the automobile and airplane have had1 or ample funds for research and experiment4 ,less than #aej non-rigid airships have been built all told since #aiad4 ,the 8,b0 type blimp1 chiefly used in the ,world ,war1 contained #hj1jjj cubic feet of hydrogen1 though some ,british and ,french non-rigids were built in larger sizes1 and the ,united ,states ,navy 8,c0 ships1 toward the end of the war1 had #bjj1jjj cubic feet of lifting gas4 ,these compare with the #daf1jjj cubic feet of helium in the new ,navy 8,k0 ships4 ,speed1 under the pressure of war needs moved up from #dg miles in the 8,b0 to close to #fj in the 8,c10 but is around #hj in today's 8,k0 ships4 ,wartime ships carried three to five men and a day's fuel4 ,today's carry eight or ten1 enough pilots1 radio men1 navigators1 riggers and mechanics for two full watches1 though normally everyone is on duty during patrols4 ,the 8,b0 was good for perhaps #ijj miles1 the 8,k0 for well over twice that distance4 ,wartime ships had to keep the control car well away from the bag to prevent sparks from igniting the hydrogen gas4 ,a windshield was the pilot's only protection from the elements4 ,modern ships1 using non-inflammable helium1 have closed cars1 streamlined into the bag1 ample room for navigation and radio1 sleeping and eating quarters1 even a photographic dark room1 can be heated and noise-proofed4 ,early airships were pulled down and held by a large ground crew1 a pneumatic bumper bag on the car cushioning its landing4 ,today's ships land on a swiveled wheel1 roll up to a mast--or taxi off across the airport like an airplane and take off4 ,these1 however1 are merely flight factors4 ,more important is it that the wartime blimp was to a large extent hangar-bound4 ,it could go no further from its base than it could safely return before its fuel was exhausted4 ,today's ships are expeditionary craft1 can go almost anywhere1 stay as long as they want4 ,they are no longer land-bound1 can be refueled and reserviced at sea4 ,they are much safer1 rank high in this respect among all carriers whether on land1 sea or in the air4 ,three independent lines of study contributed to these results1 those of the ,army1 ,navy and ,goodyear1 each free to follow its own ideas1 to observe results found by the others1 adopt them1 use them as starting points for further developments1 or discard them4 ,the improvements were achieved in a relatively short period4 ,the army started in after the war and carried on a continuing program till #aicb4 ,the ,navy1 absorbed in its rigid airships1 did not get into non-rigids till the early #aicj's4 ,goodyear built the ,pilgrim in #aibe but its development program really began with the blimp fleet in #aibi4 ,noteworthy improvement was found during this period in materials1 structure1 design1 engines and radio communication1 with outstanding advances along three major lines4 ,first was increased safety1 permitted by helium gas4 ,wartime airships used hydrogen because it was all they had1 had to develop what protection they could against fire through construction devices and operating technique4 ,hydrogen was not only inflammable1 but under certain conditions explosive4 ,world ,war pilots had to fly their hydrogen ships through thunder and lightning storms1 dodge inflammatory bullets if they could4 ,zeppelin sailors wore felt shoes1 with no nails to create a spark1 used frogs for buttons1 had to guard against static4 ,it was a fortunate thing for the airship world when a gas was found in #aijg in ,dexter1 ,kansas1 which would not burn4 ,curious scientists1 asking why1 found it was helium1 a gas previously identified 7in #ahfi7 only in the rays of the sun4 ,helium gas is inert1 refusing to combine with any other element1 does not deteriorate metal or fabric4 ,it was not much heavier than hydrogen1 the lightest of all gases1 so proved a welcome gift to lighter-than-air4 ,for some reason1 not explained except on the theory that ,providence takes special interest in ,america1 helium has been found in quantity only in this country4 ,it is a component1 present to the extent of two or three percent in certain natural gas1 though ranging as high as eight or ten percent in favored areas4 ,it can be separated by compression and liquefaction from the natural gas1--which is that much improved by the removal of the non-inflammable content4 ,the world's chief known supply of helium lies in certain sections of ,texas1 ,kansas1 ,colorado and ,utah4 ,more important1 ,united ,states is the only country having great pipe lines1 can distribute natural gas from ,texas to cities as far away as ,kansas ,city1 ,st4 ,louis and ,chicago4 ,without such a market operators would have to separate and release the #ie of natural gas to get the #e of helium1 and costs would be still higher4 ,helium is perhaps the most useful of the few natural monopolies given to this country4 ,it was only toward the end of the ,world ,war1 however1 that ,army engineers worked out a process of separating helium from natural gas4 ,a plant was built at ,fort ,worth and the first cylinders of helium had reached ,new ,orleans ready for shipment to ,france to inflate observation balloons when the ,armistice was signed4 ,army1 ,navy and ,bureau of ,mine engineers worked thereafter to increase production and cut costs1 but as late as #aibe ,will ,rogers called attention to the fact that the ,navy had not been able to get enough helium to supply both the ,shenandoah and the ,los ,angeles at the same time4 ,if one was using the helium the other had to stay home4 ,two ships1 and only one set of helium1 he commented4 ,the use of helium cut the casualty list on the ,shenandoah1 would have saved the ,hindenburg4 ,non-rigid airships have had no fire or explosive accidents since helium came into use as the lifting gas4 ,it was the loss by a hydrogen fire of the ,italian-built ,roma1 after it struck a high tension line at ,langley ,field in ,february1 #aibb1 which fixed the policy of 8helium only0 for ,u4 ,s4 ,army and ,navy airships4 ,the ,army's ,c-#g was the first airship to use helium4 ,in building the ,pilgrim in #aibe1 ,goodyear followed the same policy--even though it had to pay #abe a thousand cubic feet for helium while it could have obtained hydrogen for #e per thousand4 ,further improvements and increasing volume of production brought the cost down in time from #abe to less than #bj1 and helium expense became relatively unimportant in providing safety for ,goodyear's airship operations4 ,important too during this period was the ,army's development of tank cars for transporting helium4 ,a large item of helium expense was freight1 the cost of hauling #acj pound metal containers which held #agj to #bjj cu4 ft4 of the gas4 ,it took #bej such containers to inflate ,goodyear's smallest ship1 the ,pilgrim4 ,the tank cars hold #bjj1jjj cu4 ft4 of gas1 almost enough to inflate two ,goodyear airships4 ,experiments with specially woven fabric and the use of synthetic rubber cut down the losses resulting from diffusion1 and where formerly it was necessary to remove the helium and purify it every six months1 diffusion losses were cut to one or two per cent a month1 with purification needed only every other year4 ,in addition to increasing safety1 helium permitted improvements in airship design4 ,the wartime craft had its control cars suspended by cables from finger patches cemented to the outside of the bag4 ,but with helium ships the car could be built into the bag1 attached by an internal catenary suspension system to the top of the gas section4 ,each exposed suspension cable1 no matter how small1 creates parasitic resistance from the air1 so that the removal of yards of steel and rope had the result of increasing the speed of the ship with the same horsepower4 ,the second set of major improvements centers around the mooring mast4 ,the mooring mast idea was not new4 ,the ,british had built the first ones during the ,world ,war for its large rigid ships1 found that a ship attached to it would swing easily1 like a weather vane1 continuing to point into the wind1 and that a well streamlined ship would hold securely even in winds of great velocity4 ,when ,alfred ,e4 ,smith ordered a mooring mast built on top the ,empire ,state building1 it was with the assurance from his engineers that even with the tugging of the #aej-ton ,graf ,zeppelin1 the strain would be little more than the normal push of the wind against the building itself1 that the added stresses would be negligible4 ,the ,germans had had little occasion to use mooring masts4 ,friedrichshafen1 where most of the ,zeppelins were built1 lay in a natural bowl1 well protected from the winds1 and ships could take off and land1 be walked in or out of the hangar with little risk from the weather4 ,lakehurst1 on the other hand1 lay in an exposed position1 in the path of coast-wise storms1 a frequent battle-ground between onshore winds from the ocean and storms breaking over the mountains from the west4 ,a study made later to determine bases for projected ,american passenger operations showed that of weather conditions prevailing between ,boston and the ,virginia ,cape1 those at ,lakehurst were almost the most unfavorable4 ,illustration3 ,four stages in the evolution of the mooring mast4 ,at the outset large ground crews held the ship on the ground4 ,illustration3 ,then a stub mast was placed atop a truck1 to hold the ship on the ground1 maneuver it in or out of the dock4 ,illustration3 ,a high mast1 made in sections1 can be erected anywhere1 anchored by guy wires1 holds the airship securely against winds of gale force4 ,illustration3 ,the little brother of the 8,iron ,horse01 which will receive the largest of the new ,navy blimps1 maneuver them on the field4 ,people knew little about airship operating when the ,navy base was moved from ,pensacola to ,lakehurst on a waste site in the ,jersey pine lands which the ,army no longer needed after the war as a proving ground for its artillery4 ,this defect proved an advantage4 ,the ,navy was forced by the very nature of things to concentrate on a problem which had been no problem to ,doctor ,eckener and his associates4 ,at the urging of ,admiral ,moffett1 ,commander ,garland ,fulton1 ,lieutenant ,commander ,c4 ,e4 ,rosendahl and others1 ,navy engineers built a high mast1 #ahj feet tall1 following ,british practice1 with a service elevator inside1 then tackled the problem of keeping the ship on even keel against up and down gusts4 ,since the wind does not come out of the ground1 a low mast was suggested1 half the height of the ship1 so that when anchored the ship would all but rest on the ground4 ,the ,navy was working on this when an incident happened to strengthen the argument4 ,the co-incidence of a wind shift1 and rising temperatures one afternoon as the ,los ,angeles was resting comfortably at anchorage1 started the tail rising1 and it continued to rise till it reached almost #ij degrees4 ,then the ship turned gently on its swivel1 and descended easily on the other side1 with no more damage than some broken china in the galley4 ,still a #gjj-;foot airship has no business doing head-stands1 so the low mast development was rushed through4 ,it proved successful4 ,the next step was to make the low mast mobile1 so that it could not only hold the ship on the ground but take it in and out of the hangar4 ,first