Artist Conception Photo of Mother Airship

[johnbr]

 

[gordon.b.calhoun]

Hi! do we know the context of this image? That is, what year, is it official Navy or a Popular Science type drawing (which they LOVED to do), and where did you find it? Thanks! -Gordon Calhoun
National Museum of the United States Navy

 

[SaparotRob]

I was quite the Zeppelinophile back in High School. Anything to not study. I really liked U.S.S. Akron and U.S.S. Macon. They captured my imagination. Real Buck Roger's stuff.
That's a great picture.

 

[gordon.b.calhoun]

This was Popular Science's "artist conception" of Admiral Moffet's idea of an airship in 1925....Marvel Comics, you owe the Navy royalties.
View attachment 615738

 

[Gnomey]

Interesting!

 

[pbehn]

Can the aircraft climb back up to where the Zeppelin goes to when it drops its 50 ton payload?

 

[special ed]

A some what related airship story happened one evening at a Civil Air Patrol senior member meeting in the mid 1970s. The hangar flying turned to airships and blimps. Although most there were pilots and some were WW2 pilots, this one member who had worked at Consolidated, before and through out the war, was not a pilot. He often came with his youngest son, about 16. When the talk about airships was going well, the Dad commented that when the USS Shenandoah crashed in Ohio, his father took the Family the next Sunday to see it. When he said he still had a piece of a gas bag in the attic, his son shouted "You never told ME". An example of lack of communication between father and son.

 

[GrauGeist]

Hi! do we know the context of this image? That is, what year, is it official Navy or a Popular Science type drawing (which they LOVED to do), and where did you find it? Thanks! -Gordon Calhoun
National Museum of the United States Navy

Goodyear had a series of designs in the 30's and a few magazines of the day ran articals about the concept, like Popular Mechanics, Modern Mechanics, etc.

The Airship Aircraft carrier is (was?) labeled a "ZRCV" - use that as a primary search term. For example:
1930's ZRCV

 

[nuuumannn]

Airship carriers were a popular concept in the 1920s/30s and the US Navy led the world in their development, being the only service to put the concept into operational use. The Germans carried out experiments by dropping Albatros fighters from Zeppelins during the Great War, as did the RNAS with Sopwith Camels slung under one of its patrol airships, although in these experiments there was no reconnecting after releasing the aircraft, the idea being fighter defence against attack on the airships. Neither service tried the concept out operationally.

After the war the British carried out experiments with the by now civil airship R.33, using DH.53 Hummingbird light aircraft, before progressing to Gloster Grebe single-seat fighters, of which two could be carried by the airship, with experiments proving successful. This didn't result in any more effort as British interest in airships waned following a couple of major disasters, including R.101's loss in 1930, after which R.33 was scrapped.

R.33 riding the mast at Cardington with two Grebes attached.

R33 Grebes i

On the ground with the two Grebes visible. The foremost aeroplane survived the experiments and was refurbished and converted to a two-seater and sold to the New Zealand government to equip the New Zealand Permanent Air Force.

R33 Grebes ii

 

[Wurger]

 

[vikingBerserker]

That's really cool, did the pilots have to sit in their aircraft the entire time?

 

[nuuumannn]

That's really cool, did the pilots have to sit in their aircraft the entire time?

Thankfully not, there was a small cutout above the aircraft that the pilot would shimmy through and lower himself into the cockpit.

 

[at6]

Thankfully not, there was a small cutout above the aircraft that the pilot would shimmy through and lower himself into the cockpit.

Not something that I would want to try.

 

[nuuumannn]

Not something that I would want to try.

Airships in general were not for the faint hearted. I read an anecdote that airship crews would dare themselves to extend a fireman's ladder all the way to the top then climb it. During R.34's transit across the Atlantic, the only means of providing hot water was from a flanged piece of metal attached to one of the engine exhaust pipes on the engine cars, which was accessed by climbing out of the airship with a big pot of water, leaving it on the metal element and then retrieving it once it had boiled. On one occasion, the wind was so stiff that the pot lid got blown away in the slipstream as the fella was bringing it back on board the airship...

 

[Dimlee]

I will never stop admiring them. Real ships.
Look at this control room.

 

[Wurger]