Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-06
WORLD CARRIES ON
IN D|R|G|BLE WORK
Crash of Riot With 48
Deaths Year Ago Has
Spurred Designs.

BY the Associated Press.
A year ago yesterday England's giant
airship, the R-1ol, crashed. killing 4s
persons.
AS the anniversary is observed per-
haps the greatest monument to the ship
and its dead lies in the international
spirit to carry on in lighter than-air
development.
Two countries, Germany and the
United States, have shared in keeping
alive this spirit which has survived
shocks of disaster touching every air
ship-minded nation since Count Ferdl-
nard Zeppelin gave his invention 10
the world.
Germany Contributes.
Germany's contribution in the year
Is marked by construction work on
new commercial super-alrllner ana Iur-
ther DISPLAYS of airship dependablllty py
Graf Zeppelin flights; Americas by the
completion of the U. SIS, Akron and
plans to go ahead on a sister snip,
the ZRS-5.
England, shaken by the disaster and
left with the R-100. decided to- stano
by. maintaining the one ship as an
experimental NcIllNIC' 1u1 PA0AA-i@Ao -
new construction.
MAJ Tor result Of the R-10l. catastro-
nhe was the focusing OF eyes OH
Americas virtual monopoly Of the inert
lifting gas. helium. England's alrllner
was filled with inf1ammable hydrogen
and its sudden end near Beauvals,
France, was made more terrible oy
gas-fed flames.
Eckener Scraps Design.
DR.. Hugo Eckener, the Graf Yep
helms venerable skipper. took the bold
est step because of England's expe-
rience by scrapping the design OF the
LZ-128, a new airship for commercial
work, for a larger one to be filled with
helium.
The Lz-129, designed to carry the
same load as the LZ-128, and there
fore larger because of helium's lower
buoyancy than hydrogen. will have
gas CAPACITY of 100000 cubic feet
against the U. S. S. Akron's 6,5o0,00o
cubic feet.
AS the largest airship in the world, it
will be nearly 80 feet longer ana
feet thicker than the Akron. Built to
accommodate so passengers ana crew,
it is scheduled to be completed late in
1882 or early in 1888.
Official assurance that helium will
not been given, because official request
has not been received. Helium exporta-
ton. however is permitted, If requests
are approved by the President with the
Joint recommendations of the Secre-
taries of War, Navy and Commerce.
May Develop Diesels.
A further step by Germany to elm
inate fire hazard may be the develop
ment of Diesel engines burning crude
oil instead of highly indammable gaso-
line or benZine.
Americas contribution to lighter than
air progress has been the completion of
the u S. Akron as a Navy scout with
strength as its paramount feature and
a number of new design elements. in
Guiding engines housed in the interior
of the fabric-covered hull. swiveling
propellers and an advanced water re-
covery apparatus to take care of ballast.
The Nays contract calls for two air
ships with cancellation of the second
without cost to the Government allowed
at any time I'D to Navy acceptance of
the U. S. S. Akron.
Plan Passenger Craft.
With the impetus furnished by these
two military scouts, American interests
plan to match Cermanys commercial
airship development by building an air.
liner to take its place alongside the
LZ-129 in carrying passengers. mail and
express over the Atlantic Ocean in regu-
lar. scheduled service.
A demonstration of such service has
been carried on by the Graf Zeppelin in
round-trip flights between Friedrichs-
hafen. Germany. and Pernambuco
Brazil. in which pronounced sched-
ule was adhered to despite weather con-
ditionS.