THE FUTURE OF AIRSHIPS
With the signing of the Armistice on November 11th, 1918, the airship's
work in the war was practically completed and peace reigned on the
stations which for so many months had been centres of feverish
activity. The enemy submarines were withdrawn from our shipping routes
and merchant ships could traverse the sea in safety except for the
occasional danger of drifting mines. "What is to be the future of the
airship?" is the question which is agitating the minds of innumerable
people at the present moment.
During the war we have built the largest fleet of airships in the
world, in non-rigids we have reached a stage in design which is
unsurpassed by any country, and in rigid airships we are second only to
the Germans, who have declared that, with the signing of the peace
terms, their aircraft industry will be destroyed. Such is our position
at the present moment, a position almost incredible if we look back to
the closing days of the year 1914. Are we now to allow ourselves to
drift gradually back to our old policy of supineness and negligence as
existed before the war? Surely such a thought is inconceivable; as we
have organized our airship production for the purposes of war, so shall
we have to redouble our efforts for its development in peace, if we
intend to maintain our supremacy in the air.
Unless all war is from henceforth to cease, a most improbable
supposition when the violence of human nature is considered, aircraft
will be in the future almost the most important arm. Owing to its
speed, there will not be that period of waiting for the concentration
and marching of the armies of the past, but the nation resolved on war
will be able to strike its blow, and that a very powerful and terrible
one, within a few hours of the rupture of negotiations. Every nation
to be prepared to counter such a blow must be possessed of adequate
resources, and unless the enormous expense is incurred of maintaining
in peace a huge establishment of aircraft and personnel, other methods
must be adopted of possessing both of these available for war while
employed in peace for other purposes.
From the war two new methods of transportation have emerged--the
aeroplane and the airship. To the business man neither of these is at
the present juncture likely to commend itself on the basis of cost per
ton mile. When, however, it is considered that the aeroplane is faster
than the express train and the airship's speed is double that of the
fastest merchant ship, it will be appreciated that for certain
commercial purposes both these mediums for transport have their
possibilities. The future may prove that in the time to come both the
airship and the aeroplane will become self-supporting, but for the
present, if assisted by the Government, a fair return may be given for
the capital laid out, and a large fleet of aircraft together with the
necessary personnel will always be available for military purposes
should the emergency arise. The present war has shown that the
merchant service provided a valuable addition both of highly-trained
personnel and of vessels readily adapted for war purposes, and it
appears that a similar organization can be effected to reinforce our
aerial navies in future times of danger.
In discussions relative to the commercial possibilities of aircraft, a
heated controversy always rages between advocates of the airship and
those of the heavier-than-air machine, but into this it is not proposed
to plunge the reader of this volume. The aeroplane is eminently
adapted for certain purposes, and the greatest bigot in favour of the
airship can hardly dispute the claims of this machine to remain
predominant for short-distance travel, where high speed is essential
and the load to be carried is light. For long distance voyages over
the oceans or broken or unpopulated country, where large loads are to
be carried, the airship should be found to be the more suitable.
The demand for airships for commercial purposes falls under three main
headings, which will be considered in some detail. It will be shown to
what extent the present types will fill this demand, and how they can
be developed in the future to render the proposed undertakings
successful.
1. Pleasure.
2. A quick and safe means of transport for passengers.
3. A quick commercial service for delivering goods of reasonable
weight from one country to another.
1. Pleasure.--In the past, men have kept mechanically-driven means of
transport such as yachts, motor cars, and motor boats for their
amusement, and to a limited extent have taken recreation in the air by
means of balloons. For short cruises about this country and round the
coast a small airship, somewhat similar to the S.S. Zero, would be an
ideal craft. In cost it would be considerably less than a small yacht,
and as it would only be required in the summer months, it would be
inflated and moored out in the open in a park or grounds and the
expense of providing a shed need not be incurred. For longer
distances, a ship of 150,000 cubic feet capacity, with a covered-in car
and driven by two engines, would have an endurance of 25 hours at a
cruising speed of 45 miles per hour. With such a ship voyages could
easily be made from the south coast to the Riviera or Spain, and
mooring out would still be possible under the lee of a small wood or to
a buoy on the water.