of these was ,lakehurst's famous 8iron horse10 a giant motor-driven tripod1 which rolled out on the airport1 hauling incoming ships into the hangar1 took advantage of daylight calms to take ships out into the field ahead of time so as to be ready to leave on schedule4 ,on the ,graf ,zeppelin's trip around the world in #aibi1 hangars were available for fueling stops at ,lakehurst1 ,friedrichshafen1 and curiously enough in ,japan1 a ,german shed turned over to the ,nipponese after the #aiah ,armistice1 having been re-erected at ,tokio4 ,there was none however on the ,american ,west ,coast to house the ship after its long trip across the ,pacific4 ,so the ,navy1 under direction of ,lieutenant ,commander ,t4 ,g4 ,w4 ,settle1 hauled a mast up to ,los ,angeles from ,san ,diego 7it had been erected there for the ,shenandoah's flight around the rim of the country in #aibc7 anchored it with guy wires4 ,it served the purpose perfectly4 ,the ,germans1 skeptical at first1 became convinced of the value of the mast1 themselves erected masts at ,frankfort1 and ,seville1 at ,pernambuco and ,rio de ,janiero1 used them as terminals4 ,once the masting technique had been worked out1 the ,graf ,zeppelin and the ,hindenburg1 in the years #aicj-f1 made a record of regularity which no other vehicle of transportation has approached4 ,they took off at times over the ocean for ,europe when all other aircraft in the area was grounded1 when the fog hid the entire top half of the ship1 and the ship disappeared into the fog within a few seconds after the 8,up ,ship0 signal was given4 ,what few delays appear on the record were due to waiting for connecting airplanes to arrive with the latest ,european mail for the ,americas4 ,so far the use of masts had been entirely a matter for the large rigid airships4 ,the ,army did the first development work on high and low masts for its smaller ships at ,scott ,field1 as well as a landing wheel for them to ride on4 ,a situation at ,akron started experimentation along a different line4 ,at ,goodyear's ,wingfoot ,lake ,field1 ,mr4 ,litchfield frowned over the expense of having a considerable crew on hand to land and launch the blimps1 with little to do after the ship was in the air4 ,to an ,army or ,navy post1 with plenty of men in training1 this surplus of men was no difficulty1 but any private corporation operating passenger airship lines would find the expense burdensome4 ,illustration3 ,the ,navy ,l-#b1 one of the first ships under the expanded program1 lands at ,wingfoot ,lake1 ,akron1 is walked to the mooring mast4 ,illustration3 ,close-up view of engine and cowling1 and swiveled landing wheel4 ,illustration3 ,with a drogue or sea anchor to hold the airship steady1 supplies or personnel may be taken aboard at sea4 7,u4 ,s4 ,navy photo7 ,illustration3 ,a newly-hatched airship breaks its shell at ,akron1 will try its wings then join the ,navy4 ,he put the question to his men in #aicj1 offering cash prizes for the best solution4 ,out of many ideas1 one clear-cut line of progress appeared4 ,this was to make the ground crew truck a maneuvering base1 with a mast on top1 which could be folded down when not in use4 ,the truck then could not only hold the ship on the ground1 but guide it in and out of the hangar with more security than by using a large number of men4 ,extra wheels mounted on outriggers kept the truck from being turned over by side gusts4 ,in succeeding years the ground crew truck became a traveling mooring point which could follow the ship across country1 give it anchorage when night fell1 and at the same time act as a traveling supply depot1 machine shop1 radio cabin1 and crew quarters4 ,a portable mast1 built in sections1 high enough for ships to mast at the nose1 was the next step4 ,it could be set up on an hour's notice1 anchored by guy wires and screw stakes for more extended operations4 ,gradually the airship became independent of the hangar1 came to use it only for overhaul and the purification of its helium gas4 ,the blimp could be fueled and serviced completely in the open4 ,lacking a dock in ,san ,francisco1 at the time of the ,exposition in #aici1 the ,goodyear blimp ,volunteer moved up from ,los ,angeles1 based on a mast for five months4 ,the only time it sought shelter was when a splinter from the propeller pierced the bag1 causing a leak4 ,the ship flew #fj miles down the bay to the ,navy base at ,sunnyvale1 like a boy coming in from play to have a splinter removed from his finger1 went back again1 didn't even stay over night4 ,in the winter of #aidj-da the 8,reliance0 which had been spending its winters in ,miami1 using a wartime ,navy hangar which the city had moved up from ,key ,west1 found that building commandeered for defense work4 ,so a mast was set up on the ,causeway1 and the ship operated with no other home than that for six months1 saw no shelter from the time it left ,wingfoot ,lake in early ,december till it returned at the end of ,may4 ,the ,navy had a different problem as it moved into the non-rigid picture in the early #aicj's4 ,its problem was only incidentally to operate away from its base at ,lakehurst4 ,ships were getting larger in size1 and masts were needed where they could be moored outdoors1 or taken in and out of the hangar4 ,the solution was a smaller replica of the rigid airship's 8,iron ,horse0 except that it moved on large rubber tires1 and was towed in and out by tractor1 rather than carrying its own power plant4 ,a portable mast was also developed for the ,navy blimps1 with a special car to haul it around4 ,this mast could be sent to ,parris ,island or some point in ,new ,england1 ahead of time1 set up and used as a temporary base for radio calibrating or other missions4 ,navy ships basing at ,lakehurst have operated for weeks at a time along the coast as far north as ,bath1 ,maine1 and as far south as the ,carolinas1 with a portable mast as headquarters4 ,utilization of the mast principle by non-rigid airships not only greatly increased their radius of operation1 and cut down landing crews1 but increased the number of operating days per month4 ,pilots of early airplanes used to go out on the airport1 hold up a handkerchief1 and if it fluttered1 conclude it was too windy to fly4 ,so early airship pilots1 with anemometers on the roof of the hangar and at points over the field1 judged it too risky to take the ships out if the wind was higher than four or five miles an hour1 and then only if it was down-hangar in direction4 ,modern airships lose few flying days because it is too windy to go out4 ,under war conditions1 when risks must be taken1 which need not be taken for passenger or training flights1 very few days would be wasted if there is military necessity for it4 ,navy non-rigids miss few rendezvous with the fleet in exercises out of ,lakehurst1 regardless of the weather outside4 ,if the portable mast revolutionized airship operations over land1 experiments started by the ,navy in #aich-ci1 largely under the direction of ,lt4 ,c4 ,s4 ,rounds1 promise to be just as important in over-water operations4 ,these showed that the airship could pick up ballast from the ocean1 could get fuel from a passing ship1 could change crews at sea4 ,ballast is important to a vehicle which growing continuously lighter as it uses up fuel1 must still be kept in equilibrium4 ,transoceanic ,zeppelins1 using hydrogen1 had to fly high enough to 8blow off0 the surplus gas once or twice during a trip to compensate for the ship growing lighter4 ,but hydrogen was cheap1 and could be manufactured as needed4 ,american ships could not afford to waste helium1 which was a natural resource4 ,army and ,navy engineers had worked on this1 and equipment developed for the ,akron and ,macon to condense the gases from the burned fuel was able to recover more than #ajj pounds of water ballast for every #ajj pounds of fuel used4 ,the blimps didn't use these since they ordinarily would not be out for more than a day at a time1 still a ready source of ballast would make it unnecessary to valve helium on long flights4 ,ironically enough a whole ocean full of ballast lay below seagoing airships1 but no practical method had been devised to take the sea water aboard until the ,navy tackled the problem in #aich4 ,that problem may be visualized in the obvious difficulty of maintaining physical contact between an airship and a surface ship4 ,the two move in different media1 one influenced mostly by the waves1 the other mostly by the wind4 ,the surface ship is moving up and down1 the airship subject to gusts which might break the contact or thrust it violently against the masts or superstructure of the surface ship4 ,servicing has been done under favorable circumstances1 but could not be relied on as standard procedure4 ,the solution reached was this4 ,the pilot swings his ship down to within #ajj or #aej feet of the water1 lowers a hose with a small bronze scoop1 not much wider than the hose1 so as to lessen the drag4 ,twenty-five feet up from the scoop is a streamlined cylinder1 blimp shaped1 carrying a small electric pump4 ,this cylinder1 nicknamed the 8fish01 has tail fins to keep it from spinning1 and skims along the surface or jumps out like a porpoise1 but the scoop is far enough behind and heavy enough to trail easily beneath the surface1 stays directly in the ship's wake1 continues without interruption to pick up ballast for the airship above4 ,the whole gear weighs slightly more than #ajj pounds1 can pick up water at cruising speed1 can function in rough water or smooth4 ,the ,navy ,j-#d1 chiefly used in these experiments1 normally consumes #ejj pounds of fuel in five hours of flying at cruising speed4 ,it was able to pick up that much water ballast in seven minutes4 ,the next step was to enable an airship to obtain fuel from a tanker or other ship without physical contact or advance arrangements--even from a passing merchantman4 ,the pilot asks by radio or voice whether the surface ship can spare some gasoline1 and on an affirmative answer1 lowers or drops on his deck two rubberized fabric spheres connected to each other by #ad feet of rope--also a note of instructions4 ,the smaller sphere is an ordinary air-filled buoy1 the larger1 about three feet in diameter when filled1 is the fuel bag4 ,the surface ship fills the fuel bag1 then drops both bags overboard1 being careful only that they do not get tangled up4 ,then the airship flies over the two bags1 drops a hook between them1 hauls away1 pumps the gasoline into its tanks4 ,the third device permits an airship to anchor in the open sea near a surface ship to transfer crews or take on fuel and supplies4 ,the anchor is a cone-shaped rubberized fabric bag1 ten feet long1 with a diameter of #b feet at the top4 ,it is lowered #ej feet below the airship by two cables connected with each other by rungs to form a ladder4 ,half of the cables' length is made up of heavy exerciser cord to dampen the effect of wave movements4 ,on top the cone is a wire mesh cover which allows the water to pass through1 and is strong enough to act as a platform1 supporting a man4 ,as the cone fills up the airship drops ballast till its 8mooring mast0 is half submerged4 ,the principle of the drag rope comes into play--if the airship starts to rise it finds itself lifting an increasingly heavier load1 counteracting the rising tendency4 ,if it starts