British Airships, Past, Present, and Future — John Shaqi
British Airships, Past, Present, and FutureWhale, George
History
British Airships, Past, Present, and Future
Whale, George
Aircraft; Airships -- Britain -- History
The water-ballast tank is situated immediately behind the pilot's seat
and contains 14 gallons of water weighing 140 lbs. The armament
consists of a Lewis gun and bombs. The bombs are carried in frames
suspended about the centre of the undercarriage. The bomb sight is
fitted near the bomb releasing gear outside the car on the starboard
side adjacent to the pilot's seat. The Lewis gun, although not always
carried on the early S.S. airships, was mounted on a post alongside the
pilot's seat.
S.S. MAURICE FARMAN
For this type of S.S. the cars were built by Messrs. Airships Ltd. In
general appearance they resemble the Maurice Farman aeroplane and were
of the pusher type; 60,000 and in later cases 70,000 cubic feet
envelopes were rigged to these ships, which proved to be slightly
slower than the B.E. 2C type, but this was compensated for owing to the
increased comfort provided for the crew, the cars being more roomy and
suitable for airship work in every way.
The system of rigging to all intents and purposes is the same in all
types of S.S. ships, the suspensions being adjusted to suit the
different makes of car.
In these ships the pilot sits in front, and behind him is the wireless
telegraphy operator; in several cases a third seat was fitted to
accommodate a passenger or engineer; dual rudder and elevator controls
are provided for the pilot and observer.
The engine is mounted aft, driving a four-bladed pusher propeller, with
the petrol tanks situated in front feeding the carburettors by gravity.
The engines used are Rolls Royce Renaults, although in one instance a
75 horse-power Rolls Royce Hawk engine was fitted, which assisted in
making an exceedingly useful ship.
S.S. ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH
The car designed by Messrs. Armstrong Whitworth is of the tractor type
and is in all ways generally similar to the B.E. 2C. The single-skid
landing chassis with buffers is the outstanding difference. These cars
had to be rigged to 70,000 cubic feet envelopes otherwise the margin of
lift was decidedly small. A water-cooled 100 horse-power Green engine
propelled the ship, and a new feature was the disposition of petrol,
which was carried in two aluminium tanks slung from the envelope and
fed through flexible pipes to a two-way cock and thence to the
carburettors. These tanks, which were supported in a fabric sling,
showed a saving in weight of 100 lb. compared with those fitted in the
B.E. 2C.
For over two years these three types of S.S. ships performed a great
part of our airship patrol and gave most excellent results.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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