Possibilities also exist for an enterprising firm to start a series of
short pleasure trips at various fashionable seaside resorts, and until
the novelty had worn off the demand for such excursions will probably
be far in excess of the supply.
2. Passenger transport.--In the re-organization of the world after this
devastating war the business man's time will be of even more value than
it was before. This country is largely bound up with the United States
of America in business interests which necessitate continual visits
between the two countries. The time occupied by steamer in completing
this journey is at present about five days. If this time can be cut
down to two and a half days, no doubt a large number of passengers will
be only too anxious to avail themselves of this means of travel,
providing that it will be accomplished in reasonable safety and
comfort. The requirements for this purpose are an aerial liner capable
of carrying a hundred passengers with a certain quantity of luggage and
sufficient provisions for a voyage which may be extended over the
specified time owing to weather conditions. The transatlantic service
if successful could then be extended until regular passenger routes are
established encircling the globe.
3. Quick commercial service for certain types of goods.--Certain mails
and parcels are largely enhanced in value by the rapidity of transport,
and here, as in the passenger service outlined above, the airship
offers undoubted facilities. As we have said before, it is mainly over
long distances that the airship will score, and for long distances on
the amount carried the success of the enterprise will be secured. For
this purpose the rigid airship will be essential. There are certain
instances in which the non-rigid may possibly be profitably utilized,
and one such is suggested by a mail service between this country and
Scandinavia. A service is feasible between Newcastle and Norway by
airships of a capacity of the S.S. Twin type. These ships would carry
700 lb. of mails each trip at about 4d. per ounce, which would reduce
the time of delivering letters from about two and a half to three days
to twenty-four hours.
A commercial airship company is regarded in this country as a new and
highly hazardous undertaking, and it seems to be somewhat overlooked
that it is not quite the novel idea so many people imagine. Before the
war, in the years 1910 to 1914, the Deutsche Luftfahrt Actien
Gesellschaft successfully ran a commercial Zeppelin service in which
four airships were used, namely, Schwaben, Victoria Luise, Hansa and
Sachsan. During this period over 17,000 passengers were carried a
total distance of over 100,000 miles without incurring a single fatal
accident. Numerous English people made trips in these airships,
including Viscount Jellicoe, but the success of the company has
apparently been forgotten.
We have endeavoured to show that the non-rigid airship has
potentialities even for commercial purposes, but there is no doubt
whatever that the future of the airship in the commercial world rests
entirely with the rigid type, and the airships of this type moreover
must be of infinitely greater capacity than those at present in
existence, if a return is to be expected for the capital invested in
them. General Sykes stated, in the paper which he read before the
London Chamber of Commerce, "that for commercial purposes the airship
is eminently adapted for long-distance journeys involving non-stop
flights. It has this inherent advantage over the aeroplane, that while
there appears to be a limit to the range of the aeroplane as at present
constructed, there is practically no limit whatever to that of the
airship, as this can be overcome by merely increasing the size. It
thus appears that for such journeys as crossing the Atlantic, or
crossing the Pacific from the west coast of America to Australia or
Japan, the airship will be peculiarly suitable."
He also remarked that, "it having been conceded that the scope of the
airship is long-distance travel, the only type which need be considered
for this purpose is the rigid. The rigid airship is still in an
embryonic state, but sufficient has already been accomplished in this
country, and more particularly in Germany, to show that with increased
capacity there is no reason why, within a few years' time, airships
should not be built capable of completing the circuit of the globe and
of conveying sufficient passengers and merchandise to render such an
undertaking a paying proposition."
The report of the Civil Aerial Transport Committee also states that,
"airships are the most suitable aircraft for the carrying of passengers
where safety, comfort and reliability are essential."
When we consider the rapid development of the rigid airship since 1914,
it should not be insuperable to construct an airship with the
capabilities suggested by General Sykes. In 1914, the average
endurance of the Zeppelin at cruising speed was under one day and the
maximum full speed about 50 miles per hour. In 1918, the German L 70,
which is of 2,195,000 cubic feet capacity, the endurance at 45 miles
per hour has risen to 7.4 days and the maximum full speed to 77 miles
per hour. The "ceiling" has correspondingly increased from 6,000 feet
to 23,000 feet.
