diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/51547-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51547-8.txt | 3624 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 3624 deletions
diff --git a/old/51547-8.txt b/old/51547-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d6af1f3..0000000 --- a/old/51547-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3624 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Story of the Airship (Non-rigid), by Hugh Allen - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Story of the Airship (Non-rigid) - A Study of One of America's Lesser Known Defense Weapons - -Author: Hugh Allen - -Release Date: March 25, 2016 [EBook #51547] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORY OF THE AIRSHIP (NON-RIGID) *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan, Paul Hutcheson -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - The Story of - THE AIRSHIP - (NON-RIGID) - - - _A Study of One of America's Lesser Known Defense Weapons_ - - BY HUGH ALLEN - - [Illustration: Airship in flight] - - AKRON, OHIO, 1943 - - [Illustration: ADMIRAL W. A. MOFFETT - To whom this book is dedicated] - - FIRST PRINTING, FEBRUARY, 1942 - SECOND PRINTING, FEBRUARY, 1943 - THIRD PRINTING, DECEMBER, 1943 - - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - THE LAKESIDE PRESS, R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY, CHICAGO AND - CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA - - - - - Dedication - - -To _Admiral William A. Moffett, and the men his leadership inspired--to -Landsdowne, McCord and Berry--to Calnan and Dugan and other able -juniors, to Maxfield and Hoyt, Hancock and Lawrence of an earlier -decade--to the Army's Hawthorne Gray, and as well to England's Scott, -France's de Grenadin, 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 -dedicated._ - -_Not forgetting the living men, the Navy's Rosendahl, Fulton, Mills, -Settle; Goodyear's Litchfield and Arnstein, and hundreds of others who -have carried on with unshaken faith, in the face of great setbacks._ - -_Much of devotion and courage, of scientific research and engineering -achievement has gone into this enterprise--and much has been proved. -Today, airships of the non-rigid type are taking on a new responsibility -to the nation. If they succeed, they may well bring back the great rigid -airships, to act as long range scouts against enemy raid or surprise -fleet movement, as fast moving bases and refueling points for fighting -airplanes far at sea--and as factors in world commerce in days to come._ - -_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 vain._ - - [Illustration: E. J. THOMAS - President of the Goodyear Company] - - [Illustration: CAPTAIN C. E. ROSENDAHL, U.S.N. - He never gave up his ships] - - [Illustration: COMMANDER T. G. W. SETTLE, U.S.N. - He explored the Stratosphere] - - [Illustration: CHARLES BRANNIGAN - His courage still inspires airship men] - - [Illustration: P. W. LITCHFIELD - An industrial leader, chairman of the Goodyear board, who has - believed for 30 years that airships would prove useful to his - country in peace or war] - - - - -Foreword - - -High admirals of the American fleet faced in 1940 the gravest -responsibility in the National Defense the Navy had ever known. Wherever -they turned, north, east, south, west, perils lurked. If they swung -their binoculars toward Iceland, toward the Caribbean, toward Singapore, -Alaska, or the Canal, everywhere waited potential threats against our -American way of life, which they must meet with ships and men, with guns -and stout hearts. This was not merely national defense, perhaps not even -hemisphere defense, it was World War. - -Surveying their gigantic task, and moving swiftly to meet it, they found -a place in their program for half forgotten craft, long over-shadowed by -other arms of the fleet, the non-rigid airship, sometimes called a -dirigible, but more often a "blimp." - -Couldn't the airship be used as a watchdog along the coast, against -enemy submarines, in discovering enemy mines--relieve for sterner tasks -the destroyers and other craft now wallowing their innards out in those -restless shallow waters? Great Britain and France had used airships -effectively in this service over the English Channel during the last -war. - -The areas within their patrol range, a hundred or 200 miles out to sea, -within the 100 fathom curve, was a vital one. There steamship lanes -converge, great harbors lie, coastwise merchantmen cruise, there is the -greatest concentration of military and commercial shipping. - -With depth bombs and machine guns the blimps might strike a stout blow -of their own, even if they weren't rated as combat craft. At least they -could sound the alarm, call out reinforcements from swift moving -shore-based craft, keep the intruder under surveillance. After all the -main thing was to find the submarines in those endless miles of water. -And in this field the very slowness of the airship, as compared to the -airplane, would be an advantage, permit a more thorough search of the -ocean's surface, while its speed as compared to any man-of-war, would -enable it to cover more ground within a given 24 hours. - -So on the Navy's recommendation Congress in 1940 approved the building -of the airship fleet up to substantial proportions, together with bases -from which they might operate along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. -That program is now being put into effect and the Goodyear company which -had built most of the airships used in the first World War, began again -to build ships. - -The story of the great rigid airships, the Los Angeles, the Akron, Macon -and Graf Zeppelin is fairly well known. That of the smaller non-rigids -is less familiar. The larger airships still hold vital commercial and -military promise for the future. However, this book will confine itself -to the non-rigid airship, with only enough reference to the larger ships -to round out the picture. - -Every new vehicle of combat or transport has had to fight its way to -acceptance against misunderstanding and lack of understanding. -Steamships had to prove themselves against sailing ships. Submarines had -an uphill battle to establish themselves. The airplane was long on -probation, and now the airship is on trial. - -This book will tell something about these ships, cite what is claimed -for them and what has been reasonably proved they can do, see what -progress has been made in performance, and point out what may be -expected from them hereafter--not avoiding the moot question of -vulnerability. - -Lighter-than-air is older by a century than the heavier-than-air branch -of aeronautics. Its history is marked by long research and experiment -and continued progress. Like every pioneering development it has had its -setbacks. But the sincerity of the effort and solid accomplishment made, -entitles the project to thoughtful consideration. - - - - - Contents - - - Dedication v - Foreword vii - I. German Submarines in American Waters 1 - A little known story from the first World War. - II. British Airships in the First World War 9 - The use of non-rigid airships in Europe in 1914-18--as - convoys, and as scouts against mines and U-boats. - III. American Airships in Two Wars 13 - Activities in first war, though building of ships, training - of men and erecting of bases had to be done after war broke - out. - IV. The Beginnings of Flight 21 - Difference between airships and airplanes--classes of - airships--progress, from Montgolfiers to Santos Dumont to - 1914. - V. Effect on Aeronautics of Post-War Reaction 28 - Blimps overshadowed by Zeppelins and airplanes--only rigid - airships had anything like continuing program, and they - because of possible commercial value--effect on public - opinion of Lindbergh flight and first arrival of the Graf - Zeppelin. - VI. Airship Improvements Between Wars 32 - Helium gas--structural changes--development of mooring - mast--Navy experiments in picking up water ballast from the - ocean. - VII. Adventures of the Goodyear Fleet 45 - Reason for starting--adventures--familiarize country with - airships--safety record--evolution of masting technique. - VIII. Results of Fleet Operations 61 - Weather information--effect on flying and ground handling - practice--on ship design--created bases, ships and - construction plants which might prove useful in emergency. - IX. Vulnerability of Airships 67 - References 72 - Index 73 - - - - - CHAPTER I - German Submarines in American Waters - - - [Illustration: Submarine] - -In the last six months of the first World War Germany sent six -submarines to America at intervals starting in April, to lay mines along -our shipping lanes, attack merchantmen, drive the fishing fleet ashore, -try to force this country to call back part of its European fleet for -home defense--and in any case to give America, geographically aloof from -the war, a taste of what war was like. - -These activities were overshadowed at the time by graver events, or -hidden by military secrecy. Few people even today know that ships were -sunk and men killed by German U-boats within sight of our coast.[1] - -It was in no sense an all-out effort. Only a handful of submarines were -used. The attack was launched late in the war, in fact one of the six -didn't even reach American waters, was called back by news of the -Armistice. Submarines of that day had a cruising range of some three -months, could spend only three weeks in our coastal waters, used the -rest of the time getting over and back. - -But in those few weeks these six submarines destroyed exactly 100 ships, -of all sizes, types and registry, killed 435 people. Most of the ships -were peaceful unarmed merchantmen, coastwise ships from the West Indies -and South America, tankers from Galveston, fishing ships heading back -from the Grand Banks, supply ships carrying guns and war materials to -England, a few stragglers from convoys. - -The subs' biggest catch was the USS San Diego, a cruiser, sunk by mine -off Fire Island, just outside New York harbor, July 19, 1918, with 1,180 -officers and men aboard. Only six lives, fortunately, were lost. The -battleship Minnesota, escorted by a destroyer, struck a mine off Fenwick -shoals light ship, early in the morning of September 29, but made -temporary repairs and limped back into Philadelphia Navy Yard 18 hours -later. A fragment of the mine was found imbedded in her frame work. - - [Illustration: Reproduced from U.S. Navy map showing track of - submarines operating in American waters during last few months of - first World War.] - -Mines were laid at strategic points. One field, with its mines 500 to -1,000 yards apart was laid off Cape Hatteras, one at the mouth of -Chesapeake Bay, one across Delaware Bay, two in between these key -inlets, another off Barnegat, and the last off Fire Island. Some of the -mines drifted ashore, others were found and destroyed--the last ones not -till the following January. But mines accounted for six of the ships -lost. - -One of the submarines, the U-117, built as a mine layer, planted 46 of -the 58 mines laid along our shores; four others were merchant subs of -the Deutschland type, including the Deutschland itself, which had twice -previously visited this country on ostensibly friendly missions. - -Though the subs encountered a few victims on the way over or back, most -of the ships were destroyed in the shallower waters within 200 miles of -the American and Canadian coast. The fishing was better close in. - -Naval Intelligence knew, through Admiral Sims' office in London, just -when each submarine left Kiel, what its probable destination was, and -its approximate arrival date. The Navy could not broadcast this -information, lest U-boat captains learn they were expected, but took -appropriate defense measures. Even so, each submarine traveled directly -to its destination, carried out its mission. - -U-boats operated almost with immunity from Newfoundland to the Virginia -capes. Twice American men of war passed over submerging craft so close -as almost to ram them. The U-151 worked at cutting cables for three -days, near enough to New York City that the crew could see the lights of -Broadway at night. The U-115, lying off the Virginia capes, came to the -surface one afternoon just in time for its periscope to disclose a -cruiser, two destroyers and a Navy tug a mile away, peacefully returning -from routine target practice, entirely unaware that the U-boat was -lurking in the vicinity. - -The submarines got a poor press that summer, not only for reasons of -military secrecy, but because more stirring news held the attention of -the public. The AEF was beginning to see action in France. - -Still headlines flashed occasionally as censorship was raised, or -survivors brought in stories. From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin -during this period: - -"Hun U-boats Raid New Jersey coast--Schooner Edward H. Cole Attacked by -two Submarines, Destroyed--Two Attacked Off New England--Atlantic Ports -Closed"--and the story, under New York date line: "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 rates." - -News Flash--"Wireless report from passenger steamer Carolina says she is -under attack"--The Carolina is sunk, 300 survivors are landed at -Barnegat Bay, 19 at Lewes Del., 30 at Atlantic City, others picked up in -open boats. - - [Illustration: On this map of actual ship sinkings and mine layings - in 1918 is superimposed a sketch of the area which a handful of - modern patrol blimps might cover.] - -Then: "Navy mine sweepers sent out to destroy mines and floating -torpedoes which had missed target--tanker Herbert L. Pratt strikes mine -in shallow water on maiden voyage--War Department asks Congress for -$10,000,000 to set up balloon and plane stations along the coast to -combat sub menace--British steamer Harpathian torpedoed off Virginia -capes--American vessel, name withheld, puts back to 'an Atlantic port' -after being chased by U-boat." - -The record continues: "San Diego sunk by mine--tug and four barges -sunk--British freighter attacked--sub sends landing crew on board lumber -schooner off Maine coast, set her afire--Steamer Merak sunk off -Hatteras--tanker torpedoed off Barnegat Bay, beaches blanketed with -oil--Norwegian steamer Vinland--British steamer Peniston and Swedish -steamer Sydland off Nantucket--nine U. S. fishing vessels off -Massachusetts coast--British tanker Mirlo--U.S. Schooner Dorothy -Barrett--tanker Frederick R. Kellogg" and so on and on. - -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 time. But -somewhere, half forgotten in Naval files, is an official report, -painstakingly compiled after the war, from ship logs, from stories by -merchant captains and crews, even by officers of surrendered German -submarines, to make up as complete a record as possible of one of the -amazing operations of the war--and one whose magnitude, in territory -covered and damage done, few suspected, even within the Navy, at the -time. - -Only two subs had so much as a brush with American ships. The transport -von Steuben, former German liner, proceeding to the rescue of men in -life boats from a merchant ship, dropped depth bombs which the U-boat -escaped by diving to 83 meters, lying low till the enemy had gone. - -Closer call had the U-140, largest and most modern of the fleet, which -after sinking several ships off Diamond Shoals, including the light ship -itself, almost caught a tartar when the Brazilian passenger liner, -Uberabe, zigzagging furiously to escape, sent out S.O.S. messages which -brought four U.S. destroyers hurrying to the rescue. Nearest was the USS -Stringham, which proceeding under full speed, using the Uberabe as a -screen, charged on the U-boat, dropped 15 depth charges when the U-boat -dived, timed to explode at different levels. - - [Illustration: Training exercises with U. S. submarines have taught - airship captains much about the habits, movements and - characteristics of the underseas craft. (U. S. Navy photo).] - - [Illustration: The year before America got into the last war the - German submarine U-51 sank a half dozen merchant ships off Nantucket - Island then proceeded into Newport. (U. S. Navy photo)] - - [Illustration: Navy airships in practice patrols identify, as to - class and nationality, all surface ships in their area, learn to - recognize the silhouette of a submarine from afar. (U. S. Navy - photo)] - -The U-boat captain, one of the best in the German navy, drove his craft -at a sharp angle to 400 feet. One charge exploding underneath the sub -turned it stern upward till it stood almost perpendicular. He managed to -level out finally at 415 feet, lay there as long as he dared, finally -reached the surface. 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 back. - -The only U-boat casualty was the U-156 which after getting 34 victims in -American waters, getting eight in one day, was itself sunk by mines--but -off Faroe Island as it was almost home. - -This then is the story of submarine operations in U. S. waters in -1918--a half hearted effort of short duration started late in the -day--but which destroyed 100 ships, totalling 200,000 tons, most of them -close to our shores. - -No one could doubt but that in the event of another war submarines would -be used again, and in more vigorous fashion. The American fleet might -easily keep major enemy ships at a safe distance, and bombing attack -from any part of Europe or over the Pacific would have little military -value. But certainly submarines would find their way past the screen of -Navy craft, bob up off American harbors, again to lay mines in the path -of coastwise steamers, deliver hit-and-run attack by torpedo and gunfire -at American craft. - -We could be equally sure that these ugly motorized sharks, churning the -muddy sub-surface waters, would not be satisfied to attack merchantmen -only, would be looking for bigger prey. - -On the map showing the operations of German submarines in 1918 let us -superimpose, as an example, the patrol area which two blimps, basing at -Boston, Lakehurst, Cape May and Norfolk might effectively cover in a 12 -hour period. - -A patrol area of 2,000 square miles per ship is conservative. It assumes -the ship flying at no faster than 35 knots, having visibility of five -miles in all directions. As a matter of fact, allowing a little more -than 40 knots speed--and the airship cruises considerably faster than -that--we might say that a modern blimp could patrol an area 10 miles -wide and 500 miles long in the 12 hours, or an area of 5,000 square -miles. But by criss-crossing back and forth in accordance with a -progressive plan, an area of 2,000 square miles could be made reasonably -secure--except under extremely adverse conditions of visibility. - -Laying these patrol areas down over the map of submarine operations of -1918 it is apparent that such patrols would cover much of the territory -where ship sinkings were achieved, cover all of the areas where mines -were laid. - -With blimps operating from such bases, in addition to the patrols being -executed by other naval craft, we might conclude that no submarine could -venture within 100 miles of the American coast during daylight hours -without considerable risk of detection, and that blimps should be able -to make contribution to the safety of coastwise shipping and harbor -cities. - -The patrol areas assigned to the blimps would have their flanks exposed, -but airship patrol would be co-ordinated with that of airplanes and -surface craft, guarding the areas farther out. - -That this conclusion is reasonable is indicated by the fact that from -1939 on, Lakehurst Naval Air Station, under command of Commander G. H. -Mills had been doing just this, patroling areas all the way from -Nantucket to Cape Hatteras. - - - - - CHAPTER II - British Airships in the First War - - - [Illustration: Airship over water] - -Germany