The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-03-03
"B0DENSEE", GERMAN
AIRSHIP, IS EXPECTED
TO CROSS ATLANTIC

who are disposed to accept at their
face value Teutonic walls about the
dire hopelessness of Germany's pres
ent situation consider for a moment
the following facts:
Within three months of the con-
clusfon of hosttlities this vanQuished
nation had in operation flight serv-
ices that covered almost every part
of the new German republic. In six
months these German machines es-
tablished the following records:
They flew 556.1 55 kilometers-
equal to thirteen times around the
earth to the equator.
They made 2726 separate flights,
1902 for mail carrying purposes ex-
clusively, and 1924 with passengers.
In these flights they carried 202,156
Kilograms OF mail matter and 1,574
passengers.
In this period the following daily
services were inaugurated:
February 5, 1919. Berlin-Leipsic-
W"'r'""- $50 kilometers; hours, Is
minutes.
a"G, Il /, Berlin-Hamburg. 260 kilo-
meters; 2 hours 10 minutes.
April IS, Berlin Hanover-G eisinkir-
chen. 400 kilometers: 4 hours.
April Is, Berlin Warnemunde, 22O
kilometers; ] hour. SIS minutes.
July 2, riinSwinnemunde, IT'S
kilometers: l hour, IS minutes.
July ), Hamburg Westerland, 200
kilometers. ! hour, 20 minutes.
or 1882 postal flights scheduled,
only thirty were interrupted, a failure
Of less than 2 per cent. OF 1886
scheduled passenger flights, twelve
were not. completed. Interruptions to
this branch, of the service totaling l
per cent.
New lines planned, but not yet in
operation because of the lack of ben-
zol the German substitute for petrol
will give air service between Der
lin, Wiemar and Frankfort, and Der
lin, Danzig and Konigsberg. Germany
has ne fewer than 10000 airplanes and
half that number of capable pilots on
August /, 1919.
Crossing the cean Daily
The inauguratiOn-by the dirigfble
BOdensee of domestic airship navi-
cation between the Swiss frontier and
the German capital city marks an
epoch in Gerlnany's aerial annals. Not
alone does the esta blishment of this
truly marvellous air service arrest at
tentiOn. In its success Is justification
of German confidence that the near
future is to witness developments that
will cause the whole world to look on
in open-eyed wonder.
AS for these developments it must
suffice at the moment to name one.
According to information that reached
me from auth entic sources, plans are
now under way-by arrangements be-
tween German and New York finan-
ciers-for the erection on Long Island
of a great, turntable hangar capable
Of accommodating two dirigibles at
one time. The hangar, it is said, will
be ready next summer. 1t is to serve
as the American terminus Of daily
trans Atlantic flight service, which is
promised to span the distance be-
tween New York and Berlin in forty
eight hours.
Everything the "Bodensee" has
done thus far has been by way Of
grooming herself for the trans-Atlan-
tic crossing next spring. Her sue
cessful negotiation of the trip from
Berlin to Stockholm and back, carried
out in the daylight hours of October z,
1919, was only an additional tryout in
preparation for the bigger undertak-
ings planned for 1920.
Time and again this unique airship
has proved herself capable of doing
bel ter than 100 miles an hour, and this
in spite of the fact that she is consd-
erably smaller than the wartime
Zeppehns.
The expert designers responsible
for the Bodensee aimed at reproduc-
ing in the airship spheroid that
would resemble in shape a drop of
water. They worked on the theory
that d drop of water must present a
form offering the least air resistance
because of it's liquid state. Thus the
Bodcnsee is considerably bigger in
diameter and much shorter than the
Zeppelins that bombed London and
Paris. With virtually the same gas
capacity, its lifting power Is little
more than the Zeppelin's. and with its
total of 1,040-horse power, as against
the old types 450-horse power, the
speed has been doubled.
The fact that in the Bodensee the
Germans have taken tremendous
step forward in airship construction
tends to make plausible their insist
ent denials that any one in authority
had anything to do with the destruc-
ton of the twelve wartime Zeppelins
which were to have been surrendered
to the allies.
I'VE are perfectly willing to let the
allies have all the old Zeppelins," said
Carl Vogelsang. head Of the Hamburg