The British R 38 class, at present building, with a capacity of
approximately 2 3/4 million cubic feet has an estimated endurance at 45
miles per hour of 211 hours or 8.8 days, which is 34 hours greater than
the German L 70 class. It is evident that for a ship of this calibre
the crossing of the Atlantic will possess no difficulty, and as an
instance of what has already been accomplished in the way of a
long-distance flight the exploit of a Zeppelin airship based in
Bulgaria during the war is sufficiently remarkable. This airship in
the autumn of 1917 left the station at Jamboli to carry twelve tons of
ammunition for the relief of a force operating in German East Africa.
Having crossed the Mediterranean, she proceeded up the course of the
Nile until she had reached the upper waters of this river. Information
was then received by wireless of the surrender of the force, and that
its commander, Von Lettow, was a fugitive in the bush. She thereupon
set out for home and reached her station in safety, having been in the
air 96 hours, or four days, without landing.
It is therefore patent that in R 33 and R 34 we possess two airships
which can cross to America to-morrow as far as actual distance is
concerned, but various other conditions are necessary before such
voyages can be undertaken with any prospects of commercial success.
The distance between England and America must be roughly taken as 3,000
miles. It is not reasonable for airship stations to be situated either
in the inaccessible extreme west of Ireland or among the prevailing
fogs of Newfoundland.
Weather conditions must also be taken into account; head winds may
prevail, rendering the forward speed of the ship to be small even with
the engines running full out. In calculations it is considered that
the following assumptions should be made:
1. At least 75 per cent additional petrol to be carried as would
be necessary for the passage in calm air, should unfavourable
weather conditions be met. This amount could be reduced to 50
per cent in future airships with a speed of upwards of 80
miles per hour.
2. About a quarter of the total discharge able lift of the ship
should be in the form of merchandise or passengers to render
the project a reasonable commercial proposition.
We will consider the commercial loads that can be carried by the German
airship L 70 and our airships R 33 and R 38 under the conditions given
above. Two speeds will be taken for the purposes of this comparison:
normal full speed, or about 60 miles per hour, and cruising speed of 45
miles per hour.
L 70.--At 60 miles per hour a distance of 3,000 miles will be
accomplished in 50 hours.
Fuel consumption about
13 tons + 9.75 tons (additional for safety) = 22.75 tons.
Available lift for fuel and freight = 27.8 tons.
Fuel carried = 22.75 "
------------
Balance for freight = 5 " about.
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At 45 miles per hour, distance will be
accomplished in 66.6 hours.
Fuel consumption about
10 tons + 7.5 tons additional = 17.5 tons.
Available lift = 27.8 tons
Fuel carried = 17.5 "
------------
Balance for freight = 10 " about.
------------
R. 33.--At 60 miles per hour.
Fuel consumption
14.25 tons + 10.68 tons additional = 24.93 tons.
Lift available for fuel and freight = 21.5 tons.
Fuel carried = 24.93 "
------------
Minus balance = 3. 43 "
------------
At 45 miles per hour.
Fuel consumption
9.66 tons + 7.23 tons (17 tons approx.)
Lift available for fuel and freight = 21.5 tons.
Fuel carried = 17 "
------------
Balance for freight = 4.5 "
------------
R. 38.-Estimated only. At 60 miles per hour.
Fuel consumption
20 tons + 15 tons additional = 35 tons.
Lift available for fuel and freight = 42 tons.
Fuel carried = 35 "
------------
Balance for freight = 7 "
------------
At 45 miles per hour.
Fuel consumption 12 tons + 9 tons additional = 21 tons.
Lift available for fuel and freight = 42 "
Fuel carried = 21 "
------------
Balance for freight = 21 "
------------
It will thus be seen that at the faster speed small commercial loads
can be carried by L 70 and R 38 and not at all in the case of R 33,
that is assuming, of course, that the extra fuel is carried, of which
75 per cent of the total does not appear at all excessive in view of
the weather continually experienced over the Atlantic.
At the cruising speed the loads naturally increase but still, in L 70,
and more particularly in R 33, they are too small to be considered
commercially. In R 38, however, the load that can be carried at
cruising speed is sufficient to become a commercial proposition.
