The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1910-11-19

Although no date has yet been fixed
for the launch of Britain's first naval |
airship, there is every reason to hope |
that she will emerge from her huge |
shed at Barrow some time next |
month, a recent London dispatch says. |
The delay in completing her has been
much greater than was expected
1t was officially stated in Parliament |
that the airship would be ready last |
June, but month after month has gone |
by, and still she remains a closely |
guarded, hidden mystery.
Three days ago, however, the cruiser |
Hermione, which is to be the air YES
sells mother ship" arrived at Bar
row, and that is taken as a sure sign
that the work is nearing completion.
When this great airship is launched
she will be not only the largest and
speediest airship in the world, but a
perfect marvel of naval ingenuity.
Naval Airship No. l." as she is Off
cially described, will be amphibious in
her duties-she will reign in the air
and nave her home on the water. She
is being built on the water, she will
be launched on the water and her
home station will be on the water.
When she ascends in the air she
will act as a vigilant farseeing scout,
searching for the enemy, and her
capacity is so great that she will be
able to remain away for three or four
days before gliding back to her station
on the water, like Homecoming gull.
The corrugated iron shed in which
the dirigible is being constructed is
about 200 yards long and 80 yards
strip of water at Cavendish Dock, so
that when the airship is launched she
will be drawn into the open through
the enormous canvas doorway and will
rest all the while on the water.
The fact that the &irship will float
is one of her many surprising charac-
teristics. Two gondola-like boats, one
at either end of the airship, will pre-
serve her buoyancy in the water.
An elaborate and ingenious arrange
ment of network and anchors will also
be employed to steady the ship while
at rest, even during the stormiest wea-
Their.
The boats will be the living quar-
ters of the two officers and six men
who are to work the vessel, and they
are being fitted with every necessary
convenience-such as sleeping berths,
cooking galley, stores and so onto
enable a cruise of two or three days
to be made.
The boats are large enough to ac-
the spare space will be devoted to the
storage of PETROL as hundreds of gal
Ions will be required on continuous
long cruises.
Everything on the airship is British
made The balloon is of special tex
ture, which combines lightness with
strength, and many miles of it have
been used in the making of the huge
envelope.
The outer covering is made of the
new alloy Of aluminium, which is much
stronger than aluminium itself and
only slightly heavier. The engines
have been specially designed to meet
the requirements of the Admiralty,
and it is believed they will in mode
rate weather give the airship a speed
of 80 miles an hour.
For more than six months expert
ments have been conducted at Messrs.
Vickers, Maxim & Cos yards with va
rious new propellers, with the result
that blades with just the right pitch
have been provided and fitted to the
vessel.
1t was thought that the cost of the
airship would not exceed $35OO00, but
there have been so many alterations
in the original design, due to the dis
covery of Improvements almost every
day, that the total amount will prob
So5cScScSr=rSp9oSc=oSoSc
! PENITENTIARY FOR KIN ct sh en-
NEW YORK, Nov 3.-Smuggling
by passengers on incoming liners is
becoming increasingly dangerous. The
days when detection only meant a
heavy fine have passed, and hereaf-
ter the customs authorities will ask
the courts to infict Imprisonment n