SHIPWRECKED IN AN AIR LINER !

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 554, 5 January 1929, Page 22

SHIPWRECKED IN AN AIR LINER !

Science is now overcoming defects in lighter-than -air construction which made possible the horrible disasters of the past when dirigibles were set afire by lightning or broken up in terrific windstorms. Air liners of the future will probably be considered much safer than present greyhounds of the deep.

Tho thrillin'/ crossing of the Atlantic made by the Graf Zeppelin has once again brought the future of dirigibles under constant discussion. Lieutenant - Commander Charles Kosendahl. of the U.S. u ho made the crossing tit the Graf Zeppelin, discusses, lit this article, what •ill happen when lighter-than-air craft ore storm-tossed in the slip. ' The call of distress 1 '1 broke suddenly into the I et^er front which ! ■il millions were drawing entertainment for the eye and ear. Operators in shore stations and radiomen at sea listened intently for another cry from the ship at the mercy of the elements. "5.0.5.—5.0.5.” The staccato electrical vibrations came winging again. ' fclckener disabled. Danger of crackiug up. Latitude 32 north: longitude 10.10 east. 5.0.5—5.0.5.” It was just before edition time in afternoon newspaper offices, and a paragraph describing the peril which faced the crew and the 100 passengers in the giant liner of the air was soon on the street and an excited continent began anxiously to await further news.

By 1935 a regular air service was m operation between the two Atlantic coasts in the Northern Hemisphere, and voyages in the greater leviathans were rapidly becoming a commonplace of life. Developments in size, speed, and safety had convinced increasing numbers of busy people that quicker transportation at 10 per cent, extra cost made Zeppelin sailings desirable. Railroad time schedules were in effect. Increased knowledge of wind and weather made it possible for the commanders of the airships to ride around storms and dodge dangerous pressure areas.

Unusual weather conditions had caused Eckener to twist farther and farther south to escape the severe squall regions that threatened. West and south of Bermuda, with the wind blowing: strong, an order was misinterpreted by the quartermaster and the rudder was swung hard over while the ship was in full flight. At about the same moment, the gale suddenly increased in violence.

Although the Eckener was the strongest and most up-to-date ship built, the sudden strain on the rudder combined with the onset of the wind, wrenched the ship badly. The Eckener did not break in two, as had happened with ships in the early days of lighter-than-air construction, but the metal bonds were loosened, creating a danger from lightning, and the flapping rudder crippled the movement of the ship. Passengers, Indifferent to the storm, were suddenly seized with fear and momentary terror when the. Eckener swung sharply and quivers ran through the frame. One look down Into the gray and angry sea was enough to frighten the stoutest heart, and heavy winds whipped the waves into high crests, some of which seemed leaping eagerly to engulf the ship.

An officer came into the cabin to reassure the passengers and explain that there was no immediate danger, but that they were to look to the rubber boats and life-preservers in case of extreme necessity. With the radio operator madly at work sending his call through the air, and the panic prevented among the passengers, headway was necessary to control the great craft in the elemental turmoil. Attempts were made to manoeuvre the ship carefully by using the propeller force of

the port and starboard motors alternately, like a gang of mechanical giants paddling first on one side and then on the other. The crew ran up and down the lanes inside the ship looking for gas leaks, examining trusses and inspecting the operation of the valves. When the wind struck the Eckener with sudden force it had driven the up several 'thousand feet, but the hurried examination showed that the valve system was working perfectly, and that it had immediately responded to the upward drive by emitting enough gas to relieve the extra pressure caused by the sudden expansion of the envelope. No ships were in sight as the executive, using his glass, tried to pierce the sheets of rain and cloud which cut off the view of the horizon. The Eckener was somewhere near the ocean lanes of vessels travelling between Liverpool, Southampton, Colon and the British W r est Indies. The operator was trying to pick up messages from vessels responding to his call for help, and several ships were seeking the position of the Eckener.

Meanwhile, an hour passed. The sky cleared as suddenly as It had clouded. As the ship retained its buoyancy, fear among the passengers that it would come down upon the surface of the heavy sea and break up before help arrived was slowly dissipated. At sunset a sturdy cargocarrier hove in sight. Messages were exchanged between the two vessels, and arrangements were made for the freighter to tow the Zep into port. A line was thrown down as the cargo-carrier came underneath the huge bag. It was attached to the winch and the air liner was drawn down until only a few hundred feet above the deck. Turning its nose west, the vessel hauled the Eckener into Bermucfa. where it was easily hooked to one of the new and inexpensive mooring masts found everywhere, and the passengers were trans-shipped to their destination, while repairs were made. * *

This imaginary shipwreck in the air is about the worst that might happen to the greater airships that are being projected, and will be built within the next few years. Among naval constructors and architects there is a general belief that Zeppelin transportation is about as safe as anything that has ever been invented. Lieutenant Commander Charles E. Roheudahl, chief of the United States dirigible Los Angeles, who made the crossing on the Graf Zeppelin, had just about got his legs used to solid earth again at Lakehurst when he was asked about the feasibility of airship travel and the relative safety of air-liners and ocean greyhounds. “Even though regular transocean traffic is not immediately at hand, the trail has been marked in the skies,’’ lie declared. “Feasibility of such traffic has been assured, provided we build more airships and progress in the development of essential auxiliaries. particularly efficient airship terminals.

“No other means of transportation was developed without long years of effort. We are now in a position to transform the lessons of the present

into the realities of the future. “The construction of each new dirigible increases the size and the factor of safety. As is well known, the storm danger is from vertical winds which suddenly blow the ship up or down, decreasing or increasing the gas pressure inside the pay. Proper design of valves and pressure flaps take care of this danger. “Wireless is always available to summon help, and the passengers have the same ultimate aid of life-preserv-ers and rafts which are the last protection of passengers on ocean-going vessels suffering shipwreck. “Spare propellers are carried on dirigibles, and if one breaks the motor can be cut off and the propeller replaced while the ship is in motion.

“Nausea due to the motion of the ship in the elements is also something which does not occur on airships. I have never seen a case of air-sickness in my experience. “There is unlimited room for improvement in the development of airships. The . projected American dirigibles will be six times the size of the Los Angeles in cubic capacity. The Graf Zeppelin is only one and one-half times the size of the Los Angeles. An expert has estimated that it is possible to build bags of 15,000,000 cubic feet displacement, and no theoretical limit of efficiency has yet been reached in our calculations.”

Edward P. Warner, of America, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Aeronautics, is enthusiastic about the possibilities of the dirigibles. He declared that the maximum range of (Continued on Patje 23)