From this short statement it is evident that, by a comparatively small
increase in volume, the lifting capacity of an airship is enormously
increased, and it is in this subject that the airship possesses such
undoubted advantage over the aeroplane. In the heavier-than-air
machine there is no automatic improvement in efficiency resulting from
greater dimensions. In the airship, however, this automatic
improvement takes place in a very marked degree; for example, an
airship of 10,000,000 cubic feet capacity has five times the lift of
the present 2,000,000 cubic feet capacity rigid, but the length of the
former is only 1.7 times greater, and therefore the weight of the
structure only five times greater (1.7); that is, the weight of the
structure is directly proportional to the total lift. Having seen that
the total lift varies as the cube of the linear dimensions while air
resistance, B.H.P.--other things being equal--vary as the square of the
linear dimensions, it follows that the ratio "weight of machinery/total
lift" decreases automatically.
In comparing the different methods of transport for efficiency, the
resistance or thrust required is compared as a percentage of the total
weight. The result obtained is known as the "co-efficient of tractive
resistance." Experiments have shown that as the size of the airship
increases, the co-efficient of tractive resistance decreases to a
marked extent; with a proportionate increase in horse-power it is
proportionally more economical for a 10,000,000 cubic feet capacity
rigid to fly at 80 miles per hour than for a 2,000,000 cubic feet
capacity to fly at 60 miles per hour.
As the ratio "weight structure/total lift" is in airships fairly
constant, it follows that the ratio "disposable lift/total lift"
increases with the dimensions.
It is therefore obvious that increased benefits are obtained by
building airships of a larger size, and that the bigger the ship the
greater will be its efficiency, providing, of course, that it is kept
within such limits that it can be handled on the ground and manoeuvred
in the air.
The proportion of the useful lift in a large rigid, that is the lift
available for fuel, crew, passengers, and merchandise, is well over 50
per cent when compared with the gross lift. When the accompanying table
is studied it will be seen that with airships of large capacity the
available lift will be such that considerable weights of merchandise or
passengers can be carried.
Capacity in Gross Lift Length Diameter
cubic feet in tons in feet in feet
2,000,000 60.7 643 79
3,000,000 91.1 736 90.4
4,000,000 121.4 810 99.5
5,000,000 151.8 872 107.2
6,000,000 182.2 927 113.9
7,000,000 212.5 976 119.9
8,000,000 242.8 1,021 125.5
9,000,000 273.3 1,061 130.4
10,000,000 303.6 1,100 135.1
In airships of their present capacity, in order to obtain the greatest
amount of lift possible, lightness of construction has been of
paramount importance. With this object in view duralumin has been
used, and complicated girders built up to obtain strength without
increase of weight. In a large ship with a considerable gain in lift,
steel will probably be employed with a simpler form of girder work. In
that way cheapness of construction will be effected together with
increased rapidity of output, and in addition the strength of the whole
structure should be increased.
The rigid airship of 10,000,000 cubic feet capacity will have a
disposable lift of over 200 tons available for fuel, crew, passengers,
and merchandise in such proportions as are desired. The endurance of
such a ship at a cruising speed of 45 miles per hour will be in the
neighbourhood of three weeks, with a maximum speed of 70 to 80 miles
per hour, and a "ceiling" of some 30,000 feet can be reached. This
will give a range of over 20,000 miles, or very nearly a complete
circuit of the globe.
For commercial purposes the possibilities of such a craft are enormous,
and the uses to which it could be put are manifestly of great
importance. Urgent mails and passengers could be transported from
England to America in under half the time at present taken by the
steamship routes, and any city in the world could be reached from
London in a fortnight.
In the event of war in the future, which may be waged with a nation
situated at a greater distance from this country than was Germany,
aircraft Of long endurance will be necessary both for scouting in
conjunction with our fleets and convoy duties. The British Empire is
widely scattered, and large tracts of ocean lie between the various
colonies, all of which will require protection for the safe-guarding of
our merchant shipping. The provision of a force of these large
airships will greatly add to the security of our out-lying dominions.
We have now reached a point where it is incumbent on us to face certain
difficulties which beset the airship of large dimensions, and which are
always magnified by its detractors. Firstly, there is the expense of
sheds in which to house it; secondly, the large number of trained
personnel to assist in landing and handling it when on the ground;
thirdly, the risks attendant on the weather--for the airship is still
considered the general public as a fair-weather craft; and fourthly,
though this is principally in connection with its efficiency for
military purposes, its vulnerability. We will deal with the four
difficulties enumerated under these headings seriatim, and endeavour to
show to what extent they may be surmounted if not entirely removed.
