Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-15
OUR NEW QUEEN OF THE AIR
RUNS TRUE TO ROYAL TYPES
This ZR.2, super-zeppelin, Built for the
United States, 10 Beautiful, Costly
and OF Doubtful Utility
and Of Doubtfu

ana OF DoupVul OtlIity
QUEEN Of the air, in appearances at
" least, the IR2 will be when, big as an
Atlantic liner, silvcry white like a ghost of
the vanished Icppclins out of which she
grew, greater in bulk than any other air
ship ever built. she drops from the sky at
Lakehurst some time next month after n
flight from England under the American
flag. And like all great queens of these
and other times she is beautiful to see,
unbclcvably costly to maintain, uncertain
in emergencies and of doubtful utility in
world that she is supposed to ornament and
serve.
The man on the ground will be profoundly
moved by glimpse of the ZR- by the
dignity of her bearing. her air Of majesty
and might and the music of her volcanic
engines But flicrs who know that they
may have to put vessels of this type to the
supreme test of battlc--thc only test, after
all. that really matters-will think coOlly
Of the Queens vulnerablity as n target. of
the 500 men who have to nurse and coddle
her at all her goings and comings. of the
painful care and the exquisite Judgment
that are necessary to keep her from breaking
her back or coming to some other unsccmly
end whenever she leaves the earth or re-
turns to it. Their minds will run back
u lHt IuIfHNN VI lllt LIN-- anu W NV
tragedies of failure that overwhelmed all
of them.
The Queens mother was a Zeppelin, n
very big and fierce Zeppelin, that swept
over England one night to lay London
waste She few at an enormous height
but not high enough. Out OF the icy dark
ness overhead n very small and lonesome
airpanc tumblcd upon her, squirting tracer
bullets. The Queens mother blazed and
exploded and fell to the earth like n torch,
dropping dead men as she went. She car
ried about twenty officers and men. All
died in the air and the pilot who shot them
down rcvcrently put flowers on the decent
graves that the English gave them. Such
are the fortunes and the codes of serial
warfare.
The ZR-2 is the ultimate Zeppelin. YES
sells of her type are being built and will
continue to be built only because airmCn
wish to corroboratc by scientific experiment
and direct experience the impression that
is general among military scientists every
wherc-that old Count Zeppelin, who hoped
to win the world for Germany by the use of
vast rigid airships in war; was as foolish
as he seemed to be in the days that pre-
cedcd his death from ingrowing chagrin and
exploded hopes. Icppelins were almost use
less in the war. If they flew beyond rang"
of attack they couldn't hit anything. If
they got within seeing distance of the earth
they were harassed by the planes and usu-
ally destroyed.
As. matters stand, all the advantages of
aerial warfare are with tho planes. \
plane is the rough and tumble hound dog
of the air. 1t comes and goes without Cere-
mony or fuss. 1t needs and desires no
coddltng 1t is q hundred times harder to
hit than big dirigiblc, and it is swiftcr in
the attack and at the getaway. One may
crash ami no one is particularly concerned.
And nowadays the pilots are actually learn
ing how to crash without being killed.
Lacking landing field they can slide deftly
into gulleys or let themselves down on the
roof of forest il their engines die. They
carry armament as deadly as the armament
of the dirigibles They can dodge and fit
in ways that make big dirigiblc seem as
difficult tn mancuver as an Office building.
And the big planes now doing passenger
service between London and Paris carry
thirty people comfortably and the newer
ones doubtless will carry more
When the British shot down their fiFt
Zeppclns they knew that they had obtained
prizes of an unusual sort. Aviation en-
ginrcrs bounced upon the wrecks of the
dirigibles to bring to light all the technical
secrets which Count Zeppelin and his as
sistants had been guarding for tLc best part
of a generation. The British agreed to
Share their knowledge with the Allies and
the associated Powers That is why the
ZR-2 was built in British factories for de-
livery to the United States. TlS big ship
embodics every device and every principle
which scientific study evolved from the
earlier work of the Germans. Later on at
Iakehurst the United States Will build its
own dirigibfs from the patterns OF the ZR-2
and the devices and principles Of the rigid
airship will be improved But it is notice
able that in Britain and almost everywhere
else enthusiasm for great diriGiblcs is Ian
gushing.
The factories established in England for
the construction of vessels of this type are
engaged in other work Italy is experiment.
ing with smaller vessels withnut conspcu-
Gus success. But in Italy and France and
England the work Of improving and eab-
Grating and cnlarging airplauos and their
engines is continuous and brilliantly success
full. Flicrs generally believe that the only
thing proved by the war WI 8 the imprac-
ticability of lighter than air flying machines