Use of Zepplins in the U-boat war

[Milosh]

I grew up near the LTA base in Santa Ana, that had two monster airship hangars.
I recall as a kid, Dad took me there on occasion and one time, the doors were shut for some reason, and it was raining inside - the doors typically remained slightly open to prevent this.

The AMA use to use the hangers for indoor superlight weight rubber band powered airplanes.

like this,

 

[special ed]

I watched this at the AMA nationals for a couple of hours one year. It is fascinating to watch every thing in slow motion. You can count the prop revolutions. The model climbs, glides in slow motion as do every one there. Moving and walking moves the air and changes flight path. The covering is a solution similar to model dope, poured on water, lifted off the surface with a wire loop and laid on the framework of the wing, fin, and stabilizer. There was a model magazine article about, during winter (those poor folk in the land of snow) insect powered flight with these models. This fellow caught flies, put them in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, glued them in place of the prop, breathed on them to revive the power plant and turned them loose. I'm sure PETA would be against this today as it must be not PC.

 

[Dimlee]

The germans not pursuing the concept I can relate to. the americans not pursuing and escort carrier airship is harder to justify.

May be the Americans missed right person in right time?
Someone as staunch and assertive as this man:
Igor Pasternak, a native-born Ukrainian, is building airships in the U.S. And is doing quite well for himself

I envy his optimism and trust in the concept of the Airship, after all troubles and the incident (hangar roof collapse) with Dragon Dream in 2010.
"I don't have competitors... Look at me, how someone cannot pay attention?".


I like this guy.

 

[parsifal]

I reckon......a real visionary.


You can imagine working for a guy like that....challenging but exciting.


I am interested to find out more about his designs. I particularly like those magnet lookingthingys thatappeared to be anchoring devices on the hangar floor. and the shape of his airships looks very unique

 

[Dimlee]

I reckon......a real visionary.


You can imagine working for a guy like that....challenging but exciting.


I am interested to find out more about his designs. I particularly like those magnet lookingthingys thatappeared to be anchoring devices on the hangar floor. and the shape of his airships looks very unique

I watched him for several years. It seemed that he became more careful in PR after the Dragon Dream disaster.
I'd like to learn more about practical application of his dynamic buoyancy management system.
The patent was registered in 2015:
Flight system for a constant volume, variable buoyancy air vehicle

As the former shipping executive and as the customer of shipping companies today, I believe that there is a niche for new type of vehicle - faster then a container ship, cheaper ($ per mt of payload) then an aircraft and not so dependent on ground infrastructure as a train.

 

[nuuumannn]

Im unsure if these fighters were able to re-tether to the mother ship after launch.

The British carried out experiements during the war (WW1) using a Sopwith Camel hooking onto HMA No.23 in late 1918 and after the war, the airship R.33 carried out experiements with hooking de Havilland DH.53 Hummingbirds underneath in 1925, then Gloster Grebes in 1926. Successful detachments were made, but it was of little use as the British had abandoned military airships in 1921 and R.33 was a civilian owned vessel by then.

R33 Grebes small

This particular Grebe had an interesting history; after these trials it went to 25 squadron RAF, then was sold to the New Zealand government, where it was one of the first 'modern' fighters, although unarmed, to serve in the fledgling RNZAF. It was destroyed in an unfortunate accident in 1932 due to a broken elevator control cable.

J7400 small

These photos were legally acquired by me and are from my own collection.

 

[nuuumannn]

During WWI (apparently) Zepplin gas cells were made from cow stomachs which could contain the Hydrogen.

Yup. The lining of the stomach of an ox, called the caecum, was commonly called goldbeater's skin, as it was used in book binding for the flattening of gold leaf. Goldbeater's skin was oddly impermeable to hydrogen and when hand sewn together, the sheets naturally 'grew' into each other; a useful consequence of a natural material. The downside was the sheer number of cattle required to sustain an industry - some 600,000 head of cattle were required for enough sheets of goldbeater's skin to fill an airship the size of the German R Class 'Super Zeppelins' and the British '33' Class airships, R.33 and R.34. This again reflects the resources required for airships outweighed the benefits to operating them. Each airship manufacturing base had its own farms for access to cattle and their goldbeater's skins.

 

[Shortround6]

So..............they were really in the meat and hide trade, the airships were just a sideline

 

[The Basket]

Poor cows.
Hydrogen can escape off into space so that's pretty cool.
I remember reading about helium how the helium resources are been used up so people can have funny voices and for party balloons. This once strategic gas used most inappropriately.

Airships will never work due to weather.

Just ain't. So if you a betting man then I would wager against.

 

[tyrodtom]

Helium is a industrial gas, hardly a strategic gas anymore.
,I have some myself, I use it as the shielding gas for Tig, or Heliarc, welding.

 

[GrauGeist]

They've found a deep reserve in near the Rockies last year...plus there's a new method of recovering Helium from oil deposits. Not as efficient as capturing Helium pockets from hard rock, it's still a source.

And if all else fails, Saturn and Jupiter have vast quantities in their atmospheres

 

[Washing Machine Charlie]

Also, not always shown is when the navy ratings who were to catch the ropes are running towards the camera, a chief steps into view, points toward the ship and can be seen yelling. Navy personnel do a 180 and run toward the fire and begin helping survivors. One tough and scary chief.

The story of the chief restoring order reminds me of another, during Operation Eagle Claw, the failed Iranian embassy hostage rescue.

When, the C-130 started burning, the Delta troopers inside started running around to escape, until an old NCO yelled the commands for a parachute jump and everyone stood to order waiting their turn for the door.

Lesson? Everyone, even Delta, resorts to the lowest level of training when the shtf. God Bless NCOs and Naval Chiefs.

 

[gjs238]

We used to make Hydrogen by taking iron filings and mixing them with old electrolyte from car batteries.
The result was enough to puff up a big trashbag, which would float away like a birthday balloon.

We then got the brilliant idea to fill a trashbag with the Hydrogen and tie a flaming rag to the bottom. As it floated away, the flames reached the bag and there was an anti-climactic "floof" of dull orange-red flames as the Hydrogen ignited.

We were expecting all sorts of mayhem and carnage...but the distinct "floof" sound and the weak red-orange fireball was almost embarrassing.

I don't know the proper air fuel ratio for hydrogen but I know it makes a loud bang. It was 1958 or 59 which ever year I took high school chemistry, that a friend and I decided to make a hydrogen generator the way we had just learned in school. There was a local Union Carbide facility in our residential neighborhood that took up most of the block. It was fenced with a small second fenced enclosure near the gate. We knew they kept acid locked in it. We waited till a man brought out a small plastic drum to put into the cage and asked him for a quart so we could get extra credit in a chemistry class project. He gave us a small amount and told us it was depleted acid. We went to a restaurant for oyster shells and set up our generator in the attic of my friends 's garage. The "depleted" acid tested positive for both nitric and hydrochloric acid. The generator worked fine blowing up balloons until we saw they were blowing up larger and larger and keeping us busy, and the vessel was getting too hot to touch. We shut it down with baking soda and emptied it out side. His dad never understood why grass would n't grow in that spot. The balloons were fitted with fuses silmilar to cherry bomb fuse which was available then. We Stood on the balcony of the attic, lit the fuse and let the balloon go. At about 60 feet up the explosion brought people outside and shook leaves out of the trees. After about four balloons, we saved the others till after dark. We never figured what Union Carbide used that created the "depleted" acid.