THE CAPTIVE ZEPPELIN
The Zeppelin which came down in the manner described in the foregoing
chapter was on view to a party of London Press Representatives on
October 8, 1916. The _Times_ representative recalled the fact that the
airship lost one of her starboard propellers some while before falling.
Although parts of the structure of the airship were crumpled up, the
main outlines could be easily recognized. The framework or skeleton was
composed of a series of longitudinal lattice-work girders running from
end to end and connected at intervals by circular lattice-work ties,
the whole structure being bound together and stiffened by means of a
system of wires provided with arrangements which enabled them to be
tightened up. The material used was an alloy of aluminium.
At the largest point the framework had a diameter of 72 feet, and was
of streamlike form, the bow being sensibly blunter than the stern,
which, indeed, tapered off to a sharp point. The length of the vessel
appeared to have been 650 feet or 680 feet, and the weight complete,
with engines, fuel, guns, and ammunition, was calculated at 50 tons.
The hydrogen capacity was 2,000,000 cubic feet, and there were 24
ballonets extending the whole length of the ship. Of the envelope only
one or two fragments were to be seen, the rest having been burnt. The
airship, which was numbered L33, was of quite recent construction,
having been built last July, and its cost is estimated by the Admiralty
authorities at about a quarter of a million. How long was required for
building it could not be told from an inspection of the remains, but
the enormous amount of detail was evident enough. To enable the crew,
which consisted of twenty-two men, to move from one part of the ship to
another, a cat-walk ran along the keel, enclosed in an arched passage.
It consisted of a narrow footway, nine inches in width and made of
wood—one of the very few examples of wood construction used—and
provision for ventilation was made in the shape of shafts rising to the
top of the ship.
In all there were four gondolas—one forward, two amidships, and one
aft. The first of these constituted the navigating bridge. It was
divided into three parts. The first was set apart for the commander,
and in it were concentrated the controls of the horizontal and vertical
rudders at the stern, the engine-room, telegraphs, and the switches for
the electrical release of the bombs. These last, of which sixty were
carried, were actually arranged amidships, and the sliding door which
was opened to allow them to fall could still be seen moving freely on
its bearings.
Behind the commander’s room in the forward gondola was a cabin for
the wireless operator, measuring perhaps 6 feet by 4 feet, and behind
that again an engine-room containing a 240 h.-p. Maybach Mércèdes
engine having six vertical cylinders. Behind the engine was a clutch,
a brake, and a reducing gear, through which the power was transmitted
to a propeller shaft; a generator for the wireless installation was
placed in front. One similar engine was carried in each of the gondolas
amidships, and three in the aft gondola, all the engines having
wireless generators attached. There were thus six engines, with an
aggregate power of 1,440 h.-p., and six propellers. Of the latter,
three were worked from the aft gondola, one being placed in the centre
at a point distant from the tail about one-fifth of the length of the
ship, and the other two one on each side; two were driven from the side
gondolas amidships, and the sixth was in connexion with the forward
gondola. To reduce air-resistance a streamline form was given to the
propeller stays by the aid of a thin two or three-ply wooden casing.
The amount of petrol carried was 2,000 gallons, and the speed is
supposed to have been about sixty miles an hour in a still atmosphere.
The armament, apart from the bombs, consisted of nine quick-firing
guns. Of these, two larger than the others were mounted on the roof,
two were in the forward gondola, one each in the amidships gondolas,
two in the aft gondola, and one in the tail. The lightness of the
construction was shown by the fact that the huge tail still containing
the remains of the gun platform could easily be rolled over.
In addition to the particulars given there were other interesting
features. It may be noted, for instance, that practically everything,
except the engines and the guns, was made of aluminium alloy. The only
woodwork was the narrow platform, known as the ‘cat-walk,’ which ran
along the keel and connected the gondolas. It was closed in with fibre.
There was a little wood also in the ventilators, which were found
intact. The wood was covered with Manchester cotton, which looked like
common sheeting, but was really of very fine texture. The pressure of a
button in the captain’s cabin opened the sliding grille of framework,
and an electrical device permitted each bomb to be dropped separately,
either slowly or rapidly.