entered the first World War with high expectations as to one, -perhaps two of its new weapons of war. Its submarines might offset -Britain's superiority at sea, and certainly the Zeppelins, which had -proved themselves in four years of commercial flying, would be able to -cross the English Channel and carry the war to the island which had seen -no invasion since William the Conqueror. - -No nation except Germany had Zeppelins. And as the German people began -to feel the pinch of the blockade, cutting their life line of food and -supplies, they brought increasing public pressure on High Command to use -these weapons to punish England. - -Later commentators have speculated as to whether, if Germany had held -its fire, waited till it could assemble an overpowering force of -Zeppelins and submarines and stage a joint attack, it might not have -been able to force a quick decision. - -But the Zeppelins were sent over a few at a time, as fast as they could -be built, and England was given time to devise defenses. These were -chiefly higher altitude airplanes, farther ranging anti-aircraft guns, -sky piercing searchlights, which combined to force the invaders to fly -continuously higher as the war wore on, as high as 25,000 feet at times, -with corresponding sacrifice of bombing accuracy. And when machine guns, -synchronized with the propellers, were mounted in airplane cockpits, and -began to spit inflammable bullets into the hydrogen filled bags and send -them down in flames, the duel took on more even terms. - -Less spectacularly the Zeppelins were used on a wide scale as -reconnaissance and scouting craft, 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 forces, were acknowledged even by the -British to have played an important part in the Battle of Jutland. - -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 craft. Planes staged spectacular battles along the -Allied lines in France, but lack of range and carrying capacity forced -them to leave sea battles to the airship. As a measure of that -situation, the great hangars at Friedrichshafen, spawning ground of the -Zeppelins, one of the outstanding targets in all Europe if England were -to draw the dirigible's fangs, lay hardly more than a hundred miles from -the French borders, but even that distance was too great for effective -attack. - -While these greater events were taking place, British airships, smaller -in size, less spectacular, were playing no small part in repelling -Germany's other threat, the submarine. - - - 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 practical. There were mechanical -troubles, accidents, usually costly. Even Germany, prior to 1914, 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 again. - -But the war was only a few weeks old when the captain of the U-9, -cruising down the Dutch coast, discovered that his gyro compass was off, -and when he got his bearings saw that he was 50 miles off course. He -wasted no breath, however, on many-syllabled German swear words, for off -on his southern horizon were the masts of three British ships. He dived, -came up alongside, and in 30 minutes, single handed, with well directed -torpedoes, had sunk in turn HMS Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy. - -The morning of September 22, 1914, marked the beginning of a new era in -Naval warfare. The warring nations grew furiously busy building their -own U-boats and devising defenses against the enemy's. Among these -defenses was the non-rigid airship. - -These two vehicles, so widely different, have much in common. If we may -be technical for a minute we may say that the airship and the submarine -are both buoyant bodies, completely immersed and floating in a -medium--air and water respectively--of changing pressures, that each -uses dual sets of steering gear and rudders to control direction and -altitude. And further, that the airship in 1941 faces the same division -of opinion as the submarine faced in 1914, as to whether, particularly -with rigid airships, it will ever be widely used and accepted. - -In any event in 1914 there was an urgent and immediate job to be done. - -Indicator nets and high explosive mines might give some protection to -harbors, might be stretched across steamship lanes and planted around -the hiding places of the submarines, if those could be discovered. But -troop ships and munition ships and food ships must be dispatched without -interruption across the tricky waters of the English Channel to France, -and for this purpose convoy escorts were devised, with camouflaged -warships zigzagging alongside, while high aloft in lookout stations men -with binoculars strained their eyes, searching the waters, ahead, -astern, alongside, their search lingering long over every bit of -floating wreckage--and there was a lot of it--to make sure it was not a -periscope. - -These lookouts aboard ship quickly had a new ally in the air. As the -submarine menace grew, binoculars began to flash too from the fuselages -of bobbing blimps overhead. At a few hundred or perhaps a thousand feet -elevation they could see deep below the surface, 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 presence, -might even pick out the shadowy form of the submerged craft itself. - -The value of the airship in convoy was that it could fly slowly, could -throttle down its motors and march in step with its charges, cruise -ahead, alongside, behind. The very speed of its sister craft, the -airplane, handicapped its use in this field. - -This characteristic of the blimp was even more useful in hunting U-boat -nests. The blimp could head into the wind, with its motors barely -turning over, hover for hours at zero speed over suspect areas. It could -fly at low altitudes, follow even slender clues. Seagulls following a -periscope sometimes gave highly useful information. An orange crate -moving against the tide attracted the attention of one alert pilot, for -the crate concealed a periscope, and the blimp dropped -bombs--successfully. - -When a blimp discovered a submarine, it would give chase. With its 50 -knots of reserve speed it was faster than any warship, much faster than -the poky wartime submarine, which could do only 10 or 12 knots on the -surface, much less than half that when submerged. If it was lucky the -airship might drop a bomb alongside before the sub got away. - -And run for cover the submarine always did. It wanted no argument with a -ship which could see it under water, could out-run it, and might plunk a -bomb alongside before its presence was even suspected. - -Airships did get their subs during the war. The records, always -incomplete in the case of submarines, whose casualties were invisible, -show that British blimps sighted 49 U-boats, led to the destruction of -27. But their greater usefulness lay in the fact that their mere -presence sent the underseas craft scuttling for submerged safety. - -Between June, 1917, and the end of the war British blimps flew 1,500,000 -miles, nearly as many as the Zeppelins. A French Commission made an -exhaustive study of dirigible operations after the war, and the late -Rear Admiral W. A. Moffett quoted from its reports in summarizing -lighter-than-air lessons taken from the war, when he told the Naval -Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives that "as far as they -could learn, no steamer was ever molested by submarines when escorted by -a non-rigid airship." - -France and Italy had long coast lines, used the blimps extensively along -the Bay of Biscay, the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, but England found -still greater use for them because it was an island. So blimp scouts -played a singularly useful role from Land's End to the Orkneys, stood -watch at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, the Solway, the Humber, and -the Thames. - - - - - CHAPTER III - American Airships in Two Wars - - - [Illustration: Airship and hangar] - -Compared to British and French airships, American dirigibles made a less -impressive record during the first war. - -This for the reasons that there were few enemy activities in our waters -until the very end, and that there were few American airships to oppose -them. Virtually the entire airship organization had to be created after -we got into the war. - -Naval attachés abroad had been watching blimp operations over the -English channel, and on the basis of rather meager information which -they furnished, Navy designers were working on plans, when the Secretary -of the Navy, in February 1917, 60 days before the declaration of war, -ordered 16 blimps started at once. - -Nine of these were to be built by Goodyear which had at least given some -study to the principles, had built a few balloons, one of which, flown -by its engineers out of Paris, had won the James Gordon Bennett Cup -Race. - -No one in this country, however, knew much about building airships, and -less about flying them after they were built. Operating bases would have -to be built and the very construction plants as well. The first Goodyear -airship under the Navy order was completed before the airship dock -(hangar) at Wingfoot Lake was ready, and the ship had to be erected in -Chicago and flown in. - -The engineers who built it, Upson and Preston, made their first airship -flight in delivering the ship to Akron, using theoretical principles -applied in the international balloon race the year before, to make up -for their lack of practical experience. - -Those first ships were small, slow, lacked range, uncovered many -shortcomings. Flight training was done under adverse circumstances. Men -had to teach themselves to fly airships, then teach others to fly them. - -The pilots were chiefly engineering students from the colleges, with a -sprinkling of Navy officers. They had to take their advanced training -abroad at British and French bases, because there were no facilities -here, and in fact did most of their flying abroad. By the end of the war -American pilots were manning three British airship bases and had taken -over practically all the French operations, including the large base at -Paimboeuf, across the Loire from St. Nazaire, on the French coast. - -So the war was well along before American bases were set up and manned. -These were at Chatham, Mass., at Montauk and Rockaway, N. Y., at Cape -May, Norfolk and Key West. Like the airplane patrols the blimps saw -little action, though they had an advantage in that they could stay out -all day, while the short range planes of 1917-18 had to come back every -few hours to refuel. - -A patrol airship at Chatham, Mass. missed its chance in that it was -adrift at sea with engine trouble when the German U-156 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 scene, -whose few bombs did not explode. - -The blimp patrols, however, uncovered one other type of activity. More -than once they spotted suspicious looking craft emerging under cover of -fog, from remote coves and inlets along the Long Island coast, fishing -boats and barges with improvised power plant and curious looking -paraphernalia on deck. Keeping the stranger in sight the blimp summoned -armored craft from shore which sent boarding crews on, found mines -destined for the New York steamship lanes. - -A more important result of the blimp operations was the improvements in -design which were found, particularly in the "C" type ship, brought out -in 1918, of which 20 were built. They had much better performance in -range, power, could make 60 miles speed, were faster than any airships -except the Zeppelins. Navy officers and crews came to have high respect -for them. - - [Illustration: Here's the gallant C-5, which with a bit of luck - would have been the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic. (U. S. - Navy photo)] - - [Illustration: Wingfoot Lake, Akron, was a busy place during the - first war, as the spawning ground of scores of blimps, hundreds of - training and observation balloons.] - - [Illustration: "Finger patches" of rope ends raveled out and - cemented to the outside of the bag were used in 1918 to support the - weight of the gondola--an improvised airplane fuselage.] - - [Illustration: During most of the period between World wars the Navy - had only a few J-type ships, but used them effectively in training - and experimental work. (U. S. Navy photo)] - -Which led to one of the interesting aeronautic adventure stories of the -period. It happened just after the Armistice. - -Men had come out of the war with imaginations afire over the -possibilities of aircraft. One challenge lay open--the Atlantic--no one -had flown it. - -In the breathing spell brought by the Armistice, the British were -preparing their new Zeppelin R-34 for the crossing; two English planes -were being shipped to Newfoundland to try to fly back; the U. S. Navy -had a seaplane crossing in prospect. There was even a German plan. A new -Zeppelin had just been finished at Friedrichshafen when the Armistice -was signed, and the crew planned to fly it to America as a -demonstration--but authorities got wind of it and blocked the venture. - -But of all the Atlantic crossings about which men were dreaming in early -1919, none is more interesting than the one projected for the little -blimps. - -The C-5, newest of the non-rigid airships built for the Navy, was -stationed at Montauk, and there one night a group of officers sat -intensively studying charts and weather maps. St. John's, Newfoundland, -1,400 miles away, would be the first leg of the trip. It was easily -within the cruising radius of the ship, particularly if they got helping -winds, which they should if the time was carefully picked. From there to -Ireland was another 1850 miles, also within range with the prevailing -westerly winds. - -Permission was asked from Washington, and the Navy flashed back its -approval and its blessing, assigned five experienced officers to the -project: Lieut. Comdr. Coil, Lieuts. Lawrence, Little, Preston, and -Peck. The USS Chicago was sent ahead to St. John's to stand by and give -any help needed. - -Shortly after sunrise on May 15, 1919, motors were warmed up and the -ship shoved off from the tip of Long Island with six men aboard headed -for Newfoundland. At 7 o'clock the next morning they circled over the -deck of the _Chicago_, dropped their handling lines to the waiting -ground crew on a rocky point at St. John's. The first leg had been made -in a little more than 24 hours, at an average speed of nearly 60 miles -per hour. - -The morning was clear and comparatively calm. Coil and Lawrence went -aboard the _Chicago_ to catch a little sleep before the final hop over -the ocean. The others saw to re-fueling the C-5, stowing provisions -aboard, topping off a bit of hydrogen from the cylinders alongside. -Mechanics swarmed over the motors. All was well. - -But about 10 o'clock gusts began to sweep down from Hudson's Bay, -dragging the ground crew over the rocks. There were no mooring masts in -those days. A modern mast would have saved the ship. More sailors were -put on the lines and word sent to Coil and Lawrence. If the ground crew -could hold the ship till the pilots could get aboard and cut loose, the -storm would give them a flying start over the Atlantic. - -But the wind blew steadily stronger as the commander was hurrying -ashore. It reached gale force, hurricane force, 40 knots, 60 knots in -gusts, varying in direction crazily around a 60-degree arc. It picked -the ship up and slammed it down, damaging the fuselage, breaking a -propeller. Little and Peck climbed aboard to pull the rip panel and let -the gas out. After the storm passed, they could cement the panel back -in, reinflate the bag and go on. - -But the fates were against them. The cord leading to the rip panel -broke. Desperately, the two men started climbing up the suspension -cables to the gas bag with knives, planning to rip the panel out by -hand. But a tremendous gust caught the ship, lifted it up. Seeing the -danger to the crew, Peck shouted to them to let go, and he and Little -dropped over the side. Little broke an ankle. - -The ship surged upward, crewless, set off like another "Flying Dutchman" -across the Atlantic, was never seen again. - -Just three days later Hawker and Grieve set out from St. John's, landed -in the ocean. Alcock and Brown cut loose their landing gear a month -later and landed in Ireland. One of the three Navy seaplanes, the NC-4, -reached Europe on May 31 and the British dirigible R-34 set out on July -2 for its successful round trip to Mitchel Field. - -But for a trick of fate and the lack of equipment available today, a -blimp would have been first to get across. - -Many things happened in the airship field between the two wars, but most -of them affected non-rigid airships only indirectly, as the Navy was -primarily concerned with the larger rigids. - -The loss of the Hindenburg by hydrogen fire (which American helium would -have prevented), coming on the heels of tragic setbacks in this country -was enough to dismay anyone except Commander C. E. Rosendahl and his -stouthearted associates at Lakehurst Naval Air Station. - -They didn't give up. Setbacks were inevitable to progress. Count -Zeppelin had built and lost five rigid airships prior to 1909, but he -went on to build ships which were flown successfully in war and peace. -If the Germans, using hydrogen, could do this, Americans, with helium, -should not find it impossible, Lakehurst reasoned. And if they had no -rigid airships to fly and no immediate likelihood of getting any they -would use blimps. - -The Navy was more familiar than the public with what the British and -French airships had accomplished in the first war. Studying, as all Navy -officers were doing in that period, the various possibilities of attack -and defense, in case the war then threatening Europe should sweep across -the Atlantic, they came to the conclusion that the coast line of America -was no more remote from German submarines in 1938 than the coast of -England was in 1914. - -The airplane had improved vastly in speed, range, and striking power, -and their very multiplicity had ruled out the blimps over the English -channel, even if helium was available, but those conclusions did not -hold along the American coast. - -The heroic part played by Allied blimps was a part of the legend of the -airship service. 