The Elk Mountain pilot., 1919-03-20
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BY LLOYD ALLEN,

built for the allies The impression got about
that lighter than mir ships were failures, because
the Zeppelins failed In their raids There Is no
doubt on this subject in the British air ministry.
There It is known positively that the efa of Tue
dirigble Is Just beginning.
An immense amount Of antisubmarine patrol
ing and convoy escorting was done by dirigioies
during the last year Of the war. cnain OF
airship stations was maintained right around the
coast of England. from Mulon In Cornwah
around Scotland to Pembroke. large NUMBER
of hostile submarines either put out OF ac-
tion or actually destroyed by bombing. Other
subs were located by the air men and the In
formation passed along to the destroyers that
knew we'll euough how to handle the undersea
murderers
II was in conway escortlng that airships showed
their special advantages airplanes. The
airship with Its big bag of gas to keep 1t up
could go very slowly, keeping an even pace with
the transports below loaded with American sol
diers. It could stay at any given height while
its Iookouts searched the sea for mines and subs
Can cross Atlantic In FIFTY Hours.
During the war one British airship made
cruise lasting 20 hours and 5S minutes and since
the armistice this record has been beaten by
trip Of 81 hours. With such reliable data as this
to work on the air experts figure that crossing
the Atlantic is going to be fairly easy job
since there are In existence today dirigibles that
have a speed of more than 80 miles an hour which
would mean something like 40 or so hours con-
tinuous flying to reach New York
Al present the British builders specializing
IN two big ter-than-air types. The first is Of
.hout the same size the largest Zeppelin.
while the second type, the one that will have a
oOOOOmile cruising range. Is four times as large
.s the largest Zeppelin ever built.
Imagine an airship with gas bag 100 feet
long longer than the Mauretania and higher
than the Woolworth building were the dirigble
net on end. Inside this bag 100000 cubic feet
~ m. will be carried. capable of lifting 200 tons
of freight and passengers in addition to the
.veipht of the operating machinery. Plans for
me craft make provision for saloons. drawing
rooms, smoking rooms. and a "roof garden"
which may be reached by an elevator. The es-
timated speed is 9a miles hour.
When the German Zeppelin 70 was built
II Ias predicted that she would be the largest
Of her kind. yet the British Goliath Of the
air has quadrupled the capacity Of the German
production.
As compared to the "ten Million ship the
other British type Is somewhat Of nn infant since
ahe can carry but 80 tons of luggage and pas
eengers and Gun travel only 1900 odd miles
without descending for a fresh supply Of gaso-
line and oil.
Best for Long Distance Flights.
with these possibilities in aerial travel virtually
realized, 1t is conceded here that the dirigible
must take first place as long-distance pas
senRer carrier. Heavier than air machines will
be built In considerable numbers, and will come
Into q very large use. but in all probability they
viii be utilised mainly for flights that aggregate
into the hundreds Of miles rather than into the
thousands. The airplane's special advantages will
be made use Of where certain routes are to be