to settle down toward the water1 the load is correspondingly lessened and the ship grows lighter4 ,the result is that the airship is held highly stable1 even in a rough sea4 ,the surface ship then sends a small boat alongside and dispatches the relief crew members or supplies1 them up and down the ladder1 or uses a winch1 the platform atop the anchor serving as the operating base4 ,this system also permits the moving of a sick passenger ashore1 or the rescue of a man overboard4 ,when the airship is ready to leave its anchorage1 the cone is tipped by a line attached to the bottom1 spilling the water1 and hauled aboard4 ,the servicing ship need carry no special equipment4 ,the weight of cone and ladder is negligible4 ,by being able to pick up ballast and borrow fuel from a passing ship1 7neither airship nor surface ship need slow down for the fuel exchange if going in the same direction7 the airship greatly increases its radius of operations4 ,the advantage of being able to change crews at sea may not be quite as clear4 ,this1 however1 grows out of the fact that today's non-rigid airship has greater endurance than the crew which flies it4 ,an anti-submarine1 anti-mine patrol calls for constant alertness4 ,reduction of vibration and noise1 the use of closed cars instead of open cockpits has lessened fatigue1 enabling men to remain on duty over longer periods than before4 ,but obviously there are limits4 ,the ,navy is conservative in estimating how long its new 8,k0 ships may stay out without refueling4 ,weather and the nature of the mission will have some bearing on that1 but if we assume a cruise of #dh1 #fj or even #gb hours which might be done under favorable conditions and idling the motors1 we still cannot expect a crew of men to remain vigilant and alert for that length of time4 ,extra men for relief watches can be carried only at the expense of the fuel load4 ,however1 if a fresh crew could be sent aboard every #ab hours from a nearby surface ship1 along with fuel1 ballast and supplies1 the blimps might operate for extended periods4 ,no blimps have done this4 ,the fleet might see no need for them to go out for long periods4 ,however1 the possibility has been established1 and might be useful in the emergencies of war1 or accident4 ,while the primary usefulness of the blimp lies in the coastal waters1 it can go to sea if needed--and stay out--can be used in convoy work or as a listening post4 ,other improvements were uncovered during the experiments4 ,a sea anchor or drogue was devised to enable the airship to 8lay to0 for extended periods1 without consuming fuel1 in case it wishes to use its listening devices against submarines1 make repairs or for other purposes4 ,plans have been worked out for landing on the water in quiet bays in calm weather1 utilizing flotation gear1 or a three-point mooring to ordinary mud anchors--facilitating servicing from nearby ,coast ,guard stations4 ,perhaps a significant thing about these experiments is that the principles seem applicable as well to rigid airships4 ,the ability to pick up ballast in flight may well eliminate the necessity for ballast-recovery devices1 with a substantial saving in cost1 and an impressive saving in weight4 ,by eliminating the heavy condensers1 and translating that weight-saving into fuel1 it is estimated that the range of a ship of the ,los ,angeles size could be increased by #bj percent and ships of the ,akron-,macon size by #ae percent1 in the last case amounting to #a1bej miles of additional cruising radius4 ,a trans-oceanic passenger airship could start out with virtually no water ballast at all except a minimum amount for maneuvering1 use its fuel supply as ballast and pick up sea water as needed4 ,this could be done at #ejj feet elevation1 at the rate of #hj gallons a minute1 using a #cj horsepower motor1 could be done in half an hour a day4 ,the ship need not slow down materially while doing this4 ,application of this principle to military airships of the rigid type might be still more significant4 ,the chief use for the rigid airship in war would seem to be as a high speed airplane carrier1 whose planes would increase many fold its own reconnaissance range1 and would be expected also to do the major part of what fighting became necessary in case of enemy contact4 ,the airship itself in that situation would put more dependence on its speed of retreat and its ability to seek cover in clouds as the submarine does beneath the surface1 than on its own machine guns and cannons4 ,one thing brought urgently home to us in the first weeks of the present war is that oceans are wide1 and that the movements of even a huge enemy fleet are difficult to discover in those endless expanses of water4 ,large military airships of five or ten million cubic feet helium capacity might prove exceedingly useful1 if they were able to operate away from their base for weeks or even months at a time1 and they might be able to do this by utilizing devices similar to those developed for smaller non-rigids1 resting on the sea in calm waters1 mooring to anchored masts they could lower into the water1 picking up fuel from tankers1 getting supplies from neighboring ships--in addition to what was carried to them from the fleet by their own planes4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,adventures of the ,goodyear ,fleet ,illustration3 ,airships flying in formation ,one of the lesser romances at least of aeronautics is the story of the ,goodyear airship fleet4 ,there is thrill and adventure in the narrative1 daring and resourcefulness1 hazards faced by men who believed in their craft--chances which were usually won4 ,so this chapter might well be dedicated to ,airship ,captain ,charles ,brannigan and ,balloon ,pilot ,walter ,morton4 ,morton was an old timer1 who had flown balloons with ,tom ,baldwin1 in the far corners of the country4 ,between times he worked in the ,goodyear balloon room1 a practical mechanic who could always make things work1 the salt-of-the-earth workman whom every foreman swore by1 the aide every pilot wanted alongside4 ,steady1 self-effacing1 courageous1 with an instinct for the right thing to do in emergency1 ,morton feared but one thing4 ,that was lightning4 ,he had flown many times through lightning storms prior to the helium era1 beneath a bag filled with inflammable gas1 but he didn't like it4 ,he knew its swift striking power4 8,i could almost see the ,old ,fellow standing there throwing those darts at us10 said ,morton one afternoon in #aibh1 as he scanned the skies before taking off in a balloon race out of ,pittsburgh4 8,one would flash past and miss1 and he would say #8,i'll get you next time1' and there would come another4 ,and you can't dodge in a balloon40 ,the ,old ,fellow scored a direct hit that afternoon4 ,morton was flying with ,van ,orman1 ,gordon ,bennett ,cup winner4 ,the uncertain weather of the afternoon had resolved itself less than an hour after the take-off1 and eight balloons were being tossed as a juggler tosses weights1 a thousand feet high1 #aj1jjj feet1 caught and tossed aloft again just before they touched the ground4 ,morton's balloon was hit at #ab1jjj feet1 caught fire1 alternatively fell like a plumb bob or parachuted in the net1 landed without too much of a shock4 ,van ,orman1 unconscious1 sustained a broken ankle4 ,morton had been instantly killed4 ,but aerologists learned things that afternoon about the force of vertical movements of the air4 ,the balloons gave a perfect track of what went on4 ,one balloon was falling so fast that sacks of ballast thrown overboard lagged behind it1 while a hundred yards away another balloon was shooting upward at similar speed4 ,we still know less than we should about the movements of the air1 this new world into which the ,aeronautic ,age is moving4 ,the ,pittsburgh tragedy may save many lives1 avoid other tragedies4 ,the ,brannigan story is shorter1 no less dramatic4 ,high-spirited1 keen1 a captain whose ship and crew must always be shipshape1 ,brannigan had come to ,goodyear from the ,army--where he had already distinguished himself by making repairs in mid air to the semi-rigid ,roma1 ripped by a splintered propeller--saving a comrade as an incident to the job--had quickly won his captaincy at ,goodyear1 was one of its best flyers4 ,at ,kansas ,city one afternoon in #aica a ,kansas twister headed for the airport4 ,seeing the weather uncertain ,brannigan had stopped passenger flying1 put his ship on the mast4 ,now he ordered his mechanic to get off and cut the ship loose4 ,once aloft1 with helium gas1 he was not afraid of any storm that blew4 ,but before the ship could clear the mast1 the storm had struck1 with full fury4 ,the anchors holding the mast pulled out of the ground and the ship1 with the mast attached1 was hurled into the nearest hangar1 ripping one motor off4 ,that was ,brannigan's cue to jump4 ,the door had been propped open for a photographer's camera4 ,but he had one motor left1 the bag was undamaged1 the mast had fallen clear4 ,he wouldn't give up his ship as long as there was a chance to save it4 ,illustration3 ,reunion in ,akron--,the ships comprising the ,goodyear fleet1 could tell stirring stories of battles with the elements waged in many states4 ,illustration3 ,some of these pilots flew airships in the first war1 others came in later from the technical schools--many now are flying airships for the ,navy4 ,illustration3 ,from this pocket handkerchief size airport1 off the ,century of ,progress ,exposition in ,chicago1 ,goodyear ships carried thousands of passengers1 from all over ,america4 ,illustration3 ,the ,mayflower landed on the deck of the ,,ss ,bremen1 took off passenger ,p4 ,w4 ,litchfield4 ,illustration3 ,the ,enterprise lands to rescue the crew of an ice-locked steamer in ,chesapeake ,bay4 ,however the storm was not to be denied1 and before he could get altitude1 the wind threw the ship into a nest of high-tension wires1 set it afire4 ,brannigan climbed out1 walked to a nearby automobile1 transferred to a second car enroute to the hospital after a collision--and died the next day from third-degree burns4 ,he called ,furculow1 his co-pilot1 just before the end1 told him to see that the men in the crew were taken care of1 that they were not penalized for the loss of the ship4 ,furculow1 now flying airships for the ,navy1 is not the only man in ,goodyear who will not forget ,charley ,brannigan4 ,it is on such men that the traditions of the service are built4 ,any cause for which men give their lives cannot be held lightly4 ,the ,goodyear ,company had built a few airships of its own prior to the #aibe ,pilgrim1 when helium became available4 ,best known of these was the 8,pony ,blimp0 which operated out of ,los ,angeles from #aiai to #aibc1 flew passengers to ,catalina1 worked for the movies in ,arizona and ,wyoming4 ,but the real beginning came with the ,pilgrim1 the larger ,puritan and still larger ,defender1 as the ,goodyear fleet came into existence in #aibh-bi4 ,early pilots had no specific instructions except to take the ships out and fly them--fly them hard1 find out all they could about them1 see what weaknesses and shortcomings there were and how to improve them4 ,it was another test fleet1 repeating the history of the automobile4 ,the pilots were supposed not to get hurt1 but they were to fly in all kinds of