Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-06-23
Wonderful Airship Secured for the
Use of the Army.
CONTAINS MANY new FEATURES
Valuable Work Now Being Done
Over at Fort Myer.
MAJOR STEVE s. SCHOOL


The country folk In the environs Of the
armys signal corps post at Fort
Myer, opposite this city. will suffer con-
sternation when Uncle Sam lets loose his
new war dragon this summer. This yell
low monster has arrived at the post.
whittier II was recently imported from
abroad. and today, pent up in a storage
shed, IL awaits the erection of a domicile
large enough to accommodate its huge d.
mansions.
Uncle Sans war dragon is creature Of
artifice rather than of nature. 1t is the
Inv ention of Lieutenant Won Siegsfeld.
Prussian. from whom it was lately pur-
chased through military attache at
Berlin. 1t is an airshp. enbodying pr4n-
ciples distinctly new to the American school
of war aeronautcs. in which it is expected
to effect revolution.
The body of the Dragon-for such is its
name-consists primarily of an elongated
balloon cylinder with hemispherical ends,
adorned in the rear with an inflated rud-
der curling upward after the fashion of a
squirrels tail The body proper. seventy
five feet long by twenty-five feet in diam
eter is sack of cotton cloth doubled,
treated with rubber and dyed a bright yell
low. This coloring best inSureS protection
against the chemical rays of the sun. Dur
ing flight the balloon envelope is poised at
the angle maintained by the ordinary kite
~ degrees 10 the horizontal. Sucn an
oblique position results from the weight Of
car with its occupants upon the rear and
the pull of a governing cable upon the for
ward end. The unique vehicle thus COM
bines the principles of both kite and bal
loon. The swift upper currents of air
striking its long. slanting under surface
aid the buoyant gas within TO elevate the
aeronauts directly toward the zenith
Is an Aerial Warship.
This new aerial warship is possessed of
An ingenious respiratory system, whereby
II Is enabled to automatically inhale and
exhaIe quantities of air demanded by its
internal mechanism. As is too we'll known
by the aeronaut. balloon gas expands and
contracts during various degrees of ascent
and descent. and such uncomfortable fluc-
tuations Of its volume necessitate his ply
ing the atmospheric currents partwhile be-
meath a loose and habby envelope. To Off
set such a difficulty. the balloon cylinder of
the new airship IS given an Interior parti-
ton. separating It into two Compartment
the upper filled with pure hydrogen gas
and the lower with ordinary atmospheric
air. The latter. much the smaller, is con-
fined very nearly within the curl of the
squirrel-like tail or rudder. and serves as
the yellow monsters lungs. although placed
thus. below its diaphragm, in contradistinc-
tion to the arrangement of the human in
terror From beneath the latter compart-
ment projects a funne,-like mouth, into
which the wind. constantly pouring against
1t. is entrapped needed and retained by
a valve Passing Immediately into the lung
cavity aforesaid and swelling its walls,
the air thus inhaled exerts its pressure
against the gas compartment above until
the entire outer covering of the dragons
elongated body becomes tense and rigid.
In the forward end of the curling rudder
a similar funnel mouth devours sufficient
Of the passing gales to keep that appendage
constantly inflated with air alone. BY aid
of an interior safety valve surplus air may
pass between the lower compartment and
this tail before imparting sufficient strain
TO burst any of the three receptacles. Thus
not only the possibility of the flying mon
sters overglutting, but the danger of his
Offering increased resistance TO the wind,
as a result of cavities forming in any part
Of his tightly stretched skim becomes re-
duced TO a minimum.
Rides Any Wind.
Aeronauts know to their sorrow that the
possibilities of elevating the ordinary cap
tive pear-shaped balloon and of maintain
ing Its steadiness diminish as the strength
Of the wind increases. Actual trials made
in Germany have proven that the Dragon
will suffer no such dip. even in a mile-a-
minute gale. but that it will, on the con-
trary. have the kites propensity of mount
Ing higher in the heavens as the passing
air currents grow swifter. Lateral oscilIa-
tons, which in the pear-shaped balloon in
crease with the strength of the wind are
overcome In the new craft. whose so-called
rudder presents a stiff vertical surface of
Tor steadiness there may be hung to this
rucder bobtail Of small parachutes CIT
from the balloon cloth
In spite OF Is superior size the Dragon
requires for full imitation only 81 oOO cnhic
feet OF hydrogen-Iess than the capacity of
some Of the signal corps pear-shaped bal
rooms. Given It's full gas contents. it will
carry two observers to height of Az;
yards; one, 1000 yards. Its normal crew
VII! De TWO men-one an experienced aero
maui controlling the valve ropes, anchor
hn afh -.
nipulating telescope, camera telephone
telegraph instrument and perhaps an ex-
piosiNe charge. as need be. For very high
observations. reconnaissance or signal work
over mountains. hills forests other oh
strucu"ns or open spaces of wide extent II
VIII De necessary 10 tighten the weight and
ger. fA
EASILY Hides From Enemy's Guns
A new aeronaut division, to be organized
at Fort Myer for the care and rn,n,ea,,,-,,,,
OF Inc Dragon. Will comprise a balloon wag-
on. reel wagon with windlass. several
wagons for gas cylinders two srnnIv u,..-
ons and portable gas generator These
vehic,es will constitute balloon train -
The first bearing the Dragon itself will he
large transport wagon, especially enuin-
ped Emergencies demanding hasty change
or the field Of action and forbidding the
usual delay of emptying the gas receptacle,
before starting will further prove the great
superiority OF the new airship over the
ordinary war balloons. Serious difficulties
present themselves during attempts to haul
inflated balloons Of the pear-shaped variety
from place to place, whereas, on account
Of Its elongated. cylindrical form and shall
low diameter, the new craft may be strap
ped snugly to the platform of Its trans
port wagon, thus presenting little resist
ance to the wind during a hurried march,
When held fat against the ground fully in
Hated IT can be much better hidden from
the enemy's guns than its bulky predeces-
sors with much more conspicuous target
surface.
The Dragons reel wagon will carry LOCO