Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1923-11-15
AMERICA TO BUILD
BIG AIR SHIPS
Goodyear has German Patents, Am
erica will Pick up where Ger
many Left OFF.

this week by The Goodyear Tire a.
Rubber Co. of the formation of the
Goodyear-Zeppelin Co., subsidiary
company organized to take over for
this country all the rights, patents
drawings and designs Of the Zeppelin
Co., relative to the rigid airships.
| Formation of the new company, it
is stated, places at the disposal Of
the United States government and of
commercial interests the cumulative
experience of the Zeppelin Co which
has but 100 Of the 100 airships con-
structed in the World.
The new company America own
| ed and controlled will have exclu-
sive rights to ali Zeppelin patents,
equipment etc. for North America
except Canada and non-exclusive
rights in Canada.
1t is planned to carry on construct
ion work in balloons and gas bags.
With the opening Of the late war
Goodyear began the construction Of
kite balloons, and when America en-
tered the war began building the diri-
gibles for the army and navy and be-
came the largest manufacturer of
lighter-than-ai crafts in the country.
The gas cells for the FRI, now call
ed the Shenandoah, whose successful
flights have greatly stimulated in
terest in aeronautics were built at
the Goodyear workshops.
The formation Of the Goodyear
Zeppelin company will enable Ameri-
ca to pick up where Germany left off
in the construction and operation Of
rigid aircrafts and will further give
to this country the. benefit OF any
other inventions and improvements
made by the parents Zeppelin COM
pany or by Zeppelin corporations or
ganized in other parts Of the world
Germany has been stopped by the
Inter-Allied Commission from build
ing an additional Zeppelins except
tn ZR-3 now under construction for
America as part Of the reparations
agreement.
Among the more impressive per-
formances of Zeppelin ships is that
of the L-59, which in 1917 during the
war made a nonstop flight from a
point in Bulgaria across the Mediter-
ranean and the Sahara Desert to Ger
man East Africa and return, cover
ing 1925 miles in less than four
days.
The ship had been sent down to re-
lieve colonial force which was sur
rounded by the British, but finding
that it had surrendered, turned a.
round and returned to it's base with
out landing.
The British RIA, which was built
from the design Of one Of the Yep
pelins shot down in England, crossed
the Atlantic in 1903 hours and after
refueling returned in rs hours.
More impressive however than the
military activities of the huge lighter
-than-air ships was their record a.
long commercial lines.
During the three years just before
the war the Zeppelin subsidiary COM
pany carried $4,000 passengers with
out injury to passengers or crew,
and after the war from August "a
to September /, 1919 when the Inter
Allied Commission prohibited further
operations, carried 1880 passengers,
1900 tons of mail t440, 900 letters
and $500 pounds Of express between
Friedrichshafen on the Swiss border
to Berlin under all kinds Of weather.
Count Ferdinand Won Zeppelin, the
Greater of the Zeppelin type Of ship,
is one of the most important figures
in the history of aircraft. The story
of his career IS romatic one.
Born at Constance, on the Swiss
border, in 1888, he went through mil
itary school, came to America during
the Civil War and joined the union
army as volunteer officer, serving
through the rebellion, and after
wards spent several years in the then
sparcely settled regions Of the mid
| die west.
Returning TO Germany he took
part in the Franco-German War,
where he watched the balloons leav-
ing Paris during the seige, which
perhaps put into his mind the idea
of developing large rigid ariship.
It was not until 1894, after he had
been retired from the army and was
So years old, that he built his first
ship. The succeeding years were ones
of financial and other difficulties
which would have broken the spirit Of