The solution of the first two problems may be summed up in two words:
"mooring out"; on the success of this it is considered that the whole
future of airships for commercial purposes rests. It will be essential
that in every country which the airship visits on its voyages, one
large central station is established for housing and repairs. The
position of such a station is dependent on good weather conditions and
the best railway facilities possible. In all respects this station
will be comparable to a dry dock for surface vessels. The airship will
be taken into the shed for overhaul of hull structure, renewing of
gasbags or outer cover, and in short to undergo a periodical refit.
The cost of a shed capable of housing two rigid airships, even at the
present time, should not greatly exceed L500,000. This sum, though
considerable, is but a small item compared with the cost of
constructing docks to accommodate the Atlantic liner, and when once
completed the cost of maintenance is small when weighed against the
amount annually expended in dredging and making good the wear and tear
of a dock.
Apart from these occasional visits to a shed, the airship, in the
ordinary way at the end of a voyage, will pick up its moorings as does
the big steamer, and land its passengers and cargo, at the same time
replenishing its supplies of fuel, gas, provisions, etc., while minor
repairs to the machinery can be carried out as she rides in the air.
A completely satisfactory solution of the mooring problem for the rigid
airship has yet to reach its consummation. We saw in the previous
chapter how, in the case of small non-rigids, they were sheltered in
berths cut into woods or belts of trees, but for the rigid airship
something more secure and less at the mercy of the elements is required.
At the present moment three systems of mooring are in an experimental
stage: one, known as "the single-wire system," is now practically
acknowledged to fall short of perfection; the second, "the three-wire
system," and the third, "mooring to a mast," both have their champions,
but it is probable that the last will be the one finally chosen, and
when thoroughly tried out with its imperfections eliminated will
satisfy the most exacting critics.
The single-wire system is at the same time the simplest and most
obvious method which suggests itself, and means that the ship is
secured by a wire cable attached to a suitable point in the ship and
led to some fixed point on the ground. It has been found that an
airship secured in this way requires constant attention, and that
steering is always necessary to render her steady in the air.
Considerable improvement is obtained if a dragging weight is added to
the wire, as it tends to check to a considerable extent lateral motion
of the bow of the ship.
The three-wire system is an adaptation and an improvement on the one
previously mentioned. In this case the mooring point of the ship is
attached to three long wire cables, which, when raised in the air, form
a pyramid to the head of which the ship is attached. These wires are
led to bollards which form in plan an equilateral triangle. The lift
of the ship raises these wires off the ground, and if the ship is
trimmed up by the bows she will be found to resist the action of the
wind. A rigid airship moored out by this method remained in the open
for a considerable time and rendered the future of this experiment most
hopeful. It was resolved to continue these experiments by adding a
subsidiary system of wires with running blocks, the whole wiring to
form a polygon revolving round a fixed centre. The disadvantages of
this method appear to be rather serious. It seems that great
difficulty will always be found in picking up these moorings in a high
wind, and though this also applies to the method with the mast, the
initial obstacles do not appear to be so great. A powerful engine
driving a winch will be necessary to raise these heavy wires from the
ground, although of course the lift of the airship will assist in this.
Secondly, the lowering of passengers and cargo will not be easy as the
ship will not be rigidly secured. This, however, can probably be
managed when experiments have reached a further stage, and at present
the system may be said to present distinct possibilities.
The third system, that of mooring to a mast, possesses several features
peculiar to itself, and not embraced by the other two, which should
secure it prolonged investigations. The system is by no means new and
has been tried from time to time for several years, but since the
question of mooring in the open has been so ventilated and is now
considered of such vital importance, these experiments have been
continued, and in less spasmodic fashion than in the past. In a trial
with a small non-rigid airship some months ago a signal success was
achieved. The ship remained attached to a mast in open country with no
protection whatsoever for six weeks in two of the worst months of the
year. During this period two men only were required to look after the
ship, which experienced gales in which the force of the wind rose to 52
miles per hour, and not the slightest damage was sustained.