weather they felt it safe to fly in4 ,they might lose a few ships1 but were expected to be able to walk away from them1 not to get in any trouble they couldn't get out of4 ,they had an advantage over ,army and ,navy fliers in having a free hand as to where they might go4 ,they were expected to make mistakes but should learn from them4 ,such instructions1 largely unwritten1 acted as a challenge to the pilots1 a high-spirited and courageous group4 ,starting with a few men who had flown airships in the ,world ,war1 or helped build them in the balloon room and the machine shop1 they added some technical school graduates in #aibi1 and others as needed4 ,their adventures started after they left ,akron4 ,operating from bases built or leased over the country1 they would cover every state east of the ,mississippi in a few years4 ,they looked for hard things to do--or unusual things which would interest the public in airships4 ,they landed on the roofs of buildings in ,akron and in ,washington--though a prudent ,department of ,commerce would later rule against that2 they picked up mail from lines dropped on decks of incoming ships1 and from small boats alongside2 they fished for sharks and barracuda1 hunted for whales2 they picked up a bundle of newspapers from the ,hearst building downtown1 and lowered them to ,al ,smith on the top deck of the ,empire ,state building2 picked up another batch from ,the ,toronto ,star offices1 delivered them at the ,canadian ,exposition grounds2 they covered boat races1 football and baseball games1 the ,international ,yacht ,races1 carrying press photographers1 newsreel men and radio announcers2 they went to the ,mardi ,gras1 to the ,carnival of ,states1 the ,cotton ,carnival1 ,expositions at ,chicago1 ,dallas1 ,cleveland1 ,san ,francisco and ,new ,york1 to county fairs1 plowing and corn-husking contests4 ,they covered fires in ,new ,york1 chased outlaws and reported forest fires in the high ,sierras2 they made traffic studies in ,new ,york and ,washington1 studies in bird life in ,florida2 they picked up stranded fishermen in the ,gulf of ,mexico1 took ,mr4 ,litchfield off the after deck of the ,,ss ,bremen in ,new ,york harbor2 they surveyed canal projects2 patrolled the ,mississippi during flood time to rescue families from raging waters1 to report to the engineers where the levees were weakening2 they carried food and supplies to a boat ice-bound in ,chesapeake ,bay2 they circled a thousand country school houses1 dropped greetings by parachute to hundreds of cities4 ,one of their spectacular feats was the rescue of an airplane crew in ,florida in #aicc4 ,two pilots flying to ,miami from ,tampa for the ,air ,races had made a forced landing in the ,everglades4 ,searching airplanes located the ship1 but it was far from any highway1 inaccessible by boat or on foot1 the men without food and tormented by mosquitos1 and with apparently no way of ever getting out unless a road could be built in to them4 ,but a blimp found it easy1 because it alone of all craft could stand virtually still in the air4 ,illustration3 ,few important cities east of the ,mississippi have missed seeing a ,goodyear blimp by now1 not to speak of those in the ,southwest1 the ,pacific coast4 ,trips have been made also to ,cuba1 ,canada and ,mexico4 ,more than #djj1jjj passengers have been carried1 without even the scratch of a finger4 ,,summary ,,totals ,,up ,,to ,,january #a1 #aidb ,,flights #aea1haj ,,hours #ib1iff ,,passengers #dje1ebf ,,miles #d1ahc1dgj ,,flights ,,between3 ,,akron - ,,florida #di 0 - ,,dallas #f 0 - ,,chicago #ab 0 - ,,toronto #ad 0 - ,,lakehurst #ah 0 - ,,washington #eg 0 - ,,new ,,york #db ,pilot ,wilson flew to the spot1 cut his motors1 drifted down to #ej feet1 directed the refugees to catch the trail ropes1 then as the airship settled took them aboard1 dropped sand bags to lighten ship1 flew home--came back later with salvage parties to recover motors and other parts4 ,all these exploits were incidental to the job of learning about airships and airship weather--the tricks of winds and rain and storms4 ,and they did learn4 ,a hangar had been built in the woods at ,grosse ,ile1 ,detroit1 with a lane of trees left standing so as to extend the line of the building--this under the assumption that the trees would protect the airships while entering or leaving4 ,the ,british1 under stress of war conditions had done this1 used woods as windbreaks for landings1 even for the assembly of airships at times4 ,but the wind has a trick of spilling over1 like a waterfall1 when it strikes an obstruction4 ,early pilots were expert balloonists1 and might have remembered their experience in riding over mountainous country--observed how the wind would carry them almost into a cliff1 but just before reaching it would pick the great bag gently up1 carry it over the top1 drop it on the far side1 almost to the bottom of the next valley--but not quite1 pick it up and carry on--a graphic chart of the air flow in broken terrain4 ,but in the first weeks of operation at ,detroit1 a cross-hangar wind1 spilling over the windbreak1 twice pushed an airship gently but firmly into the trees on the far side4 ,the trees were cut down1 and the study of eddies and gusts hastened the development of a mobile mooring mast which would hold the ship steady in turbulent areas4 ,the ,goodyear pilots learned to fly unworried through fog4 ,as early as #aibj1 ,hockensmith1 flying the 8,pony ,blimp0 from ,los ,angeles to ,catalina ,island1 got lost when his compass failed in a fog so dense he could hardly see the nose of the ship4 ,flying low and slowly1 barely off the water1 he presently spied a dark shape ahead1 came on a ,u4 ,s4 submarine1 with decks awash1 and an officer on lookout in the conning tower4 ,he landed on his pontoons1 taxied alongside1 borrowed a compass1 went on to his destination4 ,the conviction that except within its hangar the ship was safest in the air1 grew out of many battles with wind and storm4 ,brannigan1 flying the ,vigilant at ,washington1 was caught in a storm which broke up an aeronautic show1 wrecked several planes on the ground1 sent the rest scattering for shelter4 ,piling extra cans of gasoline aboard1 ,brannigan cut his ship loose1 headed into the wind1 a wind so high that at times he found himself pushed backward at full throttle1 hovered for an hour and a half over the capital1 waiting the storm out1 then flew #aej miles down the bay to ,langley field and put up for the night4 ,on another occasion at ,winston ,salem1 with his ship on the mast1 ,brannigan was caught in a sleet storm1 found his ship bowed down and being crushed by the weight of ice on its back4 ,getting extra men from the city fire department1 he braced his control surfaces with poles1 beat off the ice on the bag as high as he could reach with branches1 built oil smudge fires alongside to melt the ice1 took off all possible equipment1 to lighten ship1 kept his craft headed into the wind1 fought the storm successfully--and in the morning as the sun came out and the ice melted1 flew on to ,florida4 ,boettner1 starting south in #aicj in the larger ,defender attempting a non-stop flight to ,miami1 ran into ice and snow in the ,tennessee mountains4 ,an oil line froze4 ,his mechanic climbed out on the outriggers and made emergency repairs in flight1 but not before the ship had lost most of its oil4 ,reaching ,knoxville airport by morning1 he dropped a note1 lowered a line1 hauled up additional oil1 refilled the tanks1 went on to the ,gadsden hangar to complete repairs4 ,no ,goodyear blimp has ever been damaged by storms while in the air1 though a bit of resourcefulness was needed from time to time4 ,for that matter1 inquiry does not disclose any cases of a non-rigid airship being damaged by storm while in flight4 ,two ,goodyear blimps were in the path of the #aich hurricane1 which1 heading for ,florida from the ,caribbean1 changed its course erratically and moved up the coast1 shot across ,new ,england4 ,lange1 with the ,enterprise1 was at ,new ,brunswick1 ,n4,j41 #ej miles off the direct course of the hurricane4 ,he put his ship on the mast1 held it there during winds which rose as high as #gc miles per hour4 ,he put extra men on the handling lines1 doubled the number of screw stakes which held the mast1 used the bus1 with its motor wide open1 as further re-enforcement4 ,the storm raged furiously at the ship for hours but couldn't budge it and when the hurricane passed on1 everything was intact4 ,boettner1 with the ,puritan at ,springfield1 ,mass41 was almost directly at the axis of the storm4 ,he made the same gallant fight as ,lange1 but against winds which roared to #ajj miles per hour in gusts1 uprooted #ajj-year-old trees1 tugged at a sheet-iron hangar roof1 flapping it up and down1 finally ripped it loose1 sailed it like a child's kite across the airport and out of sight4 ,at the peak of the storm the steel chains attaching the mast cables to the screw stakes failed on the windward side1 thrusting the mast into the side of the ship1 cutting a hole in the fabric4 ,boettner pulled out the rip panel1 deflating the ship to prevent further damage and when the storm passed rolled up the bag1 loaded it and the control car aboard a truck1 shipped it into ,akron where a new bag was attached4 ,the ,puritan was back at work within a week4 ,no wonder ,goodyear pilots came to have great faith in the staunchness of their craft1 and their ability to get out of trouble4 ,fuel exhaustion didn't bother the blimp4 ,fickes found that out early1 at ,wingfoot ,lake1 when a leak developed in his tank and emptied it4 ,free ballooning his ship he floated over a farm house1 asked them to call the office1 waited aloft till a truck came out with additional fuel4 ,boettner had a similar difficulty while returning from ,canada in the ,defender4 ,persistent headwinds cut down his fuel and when he reached the ,american shore around midnight it was a question whether he could go on as far as ,akron4 ,picking up ,u4 ,s4 ,highway ,five as being heavily traveled1 he swung low over an adjoining field1 slowed down so that his mechanic could drop off1 flag a passing car and go into town for gas4 ,by the time the aide returned a number of cars had parked alongside4 ,driving into the field1 with headlights full on they formed a half circle1 and the drivers caught the lines1 held the ship till the fuel could be delivered1 and ,boettner proceeded on to ,wingfoot ,lake4 ,mishaps there were of course1 in all these years1 but few were serious4 ,lange snagged a lone dead tree in the fog over the ,alabama mountains and ,smith side-swiped another while flying over a pass in ,tennessee4 ,the ship settled easily to the ground in each instance1 and farmers came in with stone boats1 carried the car and bag to town for repairs4 ,brannigan1 returning at night from ,syracuse1 ran short of gasoline1 directed his ground crew to land him in an open field ahead4 ,the ship nosed down1 his aide directing the men with his flashlight4 ,but just at this juncture the top of the flashlight fell off into the propeller1 was whipped into the bag like a bullet1 started a leak which was not discovered till next day4 ,most ships in the ,goodyear fleet have been fired on by thoughtless hunters4 ,once a bullet went through a ship a few inches back of the pilot4 ,one marksman was arrested and sent