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 last. Commander J. L. Kenworthy and after him -Commander G. H. Mills as commanding officer at Lakehurst turned to -non-rigids. - -Under Mills was instituted, quietly, unostentatiously, with what ships -he had, a series of practice patrols to determine the usefulness of -airships in this field, to discover and perfect technique, and to train -officers and men. - -Lakehurst had a curious conglomeration of airships to start with. There -were two J ships of immediate post-war type, with open cockpits, 210,000 -cubic feet capacity; two TC ships, inherited from the Army, of more -modern design, and larger size; the ZMC2, an experimental job built to -study the use of a metal cover, and about to be scrapped after nine -years of existence; the L-1, the same size as the Goodyear ships, -123,000 cubic feet, the first modern training ship, which would be -joined later by the L-2 and L-3; the G-1, a larger trainer of Goodyear -Defender size, useful for group instruction, and the 320,000 cubic foot -K-1, which had been built for experiments in the use of fuel gas. Only -the K-2, prototype of the 416,000 cubic foot patrol ships later ordered -could be called a modern airship, though the Army dirigibles also had -good cruising radius. - -Yet with this curious assortment of airships of various sizes, types and -ages, the Navy carried on practice patrols covering the areas between -Montauk and the Virginia Capes, flying day after day, built an -impressive accumulation of flight data, missed very few days on account -of weather, made it a point not to miss a rendezvous with the surface -fleet. More than any one thing it was this demonstration, over an -18-month period, which led to the revival of an airship program in this -country, the ordering of ships and land bases. - -Let us see what a blimp patrol is like. The airship can fly up to 65 -knots or better, but this is no speed flight. The motors are throttled -down to 40 knots, so that the crew may see clearly, take its time, study -the moving surface underneath, scrutinize every trace of oil smear on -the surface, alert for the tell-tale "feather" of the submarine's wake, -air bubbles, a phosphorescent glow at night, for even a bit of debris -which might conceal a periscope. - -A school of whales, a lone hammerhead shark on the surface or submerged -stirs the interest of the patrol, offers a tempting live target for the -bombs,--light charges with little more powder than a shot gun shell -uses. Now a ship records a direct hit on a shark's back 500 feet below. -He shakes his head, dives to escape this unseen enemy aloft. The airship -gives chase, follows the moving shadow below, so strikingly resembling a -submarine, finds the practice useful. - -Of the crew of eight, everyone on the airship is on watch, with an -observation tower open on all sides, without interference of wings, as -in the airplane. Compared with surface craft, the airship can patrol -more area in a dawn to dusk patrol because of its speed and its wide -range of unbroken observation. - -The submarine is more efficient in relatively shallow depths, but -airships have spotted the silhouetted shadow of U-boats in clear water -as deep as 70 feet below the surface. The submarine will attempt to -maneuver within a mile of its target to launch its torpedoes -effectively. But even at a mile away the ten inches of periscope which -projects above the surface is difficult for other craft to -detect,--either for a cruiser at sea level, or an airplane, flying at -relatively high speed, a threat either may miss. - -Airship crews are at action stations even during peace time, on the -alert against the appearance of strange craft. They identify each -passing ship through binoculars, by voice or radio, taking no chances -that attack without warning by a seeming peaceful ship might not be a -declaration of war. As many as 40 or 50 ships may be encountered and -identified in a day's patrol. The airships are off at sun-up, back at -sundown, unless on more extended reconnaissance, move quietly into the -big dock. - -Patrol is tedious work. Occasionally there is a break in the routine. -Lt. Boyd has been assigned command of the big TC-14 for the next day's -patrol. He is up late studying the curious tracks he is to follow in -coordination with the other airships. At midnight however the radio -brings startling word. An airplane leaving Norfolk with a crew of ten -for Newport, is reported missing. Nearby destroyers, airplanes, -airships, are ordered out as a searching party. The TC-14, having the -longest cruising radius, 52 hours without refueling, is sent off at -once, with a senior officer, Lt. Trotter, in charge. Men's lives may be -at stake. - -By daylight, the TC-14 has flown over the entire northern half of the -plane's track and back, watching intently for distress signals or flares -or any sign of the distressed plane. Three miles north of Hog Island -light outside Norfolk, the ship encounters fog extending clear to the -water. Search of this area is hopeless and the ship scouts the edges, -waits for the fog to burn off. At noon as it lifts, pieces of wreckage -are spotted at the very area which it had hidden, and which the TC-14 -had flown over five hours earlier. - -The airship cruised around, hoping that some bit of wreckage might -support a survivor, finally returned to its station after 20 hours, -during which time it had covered 1,000 miles, intensively in parallel -courses 20 miles wide. Had the luckless plane or any of its crew been -able to send up flares anywhere within an area of 20,000 square miles of -water, the airship could have come up alongside and effected a rescue in -a matter of minutes. - -In the meantime, Lt. Boyd, originally assigned to TC-14, was up at dawn -only to learn of the change in plans. He was assigned to pilot the -smaller G-1 trainer to New London, keep a sharp look-out enroute for the -missing plane, then work with the destroyers on torpedo exercises. The -G-1 had no galley aboard and in the rush the matter of food for an -18-hour cruise was somehow overlooked, and Boyd and his crew set off -with only a couple of sardine sandwiches apiece and a pot of coffee, -which quickly grew cold. - -Late in the afternoon, seeing his crew growing hungrier and -hungrier,--for airshipping is excellent for the appetite,--Boyd had an -idea. He radioed the Destroyer Division Commander: "After last torpedo -recovered, would you be able to furnish us with some hot coffee and a -loaf of bread, if we lower a container on a 200-foot line across your -after deck?" - -Never in naval history had an airship borrowed chow from a surface -craft. But the answer came promptly. "Affirmative. Do you wish cream and -sugar?" - -There was nothing in the books giving the procedure for borrowing a meal -from the air, but the crew rigged up a line from a target sleeve reel, -fastened a hook with a quick release at the end, attached a monkey -wrench to weight it down, stood by for the word to come alongside. - -Then while the crews of three destroyers watched, the G-1 swung slowly -over the destroyer's deck. One sailor caught the line held it while a -second filled the coffee pot, and a third attached a load of sandwiches. -Then the airship sailors hauled away, radioed their thanks, set off for -the 200 mile trip back to Lakehurst, while hundreds of sailors below -waved their white caps and cheered, a little inter-ship courtesy between -sky and sea which all hands will long remember. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - The Beginnings of Flight - - - [Illustration: Hot-air balloon] - -In the spring of 1783, as the American Revolution was nearing a -successful conclusion, two brothers named Montgolfier sitting before a -fire at a little town in France found themselves wondering why smoke -went up into the air. - -That was just as foolish as Newton wondering why an apple, detached from -the tree, fell down. Smoke had always gone up and apples had always come -down. That was all there was to it. - -But when men wonder momentous events may be in the making. In these -instances epochal discoveries resulted: the law of gravitation and the -possibility of human flight. - -The legends of Icarus and the narrative of Darius Green are symbols of -the long ambition of earth-bound men, even before the days of recorded -history, to leave the earth and soar into the air. The Montgolfiers had -found the key. - -But a hundred years would pass before the discovery would be put to use. -It was in 1903 that another pair of brothers, the Wrights, made their -first flight from Kill Devil Hill in North Carolina. The first Zeppelin -took off from the shores of Lake Constance in 1900. - -The Montgolfiers wasted no time testing out their conclusion that smoke -rose because it was lighter than the air. They built a great paper bag -35 feet high, hung a brazier of burning charcoal under it, and off it -went. Annonnay is a small town but the story of that miracle spread far -and wide. The Academy of Science invited them to the capital to repeat -the experiment. - -But while they were building a new bag a French physicist, Prof. J. A. -C. Charles, stole a march on them. He knew that hydrogen was also -lighter than air, so constructed a bag of silk, inflated it with -hydrogen, sent it aloft before the Montgolfiers were ready. - -Still the countrymen were not to lose their hour of glory. Merely to -repeat what had already been done was not enough. Their balloon was to -be flown from the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, before the king -and court and all the great folk of Paris, with half the people of the -city craning their necks to watch it pass over. So they loaded aboard a -basket containing a sheep, a duck and a rooster, and these three became -aircraft's first passengers. - -When the U. S. Army Air Corps years later sought an appropriate insignia -for its lighter-than-air division, it could think of nothing more -fitting than a design which included a rooster, a duck and a sheep. - -Everyone was ready for the next step. A French judge had the solution. -He offered the choice to several prisoners awaiting execution--a balloon -flight or the guillotine. Two volunteered, felt they had at least a -chance with the balloon, whereas the guillotine was distressingly final. -They had nothing to lose. That word rang through Paris. A young gallant -named De Rozier objected. - -"The chance might succeed," he said. "The honor of being the first man -to fly should not go to a convict, but to a gentleman of France. I offer -my life." - -Even the king protested at this needless risk, but De Rozier took off -the following month, flew half way over Paris, landed safely. This -happened on Nov. 21, 1783. - -Among the witnesses to these experiments was Benjamin Franklin, the -American ambassador, himself a scientist of no small renown. He -predicted great things for aeronautics. - -"But of what use is a balloon?" asked a practical-minded friend. - -"Of what use," replied the American, "is a baby?" - -A little later, on January 7, 1785, Jean Pierre Francois Blanchard, a -Frenchman, and Dr. John Jeffries, an American, practicing medicine in -England, inflated a balloon, took off from the cliffs of Dover at one -o'clock in the afternoon, arrived safely in Calais three hours later. - - [Illustration: Santos Dumont startled Paris in 1910, when he let an - American girl fly one of his airships over the city. To descend she - threw her weight forward, to climb she moved back a step.] - - [Illustration: A dramatic meeting of two rivals for the honor of - making the first Atlantic crossing. The Navy's NC flying boats and - the non-rigid C-5, photographed shortly before their take-off.] - - [Illustration: Blimps too may use masts aboard surface ships as - anchorage point on long cruises, as the U.S.S. Los Angeles - successfully demonstrated when moored to the U.S.S. Patoka. (U. S. - Navy photo)] - - [Illustration: The Army's TC-7 demonstrates the first airplane - pick-up at Dayton. Army pilots found that at flying speed the plane - weighed nothing, was sustained by dynamic forces. (U. S. Army - photo)] - -Flight was here, though it would be a long time becoming practical. Dr. -Charles and many others contributed, even at that early day. Knowing -that hydrogen expanded as the air pressure grew less, at higher -altitudes, Charles devised a valve at the top of the balloon, so that -the surplus gas could be released, not burst the balloon. He devised a -net from which the basket could be suspended, distributing its load over -the entire bag. - -The drag rope was evolved, an ingenious device to stabilize the -balloon's flight in unstable air. If the balloon tended to rise it would -have to carry the entire weight of the rope. If it grew sluggish and -drifted low, it had less weight to carry, as much of the rope now lay on -the ground. These ballooning principles, early found, are still in use. -But the "dirigible" balloon, or airship must wait for light weight, -dependable motors, despite the hundreds of ingenious experiments made by -men over a full century. - -Since this is an airship story, we should first make clear the -difference between the airship and the airplane. - -The French hit on an apt phrase to distinguish them, dividing aircraft -into those which are lighter than the air, such as airships, and those -which are heavier than the air, like airplanes. - -Airships are literally lighter than air. So are all free balloons, used -for training and racing, and all anchored balloons, such as the -observation balloon widely used in the last war and the barrage balloons -of the present war. - -The airship goes up and stays up because the buoyancy given by its -lifting gas makes it actually lighter than the air it displaces, and -even with the load of motors, fuel, equipment and passengers, must still -use ballast to hold it in equilibrium. - -The airplane, on the other hand, is heavier than the air. 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 wings, similar to that -which makes a kite stay up. A kite may be flown in calm weather only if -the one who holds the cord keeps running. On a windy day, the kite may -be anchored on the ground, and the movement of the wind alone will have -sufficient lifting effect. So powerful are these air forces that a plane -weighing 20 tons may climb to an altitude of 10,000 feet if its speed is -great enough, and its area of wing surface broad enough to produce this -kiting effect. - -But an airplane can remain aloft only as long as it is moving faster -than a certain minimum speed. Cut the motors, or even throttle down -below this stalling speed, and the plane will start earthward. - -The airship needs its motors only to propel it forward. It can cut its -speed, even stop its engines, and nothing happens. It retains its -buoyancy, continues to float. The airplane's lift is dynamic, that of -the airship is static. - -The airship has some dynamic lift, also, because its horizontal fins or -rudders, and the body of the airship have some kiting effect in flight. -The blimp pilot, starting on a long trip, will fill up his tanks with -all the fuel the ship can lift statically, then take on another 2,000 -pounds, taxi across the airport till he gets flying speed and so get -under way with many more miles added to his cruising speed. - -This dynamic lift however, while useful in certain operations is still -incidental. Primarily the airship gets its lift from the fact that the -gas in the envelope is much lighter than the air. - -Hydrogen is only one-fifteenth the weight of air, helium, the -non-inflammable American gas, is a little heavier, about one-seventh. -The practical lift is 68 pounds to the thousand cubic feet of hydrogen, -63 pounds in the case of helium. - -Lighter-than-air ships are of three classes, rigid, semi-rigid and -non-rigid. The rigid airship has a complete metal skeleton, which gives -the ship strength and shape. Into the metal frame of the rigid airship -are built quarters, shops, communication ways, even engine rooms in the -case of the Akron and Macon, with only the control car, fins, and -propellers projecting outside the symmetrical hull. The lifting gas is -carried in a dozen or more separate gas cells, nested within the bays of -the ship. - -The non-rigid airship has no such internal support. The bag keeps its -taut shape only from the gas and air pressure maintained within. Release -the gas and the bag becomes merely a flabby mass of fabric on the hangar -floor. Ship crews do not live in the balloon section, but in the control -car below. - -The British, apt at nicknames, differentiated between the two types of -airships by calling them "rigid" and "limp" types, and since an early -"Type B" was widely used in the first World War, quickly contracted "B, -limp" into the handier word "Blimp." - -The third type, semi-rigid, has a metal keel extending the length of the -ship, to which control surfaces and the car are attached, and with a -metal cone to stiffen the bow section. - -The rigid ship is of German origin. Developed by Count Zeppelin, retired -army officer, and largely used by that nation during the war of 1914-18, -it was taken up after the war started, by the British and Americans, and -to a small extent later by France and Italy. - -Non-rigid ships were widely used by the British and French, to a less -extent by Italy and United States. - -The intermediate semi-rigid was largely Italian and French in war use, -though United States bought one ship after the war from the Italians, -built one itself. The Germans also built smaller Parseval semi-rigids. - -The rigid airships are the largest, the non-rigids smallest. The rigid -has to be large to hold enough gas to lift its metal frame along with -the load of fuel, oil, crew, supplies, passengers and cargo. The blimps -can be much smaller. - -The Army's first airship, built by Major Tom Baldwin, old time -balloonist, had 19,500 cubic feet capacity. Goodyear's pioneer helium -ship "Pilgrim" had 51,000 cubic feet. These contrast with the seven -million feet capacity of the Hindenburg, and the ten million cubic feet -of ships projected for the future. - -The following table will show the range of sizes: - - Rigid Airships: Hindenburg (German) 7,070,000 cubic feet - Akron-Macon (U. S.) 6,500,000 cubic feet - R-100, 101 (British) 5,000,000 cubic feet - Graf Zeppelin (German) 3,700,000 cubic feet - Los Angeles (U. S.) 2,500,000 cubic feet - R-34 (British) 2,000,000 cubic feet - Semi-Rigids: Norge (Italian) 670,000 cubic feet - RS-1 (U. S.) 719,000 cubic feet - Non-Rigids: Navy K type (Patrol) 416,000 cubic feet - Navy G type (Advanced Training) 180,000 cubic feet - Navy L type (Trainer) 123,000 cubic feet - Goodyear (Passenger) 123,000 cubic feet - Pilgrim (Goodyear) 51,000 cubic feet - -The Akron and Macon were 785 feet in length, the K type non-rigid, 250 -feet long, the Navy "L's" 150 feet long. - -Let's cut back now to the Montgolfiers. Progress was disappointingly -slow. The simple balloon would only go up and down, and in the direction -of the wind. Before it could be practical, men must be able to drive it -wherever they liked, make it dirigible, or directable. - -Ingenious men, Meusnier, Giffard, Tissandier, Renard, Krebs, many others -worked over that problem through the entire nineteenth century. They -devised ballonets or air compartments to keep the pressure up. They -built airships of cylinder shape, spindle shape, torpedo shape, airships -shaped like a cigar, like a string bean, like a whale. But the stumbling -block remained, the need of an efficient power plant. - -The steam engine was dependable, but once you had installed firebox, -boiler and cord wood aboard, there was little if any lift remaining for -crew or cargo. Giffard in 1852 built an ingenious small engine using -steam but it still weighed 100 pounds per horsepower, drove the ship at -a speed of only three miles an hour. Automobile engines today weigh as -little as six pounds per horsepower, modern airplane engines one pound -per horsepower. - -Man experimented with feather-bladed oars, with a screw propeller, -turned by hand, using a crew of eight men. Haenlein, German, built a -motor that would use the lifting gas from the ship--coal gas or -hydrogen. Rennard in 1884 built an electric motor, taking power from a -storage battery. - -But real progress would have to wait for the discovery of petroleum in -Pennsylvania and the invention of the internal combustion engine. When -the gasoline engine came in, in the 90's, the dirigible builders saw the -long sought key to their problem. - -While Count Zeppelin was experimenting with his big ships in Germany, -Lebaudy, Juliot, Clement Bayard in France and most conspicuously the -young Brazilian, Santos Dumont, were working with the smaller -dirigibles. Santos Dumont built 14 airships in the first decade of the -century, brought the attention of the world to this project. He won a -100,000 franc prize in 1901 for flying across Paris to circle Eiffel -Tower and return to his starting point--and gave the money to the Paris -poor. - -The Wright Brothers made their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, in 1903, -opening a different field of experiment. France pushed both lines of -research. After Santos Dumont's dirigible flight, Bleriot started from -the little town of Toury in an airplane, flew to the next town and back, -a distance of 17 miles, making only two en route stops,--and the town -erected a monument to him. - -In 1909, Bleriot flew a