Bridgeton pioneer., 1912-10-03
Aerial WARS
IN five YEARS
So Says Professor SChuette,
German AIrShip Builder.
WILL FLY ACROSS THE OCEAN.


Already Has Built an Airship Manned
With Rapid Fire Guns and Plans
One Armed With AeropIane Destroy
ers-lntends Soon to Construct an
Aerial Dreadnoueht.
Professor Johann Schuette, inventor
of the Schuette-Lanz airship, the latest
type of dirigible to be turned out and
successfully tried in Germany, thinks
that in the present stage of aeronautics
an attempt to make voyage over the
Atlantic would be foolhardy. In five
years-perhap in three-says the in
ventor, the airship will have developed
to such an extent that such voyage
will be feasible. In the same time he
believes that the military airship will
have become so formidable an engine
Of war that battles will be fought in
haps depend not upon the strength of
its army and navy, but upon its air
men.
Professor Schuette is in charge of the
department of naval construction in
the Royal Technical high school of
Danzig.
Suspended Cars.
On a recent visit to New York and
Washington he said:
zone great difference between my
airship and the Zeppelin type is that
the latter has its cars suspended rig
idly and in mine they are hung by
ropes. This has enabled me to save
the ship three times in cases where
rigid lower framework might have
been smashed The cars in mine can
not be moved forward or backward
or down. but if one hits the ground or
an obstacle the whole ship does not
necessarily receive a shock.
II began working on the airship in
1909, and the works we have at Mann
helm, the workshops, the garage, the
machinery and the cost of the airship,
represent total outlay of about 2,000,-
600 marks ($50O,000. The airship can
lift about five tons, and its engines,
two eight cylinders. have developed
$40 effective horsepower. | have at
tained speed of seventy-two kilo-
meters an hour, which works out to
about forty-five miles. 1t is fitted with
wireless telegraphy and has two cars.
THE longest voyage l have made
was from Mannheim to Berlin, but in
July and August the vessel Travelled
$500 miles. When she was stationed
at Berlin we took up altogether about
500 persons. The number of persons
that can be taken up at one time de-
pends upon the quantity of benZine
carried and the wafer ballast carried
along. l have lately mounted two
quick firing guns on the ship, with
10000 rounds of ammunition.
Intends to Build Dreadnought.
81 am now building a much larger
airship. which will be a real warship.
or war airship. | expect to finish her
by next summer. An objection has
been that an aeroplane can get over
an airship and drop explosives upon
1t, the airship being powerless to reach
the lighter craft with its guns. For
top of my airship, as well as on the
cars.
This vessel is to have an average
speed of about fifty-two miles an hour.
1t will be able to lift fourteen tons.
1t will carry enough fuel to enable it
to remain in the air forty hours at
time, working at full speed. There
Will be six rapid fire guns and
searchlighf. and two lifeboats will be
carried and three tons of explosives.
Four of the guns will be on the top of
the airship, to protect the vessel from
aeroplanes or other airships fighting
from higher altitude
THE airship is by no means perfect
as yet In this new vessel which am
building I hope to attain the real ail
battleship. and you can see that will
an ability to remain in the air for fifty
hours it will be able to cover a Ions
distance. 1t might be even possible
by taking the fullest advantage of the
trade winds from the Azores. to make
a voyage to the South American con
tinent and then to come north, hnt
there is no airship today that can dr
this. No air craft today is capable af
making such journey and you hava
recently had unfortunate reminder
that it is foohardy yet to make an -
tempt to cross the Atlantic by airshi'
as airships are now constructed, We
need from three to five years of eX
perimental work. In five years-per-
haps in three--we shall know a lol
more about sailing in the air with SAFE