Palatka daily news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1919-1994, 1921-07-11
WEsTLEY CASs Of
PUTNAM ENGINEER
!. BIG BL|MP | RE-

is a member OF the detachment WHICH
was sent to England by the Navy
Department recently to bring the
giant dirigible ZR2, formerly the
R3S, to the United States this sum-
mer or fall. 1t, will be interesting
to Palatkans to know that the Gem
City will be represented on this, the
largest rigid airship owned by the
United States government, and one
of the largest in the world. Mr..
Cass spent much of his time in Pa
latka while residing near here and
before he enlisted in the :.avy.
He entered the navy abou. four
years ago and has gained Piano
ton Gfter promotion in rapid sue
cesslon until he has achieved a rat
ing of first class engineer in the
navy. When he was sent to Eng
land, he won his way to the position
of second engineer on the worlds
greatest airship. 1t is an honor to
be a member of the first crew OF the
United States Navy to cross the At
lantic in dirigible, and the fact
that Mr.. Cass is, to be second engi-
neer makes it still more impressive.
The ZR2 is supposed to leave En-
gland sometime this month on her
transatlantic voyage. Her sailing
date has been changed twice and it |
is not known exactly when she will
get her final sailing orders, but they
are expected soon.
Wesley Cass and his father, c.
N. Cass, have lived in Putnam coun-
ty for about eight or nine years,
moving to the county from Berlin,
Pennsylvania.
What the Ship Looks Like.
A recent issue of Aerial Age gives
the following description of the ZR2
on which Mr.. Cass will be third in
command:
"The R3S, which will be known in
the United States as ZR2 is now al
most ready to undergo her first trials
Next month, if her trials are
completed satisfactorily, the Ameri-
can crew now being trained in Eng
land on RS0 will take her over and
fly her across the Atlantic to New
York, and then across the United
States to San Francisco. At full
speed the ship has an endurance OF
5000 miles, so that it should be com.
paratively easy to make the flight
successfully win only one descent
at New York.
"The design Of R3S was deciJec
: Upon by the Admiralty in the sprins
of 1918, and construction was start
ca by Messrs. Shor, Bros at CARD
ington, in November the same year
Later, in April, 1920, when the All
! Ministry took over the works, worl
was continued by the Ministry
R38 is the largest rigid yet con
structed in any country. Its capac
ity is larger by some 100000 Gu. #
! than that of the ex-German airshil
: LII.
: "R3S was designed for naval pur
: poses, first consideration being Civ
:; en- to the attainment of the creates
possible ceiling-the experience O.
Germany in the use of airships fO1
scouting and night raiding having
demonstrated the necessity for thu
ability to climb rapidly to high alti
tudes.
at is intended that after trial
have been carried out-and it is eX
pected that these may take place an.
moment now-and the airship ha
been handed over to the American
Government, the American crev
which is now completing airship
training in this country will, after
few further flights to. accustOn
themselves to the behavior of tn
airship, fly across the Atlantic to
base in America, where a shed ha
been built to accommodate the shi
and where, it is understood, a moor
ing mast is also to be erected.
"The main dimensions and char
acteristics of R38 are as follows:
Length ......-............. ......... 695
Diameter ...................... S5 fit. il
Capacity .................. 2,7OO,0G0 GU. +
Total lift under normal condition
SO tons.
Total hip Z,lU
Engines Sunbeam "Cossacks' {
$50 h. p.
Normal crew (officers and men) 2s-9
Armament, Ia Lewis guns,
FOUNDER automatic, 520-lb bomb
6 230-lb bombs.
The disposal lift, i. e., the usefl
lifting. power available for petrt
and oil, crew. stores, armament
ballast, etc, as originally designed
was in excess of so tons as agains
90 TONS in the case of R33 and R3l