plane across the English Channel and in the -following year the airship Clement Bayard II duplicated the feat, -carrying a crew of seven, made the 242 miles to London in six hours. - -The year 1910 was a momentous one for all aircraft, with France as the -world center. Bleriot and Farman, Frenchmen, Latham, British, the -Wrights and Curtiss, Americans, broke records almost daily at a big meet -in August that year, while at longer range the French and English -dirigibles and the Parsevals of Germany, and still more important the -great Zeppelins at Lake Constance droned the news of a new epoch. - -A young American engineer, P. W. Litchfield, attended the Paris meet, -saw these wonders, made notes. He stopped in Scotland on his way back, -bought a machine for spreading rubber on fabric, hired the two men -tending it (those men, Ferguson and Aikman, were still at their posts in -Akron thirty odd years later), hired two young technical graduates on -his return, tied in the fortunes of his struggling company with what he -believed was a coming industry. - -The next five years would see the nations of the world bending their -efforts toward perfecting these vehicles of flight,--little realizing -they were building a combat weapon which would revolutionize warfare. - - - - - CHAPTER V - Effect on Aeronautics of Post-War Reaction - - - [Illustration: Airship and escort planes] - -Development of non-rigid airships slowed down after the impetus of the -war had spent itself, as was the case in aeronautics generally and in -all defense efforts. - -With the Armistice of November, 1918, the world was through with war. -Men relaxed and reaction set in. There would not be another major war in -a hundred years. Well-meaning people everywhere grasped at the straw of -universal peace, of negotiated settlement of difficulties between -nations, of disarmament of military forces to the point of being little -more than an international police force. Germany, the trouble-maker, had -been disarmed and handcuffed, would make no more trouble. The world, -breathing freely after four years, wanted only to be left alone. - -Today with major countries striving feverishly to build guns and navies, -it is hard to believe that naïve nations were scrapping ships only a few -years ago and pledging themselves to limit future building. No one in -the immediate post-war era could believe that men must prepare for -another war, an all-out war more terrible and ruthless than men had -known,--one which would send flame-spitting machines down from the air -and through woods and fields, against which conventional foot soldiers -would be as helpless as if they carried bows and arrows. Wishing only to -live at peace with other nations, we could conceive no need to make -defense preparation against frightfulness. - -Congress was divided between "big navy men" and "little navy men," and -generals and admirals who brought in programs for expansion or even -reasonable maintenance were shouted down. The public was in no mood to -listen. - -If the usefulness of the Army and Navy was discounted during this -period, more so was the rising new Air Force. Few were interested in -airplanes, and these chiefly wartime pilots, who sought to keep aviation -alive, made a precarious living flying wartime "Jennies" and "Standards" -out of cow pastures, carrying passengers at a dollar a head, or how much -have you. The word "haywire" came into the language, as they made -open-air repairs to wings and fuselage with baling wire. - -Lighter-than-air had no Rickenbackers or Richthofens to point to, but -got some advantage during this period from the activities of the -Shenandoah, completed in 1923, and the Los Angeles, delivered in 1924. -These ships could not be regarded as military craft, carried no arms. -The Shenandoah was experimental, based on a 1916 design. The Los Angeles -was technically a commercial ship, with passenger accommodations built -in, could be used only for training. - -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 ship. This last ship would be given to -United States in lieu of the Zeppelin this country would have received -from Germany, if the airship crews, like those of the surface fleet, had -not scuttled their craft after the Armistice, to keep them from falling -into enemy hands. The Allies stipulated that the Los Angeles should -carry no armament. It took a specific waiver from them for the ship to -take part several years later in fleet maneuvers. - -Other airship activities in this country were at a minimum. The blimps, -little heard of in this country during War I, remained in the -background. A joint board of the two services gave the Navy -responsibility for developing rigid airships, the Army to take -non-rigids and semi-rigids. The Navy maintained a few post-war blimps -for training, had little funds except for maintenance. - -The Army, having Wright Field to do its engineering and experimental -work, fared somewhat better, carried on a training and something of a -development program. It built bases at Scott Field, Ill., and Langley -Field, Va., ordered one or two non-rigid ships a year, purchased a -semi-rigid ship from Italy, ordered another, the RS-1, from Goodyear, -operated it successfully. - -The Army's non-rigids, however, were overshadowed by the Navy's rigids -and even more by its own airplanes, with the result finally that the -Chief of the Air Corps, Major General O. O. Westover, a believer in -lighter-than-air, an airship as well as airplane pilot, and a former -winner of the James Gordon Bennett cup in international balloon racing, -told Congress bluntly that there was no point in dragging along, that -unless funds were appropriated for a real airship program the Army might -as well close up shop. And this step Congress, in the end, took, and the -Army blimps and equipment were transferred to the Navy, and the -experimental program started by the one service was carried on by the -other. - -The rigid ships were in more favorable position because they seemed to -have commercial possibilities, and it was the long-range policy of the -government to aid transportation. Government support to commercial -airships could be justified under the policy by which the government -gave land grants to the railways, built highways for the automobile, -deepened harbors and built lighthouses for the steamships, laid out -airports for planes, gave airmail contracts to keep the U. S. merchant -flag floating on the high seas and air routes open over land. - -On this theory Navy airships, even though semi-military, got some -support during the reaction period, because they might blaze a trail -later for commercial lines--which, with ships and crews and terminals, -would be available in emergency as a secondary line of defense, like the -merchant marine. - -The little non-rigid blimps remained the neglected Cinderellas of -post-war days. - -The Goodyear Company at Akron, which had built 1000 balloons of all -types and 100 airships during and after the war, stepped into the -picture during this period with a modest program of its own. The first -of the Goodyear fleet, the pioneer, helium-inflated Pilgrim, now in the -Smithsonian Institute, was built in 1925. - - [Illustration: The Atlantic crossing of the Graf Zeppelin in 1928 - and its round-the-world flight in the following year gave new - stimulus to all aeronautics. With a relatively tiny Goodyear blimp - as escort, the Graf lands at Los Angeles after crossing the - Pacific.] - - [Illustration: At Lakehurst the Graf tries out the "Iron Horse," the - U.S. Navy's mobile mooring mast, finds it highly useful, utilized - masting equipment thereafter to compile an unusual record for - regularity of departures, even under highly unfavorable weather - conditions. (U. S. Navy photo)] - - [Illustration: The U.S.S. Akron, first result growing out of renewed - interest in aeronautics after the reaction period, goes on the mast - inside the Goodyear air dock, prior to leaving for her trial - flights.] - - [Illustration: No large ground crews are needed with the mobile - mast. Even the mighty Akron swings around easily at anchorage, heads - into the wind like a weather vane, its control car resting on the - ground.] - -In building this ship, Mr. Litchfield and his company indicated their -belief in the value of big airships for trans-oceanic travel, for which -the blimps would provide inexpensive training for pilots, and experience -in operating under varying weather conditions. - -The Pilgrim, the Puritan, the Vigilant, 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 operations, improvements in ships and operating technique, -which would be available to its customers, the Army and Navy. - -In building its own ships, Goodyear was following the tradition of -American industry, which does not sit back and merely build goods to -order, but has sought by developing better goods to anticipate and -stimulate customer demand. In the automobile industry, for example, -self-starters, closed cars, steel bodies, balloon tires, streamlining, -and the rest were initiated by industry to increase public acceptance -and further popularize the automobile. By building its own airships and -flying them, Goodyear hoped to expand the market for military and -commercial airships. - -The doldrum period, which made progress difficult, came to an end with -dramatic suddenness. In the year 1927 a youthful pilot flew an airplane, -alone, across the Atlantic ocean, and in the following year a -middle-aged scientist made a round trip from Europe to America by -airship, with 24 people aboard. The imagination of America and the world -took fire. Aeronautics started anew. - -Perhaps no events in years have appealed so fully to the public -consciousness or had such dynamic effects. Almost from the day of -Lindbergh's flight and the Graf Zeppelin's arrival at Lakehurst, -aeronautical engineers found themselves with money to spend in research -and machinery. Airports unrolled across the carpet of America, night -lighting came in, pilots became business men, appropriations were rushed -through Congress, state assemblies, and city councils, and aeronautics -became Big Business almost over night. The period of inaction and of -reaction was over. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - Airship Improvements Between Wars - - - [Illustration: Docked airship] - -The wartime airship was a cigar-shaped gas bag with an airplane cockpit, -open to the weather, slung below. The contrast between it and the sleek, -fast, streamlined Navy airship of today is almost as striking as that -between wartime planes and automobiles and modern ones. - -Many improvements have been made, even though the airship has not had -the experience of building thousands of units, as the automobile and -airplane have had, or ample funds for research and experiment. Less than -150 non-rigid airships have been built all told since 1914. - -The "B" type blimp, chiefly used in the World War, contained 80,000 -cubic feet of hydrogen, though some British and French non-rigids were -built in larger sizes, and the United States Navy "C" ships, toward the -end of the war, had 200,000 cubic feet of lifting gas. These compare -with the 416,000 cubic feet of helium in the new Navy "K" ships. Speed, -under the pressure of war needs moved up from 47 miles in the "B" to -close to 60 in the "C," but is around 80 in today's "K" ships. - -Wartime ships carried three to five men and a day's fuel. Today's carry -eight or ten, enough pilots, radio men, navigators, riggers and -mechanics for two full watches, though normally everyone is on duty -during patrols. The "B" was good for perhaps 900 miles, the "K" for well -over twice that distance. - -Wartime ships had to keep the control car well away from the bag to -prevent sparks from igniting the hydrogen gas. A windshield was the -pilot's only protection from the elements. Modern ships, using -non-inflammable helium, have closed cars, streamlined into the bag, -ample room for navigation and radio, sleeping and eating quarters, even -a photographic dark room, can be heated and noise-proofed. - -Early airships were pulled down and held by a large ground crew, a -pneumatic bumper bag on the car cushioning its landing. Today's ships -land on a swiveled wheel, roll up to a mast--or taxi off across the -airport like an airplane and take off. - -These, however, are merely flight factors. More important is it that the -wartime blimp was to a large extent hangar-bound. It could go no further -from its base than it could safely return before its fuel was exhausted. - -Today's ships are expeditionary craft, can go almost anywhere, stay as -long as they want. They are no longer land-bound, can be refueled and -reserviced at sea. They are much safer, rank high in this respect among -all carriers whether on land, sea or in the air. - -Three independent lines of study contributed to these results, those of -the Army, Navy and Goodyear, each free to follow its own ideas, to -observe results found by the others, adopt them, use them as starting -points for further developments, or discard them. - -The improvements were achieved in a relatively short period. The army -started in after the war and carried on a continuing program till 1932. -The Navy, absorbed in its rigid airships, did not get into non-rigids -till the early 1930's. Goodyear built the Pilgrim in 1925 but its -development program really began with the blimp fleet in 1929. - -Noteworthy improvement was found during this period in materials, -structure, design, engines and radio communication, with outstanding -advances along three major lines. - -First was increased safety, permitted by helium gas. Wartime airships -used hydrogen because it was all they had, had to develop what -protection they could against fire through construction devices and -operating technique. Hydrogen was not only inflammable, but under -certain conditions explosive. World War pilots had to fly their hydrogen -ships through thunder and lightning storms, dodge inflammatory bullets -if they could. Zeppelin sailors wore felt shoes, with no nails to create -a spark, used frogs for buttons, had to guard against static. - -It was a fortunate thing for the airship world when a gas was found in -1907 in Dexter, Kansas, which would not burn. Curious scientists, asking -why, found it was helium, a gas previously identified (in 1869) only in -the rays of the sun. Helium gas is inert, refusing to combine with any -other element, does not deteriorate metal or fabric. It was not much -heavier than hydrogen, the lightest of all gases, so proved a welcome -gift to lighter-than-air. - -For some reason, not explained except on the theory that Providence -takes special interest in America, helium has been found in quantity -only in this country. It is a component, present to the extent of two or -three percent in certain natural gas, though ranging as high as eight or -ten percent in favored areas. It can be separated by compression and -liquefaction from the natural gas,--which is that much improved by the -removal of the non-inflammable content. - -The world's chief known supply of helium lies in certain sections of -Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Utah. More important, United States is the -only country having great pipe lines, can distribute natural gas from -Texas to cities as far away as Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago. -Without such a market operators would have to separate and release the -95% of natural gas to get the 5% of helium, and costs would be still -higher. - -Helium is perhaps the most useful of the few natural monopolies given to -this country. - -It was only toward the end of the World War, however, that Army -engineers worked out a process of separating helium from natural gas. 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 signed. - -Army, Navy and Bureau of Mine engineers worked thereafter to increase -production and cut costs, but as late as 1925 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 -time. If one was using the helium the other had to stay home. Two ships, -and only one set of helium, he commented. - -The use of helium cut the casualty list on the Shenandoah, would have -saved the Hindenburg. Non-rigid airships have had no fire or explosive -accidents since helium came into use as the lifting gas. - -It was the loss by a hydrogen fire of the Italian-built Roma, after it -struck a high tension line at Langley Field in February, 1922, which -fixed the policy of "helium only" for U. S. Army and Navy airships. The -Army's C-7 was the first airship to use helium. In building the Pilgrim -in 1925, Goodyear followed the same policy--even though it had to pay -$125 a thousand cubic feet for helium while it could have obtained -hydrogen for $5 per thousand. - -Further improvements and increasing volume of production brought the -cost down in time from $125 to less than $20, and helium expense became -relatively unimportant in providing safety for Goodyear's airship -operations. - -Important too during this period was the Army's development of tank cars -for transporting helium. A large item of helium expense was freight, the -cost of hauling 130 pound metal containers which held 170 to 200 cu. ft. -of the gas. It took 250 such containers to inflate Goodyear's smallest -ship, the Pilgrim. The tank cars hold 200,000 cu. ft. of gas, almost -enough to inflate two Goodyear airships. - -Experiments with specially woven fabric and the use of synthetic rubber -cut down the losses resulting from diffusion, and where formerly it was -necessary to remove the helium and purify it every six months, diffusion -losses were cut to one or two per cent a month, with purification needed -only every other year. - -In addition to increasing safety, helium permitted improvements in -airship design. The wartime craft had its control cars suspended by -cables from finger patches cemented to the outside of the bag. But with -helium ships the car could be built into the bag, attached by an -internal catenary suspension system to the top of the gas section. Each -exposed suspension cable, no matter how small, creates parasitic -resistance from the air, so that the removal of yards of steel and rope -had the result of increasing the speed of the ship with the same -horsepower. - -The second set of major improvements centers around the mooring mast. -The mooring mast idea was not new. The British had built the first ones -during the World War for its large rigid ships, found that a ship -attached to it would swing easily, like a weather vane, continuing to -point into the wind, and that a well streamlined ship would hold -securely even in winds of great velocity. - -When Alfred E. Smith ordered a mooring mast built on top the Empire -State building, it was with the assurance from his engineers that even -with the tugging of the 150-ton Graf Zeppelin, the strain would be -little more than the normal push of the wind against the building -itself, that the added stresses would be negligible. - -The Germans had had little occasion to use mooring masts. -Friedrichshafen, where most of the Zeppelins were built, lay in a -natural bowl, well protected from the winds, and ships could take off -and land, be walked in or out of the hangar with little risk from the -weather. - -Lakehurst, on the other hand, lay in an exposed position, in the path of -coast-wise storms, a frequent battle-ground between onshore winds from -the ocean and storms breaking over the mountains from the west. A study -made later to determine bases for projected American passenger -operations showed that of weather conditions prevailing between Boston -and the Virginia Cape, those at Lakehurst were almost the most -unfavorable. - - [Illustration: Four stages in the evolution of the mooring mast. At - the outset large ground crews held the ship on the ground.] - - [Illustration: Then a stub mast was placed atop a truck, to hold the - ship on the ground, maneuver it in or out of the dock.] - - [Illustration: A high mast, made in sections, can be erected - anywhere, anchored by guy wires, holds the airship securely against - winds of gale force.] - - [Illustration: The little brother of the "Iron Horse", which will - receive the largest of the new Navy blimps, maneuver them on the - field.] - -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 artillery. - -This defect proved an advantage. 