to jail in ,florida4 ,pilot ,trotter had a curious experience in ,oklahoma in #aice1 while on his way to the ,dallas fair4 ,the ship had been on the mast for three days waiting for weather4 ,on the fourth morning1 finding the ship rather sluggish1 ,trotter looked around4 ,a glass window from the cabin gives a view of the interior of the bag and as ,trotter looked he saw light blinking from #ad bullet holes--through which gas had been pouring for three days6 ,the nearest hangar where repairs could be made and helium secured was at ,scott ,field1 near ,st4 ,louis1 #djj miles away4 ,by this time the ship had barely enough lift for the pilot and #ajj gallons of gas1 not enough for the co-pilot4 ,so ,trotter flew alone to ,st4 ,louis1 landing so heavy that the ship had almost to be carried into the hangar1 made his repairs and was back in ,oklahoma the next day4 ,sewell had the experience of seeing a propeller fly off while heading down the bay from ,san ,francisco1 saw it careen wildly down1 flew on to the next airport on one motor1 mounted his spare4 ,always the pilots were calling for more speed1 removing or streamlining whatever sources of resistance they could1 picking the time for cross-country flights when conditions were favorable4 ,they flew from ,akron to ,washington and ,new ,york frequently at #fj miles per hour4 ,the ,reliance did even better in a trip north in #aici4 ,starting home after its winter in ,florida1 the ship was held up in ,jacksonville--by tire trouble of all things4 ,the distance an airship can make in a day is limited by the distance the bus can travel1 since the ground crew must be on hand at night to land the ship4 ,and by now the bus1 with its radio equipment1 masts and the like had reached the point where only the special ,goodyear ,,ykl tires would sustain the #ad1jjj pounds of weight comfortably4 ,there was a shortage of ,,ykl's when they started and three standard tires had failed on the run up from ,miami4 ,neither ,jacksonville nor ,atlanta branch had ,,ykl's in that size and to get them from ,akron would entail a day's delay4 ,meanwhile the ship was tugging on the mast1 with a strong south wind1 anxious to get under way4 ,the pilots held a conference4 ,maybe1 utilizing the tail wind1 they could make it non-stop all the way to ,washington1 #gjj miles north and have ,lange's crew land them4 ,if they ran short of gas they could stop at ,ft4 ,bragg1 ,n4 ,c41 a convenient half-way point4 ,the ,army had a motorized observation balloon there1 and was always willing to lend a hand to fellow airshippers4 ,it was ,sheppard's turn to take the controls4 ,he sent a wire to ,ft4 ,bragg4 8,if ,i run short of fuel1 ,i'll circle the field as a signal4 ,could you land my ship1 lend me enough gas to get on to ,washington80 ,the answer came back promptly1 in the affirmative1 and the ship left at midnight4 ,roaring across the ,carolinas at mile a minute speed the ,reliance sighted ,ft4 ,bragg before daylight1 with plenty of gas left4 ,an entire company was lined up ready to land the ship4 ,sheppard flew low1 cut his motors1 thanked them1 flew on for ,hoover ,airport1 arriving before noon4 ,he averaged #ff miles per hour over the #gjj mile trip1 and landed with enough gasoline to have gone on to ,new ,york4 ,by utilizing helping winds1 throttling his motors to cruising speed1 ,sheppard had effected most economical use of his fuel supply4 ,fickes used the same technique more strikingly in the delivery flight of the larger ,navy ,k-#e in #aida1 when he flew in to ,lakehurst from ,wingfoot ,lake at #ajj miles per hour speed1 again demonstrating that greater cruising radius than that for which a ship was designed may be effected1 whenever it is possible to pick departure times that are most favorable4 ,illustration3 ,ships like these1 off ,new ,york ,city's great harbor1 might afford warning of the approach of enemy submarines1 or the laying of mines to endanger its shipping4 ,illustration3 ,operating from a base across in ,jersey1 the blimps became a familiar sight around ,new ,york ,city during the ,world's ,fair4 ,illustration3 ,while throughout the middle west1 the long afternoon shadows marked the arrival in one city after another of strange visitors from the sky4 ,other improvements in construction or operating technique grew out of the fleet's experiences in flying in all weathers4 ,a trip made by the ,defender in #aicj from ,miami across to ,havana brought home the usefulness of the radio4 ,the insurance underwriters insisted on a two-way radio being installed1 along with pontoons on the ship1 as safety precautions4 ,neither radio nor pontoons were needed during the crossing1 but the pilots sensed the desirability of being able to communicate with their home station and their airport objective4 ,shortly after a short wave frequency was granted to the ships1 one of the early ones in aircraft1 and two-way sets were later installed on every ship1 on the ground-crew buses and at ,akron4 ,this permitted the making of daily weather maps1 extended the airships' radius of action4 ,pilots would set out with more assurance1 knowing that they would be quickly advised of foul weather ahead1 could change their course1 give appropriate instructions to the men on the ground1 land whenever it seemed desirable4 ,in the end the airships were all doing instrument flying1 riding the radio beams like the passenger airplanes1 got their landing and take-off instructions from the radio control towers at the airports4 ,the fleet proved an ideal testing vehicle for the expeditionary mast4 ,but progress moved carefully1 a step at a time4 ,as late as #aicj an air dock was built alongside the company's plant at ,gadsden1 ,ala41 for use as an operating base in the middle south4 ,it was thought necessary as a half way point for ships headed for ,florida4 ,after the high mast came in however1 the ,gadsden dock came to be used only for warehousing1 and no airship has been inside it in four years4 ,in #aicb the ,volunteer started in from ,los ,angeles for ,akron1 making the first successful trip of any non-rigid airship over the ,continental ,divide4 ,the ,volunteer was due for helium purification and a new bag4 ,no helium facilities were available closer than ,akron4 ,rather than deflate the ship and send it by train1 ,pilot ,smith decided to fly in4 ,he laid out a route via ,el ,paso1 ,san ,antonio1 and ,scott ,field1 so that he could get shelter1 if necessary1 at army hangars at those points4 ,he berthed at ,el ,paso just after a #ajj-mile-an-hour storm had passed over1 stayed three days at ,kelly ,field1 found it unnecessary to stop over night at ,scott4 ,even so1 because of persistent head winds he had had to spend ten nights in the open1 setting up his low mast with screw stakes on the open prairie4 ,mooring out procedure had improved by the time that ,sewell made the same trip five years later1 so he made only courtesy stops at the three army camps1 was on his own4 ,a mishap at ,louisville gave impetus to the development of the high mast4 ,the retractible low mast mounted on top of the bus was attached to the bag about half way between the car and nose of the ship1 convenient to get at1 the system being referred to as 8belly-mooring40 ,the low mast was light1 could be set up quickly and easily1 would hold securely against a straight pull of considerable force4 ,however1 it was not as effective in the case of a wind shift1 or gusts which rolled the ship on its side4 ,a higher mast1 with the ship anchored at the nose1 was free to swing in all directions4 ,every one realized this1 but it was only after ,crum's ship was caught and twisted by a gust at ,louisville1 punching a hole in the bag1 that the change was made4 ,the high mast1 built in sections1 anchored by guy wires to stakes screwed in the ground1 was more bulky1 took longer to set up1 but would hold the ship indefinitely once it was in place4 ,thereafter both masts were carried in cross-country trips1 the convenient low mast being used for overnight stops in good weather1 the high mast for more extended operations1 or when the weather looked threatening4 ,the ground-crew bus was in evolution during this period4 ,built originally to carry merely crew1 spare parts and supplies it added a radio room1 navigation quarters1 and carried the two masts4 ,a scout car cruises ahead to make overnight arrangements1 a trailer follows1 with its own electric plant and expeditionary equipment1 including a spot light to play on the ship at night4 ,duties of airship personnel grew more specialized and complex4 ,members of the ground crew acted as radio technicians1 meteorologists1 mechanics1 riggers4 ,they comprised a colorful group1 recruited from all parts of the country4 ,sailors from ,new ,bedford1 fruit growers from ,florida1 farm boys from ,ohio1 ranchers from the ,san ,joaquin valley1 a mechanic from a ,chicago airport1 a policeman from the ,cleveland fair1 all dropped their work and followed the airships4 ,the personnel list was a history of every place an airship had operated4 ,the work wasn't easy1 involved long hours in the cold and rain when storms threatened1 picking up mail from their families on the fly in cross-country operations1 moving their households from north to south and north again4 ,but the ground-crew men stuck1 most of them having ten years' service and more4 ,on cross-country trips a crew of #ad1 including pilots1 is adequate4 ,the pilot personnel too formed an interesting group4 ,jack ,boettner1 chief pilot1 veteran of the group1 with probably more airship hours than any man in the world1 certainly in non-rigid airships1 had played all-,american football at ,washington and ,jefferson1 been instructor at ,wingfoot ,lake through the first war1 was working in ,goodyear's aeronautical sales when the fleet got under way4 ,as expansion started in #aibg ,smith came in from the aero workshop1 would remain second in flight hours only to ,boettner4 ,fickes from ,akron ,university1 left the ,efficiency ,dept4 to sign up1 set up one of the first outside bases1 at ,new ,bedford1 flew the ,mayflower when it picked up ,mr4 ,litchfield from an ocean liner1 later became manager of all airship operations4 ,o',neil from the workshop came on too1 in that year1 became chief mechanic4 ,when a base was set up at ,los ,angeles1 ,lange1 a ,new ,englander who had left ,boston ,university to fly airships in the first war1 later flying out of ,panama1 joined up1 was sent to ,california1 later took charge of the ,washington base4 ,sewell1 a ,kansan with a similar record1 having left the state university to fly blimps in coastal patrol in #aiah came in1 captained a ship at ,new ,york1 followed ,lange at ,los ,angeles4 ,further expansion came in #aibi1 when the ,puritan1 ,mayflower1 ,vigilant and ,volunteer and ,defender were added to the fleet4 ,now came ,wilson1 ,purdue footballer1 ,furculow from ,west ,point and ,mt4 ,union1 ,hobensack from ,west ,virginia ,u1 ,rieker and ,crum from ,ohio ,state1 the last named becoming engineer officer of the group4 ,other practical men came in1 from the balloon room and aero shops--,sheppard a ,virginian1 who later flew all over ,new ,england1 the ,middle ,west and ,texas2 ,massick1 ,crosier and ,munro2 ,blair1 ,army sergeant from ,scott ,field1 came to ,goodyear after the semi-rigid ,,rs-#a was finished4 ,stacy1 another ,new ,englander1 left the class room at ,massachusetts ,tech to sign up4 ,dixon1 born in a lighthouse on ,nantucket ,island1 left a billet as junior officer on a ,south ,american liner to fly land ships instead4 ,trotter1 from the ,naval ,academy1 was in engineering work in ,florida when a blimp flew over4 ,lueders came in via the ground crew at ,los ,angeles4 ,many of the ,goodyear pilots were commissioned as ,reserve officers in the ,navy1 and ,fickes1 ,boettner1 ,lange1 ,sewell1 ,wilson1 ,trotter and ,furculow each took a year's active duty with the ,navy at ,lakehurst with rigid ships4 ,more than a score of trips were made by ,goodyear pilots across the ocean as student officers aboard the ,graf ,zeppelin and the ,hindenburg1 getting post-graduate training4 ,the breaking up of the pilot organization began as early as #aidj1 when with war clouds appearing in the ,east1 ,trotter1 ,rieker and ,furculow volunteered for active duty with the ,navy4 ,by the middle of #aida1 ,stacy1 ,smith1 ,lueders and ,dixon had followed them into uniform1 were flying ,navy airships at ,lakehurst4 ,to fill their places and also furnish material for the already expanding airship ,navy1 a training class of #ai men was started in late #aidj at ,akron and ,los ,angeles4 ,a six-months' ground school preceded flight training--which started with seven balloon flights4 ,the training course evolved there was one which grew naturally out of such a situation4 ,airship piloting had changed from the 8seat of the pants0 flying of the first war1 when veteran ,jack ,boettner would turn out pilots in six weeks4 ,the ships had become more complex as improvements were made4 ,helium gas was being used4 ,navigation by radio and compass was quite different from the 8concrete compass flying0 of #aiaf1 when pilots followed highways or railroad tracks to keep on course4 ,instrument flying had come in1 and blind flying was part of every student's training1 in a closed control car1 operating by instrument only4 ,the modern airship pilot had to know his radio beams and the rules of ,civil ,aeronautics ,authority1 be able to ride the beam into the airport4 ,in these various details the ,goodyear pilots1 long-seasoned1 had perfected themselves through years of operation1 were competent to pass on their secrets to the youngsters coming in4 ,the student pilot spent his first half dozen hours trying only to keep the ship at constant altitude1 not caring where he was going4 ,then he would fly a given course1 follow a zigzag rail fence1 or a winding road1 not worrying about his altitude4 ,lesson three was to combine the two1 fly at constant altitude over a set course4 ,and after enough hours at this1 he'd try to circle a pylon1 keeping a specified distance away1 while the wind pushed the ship in one direction1 then another--now flying up wind1 now down1 now cross-wind1 now quartering1 making such changes in course to allow for wind and drift as to maintain a perfect circle--and trying finally to achieve the supreme art of the airshipper1 which is to get the feel of the controls and the weather so that he can anticipate drift and sharp drops and rises1 move his controls a split second ahead of time1 stay on course and altitude4 ,airship students got no exemption from ,civil ,aeronautics ,authority by reason of the fact that blimps land more slowly than bombers1 took the same physical examination1 including eyesight4 ,the training course worked out with the government followed closely that for heavier-than-air pilots1 with such changes only as were made necessary by the fact that in one case a static lift was utilized chiefly1 and in the other case dynamic lift4 ,there was plenty of need for the students by the time they finished their training4 ,over the #af years during which the fleet operations were carried on ship sizes settled down to #abc1jjj cu4 ft4 as a compromise between the #ea1jjj cu4 ft4 ,pilgrim and the #afd1jjj cu4 ft4 ,defender4 ,this size ship could carry six passengers with pilot and aide1 was easy to handle with a small crew1 had adequate cruising radius for the job at hand4 ,later ships1 the ,enterprise1 ,ranger1 ,resolute1 ,reliance and ,rainbow1 carried on the tradition of honoring the defenders of ,america's cup in international racing4 ,while an airplane can land anywhere on an open field1 the airship needed at least a minimum of terminal facilities4 ,many groups co-operated at the outset4 ,st4 ,petersburg1 ,florida built a hangar2 ,miami towed a war-time ,navy shed up from ,key ,west2 ,col4 ,e4 ,h4 ,r4 ,green built one on his ,new ,bedford estate for use in connection with radio studies being made by ,massachusetts ,institute of ,technology4 ,the company built its own at ,gadsden1 ,los ,angeles1 ,washington1 ,chicago and ,new ,york1 calling them air docks rather than hangars4 ,unused ,army and ,navy hangars were borrowed in the early years at ,aberdeen1 ,md41 and briefly at ,cape ,may1 ,n4 ,j41 ,pensacola1 ,arcadia1 ,cal4 and ,chatham1 ,mass41 with ,lakehurst1 ,langley ,field1 ,scott ,field and ,sunnyvale1 ,cal41 handy as ports of call4 ,more and more1 however1 the fleet grew independent of ground aid1 became increasingly self-reliant through the use of its masting equipment4 ,the ,goodyear fleet wrote a remarkable safety record in the #af years4 ,accidents to airship personnel could be counted on the fingers of one hand1 and in the case of the public1 #djj1jjj passengers had been carried up to #aidb1 for a total of #d1jjj1jjj miles without a scratch of anyone's finger4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,results of ,fleet ,operations ,illustration3 ,moored airship and flying airship ,goodyear airships made some contribution during the #af years of fleet operations1 to flight and ground handling technique4 ,they also contributed to men's knowledge about weather4 ,for wherever it is flying1 an airship1 by the very nature of the craft1 is continually registering the effects at that point of certain components of weather4 ,and the ships covered a considerable part of the country fairly thoroughly4 ,the nature and movements of air currents can be studied only incompletely from the ground1 for conditions there are merely the result of forces aloft4 ,only two vehicles leave the ground and use the air as highways4 ,of these the airship is vastly more responsive to changes in temperatures and barometric pressure than the airplane1 because of the lifting gas in its envelope1 and somewhat more responsive to changes in wind directions and velocities1 because of its greater displacement of air4 ,goodyear airships have traveled widely1 have seen at first-hand the effects of rain and snow1 fog and sleet1 wind and whirlwind1 thunderhead and lightning storm4 ,more important they have been spectators at the unseen battle waged endlessly between cold fronts and warm ones across the great central plains1 continued with renewed vindictiveness through mountain ranges and valleys4 ,the information brought by these voyagers has not been without value to the men in the airport control towers1 who are studying weather phenomena in the effort to make flying safe4 ,a whole new science of weather interpretation has come in with air transport1 and the ,u4 ,s4 ,weather ,bureau has other duties than advising farmers about planting and harvesting crops4 ,it may be merely coincidence that when a new chief had to be selected for the ,weather ,bureau a few years ago an airship pilot was selected--,commander ,f4 ,w4 ,reichelderfer of the ,navy1 who had long studied the movement of air masses and their effect on flight4 ,army and ,navy ships put in more actual flying days per month than ,goodyear ships1 when on coastal patrol1 because once out at sea the service ships were out for all day--and an airship1 by picking its time1 and using its mast1 can always get out and get back4 ,goodyear pilots had a different sort of job4 ,they were operating over land1 flying #ajj passengers a day1 at #aj to #ae minute intervals1 in one town after another4 ,they might suspend operations when ceilings were low1 or winds high1 or gusty1 not because they couldn't fly under those circumstances1 but because flights would be less agreeable1 and might be hazardous for their passengers4 ,however1 the ships themselves1 having no shelter at hand1 had to stay out and take it4 ,their job was to interest the people of ,america in lighter-than-air1 and they had to go wherever people were1 regardless of what flying weather might intervene4 ,so between ,navy1 ,army and ,goodyear airships operating over a period of years1 it was fairly well demonstrated that there is very little unflyable weather for lighter-than-air craft4 ,that is a conclusion of no small importance4 ,winds of gale force may make it prudent for the airship to stay in the hangar or on the mast1 and conditions of zero ceiling1 zero visibility1 which ground other aircraft1 would make operations hazardous1 especially over mountainous country1 but even the most adverse weather conditions would hardly keep the airship at home if an enemy was at large4 ,any time submarines are operating the airship can be available to seek them out4 ,another result emerging from the fact of fleet operations was that flying men and construction men1 working together1 became a closely knit group4 ,engineers learned to fly ships1 and flyers took their turn in the shops4 ,in building airships for the ,navy1 at the speed demanded by war conditions1 the control cars were built in the shop and the envelopes cut out and fitted and cemented together in the balloon room4 ,but operating men1 flyers and ground crew men1 mechanics and riggers and maintenance men took over from there1 put the ships together--assembled them1 tested them out1 delivered them to the ,navy4 ,illustration3 ,lessons in streamlining gained from building and flying blimps became useful when barrage balloons came into the picture as a new defense weapon4 ,illustration3 ,the mooring mast made the blimps expeditionary craft1 eliminated the need for large ground crews1 permitted more flying days per month1 increased safety4 ,illustration3 ,floating ,navy blimps and barrage balloons1 with their curious star-fish tails1 give the service dock something of the appearance of a giant aquarium4 ,illustration3 ,principal use for the rigid airship in wartime is as an airplane carrier1 with half a dozen planes to extend its reconnaissance range and determine the enemy's position4 ,it was this co-ordination between men in green eye shades1 working over the drafting board and wind-tanned pilots1 studying gray skies and phosphorescent control boards1 which enabled the organization to meet the war emergency of large scale production of non-rigid airships4 ,there was another by-product result arising from the fact that the company1 even in the doldrum days1 when there were few orders for ships1 had kept its engineers at work on research and its ships flying on experimental missions4 ,it all happened suddenly1 a colorful circumstance not often found in the sober humdrum of the business world4 ,a great plane manufacturer1 having more defense work than its crowded shops could handle1 looked around for some company with experience in the fabrication of light metal1 to whom it could farm out some of the details4 ,goodyear ,aircraft ,corporation1 the aeronautic subsidiary1 was asked to build tail