Aircraft : $b its development in war and peace and its commercial futureDavid, Evan John
History
Aircraft : $b its development in war and peace and its commercial future
David, Evan John
Aeronautics; Airplanes
NC-4—Commanding officer, Lieutenant-Commander A. C. Read; pilots,
Lieutenants E. F. Stone and Walter Hinton; radio operator, Ensign H. C.
Rodd; engineer, Chief Machinist’s Mate E. S. Rhodes.
THE LOSS OF C-5 NAVAL BLIMP
The C-5 naval dirigible, called “Blimp,” was 192 feet long, 43 feet
wide, 46 feet high, and contained 180,000 cubic feet of hydrogen. It
was driven by two 150 horse-power union aero engines.
It left Montauk Point early Wednesday morning, May 14, and was in the
air continuously for 25 hours and 45 minutes.
It arrived at Halifax at 9.50 A. M., Thursday morning, New York time.
On Thursday afternoon the C-5 burst from her moorings in a gale and was
swept to sea. Lieutenant Little was hurt in an attempt to pull the rip
cord of the dirigible in order to deflate her. The cord broke, and he
received a sprain when he jumped from the C-5 as she began to rise.
The C-5 arrived at the Pleasantville base, near St. John’s, after being
in the air continuously for 25 hours and 40 minutes. A perfect landing
was made within the narrow confines of the old cricket-field, which was
chosen as the anchorage for the airship. Lieutenant J. V. Lawrence was
at the wheel at the completion of the voyage, and the manner in which
he handled the ship while the landing was being performed evoked a
cheer of admiration from the crowd which had gathered.
As soon as she had been secured at her anchorage, a big force,
under Lieutenant Little, was set to work preparing the ship for the
transatlantic flight. It was not long before the treacherous wind began
to play upon the dirigible, and early in the afternoon she was torn
from her anchorage, but was recaptured and secured again.
Immediately after arrival, Lieutenant-Commander Coil and his crew
got out of the car and prepared to take twelve hours’ sleep before
continuing their flight across the Atlantic. Before turning in,
however, he told the story of the trip to Newfoundland.
In it he gave all the credit to Lieutenant Campbell and Lieutenant J.
V. Lawrence, both of whom, he said, were weary “and almost seasick,”
but stuck to their posts. He also described the period of several hours
during which the airship was “lost” over Newfoundland.
“We made a ‘landfall’ at St. Pierre,” he said, “but found ourselves on
the west instead of the east shore of Placentia Bay. From this point we
attempted to follow the Chicago’s radio directions, but they did not
work. For the moment we were lost.
“We started ‘cross lots’ and saw about all of Newfoundland, and I
must say that this is the doggonedest island to find anything on I
ever struck. Eventually we hit the railroad track and followed it to
Topsails, which we identified, and then continued on to St. John’s.
There was considerable fog, but it did not trouble us.
“Throughout the time we were trying to find ourselves we had difficulty
with our wireless set, and part of the time it was out of commission.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account