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 associates. At the urging of Admiral Moffett, -Commander Garland Fulton, Lieutenant Commander C. E. Rosendahl and -others, Navy engineers built a high mast, 180 feet tall, following -British practice, with a service elevator inside, then tackled the -problem of keeping the ship on even keel against up and down gusts. -Since the wind does not come out of the ground, a low mast was -suggested, half the height of the ship, so that when anchored the ship -would all but rest on the ground. The Navy was working on this when an -incident happened to strengthen the argument. - -The co-incidence of a wind shift, and rising temperatures one afternoon -as the Los Angeles was resting comfortably at anchorage, started the -tail rising, and it continued to rise till it reached almost 90 degrees. -Then the ship turned gently on its swivel, and descended easily on the -other side, with no more damage than some broken china in the galley. -Still a 700-foot airship has no business doing head-stands, so the low -mast development was rushed through. It proved successful. - -The next step was to make the low mast mobile, so that it could not only -hold the ship on the ground but take it in and out of the hangar. First -of these was Lakehurst's famous "iron horse," a giant motor-driven -tripod, which rolled out on the airport, hauling incoming ships into the -hangar, took advantage of daylight calms to take ships out into the -field ahead of time so as to be ready to leave on schedule. - -On the Graf Zeppelin's trip around the world in 1929, hangars were -available for fueling stops at Lakehurst, Friedrichshafen, and curiously -enough in Japan, a German shed turned over to the Nipponese after the -1918 Armistice, having been re-erected at Tokio. There was none however -on the American West Coast to house the ship after its long trip across -the Pacific. So the Navy, under direction of Lieutenant Commander T. G. -W. Settle, hauled a mast up to Los Angeles from San Diego (it had been -erected there for the Shenandoah's flight around the rim of the country -in 1923) anchored it with guy wires. It served the purpose perfectly. - -The Germans, skeptical at first, became convinced of the value of the -mast, themselves erected masts at Frankfort, and Seville, at Pernambuco -and Rio de Janiero, used them as terminals. - -Once the masting technique had been worked out, the Graf Zeppelin and -the Hindenburg, in the years 1930-6, made a record of regularity which -no other vehicle of transportation has approached. They took off at -times over the ocean for Europe when all other aircraft in the area was -grounded, when the fog hid the entire top half of the ship, and the ship -disappeared into the fog within a few seconds after the "Up Ship" signal -was given. What few delays appear on the record were due to waiting for -connecting airplanes to arrive with the latest European mail for the -Americas. - -So far the use of masts had been entirely a matter for the large rigid -airships. The Army did the first development work on high and low masts -for its smaller ships at Scott Field, as well as a landing wheel for -them to ride on. A situation at Akron started experimentation along a -different line. At Goodyear's Wingfoot Lake Field, Mr. Litchfield -frowned over the expense of having a considerable crew on hand to land -and launch the blimps, with little to do after the ship was in the air. -To an Army or Navy post, with plenty of men in training, this surplus of -men was no difficulty, but any private corporation operating passenger -airship lines would find the expense burdensome. - - [Illustration: The Navy L-2, one of the first ships under the - expanded program, lands at Wingfoot Lake, Akron, is walked to the - mooring mast.] - - [Illustration: Close-up view of engine and cowling, and swiveled - landing wheel.] - - [Illustration: With a drogue or sea anchor to hold the airship - steady, supplies or personnel may be taken aboard at sea. (U. S. - Navy photo)] - - [Illustration: A newly-hatched airship breaks its shell at Akron, - will try its wings then join the Navy.] - -He put the question to his men in 1930, offering cash prizes for the -best solution. Out of many ideas, one clear-cut line of progress -appeared. This was to make the ground crew truck a maneuvering base, -with a mast on top, which could be folded down when not in use. The -truck then could not only hold the ship on the ground, but guide it in -and out of the hangar with more security than by using a large number of -men. Extra wheels mounted on outriggers kept the truck from being turned -over by side gusts. In succeeding years the ground crew truck became a -traveling mooring point which could follow the ship across country, give -it anchorage when night fell, and at the same time act as a traveling -supply depot, machine shop, radio cabin, and crew quarters. - -A portable mast, built in sections, high enough for ships to mast at the -nose, was the next step. It could be set up on an hour's notice, -anchored by guy wires and screw stakes for more extended operations. -Gradually the airship became independent of the hangar, came to use it -only for overhaul and the purification of its helium gas. The blimp -could be fueled and serviced completely in the open. - -Lacking a dock in San Francisco, at the time of the Exposition in 1939, -the Goodyear blimp Volunteer moved up from Los Angeles, based on a mast -for five months. The only time it sought shelter was when a splinter -from the propeller pierced the bag, causing a leak. The ship flew 60 -miles down the bay to the Navy base at Sunnyvale, like a boy coming in -from play to have a splinter removed from his finger, went back again, -didn't even stay over night. - -In the winter of 1940-41 the "Reliance" which had been spending its -winters in Miami, using a wartime Navy hangar which the city had moved -up from Key West, found that building commandeered for defense work. So -a mast was set up on the Causeway, and the ship operated with no other -home than that for six months, saw no shelter from the time it left -Wingfoot Lake in early December till it returned at the end of May. - -The Navy had a different problem as it moved into the non-rigid picture -in the early 1930's. Its problem was only incidentally to operate away -from its base at Lakehurst. Ships were getting larger in size, and masts -were needed where they could be moored outdoors, or taken in and out of -the hangar. The solution was a smaller replica of the rigid airship's -"Iron Horse" except that it moved on large rubber tires, and was towed -in and out by tractor, rather than carrying its own power plant. - -A portable mast was also developed for the Navy blimps, with a special -car to haul it around. This mast could be sent to Parris Island or some -point in New England, ahead of time, set up and used as a temporary base -for radio calibrating or other missions. - -Navy ships basing at Lakehurst have operated for weeks at a time along -the coast as far north as Bath, Maine, and as far south as the -Carolinas, with a portable mast as headquarters. - -Utilization of the mast principle by non-rigid airships not only greatly -increased their radius of operation, and cut down landing crews, but -increased the number of operating days per month. - -Pilots of early airplanes used to go out on the airport, hold up a -handkerchief, and if it fluttered, conclude it was too windy to fly. So -early airship pilots, with anemometers on the roof of the hangar and at -points over the field, judged it too risky to take the ships out if the -wind was higher than four or five miles an hour, and then only if it was -down-hangar in direction. - -Modern airships lose few flying days because it is too windy to go out. -Under war conditions, when risks must be taken, which need not be taken -for passenger or training flights, very few days would be wasted if -there is military necessity for it. - -Navy non-rigids miss few rendezvous with the fleet in exercises out of -Lakehurst, regardless of the weather outside. - -If the portable mast revolutionized airship operations over land, -experiments started by the Navy in 1938-39, largely under the direction -of Lt. C. S. Rounds, promise to be just as important in over-water -operations. These showed that the airship could pick up ballast from the -ocean, could get fuel from a passing ship, could change crews at sea. - -Ballast is important to a vehicle which growing continuously lighter as -it uses up fuel, must still be kept in equilibrium. Transoceanic -Zeppelins, using hydrogen, had to fly high enough to "blow off" the -surplus gas once or twice during a trip to compensate for the ship -growing lighter. But hydrogen was cheap, and could be manufactured as -needed. American ships could not afford to waste helium, which was a -natural resource. Army and Navy engineers had worked on this, and -equipment developed for the Akron and Macon to condense the gases from -the burned fuel was able to recover more than 100 pounds of water -ballast for every 100 pounds of fuel used. - -The blimps didn't use these since they ordinarily would not be out for -more than a day at a time, still a ready source of ballast would make it -unnecessary to valve helium on long flights. - -Ironically enough a whole ocean full of ballast lay below seagoing -airships, but no practical method had been devised to take the sea water -aboard until the Navy tackled the problem in 1938. - -That problem may be visualized in the obvious difficulty of maintaining -physical contact between an airship and a surface ship. The two move in -different media, one influenced mostly by the waves, the other mostly by -the wind. The surface ship is moving up and down, the airship subject to -gusts which might break the contact or thrust it violently against the -masts or superstructure of the surface ship. Servicing has been done -under favorable circumstances, but could not be relied on as standard -procedure. - -The solution reached was this. The pilot swings his ship down to within -100 or 150 feet of the water, lowers a hose with a small bronze scoop, -not much wider than the hose, so as to lessen the drag. - -Twenty-five feet up from the scoop is a streamlined cylinder, blimp -shaped, carrying a small electric pump. This cylinder, nicknamed the -"fish", has tail fins to keep it from spinning, and skims along the -surface or jumps out like a porpoise, but the scoop is far enough behind -and heavy enough to trail easily beneath the surface, stays directly in -the ship's wake, continues without interruption to pick up ballast for -the airship above. - -The whole gear weighs slightly more than 100 pounds, can pick up water -at cruising speed, can function in rough water or smooth. The Navy J-4, -chiefly used in these experiments, normally consumes 500 pounds of fuel -in five hours of flying at cruising speed. It was able to pick up that -much water ballast in seven minutes. - -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 merchantman. The pilot asks by radio or voice whether the -surface ship can spare some gasoline, and on an affirmative answer, -lowers or drops on his deck two rubberized fabric spheres connected to -each other by 14 feet of rope--also a note of instructions. The smaller -sphere is an ordinary air-filled buoy, the larger, about three feet in -diameter when filled, is the fuel bag. The surface ship fills the fuel -bag, then drops both bags overboard, being careful only that they do not -get tangled up. Then the airship flies over the two bags, drops a hook -between them, hauls away, pumps the gasoline into its tanks. - -The third device permits an airship to anchor in the open sea near a -surface ship to transfer crews or take on fuel and supplies. The anchor -is a cone-shaped rubberized fabric bag, ten feet long, with a diameter -of 2-1/2 feet at the top. It is lowered 50 feet below the airship by two -cables connected with each other by rungs to form a ladder. Half of the -cables' length is made up of heavy exerciser cord to dampen the effect -of wave movements. On top the cone is a wire mesh cover which allows the -water to pass through, and is strong enough to act as a platform, -supporting a man. - -As the cone fills up the airship drops ballast till its "mooring mast" -is half submerged. The principle of the drag rope comes into play--if -the airship starts to rise it finds itself lifting an increasingly -heavier load, counteracting the rising tendency. If it starts to settle -down toward the water, the load is correspondingly lessened and the ship -grows lighter. The result is that the airship is held highly stable, -even in a rough sea. The surface ship then sends a small boat alongside -and dispatches the relief crew members or supplies, them up and down the -ladder, or uses a winch, the platform atop the anchor serving as the -operating base. This system also permits the moving of a sick passenger -ashore, or the rescue of a man overboard. - -When the airship is ready to leave its anchorage, the cone is tipped by -a line attached to the bottom, spilling the water, and hauled aboard. -The servicing ship need carry no special equipment. The weight of cone -and ladder is negligible. - -By being able to pick up ballast and borrow fuel from a passing ship, -(neither airship nor surface ship need slow down for the fuel exchange -if going in the same direction) the airship greatly increases its radius -of operations. - -The advantage of being able to change crews at sea may not be quite as -clear. This, however, grows out of the fact that today's non-rigid -airship has greater endurance than the crew which flies it. An -anti-submarine, anti-mine patrol calls for constant alertness. Reduction -of vibration and noise, the use of closed cars instead of open cockpits -has lessened fatigue, enabling men to remain on duty over longer periods -than before. But obviously there are limits. - -The Navy is conservative in estimating how long its new "K" ships may -stay out without refueling. Weather and the nature of the mission will -have some bearing on that, but if we assume a cruise of 48, 60 or even -72 hours which might be done under favorable conditions and idling the -motors, we still cannot expect a crew of men to remain vigilant and -alert for that length of time. - -Extra men for relief watches can be carried only at the expense of the -fuel load. However, if a fresh crew could be sent aboard every 12 hours -from a nearby surface ship, along with fuel, ballast and supplies, the -blimps might operate for extended periods. - -No blimps have done this. The fleet might see no need for them to go out -for long periods. However, the possibility has been established, and -might be useful in the emergencies of war, or accident. While the -primary usefulness of the blimp lies in the coastal waters, it can go to -sea if needed--and stay out--can be used in convoy work or as a -listening post. - -Other improvements were uncovered during the experiments. A sea anchor -or drogue was devised to enable the airship to "lay to" for extended -periods, without consuming fuel, in case it wishes to use its listening -devices against submarines, make repairs or for other purposes. Plans -have been worked out for landing on the water in quiet bays in calm -weather, utilizing flotation gear, or a three-point mooring to ordinary -mud anchors--facilitating servicing from nearby Coast Guard stations. - -Perhaps a significant thing about these experiments is that the -principles seem applicable as well to rigid airships. The ability to -pick up ballast in flight may well eliminate the necessity for -ballast-recovery devices, with a substantial saving in cost, and an -impressive saving in weight. - -By eliminating the heavy condensers, and translating that weight-saving -into fuel, it is estimated that the range of a ship of the Los Angeles -size could be increased by 20 percent and ships of the Akron-Macon size -by 15 percent, in the last case amounting to 1,250 miles of additional -cruising radius. - -A trans-oceanic passenger airship could start out with virtually no -water ballast at all except a minimum amount for maneuvering, use its -fuel supply as ballast and pick up sea water as needed. This could be -done at 500 feet elevation, at the rate of 80 gallons a minute, using a -30 horsepower motor, could be done in half an hour a day. The ship need -not slow down materially while doing this. - -Application of this principle to military airships of the rigid type -might be still more significant. The chief use for the rigid airship in -war would seem to be as a high speed airplane carrier, whose planes -would increase many fold its own reconnaissance range, and would be -expected also to do the major part of what fighting became necessary in -case of enemy contact. 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 surface, than on its own -machine guns and cannons. - -One thing brought urgently home to us in the first weeks of the present -war is that oceans are wide, and that the movements of even a huge enemy -fleet are difficult to discover in those endless expanses of water. - -Large military airships of five or ten million cubic feet helium -capacity might prove exceedingly useful, if they were able to operate -away from their base for weeks or even months at a time, and they might -be able to do this by utilizing devices similar to those developed for -smaller non-rigids, resting on the sea in calm waters, mooring to -anchored masts they could lower into the water, picking up fuel from -tankers, getting supplies from neighboring ships--in addition to what -was carried to them from the fleet by their own planes. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - Adventures of the Goodyear Fleet - - - [Illustration: Airships flying in formation] - -One of the lesser romances at least of aeronautics is the story of the -Goodyear airship fleet. - -There is thrill and adventure in the narrative, daring and -resourcefulness, hazards faced by men who believed in their -craft--chances which were usually won. So this chapter might well be -dedicated to Airship Captain Charles Brannigan and Balloon Pilot Walter -Morton. - -Morton was an old timer, who had flown balloons with Tom Baldwin, in the -far corners of the country. Between times he worked in the Goodyear -balloon room, a practical mechanic who could always make things work, -the salt-of-the-earth workman whom every foreman swore by, the aide -every pilot wanted alongside. Steady, self-effacing, courageous, with an -instinct for the right thing to do in emergency, Morton feared but one -thing. That was lightning. - -He had flown many times through lightning storms prior to the helium -era, beneath a bag filled with inflammable gas, but he didn't like it. -He knew its swift striking power. - -"I could almost see the Old Fellow standing there throwing those darts -at us," said Morton one afternoon in 1928, as he scanned the skies -before taking off in a balloon race out of Pittsburgh. "One would flash -past and miss, and he would say 'I'll get you next time,' and there -would come another. And you can't dodge in a balloon." - -The Old Fellow scored a direct hit that afternoon. Morton was flying -with Van Orman, Gordon Bennett Cup winner. The uncertain weather of the -afternoon had resolved itself less than an hour after the take-off, and -eight balloons were being tossed as a juggler tosses weights, a thousand -feet high, 10,000 feet, caught and tossed aloft again just before they -touched the ground. Morton's balloon was hit at 12,000 feet, caught -fire, alternatively fell like a plumb bob or parachuted in the net, -landed without too much of a shock. Van Orman, unconscious, sustained a -broken ankle. Morton had been instantly killed. - -But aerologists learned things that afternoon about the force of -vertical movements of the air. The balloons gave a perfect track of what -went on. One balloon was falling so fast that sacks of ballast thrown -overboard lagged behind it, while a hundred yards away another balloon -was shooting upward at similar speed. - -We still know less than we should about the movements of the air, this -new world into which the Aeronautic Age is moving. The Pittsburgh -tragedy may save many lives, avoid other tragedies. - -The Brannigan story is shorter, no less dramatic. High-spirited, keen, a -captain whose ship and crew must always be shipshape, Brannigan had come -to Goodyear from the Army--where he had already distinguished himself by -making repairs in mid air to the semi-rigid Roma, ripped by a splintered -propeller--saving a comrade as an incident to the job--had quickly won -his captaincy at Goodyear, was one of its best flyers. - -At Kansas City one afternoon in 1931 a Kansas twister headed for the -airport. Seeing the weather uncertain Brannigan had stopped passenger -flying, put his ship on the mast. Now he ordered his mechanic to get off -and cut the ship loose. Once aloft, with helium gas, he was not afraid -of any storm that blew. But before the ship could clear the mast, the -storm had struck, with full fury. The anchors holding the mast pulled -out of the ground and the ship, with the mast attached, was hurled into -the nearest hangar, ripping one motor off. That was Brannigan's cue to -jump. The door had been propped open for a photographer's camera. But he -had one motor left, the bag was undamaged, the mast had fallen clear. He -wouldn't give up his ship as long as there was a chance to save it. - - [Illustration: Reunion in Akron--The ships comprising the Goodyear - fleet, could tell stirring stories of battles with the elements - waged in many states.] - - [Illustration: Some of these pilots flew airships in the first war, - others came in later from the technical schools--many now are flying - airships for the Navy.] - - [Illustration: From this pocket handkerchief size airport, off the - Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, Goodyear ships carried - thousands of passengers, from all over America.] - - [Illustration: The Mayflower landed on the deck of the SS Bremen, - took off passenger P. W. Litchfield.] - - [Illustration: The Enterprise lands to rescue the crew of an - ice-locked steamer in Chesapeake Bay.] - -However the storm was not to be denied, and before he could get -altitude, the wind threw the ship into a nest of high-tension wires, set -it afire. Brannigan climbed out, walked to a nearby automobile, -transferred to a second car enroute to the hospital after a -collision--and died the next day from third-degree burns. - -He called Furculow, his co-pilot, just before the end, told him to see -that the men in the crew were taken care of, that they were not -penalized for the loss of the ship. Furculow, now flying airships for -the Navy, is not the only man in Goodyear who will not forget Charley -Brannigan. It is on such men that the traditions of the service are -built. Any cause for which men give their lives cannot be held lightly. - -The Goodyear Company had built a few airships of its own prior to the -1925 Pilgrim, when helium became available. Best known of these was the -"Pony Blimp" which operated out of Los Angeles from 1919 to 1923, flew -passengers to Catalina, worked for the movies in Arizona and Wyoming. - -But the real beginning came with the Pilgrim, the larger Puritan and -still larger Defender, as the Goodyear fleet came into existence in -1928-29. - -Early pilots had no specific instructions except to take the ships out -and fly them--fly them hard, find out all they could about them, see -what weaknesses and shortcomings there were and how to improve them. It -was another test fleet, repeating the history of the automobile. - -The pilots were supposed not to get hurt, but they were to fly in all -kinds of weather they felt it safe to fly in. They might lose a few -ships, but were expected to be able to walk away from them, not to get -in any trouble they couldn't get out of. They had an advantage over Army -and Navy fliers in having a free hand as to where they might go. They -were expected to make mistakes but should learn from them. - -Such instructions, largely unwritten, acted as a challenge to the -pilots, a high-spirited and courageous group. Starting with a few men -who had flown airships in the World War, or helped build them in the -balloon room and the machine shop, they added some technical school -graduates in 1929, and others as needed. - -Their adventures started after they left Akron. Operating from bases -built or leased over the country, they would cover every state east of -the Mississippi in a few years. They looked for hard things to do--or -unusual things which would interest the public in airships. They landed -on the roofs of buildings in Akron and in Washington--though a prudent -Department of Commerce would later rule against that; they picked up -mail from lines dropped on decks of incoming ships, and from small boats -alongside; they fished for sharks and barracuda, hunted for whales; they -picked up a bundle of newspapers from the Hearst building downtown, and -lowered them to Al Smith on the top deck of the Empire State building; -picked up another batch from The Toronto Star offices, delivered them at -the Canadian Exposition grounds; they covered boat races, football and -baseball games, the International Yacht Races, carrying press -photographers, newsreel men and radio announcers; they went to the Mardi -Gras, to the Carnival of States, the Cotton Carnival, Expositions at -Chicago, Dallas, Cleveland, San Francisco and New York, to county fairs, -plowing and corn-husking contests. They covered fires in New York, -chased outlaws and reported forest fires in the high Sierras; they made -traffic studies in New York and Washington, studies in bird life in -Florida; they picked up stranded fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico, took -Mr. Litchfield off the after deck of the SS Bremen in New York harbor; -they surveyed canal projects; patrolled the Mississippi during flood -time to rescue families from raging waters, to report to the engineers -where the levees were weakening; they carried food and supplies to a -boat ice-bound in Chesapeake Bay; they circled a thousand country school -houses, dropped greetings by parachute to hundreds of cities. - -One of their spectacular feats was the rescue of an airplane crew in -Florida in 1933. Two pilots flying to Miami from Tampa for the Air Races -had made a forced landing in the Everglades. Searching airplanes located -the ship, but it was far from any highway, inaccessible by boat or on -foot, the men without food and tormented by mosquitos, and with -apparently no way of ever getting out unless a road could be built in to -them. But a blimp found it easy, because it alone of all craft could -stand virtually still in the air. - - [Illustration: Few important cities east of the Mississippi have - missed seeing a Goodyear blimp by now, not to speak of those in the - Southwest, the Pacific coast. Trips have been made also to Cuba, - Canada and Mexico. More than 400,000 passengers have been carried, - without even the scratch of a finger.] - - SUMMARY - TOTALS UP TO JANUARY 1, 1942 - FLIGHTS 151,810 - HOURS 92,966 - PASSENGERS 405,526 - MILES 4,183,470 - - FLIGHTS BETWEEN: - AKRON - FLORIDA 49 - " - DALLAS 6 - " - CHICAGO 12 - " - TORONTO 14 - " - LAKEHURST 18 - " - WASHINGTON 57 - " - NEW YORK 42 - -Pilot Wilson flew to the spot, cut his motors, drifted down to 50 feet, -directed the refugees to catch the trail ropes, then as the airship -settled took them aboard, dropped sand bags to lighten ship, flew -home--came back later with salvage parties to recover motors and other -parts. - -All these exploits were incidental to the job of learning about airships -and airship weather--the tricks of winds and rain and storms. And they -did learn. A hangar had been built in the woods at Grosse Ile, Detroit, -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 leaving. The British, under stress of war -conditions had done this, used woods as windbreaks for landings, even -for the assembly of airships at times. - -But the wind has a trick of spilling over, like a waterfall, when it -strikes an obstruction. Early pilots were expert balloonists, and might -have remembered their experience in riding over mountainous -country--observed how the wind would carry them almost into a cliff, but -just before reaching it would pick the great bag gently up, carry it -over the top, drop it on the far side, almost to the bottom of the next -valley--but not quite, pick it up and carry on--a graphic chart of the -air flow in broken terrain. - -But in the first weeks of operation at Detroit, a cross-hangar wind, -spilling over the windbreak, twice pushed an airship gently but firmly -into the trees on the far side. The trees were cut down, and the study -of eddies and gusts hastened the development of a mobile mooring mast -which would hold the ship steady in turbulent areas. - -The Goodyear pilots learned to fly unworried through fog. As early as -1920, Hockensmith, flying the "Pony Blimp" from Los Angeles to Catalina -Island, got lost when his compass failed in a fog so dense he could -hardly see the nose of the ship. Flying low and slowly, barely off the -water, he presently spied a dark shape ahead, came on a U. S. submarine, -with decks awash, and an officer on lookout in the conning tower. He -landed on his pontoons, taxied alongside, borrowed a compass, went on to -his destination. - -The conviction that except within its hangar the ship was safest in the -air, grew out of many battles with wind and storm. Brannigan, flying the -Vigilant at Washington, was caught in a storm which broke up an -aeronautic show, wrecked several planes on the ground, sent the rest -scattering for shelter. Piling extra cans of gasoline aboard, Brannigan -cut his ship loose, headed into the wind, a wind so high that at times -he found himself pushed backward at full throttle, hovered for an hour -and a half over the capital, waiting the storm out, then flew 150 miles -down the bay to Langley field and put up for the night. - -On another occasion at Winston Salem, with his ship on the mast, -Brannigan was caught in a sleet storm, found his ship bowed down and -being crushed by the weight of ice on its back. Getting extra men from -the city fire department, he braced his control surfaces with poles, -beat off the ice on the bag as high as he could reach with branches, -built oil smudge fires alongside to melt the ice, took off all possible -equipment, to lighten ship, kept his craft headed into the wind, fought -the storm successfully--and in the morning as the sun came out and the -ice melted, flew on to Florida. - -Boettner, starting south in 1930 in the larger Defender attempting a -non-stop flight to Miami, ran into ice and snow in the Tennessee -mountains. An oil line froze. His mechanic climbed out on the outriggers -and made emergency repairs in flight, but not before the ship had lost -most of its oil. Reaching Knoxville airport by morning, he dropped a -note, lowered a line, hauled up additional oil, refilled the tanks, went -on to the Gadsden hangar to complete repairs. - -No Goodyear blimp has ever been damaged by storms while in the air, -though a bit of resourcefulness was needed from time to time. For that -matter, inquiry does not disclose any cases of a non-rigid airship being -damaged by storm while in flight. - -Two Goodyear blimps were in the path of the 1938 hurricane, which, -heading for Florida from the Caribbean, changed its course erratically -and moved up the coast, shot across New England. Lange, with the -Enterprise, was at New Brunswick, N.J., 50 miles off the direct course -of the hurricane. He put his ship on the mast, held it there during -winds which rose as high as 73 miles per hour. He put extra men on the -handling lines, doubled the number of screw stakes which held the mast, -used the bus, with its motor wide open, as further re-enforcement. The -storm raged furiously at the ship for hours but couldn't budge it and -when the hurricane passed on, everything was intact. - -Boettner, with the Puritan at Springfield, Mass., was almost directly at -the axis of the storm. He made the same gallant fight as Lange, but -against winds which roared to 100 miles per hour in gusts, uprooted -100-year-old trees, tugged at a sheet-iron hangar roof, flapping it up -and down, finally ripped it loose, sailed it like a child's kite across -the airport and out of sight. - -At the peak of the storm the steel chains attaching the mast cables to -the screw stakes failed on the windward side, thrusting the mast into -the side of the ship, cutting a hole in the fabric. Boettner pulled out -the rip panel, deflating the ship to prevent further damage and when the -storm passed rolled up the bag, loaded it and the control car aboard a -truck, shipped it into Akron where a new bag was attached. The Puritan -was back at work within a week. - -No wonder Goodyear pilots came to have great faith in the staunchness of -their craft, and their ability to get out of trouble. - -Fuel exhaustion didn't bother the blimp. Fickes found that out early, at -Wingfoot Lake, when a leak developed in his tank and emptied it. Free -ballooning his ship he floated over a farm house, asked them to call the -office, waited aloft till a truck came out with additional fuel. - -Boettner had a similar difficulty while returning from Canada in the -Defender. 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 Akron. Picking up U. S. Highway Five as being heavily -traveled, he swung low over an adjoining field, slowed down so that his -mechanic could drop off, flag a passing car and go into town for gas. By -the time the aide returned a number of cars had parked alongside. -Driving into the field, with headlights full on they formed a half -circle, and the drivers caught the lines, held the ship till the fuel -could be delivered, and Boettner proceeded on to Wingfoot Lake. - -Mishaps there were of course, in all these years, but few were serious. -Lange snagged a lone dead tree in the fog over the Alabama mountains and -Smith side-swiped another while flying over a pass in Tennessee. The -ship settled easily to the ground in each instance, and farmers came in -with stone boats, carried the car and bag to town for repairs. - -Brannigan, returning at night from Syracuse, ran short of gasoline, -directed his ground crew to land him in an open field ahead. The ship -nosed down, his aide directing the men with his flashlight. But just at -this juncture the top of the flashlight fell off into the propeller, was -whipped into the bag like a bullet, started a leak which was not -discovered till next day. - -Most ships in the Goodyear fleet have been fired on by thoughtless -hunters. Once a bullet went through a ship a few inches back of the -pilot. One marksman was arrested and sent to jail in Florida. Pilot -Trotter had a curious experience in Oklahoma in 1935, while on his way -to the Dallas fair. The ship had been on the mast for three days waiting -for weather. On the fourth morning, finding the ship rather sluggish, -Trotter looked around. A glass window from the cabin gives a view of the -interior of the bag and as Trotter looked he saw light blinking from 14 -bullet holes--through which gas had been pouring for three days! - -The nearest hangar where repairs could be made and helium secured was at -Scott Field, near St. Louis, 400 miles away. By this time the ship had -barely enough lift for the pilot and 100 gallons of gas, not enough for -the co-pilot. So Trotter flew alone to St. Louis, landing so heavy that -the ship had almost to be carried into the hangar, made his repairs and -was back in Oklahoma the next day. - -Sewell had the experience of seeing a propeller fly off while heading -down the bay from San Francisco, saw it careen wildly down, flew on to -the next airport on one motor, mounted his spare. - -Always the pilots were calling for more speed, removing or streamlining -whatever sources of resistance they could, picking the time for -cross-country flights when conditions were favorable. They flew from -Akron to Washington and New York frequently at 60 miles per hour. The -Reliance did even better in a trip north in 1939. - -Starting home after its winter in Florida, the ship was held up in -Jacksonville--by tire trouble of all things. The distance an airship can -make in a day is limited by the distance the bus can travel, since the -ground crew must be on hand at night to land the ship. And by now the -bus, with its radio equipment, masts and the like had reached the point -where only the special Goodyear YKL tires would sustain the 14,000 -pounds of weight comfortably. There was a shortage of YKL's when they -started and three standard tires had failed on the run up from Miami. -Neither Jacksonville nor Atlanta branch had YKL's in that size and to -get them from Akron would entail a day's delay. - -Meanwhile the ship was tugging on the mast, with a strong south wind, -anxious to get under way. The pilots held a conference. Maybe, utilizing -the tail wind, they could make it non-stop all the way to Washington, -700 miles north and have Lange's crew land them. If they ran short of -gas they could stop at Ft. Bragg, N. C., a convenient half-way point. -The Army had a motorized observation balloon there, and was always -willing to lend a hand to fellow airshippers. It was Sheppard's turn to -take the controls. He sent a wire to Ft. Bragg. - -"If I run short of fuel, I'll circle the field as a signal. Could you -land my ship, lend me enough gas to get on to Washington?" The answer -came back promptly, in the affirmative, and the ship left at midnight. - -Roaring across the Carolinas at mile a minute speed the Reliance sighted -Ft. Bragg before daylight, with plenty of gas left. An entire company -was lined up ready to land the ship. Sheppard flew low, cut his motors, -thanked them, flew on for Hoover Airport, arriving before noon. He -averaged 66 miles per hour over the 700 mile trip, and landed with -enough gasoline to have gone on to New York. - -By utilizing helping winds, throttling his motors to cruising speed, -Sheppard had effected most economical use of his fuel supply. - -Fickes used the same technique more strikingly in the delivery flight of -the larger Navy K-5 in 1941, when he flew in to Lakehurst from Wingfoot -Lake at 100 miles per hour speed, again demonstrating that greater -cruising radius than that for which a ship was designed may be effected, -whenever it is possible to pick departure times that are most favorable. - - [Illustration: Ships like these, off New York City's great harbor, - might afford warning of the approach of enemy submarines, or the - laying of mines to endanger its shipping.] - - [Illustration: Operating from a base across in Jersey, the blimps - became a familiar sight around New York City during the World's - Fair.] - - [Illustration: While throughout the middle west, the long afternoon - shadows marked the arrival in one city after another of strange - visitors from the sky.] - -Other improvements in construction or operating technique grew out of -the fleet's experiences in flying in all weathers. A trip made by the -Defender in 1930 from Miami across to Havana brought home the usefulness -of the radio. The insurance underwriters