surfaces for ,martin bombers4 ,a curious thing happened4 ,men whose work had been primarily with airships1 rather than airplanes 7omitting the quite different field of airplane tires1 wheels1 and brakes7 found themselves on familiar ground when they swung over to heavier-than-air construction4 ,here was the same problem of getting maximum strength with minimum weight1 of selection and treatment of light alloys1 of intricate stress calculations1 and a hundred ingenious devices to measure those stresses1 enabling designers to turn out a scientifically designed structure4 ,the background was there--not to mention their experience and studies in streamlined design--to reduce resistance1 get maximum performance from power plants4 ,the difference was that in the case of the airship savings in weight mount fast1 because of size4 ,the importance of light weight and high strength had come home to airship designers years before4 ,their experience was directly applicable to the new field4 ,other orders came in1 from ,curtiss1 ,consolidated1 ,grumman1 and soon the huge plant was humming with the production of parts for fighters and bombers4 ,then a four-company arrangement was set up by the government to expand airplane production still further1 and after that an order for complete planes4 ,the original plant was now jam-packed with lathes and drills1 jigs and presses1 and three huge new plants were built alongside and across the road1 and ,goodyear ,aircraft ,corporation found itself with thousands of men1 building not only airships1 but airplanes and airplane parts as well4 ,every large company took on new tasks in defense1 but in this case ,goodyear was able to move quickly1 and give unexpected support to the airplane program by reason of its long research in a different field4 ,this result1 it is true1 grew chiefly out of research in rigid airships1 rather than non-rigids1 but both played a part in another instance--barrage balloons4 ,england was using them1 might ask this country to supply some4 ,the ,american government too might have use for them4 ,so1 long before there was even any hint of orders1 ,mr4 ,litchfield threw a new problem to the engineers at ,goodyear ,aircraft and the operating men at ,wingfoot ,lake--the job of designing an efficient barrage balloon4 ,they were not to make ,chinese copies of foreign balloons1 but draw on their experience in lighter-than-air and see if principles and technique established there could not be applied to design balloons which would ride with maximum stability in gusty and unstable air4 ,men went to work1 designing1 building1 flying1 observing1 rejecting1 altering1 improving1 week after week1 month after month1 until several satisfactory types were evolved4 ,one of these was capable of flying at #ae1jjj feet1 twice the usual height4 ,orders began to come in1 and the little group of men and girls in the balloon room quickly grew into a large organization4 ,the department outgrew its quarters1 took over room after room1 expanded to subsidiary plants outside ,akron4 ,one instrument developed illustrates how the airship men were able to utilize past experience in a new project4 ,mounted alongside the winch on the ground1 it gave exact information1 as often as was wanted1 as to what the barrage balloon was doing1 a mile or three miles up4 ,this assembly included a moving picture camera1 which continuously1 or at fixed intervals1 or at any instant desired1 by means of radio control1 would photograph recording dials and show these things3 wind velocity at the balloon1 tension on cable1 gas pressure inside the balloon1 temperature of confined gas1 temperature and humidity of the air surrounding the balloon1 angle of attack at which the balloon faced the wind1 both fore and aft and from side to side1 also a clock1 which showed the time the readings were recorded4 ,these pictures1 when developed gave the engineers the data from which they could modify designs and arrive at a type of balloon which would ride most easily aloft1 avoid undue tugging and surging on the cable--incidentally permitting smaller gauge and weight cable to be used for a given height with ample safety margin4 ,perhaps the largest single result1 however1 growing out of the fleet operations was that it had created manufacturing facilities1 ships and personnel on which the ,navy could draw1 as fully as it wanted1 in emergency1 and with little more delay than the time it took for a man to change his uniform4 ,boettner1 ,sewell1 ,blair1 ,hobensack and ,hill followed the others into the service4 ,hobensack's ground crew in ,california signed up with him in a body1 and men from other ground crews1 expert in rigging1 in motors1 radio1 in mooring out and maintenance joined up4 ,in the end only ,fickes and ,crum were left at ,akron to build the new ships1 and ,sheppard1 ,crosier and ,massic to test-fly them1 then ferry them to their destinations4 ,the student pilots at ,wingfoot ,lake had finished their training just in time4 ,about half of them went immediately into the ,navy1 were commissioned and sent to the various bases1 the others remained at ,akron as replacements to the other pilots1 in testing and delivery flights1 or on key posts in airship construction4 ,the experience accumulated by the blimp pilots under varying weather conditions over the country proved useful to the ,navy1 particularly in the expeditionary operations which coastal patrol would demand4 ,it was useful as well in helping train navy aviation cadets for the growing airship fleet4 ,five of the pilots1 ,sewell1 ,boettner1 ,rieker1 ,stacy and ,smith had reached the rank of lieutenant commander by the end of #aidb1 and ,lange1 full commander1 had become commanding officer of a new ,navy station on the west coast4 ,two of the public relations men1 ,lieutenants ,petrie and ,schetter1 old airship troupers1 followed the fliers into uniform4 ,the airship service suffered its first casualty in #aidb when ,lt4 ,trotter1 gallant and resourceful pilot of balloons and ships1 was killed in a collision1 in which ,lt4 ,comdr4 ,rounds also lost his life4 ,the ,goodyear fleet passed out of existence with the war4 ,the ships being the same size as the ,navy training ships1 it was a simple matter to change them over1 paint the new name on their broad sides4 ,facilities for ship construction became useful also in the new war4 ,an airship hangar is unlike any other structure in the world4 ,it must be broad and high and free of supporting girders4 ,there were two large airship docks at ,akron1 half a dozen smaller ones over the country4 ,at hand1 too1 was equipment for helium purification and storage1 along with radio and weather gear1 mobile mooring masts and other specialized equipment which only lighter-than-air uses4 ,there was the balloon room1 too1 with a wealth of experience dating back to the first ,world ,war1 and which with new jobs like building barrage balloons1 rubber rafts and assault boats grew to large dimension4 ,wingfoot ,lake was more than doubled in size1 and the large airship dock1 occupied at first by heavier-than-air production1 had to be changed back later for airship assembly1 to meet the ,navy's mounting demands for ships4 ,the bases at ,washington and ,los ,angeles were converted to other aeronautic uses2 the two-ship dock at ,chicago and the one at ,new ,york were torn down and moved to ,akron to provide additional space for ship assembly4 ,and so the fact that the company had maintained an airship fleet for a number of years had the result that in emergency when the ,navy needed ships and men to fly them1 ,goodyear was ready4 ,all of which was not foreseen when ,mrs4 ,litchfield pulled a cord to release a flock of pigeons and christen the pioneer ship ,pilgrim1 at a pasture-airport outside ,akron in #aibe4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,vulnerability of ,airships ,illustration3 ,airship and escort warship ,mention airships and most people will immediately raise the question of vulnerability4 ,large1 slow moving1 a tempting target1 airships could be shot out of the sky by ship or shore guns1 or by hostile airplane fire1 it is argued1 almost as easily as a dinner guest touching his cigaret to a toy balloon4 ,and this is probably true1 with reservations1 if enemy ships or anti-aircraft batteries or planes were around4 ,but the airship1 non-rigid1 has no more business in such areas than a ,british airplane carrier would have to drop anchor in ,hamburg harbor4 ,it was because of the imminence of attack from sea or shore or air that neither ,england nor ,germany used airships in the present war1 particularly since they would have to use the inflammable hydrogen gas4 ,it was because such attack on ,american airships from any of these three sources was much less likely--and that we have helium gas1 which does not burn--that this country is using them4 ,their chief field of operations is not off the enemy's coasts but our own1 along that broad ribbon of waters used by our coastwise shipping1 an area roughly marked in the ,atlantic by the #ajj fathom curve1 the favorite fishing grounds of enemy submarines4 ,thousands of miles of blue water1 not the narrow lanes of the ,north ,sea or ,british ,channel are between them and the shore guns of an enemy4 ,an enemy fleet1 though likelihood of this seems remote1 might penetrate those coast waters in attempted invasion1 attack the blimps with anti-aircraft fire4 ,but such an enemy1 arriving in force1 would have either to knock out our ,atlantic fleet1 or slip past it in surprise attempt4 ,in the remote later contingency1 the information relayed back by airship radio that the enemy was moving in would be worth losing airships or any other craft1 to get4 ,the third hypothesis1 attack by airplane1 is also conceivable4 ,but if long-ranging enemy planes were able to get that close to our shores they'd have more important business in hand than wasting time and powder on a helium bubble bobbing in the air1 #aj1jjj feet below--which in any event would already have radioed the news ashore4 ,in the fairly remote contingency that the airplane did choose to attack the blimp1 it would find the position of that moving target1 flying at an indeterminate distance below1 much more difficult to calculate than a fixed target ashore1 no easy thing to drop bombs on4 ,if it swung down close1 it might riddle the bag with machine gun bullets but without necessarily sinking it--as witness the case of ,trotter's ship in ,oklahoma leaking gas for #gb hours from #ad gaping holes and still able to fly #djj miles for repairs4 ,the plane would have almost to cut the blimp in two with a spray of bullets to destroy it--if it chose to use its precious far-borne ammunition in such fashion--and would find it better to attack from below1 on the chance of a lucky hit into the airship structure or controls1 or one which disabled its crew4 ,but in that event the airship1 also armed1 shooting it out from its more stable gun platform above would have as good a chance as the plane4 ,the airship is vulnerable--as are all other military craft--but used as the ,navy proposes to use airships1 it may be said to have an acceptable degree of vulnerability1 in view of its potential usefulness in its special field--defense against submarine attack on convoys or coastwise shipping4 ,the airship's advantages have been pointed