GIANT AIRSHIP

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 91, 8 December 1931, Page 2

GIANT AIRSHIP

f J. V t-;1 j . : : VI GERMAN DiRTGIBLE BIGGER AND BETTER THAN PRESENT GRAF ZEPPELIN. N ON-INFLAMM ABLE GAS. A new giant airship being built :at Friedrichshafen, at present called LS129,- will differ in vital particulars from the Graf Zeppelin, says the Loiidoli Evening Stahdard. • It will; 'be considerably lai'ger; it will embody many teehnical improvements auggedted by -the experienee of the Graf Zeppelin; it will surpass the present s-hip in- its- ar'rangenrents fer. the comfort and security 6f the passengers. ; The differencfe in size is shown in the following table giving the approximate measurements of the two airshins. — " .. : '

Its carrying capacity, which is almost double that of the Graf Zeppelin, is: . Fifty passengers,. eight tons of mail. and luggage, two tons of drinking water, two, tons of washing water, six tohs of ballast water, and sixty tons of- fuel. Control from the Bow. The so-called "bridge,". the post of control and command, will nOt, as ;in the Graf Zeppelin, be close to: the pas- ' senger quarters, which are shiffed to midships. The "bridge" occupies a space nearly 11 yards long at the : bow. It is fitted with a periseope, enabling the watch offieer to observe the whole length and the Stern oi the airship. Above the "bridge" is t the wireless station. • This will not> as heretofore, derive its current from an air-driven motor, but will be supplied with current from the ship's electric power station.- The airdriven motor had . the double disadvantage of only workiftg when the airship was in motion and of offering a certain amount of resistanee that diminished the speed of the ship. This '' new disposition of the wireless station dispenses with the necessity for the » special wireless gondola that is a feature of the Graf Zeppelin. The poiver station, served by two oil-drfven motors supplies current for the ship's lighting, .for the kitchen, and for the heating apparatus. Incidentally it will enable passengers to have their daily warm bath, which was not possihle hitherto. Twenty-six Cabins. The present ship' offers rather limited passenger accommodation — ' some cabins, a very narrow interior lobby, and one common room that serves as saloon, reading room, and dining room all in one. On the LS129 this will be entirely different. In. the first place, there will be 26 cabins with 52 berths. The dxriing room 16 yar'd's by 62 yards, will be spacious and well appointed; so will be a separate reading and writing room, with a library of books and facilities for typing. To starboard and' to port there will be broad lobbies fitted out with windows placed at an angle of 45 rdg. and permitting" almost unlimited view a. ound and below the airship. Besides th'e kitchen and the other conveniences, there will be a bathroom,- an officers'' mess-room, and a purser's ofiice. Finally, there will be a smoke-room. This is a great boon, for the chief objectiori Uiany people had to Zeppelin travelling was that it was strictly forbidden to smoke. Tlie strixigent prohibition of smokin'g in the Graf Zeppelift is, of eoUrse, because there is ilo separate smokeroom so devised as to prevent danger of eseaping gas floating about the ship catching fire from qpen lights. Tnis danger is much smaller in the new airship, which is designed to use , non-inflammable gas; also the smokeroom will be so constructed and isolated as to avoid all possibility of conflagration. The new ship will carry no petrol, and helium gas offers no danger of combustion. In ad'dition, in the construction care has been taken to avoid inflammable substances.- Exception must be made in the ease of the cover, which is composed of strips of cotton and cloth coversd- with aluminium powder to diminish the infiuence of the sun's rays on the gas contents. The gas eells' partitions are of socalled beater's skin. In pfinciple the censtruction re--mains the same; the new features are all improvements graffed ori the present model. None of these changes is in any revolutionary or marks a departure fr.om the principles adopted originally by the pioneer of airshipsy Count Zeppelin. They are mer'ely alterations and additions de~ signed to increase carrying capacity, speed, comfort 'and security.

" : . . Graf } LS129. Zeppelin Maximum length. 2711ds 257yds Maximum breadth 45yds 33yds •Maxinium height 50yds 37yds Nominal gas capacity 260,000 137,000 c yds. c yds.