insisted on a two-way radio -being installed, along with pontoons on the ship, as safety precautions. -Neither radio nor pontoons were needed during the crossing, but the -pilots sensed the desirability of being able to communicate with their -home station and their airport objective. Shortly after a short wave -frequency was granted to the ships, one of the early ones in aircraft, -and two-way sets were later installed on every ship, on the ground-crew -buses and at Akron. - -This permitted the making of daily weather maps, extended the airships' -radius of action. Pilots would set out with more assurance, knowing that -they would be quickly advised of foul weather ahead, could change their -course, give appropriate instructions to the men on the ground, land -whenever it seemed desirable. - -In the end the airships were all doing instrument flying, riding the -radio beams like the passenger airplanes, got their landing and take-off -instructions from the radio control towers at the airports. - -The fleet proved an ideal testing vehicle for the expeditionary mast. -But progress moved carefully, a step at a time. As late as 1930 an air -dock was built alongside the company's plant at Gadsden, Ala., for use -as an operating base in the middle south. It was thought necessary as a -half way point for ships headed for Florida. After the high mast came in -however, the Gadsden dock came to be used only for warehousing, and no -airship has been inside it in four years. - -In 1932 the Volunteer started in from Los Angeles for Akron, making the -first successful trip of any non-rigid airship over the Continental -Divide. The Volunteer was due for helium purification and a new bag. No -helium facilities were available closer than Akron. Rather than deflate -the ship and send it by train, Pilot Smith decided to fly in. He laid -out a route via El Paso, San Antonio, and Scott Field, so that he could -get shelter, if necessary, at army hangars at those points. He berthed -at El Paso just after a 100-mile-an-hour storm had passed over, stayed -three days at Kelly Field, found it unnecessary to stop over night at -Scott. Even so, because of persistent head winds he had had to spend ten -nights in the open, setting up his low mast with screw stakes on the -open prairie. - -Mooring out procedure had improved by the time that Sewell made the same -trip five years later, so he made only courtesy stops at the three army -camps, was on his own. - -A mishap at Louisville gave impetus to the development of the high mast. -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 ship, convenient to -get at, the system being referred to as "belly-mooring." The low mast -was light, could be set up quickly and easily, would hold securely -against a straight pull of considerable force. However, it was not as -effective in the case of a wind shift, or gusts which rolled the ship on -its side. A higher mast, with the ship anchored at the nose, was free to -swing in all directions. Every one realized this, but it was only after -Crum's ship was caught and twisted by a gust at Louisville, punching a -hole in the bag, that the change was made. - -The high mast, built in sections, anchored by guy wires to stakes -screwed in the ground, was more bulky, took longer to set up, but would -hold the ship indefinitely once it was in place. - -Thereafter both masts were carried in cross-country trips, the -convenient low mast being used for overnight stops in good weather, the -high mast for more extended operations, or when the weather looked -threatening. - -The ground-crew bus was in evolution during this period. Built -originally to carry merely crew, spare parts and supplies it added a -radio room, navigation quarters, and carried the two masts. A scout car -cruises ahead to make overnight arrangements, a trailer follows, with -its own electric plant and expeditionary equipment, including a spot -light to play on the ship at night. Duties of airship personnel grew -more specialized and complex. - -Members of the ground crew acted as radio technicians, meteorologists, -mechanics, riggers. They comprised a colorful group, recruited from all -parts of the country. Sailors from New Bedford, fruit growers from -Florida, farm boys from Ohio, ranchers from the San Joaquin valley, a -mechanic from a Chicago airport, a policeman from the Cleveland fair, -all dropped their work and followed the airships. The personnel list was -a history of every place an airship had operated. - -The work wasn't easy, involved long hours in the cold and rain when -storms threatened, picking up mail from their families on the fly in -cross-country operations, moving their households from north to south -and north again. But the ground-crew men stuck, most of them having ten -years' service and more. On cross-country trips a crew of 14, including -pilots, is adequate. - -The pilot personnel too formed an interesting group. Jack Boettner, -chief pilot, veteran of the group, with probably more airship hours than -any man in the world, certainly in non-rigid airships, had played -all-American football at Washington and Jefferson, been instructor at -Wingfoot Lake through the first war, was working in Goodyear's -aeronautical sales when the fleet got under way. - -As expansion started in 1927 Smith came in from the aero workshop, would -remain second in flight hours only to Boettner. Fickes from Akron -University, left the Efficiency Dept. to sign up, set up one of the -first outside bases, at New Bedford, flew the Mayflower when it picked -up Mr. Litchfield from an ocean liner, later became manager of all -airship operations. O'Neil from the workshop came on too, in that year, -became chief mechanic. - -When a base was set up at Los Angeles, Lange, a New Englander who had -left Boston University to fly airships in the first war, later flying -out of Panama, joined up, was sent to California, later took charge of -the Washington base. Sewell, a Kansan with a similar record, having left -the state university to fly blimps in coastal patrol in 1918 came in, -captained a ship at New York, followed Lange at Los Angeles. - -Further expansion came in 1929, when the Puritan, Mayflower, Vigilant -and Volunteer and Defender were added to the fleet. Now came Wilson, -Purdue footballer, Furculow from West Point and Mt. Union, Hobensack -from West Virginia U, Rieker and Crum from Ohio State, the last named -becoming engineer officer of the group. - -Other practical men came in, from the balloon room and aero -shops--Sheppard a Virginian, who later flew all over New England, the -Middle West and Texas; Massick, Crosier and Munro; Blair, Army sergeant -from Scott Field, came to Goodyear after the semi-rigid RS-1 was -finished. - -Stacy, another New Englander, left the class room at Massachusetts Tech -to sign up. Dixon, born in a lighthouse on Nantucket Island, left a -billet as junior officer on a South American liner to fly land ships -instead. Trotter, from the Naval Academy, was in engineering work in -Florida when a blimp flew over. Lueders came in via the ground crew at -Los Angeles. - -Many of the Goodyear pilots were commissioned as Reserve officers in the -Navy, and Fickes, Boettner, Lange, Sewell, Wilson, Trotter and Furculow -each took a year's active duty with the Navy at Lakehurst with rigid -ships. More than a score of trips were made by Goodyear pilots across -the ocean as student officers aboard the Graf Zeppelin and the -Hindenburg, getting post-graduate training. - -The breaking up of the pilot organization began as early as 1940, when -with war clouds appearing in the East, Trotter, Rieker and Furculow -volunteered for active duty with the Navy. By the middle of 1941, Stacy, -Smith, Lueders and Dixon had followed them into uniform, were flying -Navy airships at Lakehurst. - -To fill their places and also furnish material for the already expanding -airship Navy, a training class of 19 men was started in late 1940 at -Akron and Los Angeles. A six-months' ground school preceded flight -training--which started with seven balloon flights. - -The training course evolved there was one which grew naturally out of -such a situation. Airship piloting had changed from the "seat of the -pants" flying of the first war, when veteran Jack Boettner would turn -out pilots in six weeks. The ships had become more complex as -improvements were made. Helium gas was being used. Navigation by radio -and compass was quite different from the "concrete compass flying" of -1916, when pilots followed highways or railroad tracks to keep on -course. Instrument flying had come in, and blind flying was part of -every student's training, in a closed control car, operating by -instrument only. The modern airship pilot had to know his radio beams -and the rules of Civil Aeronautics Authority, be able to ride the beam -into the airport. In these various details the Goodyear pilots, -long-seasoned, had perfected themselves through years of operation, were -competent to pass on their secrets to the youngsters coming in. - -The student pilot spent his first half dozen hours trying only to keep -the ship at constant altitude, not caring where he was going. Then he -would fly a given course, follow a zigzag rail fence, or a winding road, -not worrying about his altitude. Lesson three was to combine the two, -fly at constant altitude over a set course. And after enough hours at -this, he'd try to circle a pylon, keeping a specified distance away, -while the wind pushed the ship in one direction, then another--now -flying up wind, now down, now cross-wind, now quartering, 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 airshipper, -which is to get the feel of the controls and the weather so that he can -anticipate drift and sharp drops and rises, move his controls a split -second ahead of time, stay on course and altitude. - -Airship students got no exemption from Civil Aeronautics Authority by -reason of the fact that blimps land more slowly than bombers, took the -same physical examination, including eyesight. The training course -worked out with the government followed closely that for -heavier-than-air pilots, with such changes only as were made necessary -by the fact that in one case a static lift was utilized chiefly, and in -the other case dynamic lift. There was plenty of need for the students -by the time they finished their training. - -Over the 16 years during which the fleet operations were carried on ship -sizes settled down to 123,000 cu. ft. as a compromise between the 51,000 -cu. ft. Pilgrim and the 164,000 cu. ft. Defender. This size ship could -carry six passengers with pilot and aide, was easy to handle with a -small crew, had adequate cruising radius for the job at hand. - -Later ships, the Enterprise, Ranger, Resolute, Reliance and Rainbow, -carried on the tradition of honoring the defenders of America's cup in -international racing. - -While an airplane can land anywhere on an open field, the airship needed -at least a minimum of terminal facilities. Many groups co-operated at -the outset. St. Petersburg, Florida built a hangar; Miami towed a -war-time Navy shed up from Key West; Col. E. H. R. Green built one on -his New Bedford estate for use in connection with radio studies being -made by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The company built its own -at Gadsden, Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago and New York, calling them -air docks rather than hangars. - -Unused Army and Navy hangars were borrowed in the early years at -Aberdeen, Md., and briefly at Cape May, N. J., Pensacola, Arcadia, Cal. -and Chatham, Mass., with Lakehurst, Langley Field, Scott Field and -Sunnyvale, Cal., handy as ports of call. - -More and more, however, the fleet grew independent of ground aid, became -increasingly self-reliant through the use of its masting equipment. - -The Goodyear fleet wrote a remarkable safety record in the 16 years. -Accidents to airship personnel could be counted on the fingers of one -hand, and in the case of the public, 400,000 passengers had been carried -up to 1942, for a total of 4,000,000 miles without a scratch of anyone's -finger. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - Results of Fleet Operations - - - [Illustration: Moored airship and flying airship] - -Goodyear airships made some contribution during the 16 years of fleet -operations, to flight and ground handling technique. They also -contributed to men's knowledge about weather. For wherever it is flying, -an airship, by the very nature of the craft, is continually registering -the effects at that point of certain components of weather. And the -ships covered a considerable part of the country fairly thoroughly. - -The nature and movements of air currents can be studied only -incompletely from the ground, for conditions there are merely the result -of forces aloft. Only two vehicles leave the ground and use the air as -highways. Of these the airship is vastly more responsive to changes in -temperatures and barometric pressure than the airplane, because of the -lifting gas in its envelope, and somewhat more responsive to changes in -wind directions and velocities, because of its greater displacement of -air. - -Goodyear airships have traveled widely, have seen at first-hand the -effects of rain and snow, fog and sleet, wind and whirlwind, thunderhead -and lightning storm. More important they have been spectators at the -unseen battle waged endlessly between cold fronts and warm ones across -the great central plains, continued with renewed vindictiveness through -mountain ranges and valleys. - -The information brought by these voyagers has not been without value to -the men in the airport control towers, who are studying weather -phenomena in the effort to make flying safe. - -A whole new science of weather interpretation has come in with air -transport, and the U. S. Weather Bureau has other duties than advising -farmers about planting and harvesting crops. 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 F. W. -Reichelderfer of the Navy, who had long studied the movement of air -masses and their effect on flight. - -Army and Navy ships put in more actual flying days per month than -Goodyear ships, when on coastal patrol, because once out at sea the -service ships were out for all day--and an airship, by picking its time, -and using its mast, can always get out and get back. - -Goodyear pilots had a different sort of job. They were operating over -land, flying 100 passengers a day, at 10 to 15 minute intervals, in one -town after another. They might suspend operations when ceilings were -low, or winds high, or gusty, not because they couldn't fly under those -circumstances, but because flights would be less agreeable, and might be -hazardous for their passengers. However, the ships themselves, having no -shelter at hand, had to stay out and take it. Their job was to interest -the people of America in lighter-than-air, and they had to go wherever -people were, regardless of what flying weather might intervene. - -So between Navy, Army and Goodyear airships operating over a period of -years, it was fairly well demonstrated that there is very little -unflyable weather for lighter-than-air craft. That is a conclusion of no -small importance. - -Winds of gale force may make it prudent for the airship to stay in the -hangar or on the mast, and conditions of zero ceiling, zero visibility, -which ground other aircraft, would make operations hazardous, especially -over mountainous country, but even the most adverse weather conditions -would hardly keep the airship at home if an enemy was at large. Any time -submarines are operating the airship can be available to seek them out. - -Another result emerging from the fact of fleet operations was that -flying men and construction men, working together, became a closely knit -group. Engineers learned to fly ships, and flyers took their turn in the -shops. In building airships for the Navy, at the speed demanded by war -conditions, the control cars were built in the shop and the envelopes -cut out and fitted and cemented together in the balloon room. But -operating men, flyers and ground crew men, mechanics and riggers and -maintenance men took over from there, put the ships together--assembled -them, tested them out, delivered them to the Navy. - - [Illustration: Lessons in streamlining gained from building and - flying blimps became useful when barrage balloons came into the - picture as a new defense weapon.] - - [Illustration: The mooring mast made the blimps expeditionary craft, - eliminated the need for large ground crews, permitted more flying - days per month, increased safety.] - - [Illustration: Floating Navy blimps and barrage balloons, with their - curious star-fish tails, give the service dock something of the - appearance of a giant aquarium.] - - [Illustration: Principal use for the rigid airship in wartime is as - an airplane carrier, with half a dozen planes to extend its - reconnaissance range and determine the enemy's position.] - -It was this co-ordination between men in green eye shades, working over -the drafting board and wind-tanned pilots, studying gray skies and -phosphorescent control boards, which enabled the organization to meet -the war emergency of large scale production of non-rigid airships. - -There was another by-product result arising from the fact that the -company, even in the doldrum days, when there were few orders for ships, -had kept its engineers at work on research and its ships flying on -experimental missions. It all happened suddenly, a colorful circumstance -not often found in the sober humdrum of the business world. - -A great plane manufacturer, having more defense work than its crowded -shops could handle, looked around for some company with experience in -the fabrication of light metal, to whom it could farm out some of the -details. - -Goodyear Aircraft Corporation, the aeronautic subsidiary, was asked to -build tail surfaces for Martin bombers. A curious thing happened. Men -whose work had been primarily with airships, rather than airplanes -(omitting the quite different field of airplane tires, wheels, and -brakes) found themselves on familiar ground when they swung over to -heavier-than-air construction. - -Here was the same problem of getting maximum strength with minimum -weight, of selection and treatment of light alloys, of intricate stress -calculations, and a hundred ingenious devices to measure those stresses, -enabling designers to turn out a scientifically designed structure. The -background was there--not to mention their experience and studies in -streamlined design--to reduce resistance, get maximum performance from -power plants. - -The difference was that in the case of the airship savings in weight -mount fast, because of size. The importance of light weight and high -strength had come home to airship designers years before. - -Their experience was directly applicable to the new field. Other orders -came in, from Curtiss, Consolidated, Grumman, and soon the huge plant -was humming with the production of parts for fighters and bombers. - -Then a four-company arrangement was set up by the government to expand -airplane production still further, and after that an order for complete -planes. The original plant was now jam-packed with lathes and drills, -jigs and presses, and three huge new plants were built alongside and -across the road, and Goodyear Aircraft Corporation found itself with -thousands of men, building not only airships, but airplanes and airplane -parts as well. - -Every large company took on new tasks in defense, but in this case -Goodyear was able to move quickly, and give unexpected support to the -airplane program by reason of its long research in a different field. -This result, it is true, grew chiefly out of research in rigid airships, -rather than non-rigids, but both played a part in another -instance--barrage balloons. - -England was using them, might ask this country to supply some. The -American government too might have use for them. So, long before there -was even any hint of orders, Mr. 