out1 but may be repeated4 ,these grow out of its speed range1 from zero to a maximum of #fe knots or so4 ,its slow speed1 as compared to the airplane has the compensation that it does not have to circle around to maintain altitude1 can keep any suspect object under continuous observation4 ,its high speed enables it to reach a given point much sooner than the fastest surface scout4 ,illustration3 ,barrage balloons--spiders who spin out webs of steel as they ascend--but these spiders are out to catch fliers1 not flies1 enemy fliers who threaten our democracy4 ,illustration3 ,modern armies towing a few of these pocket sized barrage balloons along1 might not be too much concerned over attacks by strafing airplanes4 ,illustration3 ,this ,strata ,sentinel will fly at #ae1jjj feet1 twice the height of other barrage balloons4 ,by that time the lobes will be completely filled out by expanding pressure of the lifting gas4 ,illustration3 ,this airship1 silhouetted against the afternoon sun might be pacing a peaceful cruiser race through the surf off ,long ,beach1 on the ,southern ,california coast4 ,or it might be leading units of the mosquito fleet to sea off ,cape ,cod1 to hold an enemy ,u-boat in check till ships of heavier armament could arrive4 ,illustration3 ,helium-inflated1 fast1 long ranged1 the modern ,k-type ,navy patrol ship is a far cry from the primitive airships of ,world ,war ,i4 ,they are armed with bombs and machine guns4 ,illustration3 ,in brilliant sunshine1 or overcast1 in fog or rain or snow1 the blimps take off from their bases day after day1 on guard against any enemy who may invade the coastal waters4 ,a faint smoke screen1 miles distant over the endless waters1 may turn out to be a peaceful merchantman--or a vessel with grimmer purpose1 seeking the advantage of surprise attack4 ,illustration3 ,airship over cargo ship ,the detection of a submarine even on the surface is largely a matter of looking in the right direction at the right time4 ,the open windows on all sides of the airship1 without obstruction by wings give it special value in this field4 ,a submarine submerged is still harder to find as its tell-tale feather is not easy to spot from a speeding plane or from the crow's nest of a surface craft4 ,a non-rigid airship throttling down to the speed of its prey1 and having the altitude of the airplane1 has a much better chance of sighting the submarine1 before it can launch its torpedoes4 ,taking off in fog1 flying in low visibility1 compelled to fly close to the water1 these factors do not worry the airship or handicap its usefulness overmuch1 and might under given conditions prove extremely useful4 ,the airship appears to have some advantage too in the length of time it may remain on station1 ranging from #cj hours at high speed to undetermined days at low4 ,indeed its endurance is not so much a matter of fuel capacity as of the ability of crews to stand long watches without relief4 ,there might be emergencies where airship scouts were wanted on continuous duty over a considerable period4 ,commander ,roands' experiments point out interesting possibilities in this respect1 through the transfer of fuel and supplies from a surface ship1 and the taking on of fresh crews4 ,this generally was the case men saw for the airship up to #aida1 as having potential usefulness1 in the event of war1 against attack by sea4 ,then came ,pearl ,harbor1 and ,america's entrance into a new war4 ,german ,u-boats1 larger1 faster1 more deadly1 moved swiftly in to attack1 as if waiting for the signal4 ,the ,japs made reconnaissance raids along the ,west ,coast4 8,wolf packs0 of submarines in new under-water tactics stalked convoys1 picked off stragglers4 ,more than #fjj coast-wise ships1 merchantmen from the ,caribbean and ,south ,america1 and tankers from the ,gulf1 were sunk in the first year of war4 ,the loss of tankers brought serious complications ashore1 the rationing of gas along the eastern seaboard to conserve supply for military purposes4 ,despite a quickly expanding program of ship construction merchantmen were being sunk faster than they could be built4 ,the ,navy's sea-frontier defense moved to meet the attack4 ,non-rigid airships were assigned a place in that program1 wherever they could be utilized and with what ships were on hand1 and new airship construction was rushed4 ,under authorization from ,congress1 a program of airship and base construction1 together with helium procurement1 was accelerated1 and by the end of the year1 stations were in commission or being built at key points along both coasts and the ,gulf of ,mexico4 ,akron expanded its facilities many fold for the building of new airships1 which were flown to the various bases with increasing frequency during the year4 ,large classes of officers1 aviation cadets and enlisted men went into intensified training at ,lakehurst and ,moffett ,field1 preparing themselves to man the ships as fast as they were delivered4 ,the blimps which have been available to the sea-frontier forces have rendered valuable service in patrol and escort missions4 ,their exact record of performance1 including number of submarine sinkings1 obviously cannot now be published4 ,on sighting a submarine1 or finding indication of its presence1 the tactical doctrine might call either for attack1 or to stand by1 summoning airplanes and surface craft in for the kill1 keeping the enemy under unsuspected surveillance the while1 and saving the blimp's own depth bombs for another action4 ,the airship is capable of carrying on patrol and escort missions day after day under a wide range of weather conditions1 going for months at some stations1 even in the winter1 without missing a day4 ,though no detailed summary of airship activities is possible now1 it is no secret that1 just as in the last war1 the submarines avoided attack upon convoys where airships were on guard4 ,the ,german high command tacitly admitted that this was one type that the ,u-boats did not want to meet1 an enemy immune to its torpedoes1 whose presence the sub's under-water detectors did not reveal1 and which might appear overhead without warning4 ,admiral ,doenitz1 commanding the ,german submarine force1 testified in a press interview to their respect for our blimps4 ,the battle against the submarines will be long and difficult1 and ships will still go down and men will be lost1 but the chase will be relentless as long as the menace exists4 ,airships1 non-rigid1 have taken their place in that phase of ,america's war effort4 ,references ,little is available in the way of bibliography on lighter-than-aircraft1 their history and characteristics4 ,among the best works dealing with this subject are ,captain ,c4 ,e4 ,rosendahl's1 8,what ,about the ,airship80 7,scribner's71 and 8,up ,ship0 7,dodd ,mead72 ,captain ,ernst ,lehmann's 8,zeppelin0 7,longman's7 and ,captain ,j4 ,a4 ,sinclair's 8,airships in ,peace and ,war0 7,rich ,cowan1 ,london74 ,copies of 8,the ,story of the ,airship 7,non-,rigid710 may be procured through ,the ,goodyear ,tire ,rubber ,co4 at ,akron1 ,ohio2 or at ,los ,angeles1 or branch offices4 ,index ,a ,alcock 7and ,brown7 ,atlantic ,crossing1 #af4 ,b ,ballast recovery1 #dj et seq4 ,bases1 airship1 world war1 #ad2 peacetime1 #eh1 #ei1 #fd1 #fe4 ,baldwin1 ,major ,tom1 #be1 #de4 ,bennett1 ,james ,gordon1 races won by ,goodyear pilots1 #ac2 by ,westover1 #cj2 ,van ,orman1 #df4 ,barrage ,balloons1 #fc1 illust4 opp4 #fb1 #fc1 #fh4 ,blimp1 origin of name1 #be4 ,blanchard1 ,jean ,pierre1 channel crossing1 #bb4 ,boettner1 ,jack1 pilot1 #ea1 #eb1 #eh1 #fe4 ,boyd1 ,lt41 #ai-bj4 ,brannigan1 ,charles1 photograph opp4 vi2 pilot1 #de1 #df1 #ej1 #ea4 ,c ,c-#e1 illust4 opp4 #ad1 #bb2 ,atlantic crossing1 #ae1 #af4 ,charles1 ,j4 ,a4 ,c41 first hydrogen balloon1 #bb2 drag rope1 #bc4 ,chatham1 ,u-boat attack1 #ad4 ,consolidated1 planes1 #fc4 ,curtiss planes1 early flights1 #bg2 ,goodyear part in construction1 #fb4 ,crum1 ,h4 ,w41 pilot1 #ef1 #eg4 ,d ,defender1 #dg2 at ,havana1 #ee4 ,de ,rozier1 #bb4 ,drag rope1 developed by ,charles1 #bc2 use at sea1 #db2 with mast1 at sea1 #gj4 ,e ,eckener1 ,hugo1 #ca1 #cg4 ,f ,fickes1 ,karl1 pilot1 #eb2 record flight of ,k-#e1 #ed1 #eg1 #eh1 #fe4 ,finger patch1 illust4 opp4 #ad1 #ce4 ,franklin1 ,benj41 observations on aeronautics1 #bb4 ,fulton1 ,captain ,garland1 #cg4 ,furculow1 ,pilot1 #eg1 #eh4 ,g ,goodyear ,aircraft ,corporation1 #fb1 #fc4 ,greene1 ,col4 ,e4 ,h4 ,r41 dock at ,new ,bedford1 #fj4 ,grosse ,ile1 hangar1 #ej4 ,grumman1 planes1 #fc4 ,h ,hawker 7and ,greene7 ,atlantic ,crossing1 #af4 ,helium1 characteristics1 #bd1 #cc2 discovery of1 #cd4 ,hockensmith1 pilot1 #ej4 ,hydrogen1 first use in balloon1 #bb2 characteristics1 #bd1 #cc4 ,i ,iron ,horse1 #cg1 #dj4 ,j ,jutland1 battle1 #aj4 ,k ,kenworthy1 ,commander ,j4 ,l41 #ag4 ,l ,lange1 ,karl1 pilot1 #ea1 #eb1 #eg1 #eh1 #ff4 ,lawrence1 ,lt4 ,john1 pilot1 #ae4 ,lindbergh1 flight1 effect of1 #ca4 ,litchfield1 ,p4 ,w41 first air meet1 #bg2 starts blimp fleet1 #cj2 mast experiments1 #ch4 ,little1 ,lt41 pilot1 #ae4 ,los ,angeles1 airship1 illust4 opp4 #bc2 why built1 #bi2 mast studies1 #cf1 #dd4 ,m ,macon1 ,,uss1 size1 #be4 ,martin1 planes1 #fc4 ,mast1 mooring1 #cf et seq42 illust4 opp4 #ch4 ,mills1 ,commander1 ,g4 ,h41 #h1 #ag4 ,minnesota1 damaged by mine1 #b4 ,moffett1 ,admiral1 ,w4 ,a41 photograph opp4 iii2 report on value of airships1 #ab1 #cg4 ,montgolfiers1 first balloon flight1 #ba4 ,morton1 ,walter1 pilot1 #de4 ,n ,,nc-#d1 ,atlantic flight1 #af2 illust4 opp4 #bb4 ,norge1 airship1 #be4 ,p ,parsevals1 airships1 #be4 ,peck1 ,commander ,s4 ,e41 ,c-#e flight1 #ae4 ,pilgrim1 airship1 #bf1 #ca1 #cc1 #ff2 launching1 #ff4 ,pony ,blimp1 airship1 #dg1 #ej4 ,preston1 ,r4 ,a4 ,d41 pilot1 #ac1 #ae4 ,r ,r-#cd1 ,atlantic ,crossing1 #ae1 #af2 size1 #be4 ,radio1 first use of1 #ee4 ,reichelderfer1 ,commander ,f4 ,w41 chief ,u4 ,s4 ,weather ,bureau1 #fb4 ,rieker1 ,john1 pilot1 #eh1 #fe4 ,roma1 ,italian-built airship1 #ce4 ,rosendahl1 ,captain1 ,c4 ,e41 photograph opp4 vi1 #ag1 #cg4 ,rounds1 ,lt4 ,c4 ,s41 ballast pick-up1 #dj1 #ff4 ,,rs-#a1 army airship1 #be1 #cj4 ,rubber1 use of synthetics1 #ce4 ,s ,san ,diego1 ,,uss1 sunk by mine1 #b4 ,santos ,dumont1 illust4 opp4 #bb2 first flights1 #bg4 ,settle1 ,commander ,t4 ,g4 ,w41 photograph opp4 vi1 #ch4 ,sewell1 ,a4 ,t41 pilot1 #ef1 #eg1 #eh1 #fe4 ,shenandoah1 ,,uss1 #bi4 ,sheppard1 ,s4 ,h41 pilot1 #ed1 #eg4 ,smith1 ,alfred ,e41 #cf1 #dh4 ,smith1 ,verne1 pilot1 #eg1 #eh4 ,t ,,tc-#ad1 airship1 #ag1 #ai4 ,trotter1 ,f4 ,a41 pilot1 bullet holes in ship1 #ec1 #eh1 #ff4 ,u ,upson1 ,r4 ,h41 pilot1 #ac4 ,v ,van ,orman1 ,w4 ,t41 balloon pilot1 #df4 ,volunteer1 airship1 #ci2 cross country trip1 #ee2 masting out1 #ci4 ,w ,westover1 ,general1 #cj4 ,wilson1 ,r4 ,d41 pilot1 ,everglades rescue1 #dh1 #eg4 ,wright brothers1 first flight1 #ba4 ,footnotes #a,see ,u4,s4 ,navy ,publication1 8,german ,submarine ,activities on the ,atlantic ,coast of the ,united ,states and ,canada10 #aibj1 also the book1 8,german ,subs in ,yankee ,waters0--,henry ,j4 ,james1 #aidj4 ,transcriber's ,notes --,copyright notice provided as in the original--this e-text is public domain in the country of publication4 --,silently corrected palpable typos2 left non-standard spellings and dialect unchanged4 --,in the text versions1 delimited italics text in underscores 7the ,,html version reproduces the font form of the printed book47