Two or three methods of attaching the airship to the mast have been
proposed, but the one which appears to be most practical is to attach
the extreme bow point of the ship to some form of cap, in which the
nose of the ship will fit, and will revolve round the top of the mast
in accordance with the direction of the wind.
For large airships, employed as passenger and commerce carriers, we can
imagine the mast advanced a stage further, and transformed into a tower
with a revolving head. Incorporated in this tower will be a lift for
passengers and luggage, pipes also will be led to the summit through
which both gas and water can be pumped into the ship. With the airship
rigidly held at the head of such a structure all the difficulties of
changing crews, embarking and disembarking passengers, shipping and
discharging cargo and also refuelling, vanish at once. Assuming the
mooring problem solved with success, and we feel correct in this
assumption, the first two of our difficulties automatically disappear.
Sheds will only be necessary as repair depots and will not be
extensively required, all intermediate stopping places being provided
with masts and necessary arrangements for taking in gas, etc. At these
intermediate stations the number of men employed will be comparatively
speaking few. At the depots or repair stations the number must, of
course, be considerably increased, but the provision of an enormous
handling party will not be necessary. At present large numbers of men
are only required to take a large airship in or out of a shed when the
wind is blowing in a direction across the shed; when these conditions
prevail the airship will, unless compelled by accident or other
unforeseen circumstances, remain moored out in the open until the
direction of the wind has changed.
Mechanical traction will also help effectually in handling airships on
the ground, and the difficulty of taking them in and out of sheds has
always been unduly magnified. The provision of track rails and
travellers to which the guys of the ship can be attached, as is the
practice in Germany, will tend to eliminate the source of trouble.
We must now consider the effect that weather will have on the big
airship. In the past it has been a great handicap owing to the short
hours of endurance, with the resulting probability of the ship having
to land before the wind dropped and being wrecked in consequence. Bad
weather will not endanger the big airship in flight, and its endurance
will be such that, should it encounter bad weather, it will be able to
wait for a lull to land. Meteorological forecasts have now reached a
high state of efficiency, and it should be possible for ample warnings
to be received of depressions to be met with during a voyage, and these
will be avoided by the airship flying round them. In the northern
hemisphere, depressions generally travel from west to east and
invariably rotate in a counter-clockwise direction with the wind on the
south side blowing from the west and on the north side blowing from the
east. Going west, the airship would fly to the north of a depression
to take advantage of the wind circulating round the edge, and going
east the southern course would be taken.
Lastly, the vulnerability of the airship must be taken into account.
Hydrogen is, as everyone knows, most highly inflammable when mixed with
air. The public still feels uncomfortable misgivings at the close
proximity of an immense volume of gas to a number of running engines.
It may be said that the danger of disaster due to the gas catching fire
is for peace flying to all intents and purposes negligible. At the
risk of being thought hackneyed we must point out a fact which has
appeared in every discussion of the kind, namely, that British airships
flew during the war some 21 million miles, and there is only one case
of an airship catching fire in the air. This was during a trial flight
in a purely experimental ship, and the cause which was afterwards
discovered has been completely eliminated.
For airships employed for military purposes this danger, due to the use
of incendiary bullets, rockets and various other munitions evolved for
their destruction, still exists.
Owing to its ceiling, rate of climb and speed, which we take to be from
70 to 80 miles per hour in the airship of the future, the airship may
be regarded as comparatively safe against attack from the ordinary type
of seaplane. The chief danger to be apprehended is attack from small
scouting seaplanes, possessing great speed and the power to climb to a
great height, or from aeroplanes launched from the decks of ships. If,
however, the airship is fitted to carry several small scout aeroplanes
of high efficiency in the manner described in the previous chapter, it
will probably be able to defend itself sufficiently to enable it to
climb to a great height and thus make good its escape.
The airship, moreover, will be more or less immune from such dangers if
the non-inflamable gas, known as "C" gas, becomes sufficiently cheap to
be used for inflating airships. In the past the expense of this gas
has rendered its use absolutely prohibitive, but it is believed that
it can be produced in the United States for such a figure as will make
it compare favourably with hydrogen.
