Evening journal., 1919-07-07
HUGE DIRIG|BLE
BUILT FOR BOMBING.
British Had Intended to At
tack Berlin and Other !.
German Cities
CRAFT is 634
FEET IN LENGTH

NEW YORK, July THE R-3i, now
0 peace ship, originally was designed
70 out-zeppelln Germsny's zeppeIns.
Th6 mission cut out for the R-3i and
her sister airship, the ROB. was 10 fly
low over German cities. drop 500 pound
bombs and blow buildings and pop
ulace TO smllhereens. Batteries for
eight guns on the upper structure pro-
Nided the certain means OF bringing
further death and destruction.
The sudden termination OF the war
put a stop 10 these death dealing plans
Designs on Berlin and other German
municipalities were forgotten The
R-34 was converted into a peace ship.
Then came the rumors that Germany
would refuse 10 accept the peace terms
and again the R-3i was placed on a
war basis She started on a 2OOO-mile
cruise over The Baltic and the German
coast region at q low altitude where
all observers could look up and do a
pile OF thinking She carried no bombs,
bat The Germans were tremendously
Impressed with her poss bllitlcs. As
soon as ~ became a moral certainty !
that the Germans would sign the
treaty and promise 10 behave them |
selves. the crew resumed preparations |
30 come to America and make us
visit
Longer Than Most Steamships
The R-3i Is bigger than anything Else
hat carries men and freight with the I
exception OF tho biggest of the big
ocean steamships Her balloon Is col
'eet long from nose TO stern. Her beam
n feet, II paced on end she would \
stick out twcnty-seven feet above the
op OF the Singer Building Her meas
irements are very closely those Of the
lteamship Odrlatc OF the White Star
line.
Suspended from the balloon are four
Sondolss The distance from the bot
.om Of the lowest gondola 10 the top
" the gigantic balloon Is sevenly-n nine
'eet. The gondols placed forward Is
'or the captain and the pilot Two ,
wing gondnlas hang amldsh.ps under
,ither side Of the balloon. The fourth !
5 suspended aft
The forward aud amldshlp ears each !
carry a Sunbeam Maori engine capable /,
OF generating 90 horsepower The aft
eondola is equipped with two Of these ,
q
Is 1000 horsepower
The propellers OF the forward and
wing cars measure ifih feet from tn ,
to tip and the propellers Of the afl ,
sondola i9s feet,
There are nineteen gas bass inside
the outer rigid envelope. which IA built n
OF duralumln and covered with the
usual doped aviation fabric. painted a 7
rlf.ro~ss htsa ntsr,fr.r,t. I
aluminium alloy discovered by one \. J.
Wllson, who hailed from Berlin GER
pssny.
hydrogen Gas Employed
The gas bass are nlled with hydro
zen gas and furnish the lifting power
The bass are partiton so as TO al
low space FOR members OF The crew 1
30 pass freely throuehout the interior 1
OF the envelope. The inside OF the en- I
Nelope looks not unlike The inside oflN
a collapsed circus tent. The gas bags G
form a slopng shelter over a narrow
runway which extends the entire
ength OF the ship.
This runway Is reached by ladders
rom the four gondolas. Abaft the
wing cars inside the envelope Il
nessroOm for the crew. Cups. plates.
S as shipshape as a cooks galley. 70
The s0ndolas have comfortable ac- al
Ommodations FOR The members of the o'
rev, with sleeping quarters for hslf Cl
hat number Radiators on TOP OF the 81
Motors supply the men with hot water re
nd electric stoves guarantee hot an
lesls In
The diriglble has 100000 cubic feet w
a A.. l. l
bon and her eighty-one tanks can on
AIRY total OF 515i galloons Of gas
line fOr her i've engines. The R-34s p;
.fting capacity IS 90 tons, Of which W
~ tons IS dischsrgesble weight, or
weight which can be disposed OF from
he ship itself
Wireless Radius 500 Niles pa
The wireless Is controlled from the
laptains gondols. Il IL possible TO Il.
end messages 500 miles by the set and Gil
nus The dirigible was In a position 10 OF
see word TO the shore at every point ye
of lie history making journey. tlC
Because the greatest danger 10 such Or
oralt es nre the most elaborate pre- OF
cautions were taken 90 prevent a blaze IT'S
me diriglble Is brlstlng with fro ex
unguishers in an parts Tho crew even :
measure.
IL IS estimated that II cost the Brit
ish Government s6O00,0OO 10 build ibe
R-5A and her hangers and 10 train the
crew TO operate the airshlp. An Brit
ishers are OF the opinion that It was
worth the money.
Most folks who saw the great Brit
ish srship tried 10 think Of sometime
that 1t most looked like and the major
iy apparently were agreed that as A.
sailed through The air and settled M
Roosevelt Field Il looked more like
silvery colored fish regular whale
Of flsh-than anything else ono
fresh water plug fisherman. familiar
with artificial black bass bats. said
10 appeared TO him Ike "a laundering
big silver minuow.' the gondolas look
iDg not unlike the gangs OF hooks as
they dangled from the body OF the
jirigibe.