Evening star., 1921-08-11
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. August 11.-Science
will be called upon to do it's utmost
to protect the dirigible ZR-2, latest
addition to Americas Navy, on her
the United States.
While no string of destroyers will
be flung. across the Atlantic. ready
for possible rescue work. as was done
when athe three American naval sea-
planes hoped off for the old world
in 1919, four battleships, a cruiser
and a special weather bureau vessel
will be pressed into service to COM
pile meteorological data and furnish
forecasts which will guide the giant
gas bag in lodging storms.
Might BE blown on Course.
For storms at sea, which mean
nothing to a modern battleship and
are bravely weathered by. .destroyers.
may mean death to the crew of a
should the aircraft escape destruc-
ton, it might be blown hundreds of
miles off its course.
Therefore far-fiung system for
scanning the skies will be put into
operation when the ZR-2 puts out
mile nonstop flight to Lakehurst,
N. ].
Along her proposed path from a
point 900 miles off the Irish coast to
another 100 miles from the Jersey
sands will be stationed the six wealth
er vessels with special staff of
forecaSters.
Hourly Weather Reports.
Each hour the radio will bring re-
ports of wind, barometer and tenn
perature from as far south as San
Juan. Porto Rico, to as far north as
Newfoundland. Out in Nebraska, too.
a government weather station will be
collecting similar data by means of
captive balloons and kites and trans
mitting it eastward by land wire.
From the seaboard it will be wire
lesSed to the maritime observers.
These weather men themselves will be
making observations. testing wind cur
rents at sea level and at an altitude
Of several thousand feet. Merchant ves-
sells will be asked by radio for supple
mental data.
To selected vessel. finally. will come
all reports and aboard her will be
charted a map showing disturbances
advancing and receding.
The warnings will be flashed to the
dirigible, so that she may shift her
course if necessary to dodge storm
clouds.
Warnings of storms.
Storm centers travel eastward, with
frequent counter disturbances moving
northward along the Atlantic coast.
Should a storm of more than local pro-
portions brew in the middle west its
presence will be flashed to the Atlantic
coast and thence to the fleet at sea.
If the storm in it's progress east de-
velops increased intensity regular in
land weather stations will note it and
chart it's probable course.
The ZR-2 carries the very latest ra-
dio equipment. 1t will be used not
to transmit daily reports of her prog
ress. Serving as mediums for wire
less relay will be not only the war
ships assigned to weather work, but
also the powerful shore stations on
both sides of the Atlantic.
Foreign Assistance.
Abroad the English government
station at Howden and the French
stations at Lyon and on the Eiffel
Tower expect to be in touch with the
dirigible during her entire flight. On
|. this side Sayville, Arlington, other
cliffs, Annapolis, New York navy yard
ard several large commercial stations
will receive her flashes. To avoid in
| terference by commercial radio traf-
! f1c. all communications with the ZR-2
i will be on high pitch wave. lengths
far above the power of the average
radio equipment
Among warships assigned to the
fight is the battleship Ohio. which
controlled the wireless and the move
mentS of the unnamed Iowa during