The navigation of an airship during these long voyages proposed will
present no difficulty whatever. The airship, as opposed to the
aeroplane, is reasonably steady in the air and the ordinary naval
instruments can be used. In addition, "directional" wireless
telegraphy will prove of immense assistance. The method at present in
use is to call up simultaneously two land stations which, knowing their
own distance apart, and reading the direction of the call, plot a
triangle on a chart which fixes the position of the airship. This
position is then transmitted by wireless to the airship. In the future
the airship itself will carry its own directional apparatus, with which
it will be able to judge the direction of a call received from a single
land station and plot its own position on a chart.
We have so far confined our attention to the utilization of airships
for transport of passengers, mails and goods, but there appear to be
other fields of activity which can be exploited in times of peace. The
photographic work carried out by aeroplanes during the war on the
western front and in Syria and Mesopotamia has shown the value of
aerial photography for map making and preliminary surveys of virgin
country. Photography of broken country and vast tracks of forest can
be much more easily undertaken from an airship than an aeroplane, on
account of its power to hover for prolonged periods over any given area
and its greater powers of endurance. For exploring the unmapped
regions of the Amazon or the upper reaches of the Chinese rivers the
airship offers unbounded facilities. Another scope suggested by the
above is searching for pearl-oyster beds, sunken treasure, and
assisting in salvage operations. Owing to the clearness of the water
in tropical regions, objects can be located at a great depth when
viewed from the air, and it is imagined that an airship will be of
great assistance in searching for likely places. Sponges and coral are
also obtained by diving, and here the airship's co-operation will be of
value. Small ships such as the S.S. Zero would be ideal craft for
these and similar operations.
The mine patrol, as maintained by airships during the war, encourages
the opinion that a systematic search for icebergs in the northern
Atlantic might be carried out by airships during certain months of the
year. As is well known, icebergs are a source of great danger to
shipping in these waters during the late spring and summer; if the
situation becomes bad the main shipping routes are altered and a
southerly course is taken which adds considerably to the length of the
voyage. The proposal put forward is that during these months as
continuous a patrol as possible should be carried out over these waters.
The airship employed could be based in Newfoundland and the method of
working would be very similar to anti-submarine patrol. Fixes could be
obtained from D.F. stations and warnings issued by wireless telegraphy.
Ice is chiefly found within five hundred miles of the coast of
Newfoundland, so that this work would come within the scope of the N.S.
airship. The knowledge that reliable information concerning the presence
of ice will always be to hand would prove of inestimable value to the
captains of Atlantic liners, and would also relieve the shipping companies
and the public of great anxiety.
There are possibly many other uses to which airships can be put such as
the policing of wide stretches of desert country as in Arabia and the
Soudan. The merits of all of these will doubtless be considered in due
course and there for the present we must leave them.
Finally, a few words must be written regarding the means to be adopted
in introducing the airship into the realms of commerce. As we said at
the beginning of the chapter it is not likely that the formation of a
company to exploit airships only will at the present moment appeal to
business men. Airships are very costly and are still in their infancy,
which means that the premiums demanded for their insurance must of
necessity be enormous. One suggestion is to place a reasonable scheme
before the great shipping companies in case they will care to find the
necessary capital and form subsidiary companies.
Another suggestion is that the Government should make arrangements to
subsidize commercial airships. The subsidy might take the form of
insuring them. If the burden of insurance is taken off their
shoulders, it is considered feasible to promote companies which will
give an adequate return for capital invested. The Government could
also give a financial guarantee if mails are carried, in the same
manner as is done by shipping companies.
In return for this the Government could at the outbreak of hostilities
commandeer all or any of the airships for war purposes and so save the
number to be kept in commission.
By this means the Government will have a large number of highly-trained
and efficient personnel to call upon when the emergency arises, in the
same way as the fleet can call upon the R.N.R. This system appears to
be the best in every respect, and it cannot be denied that in the long
run it would be the most economical for the country.
The airship has now arrived at the parting of the ways, and at this
point we must leave it. The flying in war has been concluded, the
flying in peace has not yet commenced. It seems a far cry to the dark
days of 1914, when we only possessed two airships of utility, the one
manufactured in France, the other in Germany, while to-day we have
built the mighty airship which can fly to America and back. We are now
at the dawn of a new period of reconstruction and progress, and during
this period many wonderful things will happen. Not the least of these
will be the development of the airship.