British Airships, Past, Present and Future | Page 3

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ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* This etext was created by Dianne Bean,
Chino Valley, Arizona. British Airships: Past, Present and Future by
George Whale (Late Major, R.A.F.)
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER II
EARLY AIRSHIPS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT TO THE
PRESENT DAY

CHAPTER III
BRITISH AIRSHIPS BUILT BY PRIVATE FIRMS
CHAPTER IV
BRITISH ARMY AIRSHIPS
CHAPTER V
EARLY DAYS OF THE NAVAL AIRSHIP SECTION-- PARSEVAL
AIRSHIPS, ASTRA-TORRES TYPE, ETC.

CHAPTER VI
NAVAL AIRSHIPS: THE NON-RIGIDS-- S.S. TYPE COASTAL
AND C STAR AIRSHIPS THE NORTH SEA AIRSHIP

CHAPTER VII
NAVAL AIRSHIPS: THE RIGIDS RIGID AIRSHIP NO. 1 RIGID
AIRSHIP NO. 9 RIGID AIRSHIP NO. 23 CLASS RIGID AIRSHIP
NO. 23 X CLASS RIGID AIRSHIP NO. 31 CLASS RIGID AIRSHIP
NO. 33 CLASS

CHAPTER VIII
THE WORK OF THE AIRSHIP IN THE WORLD WAR
CHAPTER IX
THE FUTURE OF AIRSHIPS
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION Lighter-than-air craft consist of three distinct types:
Airships, which are by far the most important, Free Balloons, and Kite
Balloons, which are attached to the ground or to a ship by a cable. They
derive their appellation from the fact that when charged with hydrogen,
or some other form of gas, they are lighter than the air which they

displace. Of these three types the free balloon is by far the oldest and
the simplest, but it is entirely at the mercy of the wind and other
elements, and cannot be controlled for direction, but must drift
whithersoever the wind or air currents take it. On the other hand, the
airship, being provided with engines to propel it through the air, and
with rudders and elevators to control it for direction and height, can be
steered in whatever direction is desired, and voyages can be made from
one place to another--always provided that the force of the wind is not
sufficiently strong to overcome the power of the engines. The airship is,
therefore, nothing else than a dirigible balloon, for the engines and
other weights connected with the structure are supported in the air by
an envelope or balloon, or a series of such chambers, according to
design, filled with hydrogen or gas of some other nature. It is not
proposed, in this book, to embark upon a lengthy and highly technical
dissertation on aerostatics, although it is an intricate science which
must be thoroughly grasped by anyone who wishes to possess a full
knowledge of airships and the various problems which occur in their
design. Certain technical expressions and terms are, however, bound to
occur, even in the most rudimentary work on airships, and the main
principles underlying airship construction will be described as briefly
and as simply as is possible. The term "lift" will appear many times in
the following pages, and it is necessary to understand what it really
means. The difference between the weight of air displaced and the
weight of gas in a balloon or airship is called the "gross lift." The term
"disposable," or "nett" lift, is obtained by deducting the weight of the
structure, cars, machinery and other fixed weights from the gross lift.
The resultant weight obtained by this calculation determines the crew,
ballast, fuel and other necessities which can be carried by the balloon or
airship. The amount of air displaced by an airship can be accurately
weighed, and varies according to barometric pressure and the
temperature; but for the purposes of this example we may take it that
under normal conditions air weighs 75 lb. per 1,000 cubic feet.
Therefore, if a balloon of 1,000 cubic feet volume is charged with air,
this air contained will weigh 75 lb. It is then manifest that a balloon
filled with air would not lift, because the air is not displaced with a
lighter gas. Hydrogen is the lightest gas known to science, and is used
in airships to displace the air and raise them from the ground.

Hydrogen weighs about one-fifteenth as much as air, and under normal
conditions 1,000 cubic feet weighs 5 lb. Pursuing our analogy, if we fill
our balloon of 1,000 cubic feet with hydrogen we find the gross lift is
as follows: 1,000 cubic feet of