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 balloon. They were not -to make Chinese copies of foreign balloons, 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 air. Men went to work, -designing, building, flying, observing, rejecting, altering, improving, -week after week, month after month, until several satisfactory types -were evolved. One of these was capable of flying at 15,000 feet, twice -the usual height. Orders began to come in, and the little group of men -and girls in the balloon room quickly grew into a large organization. -The department outgrew its quarters, took over room after room, expanded -to subsidiary plants outside Akron. - -One instrument developed illustrates how the airship men were able to -utilize past experience in a new project. - -Mounted alongside the winch on the ground, it gave exact information, as -often as was wanted, as to what the barrage balloon was doing, a mile or -three miles up. - -This assembly included a moving picture camera, which continuously, or -at fixed intervals, or at any instant desired, by means of radio -control, would photograph recording dials and show these things: wind -velocity at the balloon, tension on cable, gas pressure inside the -balloon, temperature of confined gas, temperature and humidity of the -air surrounding the balloon, angle of attack at which the balloon faced -the wind, both fore and aft and from side to side, also a clock, which -showed the time the readings were recorded. - -These pictures, 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 aloft, 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 margin. - -Perhaps the largest single result, however, growing out of the fleet -operations was that it had created manufacturing facilities, ships and -personnel on which the Navy could draw, as fully as it wanted, in -emergency, and with little more delay than the time it took for a man to -change his uniform. - -Boettner, Sewell, Blair, Hobensack and Hill followed the others into the -service. Hobensack's ground crew in California signed up with him in a -body, and men from other ground crews, expert in rigging, in motors, -radio, in mooring out and maintenance joined up. In the end only Fickes -and Crum were left at Akron to build the new ships, and Sheppard, -Crosier and Massic to test-fly them, then ferry them to their -destinations. - -The student pilots at Wingfoot Lake had finished their training just in -time. About half of them went immediately into the Navy, were -commissioned and sent to the various bases, the others remained at Akron -as replacements to the other pilots, in testing and delivery flights, or -on key posts in airship construction. - -The experience accumulated by the blimp pilots under varying weather -conditions over the country proved useful to the Navy, particularly in -the expeditionary operations which coastal patrol would demand. It was -useful as well in helping train navy aviation cadets for the growing -airship fleet. Five of the pilots, Sewell, Boettner, Rieker, Stacy and -Smith had reached the rank of lieutenant commander by the end of 1942, -and Lange, full commander, had become commanding officer of a new Navy -station on the west coast. Two of the public relations men, Lieutenants -Petrie and Schetter, old airship troupers, followed the fliers into -uniform. - -The airship service suffered its first casualty in 1942 when Lt. -Trotter, gallant and resourceful pilot of balloons and ships, was killed -in a collision, in which Lt. Comdr. Rounds also lost his life. - -The Goodyear fleet passed out of existence with the war. The ships being -the same size as the Navy training ships, it was a simple matter to -change them over, paint the new name on their broad sides. - -Facilities for ship construction became useful also in the new war. An -airship hangar is unlike any other structure in the world. It must be -broad and high and free of supporting girders. There were two large -airship docks at Akron, half a dozen smaller ones over the country. At -hand, too, was equipment for helium purification and storage, along with -radio and weather gear, mobile mooring masts and other specialized -equipment which only lighter-than-air uses. There was the balloon room, -too, with a wealth of experience dating back to the first World War, and -which with new jobs like building barrage balloons, rubber rafts and -assault boats grew to large dimension. - -Wingfoot Lake was more than doubled in size, and the large airship dock, -occupied at first by heavier-than-air production, had to be changed back -later for airship assembly, to meet the Navy's mounting demands for -ships. The bases at Washington and Los Angeles were converted to other -aeronautic uses; 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 -assembly. - -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 them, Goodyear was ready. All of which was not -foreseen when Mrs. Litchfield pulled a cord to release a flock of -pigeons and christen the pioneer ship Pilgrim, at a pasture-airport -outside Akron in 1925. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - Vulnerability of Airships - - - [Illustration: Airship and escort warship] - -Mention airships and most people will immediately raise the question of -vulnerability. - -Large, slow moving, a tempting target, airships could be shot out of the -sky by ship or shore guns, or by hostile airplane fire, it is argued, -almost as easily as a dinner guest touching his cigaret to a toy -balloon. - -And this is probably true, with reservations, if enemy ships or -anti-aircraft batteries or planes were around. But the airship, -non-rigid, has no more business in such areas than a British airplane -carrier would have to drop anchor in Hamburg harbor. - -It was because of the imminence of attack from sea or shore or air that -neither England nor Germany used airships in the present war, -particularly since they would have to use the inflammable hydrogen gas. -It was because such attack on American airships from any of these three -sources was much less likely--and that we have helium gas, which does -not burn--that this country is using them. - -Their chief field of operations is not off the enemy's coasts but our -own, along that broad ribbon of waters used by our coastwise shipping, -an area roughly marked in the Atlantic by the 100 fathom curve, the -favorite fishing grounds of enemy submarines. Thousands of miles of blue -water, not the narrow lanes of the North Sea or British Channel are -between them and the shore guns of an enemy. - -An enemy fleet, though likelihood of this seems remote, might penetrate -those coast waters in attempted invasion, attack the blimps with -anti-aircraft fire. But such an enemy, arriving in force, would have -either to knock out our Atlantic fleet, or slip past it in surprise -attempt. In the remote later contingency, the information relayed back -by airship radio that the enemy was moving in would be worth losing -airships or any other craft, to get. - -The third hypothesis, attack by airplane, is also conceivable. 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 air, 10,000 feet below--which in any -event would already have radioed the news ashore. - -In the fairly remote contingency that the airplane did choose to attack -the blimp, it would find the position of that moving target, flying at -an indeterminate distance below, much more difficult to calculate than a -fixed target ashore, no easy thing to drop bombs on. - -If it swung down close, 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 72 hours from 14 gaping holes and still -able to fly 400 miles for repairs. 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 below, on the chance of a lucky hit into the -airship structure or controls, or one which disabled its crew. But in -that event the airship, also armed, shooting it out from its more stable -gun platform above would have as good a chance as the plane. - -The airship is vulnerable--as are all other military craft--but used as -the Navy proposes to use airships, it may be said to have an acceptable -degree of vulnerability, in view of its potential usefulness in its -special field--defense against submarine attack on convoys or coastwise -shipping. - -The airship's advantages have been pointed out, but may be repeated. -These grow out of its speed range, from zero to a maximum of 65 knots or -so. Its slow speed, as compared to the airplane has the compensation -that it does not have to circle around to maintain altitude, can keep -any suspect object under continuous observation. Its high speed enables -it to reach a given point much sooner than the fastest surface scout. - - [Illustration: Barrage balloons--spiders who spin out webs of steel - as they ascend--but these spiders are out to catch fliers, not - flies, enemy fliers who threaten our democracy.] - - [Illustration: Modern armies towing a few of these pocket sized - barrage balloons along, might not be too much concerned over attacks - by strafing airplanes.] - - [Illustration: This Strata Sentinel will fly at 15,000 feet, twice - the height of other barrage balloons. By that time the lobes will be - completely filled out by expanding pressure of the lifting gas.] - - [Illustration: This airship, silhouetted against the afternoon sun - might be pacing a peaceful cruiser race through the surf off Long - Beach, on the Southern California coast. Or it might be leading - units of the mosquito fleet to sea off Cape Cod, to hold an enemy - U-boat in check till ships of heavier armament could arrive.] - - [Illustration: Helium-inflated, fast, long ranged, the modern K-type - Navy patrol ship is a far cry from the primitive airships of World - War I. They are armed with bombs and machine guns.] - - [Illustration: In brilliant sunshine, or overcast, in fog or rain or - snow, the blimps take off from their bases day after day, on guard - against any enemy who may invade the coastal waters. A faint smoke - screen, miles distant over the endless waters, may turn out to be a - peaceful merchantman--or a vessel with grimmer purpose, seeking the - advantage of surprise attack.] - - [Illustration: 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 time. The open windows on -all sides of the airship, without obstruction by wings give it special -value in this field. - -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 craft. - -A non-rigid airship throttling down to the speed of its prey, and having -the altitude of the airplane, has a much better chance of sighting the -submarine, before it can launch its torpedoes. - -Taking off in fog, flying in low visibility, compelled to fly close to -the water, these factors do not worry the airship or handicap its -usefulness overmuch, and might under given conditions prove extremely -useful. - -The airship appears to have some advantage too in the length of time it -may remain on station, ranging from 30 hours at high speed to -undetermined days at low. Indeed its endurance is not so much a matter -of fuel capacity as of the ability of crews to stand long watches -without relief. - -There might be emergencies where airship scouts were wanted on -continuous duty over a considerable period. Commander Roands' -experiments point out interesting possibilities in this respect, through -the transfer of fuel and supplies from a surface ship, and the taking on -of fresh crews. - -This generally was the case men saw for the airship up to 1941, as -having potential usefulness, in the event of war, against attack by sea. - -Then came Pearl Harbor, and America's entrance into a new war. German -U-boats, larger, faster, more deadly, moved swiftly in to attack, as if -waiting for the signal. The Japs made reconnaissance raids along the -West Coast. - -"Wolf packs" of submarines in new under-water tactics stalked convoys, -picked off stragglers. More than 600 coast-wise ships, merchantmen from -the Caribbean and South America, and tankers from the Gulf, were sunk in -the first year of war. The loss of tankers brought serious complications -ashore, the rationing of gas along the eastern seaboard to conserve -supply for military purposes. Despite a quickly expanding program of -ship construction merchantmen were being sunk faster than they could be -built. - -The Navy's sea-frontier defense moved to meet the attack. Non-rigid -airships were assigned a place in that program, wherever they could be -utilized and with what ships were on hand, and new airship construction -was rushed. - -Under authorization from Congress, a program of airship and base -construction, together with helium procurement, was accelerated, and by -the end of the year, stations were in commission or being built at key -points along both coasts and the Gulf of Mexico. - -Akron expanded its facilities many fold for the building of new -airships, which were flown to the various bases with increasing -frequency during the year. Large classes of officers, aviation cadets -and enlisted men went into intensified training at Lakehurst and Moffett -Field, preparing themselves to man the ships as fast as they were -delivered. - -The blimps which have been available to the sea-frontier forces have -rendered valuable service in patrol and escort missions. Their exact -record of performance, including number of submarine sinkings, obviously -cannot now be published. - -On sighting a submarine, or finding indication of its presence, the -tactical doctrine might call either for attack, or to stand by, -summoning airplanes and surface craft in for the kill, keeping the enemy -under unsuspected surveillance the while, and saving the blimp's own -depth bombs for another action. - -The airship is capable of carrying on patrol and escort missions day -after day under a wide range of weather conditions, going for months at -some stations, even in the winter, without missing a day. - -Though no detailed summary of airship activities is possible now, it is -no secret that, just as in the last war, the submarines avoided attack -upon convoys where airships were on guard. The German high command -tacitly admitted that this was one type that the U-boats did not want to -meet, an enemy immune to its torpedoes, whose presence the sub's -under-water detectors did not reveal, and which might appear overhead -without warning. Admiral Doenitz, commanding the German submarine force, -testified in a press interview to their respect for our blimps. - -The battle against the submarines will be long and difficult, and ships -will still go down and men will be lost, but the chase will be -relentless as long as the menace exists. Airships, non-rigid, have taken -their place in that phase of America's war effort. - - - - - References - - -Little is available in the way of bibliography on lighter-than-aircraft, -their history and characteristics. Among the best works dealing with -this subject are Captain C. E. Rosendahl's, "What About the Airship?" -(Scribner's), and "Up Ship" (Dodd Mead); Captain Ernst Lehmann's -"Zeppelin" (Longman's) and Captain J. A. Sinclair's "Airships in Peace -and War" (Rich & Cowan, London). - -Copies of "The Story of the Airship (Non-Rigid)," may be procured -through The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. at Akron, Ohio; or at Los -Angeles, or branch offices. - - - - - Index - - - A - Alcock (and Brown) Atlantic Crossing, 16. - - - B - Ballast recovery, 40 et seq. - Bases, airship, world war, 14; - peacetime, 58, 59, 64, 65. - Baldwin, Major Tom, 25, 45. - Bennett, James Gordon, races won by Goodyear pilots, 13; - by Westover, 30; - Van Orman, 46. - Barrage Balloons, 63, illust. opp. 62, 63, 68. - Blimp, origin of name, 25. - Blanchard, Jean Pierre, channel crossing, 22. - Boettner, Jack, pilot, 51, 52, 58, 65. - Boyd, Lt., 19-20. - Brannigan, Charles, photograph opp. vi; - pilot, 45, 46, 50, 51. - - - C - C-5, illust. opp. 14, 22; - Atlantic crossing, 15, 16. - Charles, J. A. C., first hydrogen balloon, 22; - drag rope, 23. - Chatham, U-boat attack, 14. - Consolidated, planes, 63. - Curtiss planes, early flights, 27; - Goodyear part in construction, 62. - Crum, H. W., pilot, 56, 57. - - - D - Defender, 47; - at Havana, 55. - De Rozier, 22. - Drag rope, developed by Charles, 23; - use at sea, 42; - with mast, at sea, 70. - - - E - Eckener, Hugo, 31, 37. - - - F - Fickes, Karl, pilot, 52; - record flight of K-5, 54, 57, 58, 65. - Finger patch, illust. opp. 14, 35. - Franklin, Benj., observations on aeronautics, 22. - Fulton, Captain Garland, 37. - Furculow, Pilot, 57, 58. - - - G - Goodyear Aircraft Corporation, 62, 63. - Greene, Col. E. H. R., dock at New Bedford, 60. - Grosse Ile, hangar, 50. - Grumman, planes, 63. - - - H - Hawker (and Greene) Atlantic Crossing, 16. - Helium, characteristics, 24, 33; - discovery of, 34. - Hockensmith, pilot, 50. - Hydrogen, first use in balloon, 22; - characteristics, 24, 33. - - - I - Iron Horse, 37, 40. - - - J - Jutland, battle, 10. - - - K - Kenworthy, Commander J. L., 17. - - - L - Lange, Karl, pilot, 51, 52, 57, 58, 66. - Lawrence, Lt. John, pilot, 15. - Lindbergh, flight, effect of, 31. - Litchfield, P. W., first air meet, 27; - starts blimp fleet, 30; - mast experiments, 38. - Little, Lt., pilot, 15. - Los Angeles, airship, illust. opp. 23; - why built, 29; - mast studies, 36, 44. - - - M - Macon, USS, size, 25. - Martin, planes, 63. - Mast, mooring, 36 et seq.; - illust. opp. 38. - Mills, Commander, G. H., 8, 17. - Minnesota, damaged by mine, 2. - Moffett, Admiral, W. A., photograph opp. iii; - report on value of airships, 12, 37. - Montgolfiers, first balloon flight, 21. - Morton, Walter, pilot, 45. - - - N - NC-4, Atlantic flight, 16; - illust. opp. 22. - Norge, airship, 25. - - - P - Parsevals, airships, 25. - Peck, Commander S. E., C-5 flight, 15. - Pilgrim, airship, 26, 31, 33, 66; - launching, 66. - Pony Blimp, airship, 47, 50. - Preston, R. A. D., pilot, 13, 15. - - - R - R-34, Atlantic Crossing, 15, 16; - size, 25. - Radio, first use of, 55. - Reichelderfer, Commander F. W., chief U. S. Weather Bureau, 62. - Rieker, John, pilot, 58, 65. - Roma, Italian-built airship, 35. - Rosendahl, Captain, C. E., photograph opp. vi, 17, 37. - Rounds, Lt. C. S., ballast pick-up, 40, 66. - RS-1, army airship, 25, 30. - Rubber, use of synthetics, 35. - - - S - San Diego, USS, sunk by mine, 2. - Santos Dumont, illust. opp. 22; - first flights, 27. - Settle, Commander T. G. W., photograph opp. vi, 38. - Sewell, A. T., pilot, 56, 57, 58, 65. - Shenandoah, USS, 29. - Sheppard, S. H., pilot, 54, 57. - Smith, Alfred E., 36, 48. - Smith, Verne, pilot, 57, 58. - - - T - TC-14, airship, 17, 19. - Trotter, F. A., pilot, bullet holes in ship, 53, 58, 66. - - - U - Upson, R. H., pilot, 13. - - - V - Van Orman, W. T., balloon pilot, 46. - Volunteer, airship, 39; - cross country trip, 55; - masting out, 39. - - - W - Westover, General, 30. - Wilson, R. D., pilot, Everglades rescue, 48, 57. - Wright brothers, first flight, 21. - - - - - Footnotes - - -[1]See U.S. Navy Publication, "German Submarine Activities on the - Atlantic Coast of the United States and Canada," 1920, also the - book, "German Subs in Yankee Waters"--Henry J. James, 1940. - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original--this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - ---In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the - HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.) - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of the Airship (Non-rigid), by Hugh Allen - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORY OF THE AIRSHIP (NON-RIGID) *** - -***** This file should be named 51547-8.txt or 51547-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/5/4/51547/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan, Paul Hutcheson -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - |