The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-06-19
Lighter han-Air Globaliners Designed
10 Span Oceans Over Far-Flung Routes
ss ran Fleet OF Worlds Largest Ashp
Ry MAX B. COOK
,rEA Staff Correspondent

Rt Mf1<A ~
xEA Staff Correspondent.
NEW YORK, June 18. - The
once.proud rigid airship is on its
Wv, INV back to play an an-important
m W." in postwar global commercial
aviation.
It's pioneer hackers, now more
enthusiastic than ever, are doing
Something abou it. If they win -
I'D If looks like they will - the
United States will have something
M other nation can have in the
air The answer to that one is
helium - non-explosive and safe.
We have practically all of it, and
IN tremendous quantities.
Today in the files of the Civil
Air Authority in Washington rests
an application for 41,633 miles of
foreign routes using dirigibles of
10O0OO0O cubic feet helium capa-
city.
The application, filed by United
Nations Airships Inc, Munsey
building, Washington, asks for
These rather amazing routes:
Washington to Buenos Aires, Ar
oentina, via Rio de Janeiro; Wash
ington to Calcutta, India, via
Dakar, Capetown and Zanzibar;
washington to Moscow via Glas-
COW: Washington to Brisbane, Au-
stralia, via Los Angeles, Honolulu,
Chungking and Darwin.
One company, planning to fly all
tbe oceans and serve the United
Nations! And it has selected air.
ships of 100000 cubic feet each,
or third larger than the largest
airship yet built and successfully
flown.
R. C. Phillips, Jr., vice presi-
dent of the company, who filed the
application, requests certificate
to carry passengers, property and
mail
This correspondent sought out
Rear Admiral c. E. Rosendahl,
U. S. N, the nations foremost
rigid airship prepayment and ex-
pert, who almost single-handedly
has advocated rigid airships fol-
years.
For Global Flight
THE rigid airship," said Ad-
miral Rosendahl, will come back
to place this nation undeniably at
the top of global air service. In
transoceanic fields, it will augment
the very necessary and vital
heavier-than-air service to a de-
gree that cannot be overlooked in
either the present o. the postwar
picture. Lighter-than-air advocates
need have no fight with the proven
heavier-than-air industry. It is
simply case of utilizing tvery
possible proven form Of CONNER
cial ali carrier: and we need not
wait for peacetime, we could be
using them in this war"
The. destructionso of the luxury air.
ship Hindenburg by hydrogen fire
at Lakehurst, N. j, on May 6,
1887. to many seemed the death
knell of large rigid airships.
Germany, unable to obtain he'll
ium from the United States and
unwilling to continue using the
highly inflammable hydrogen, laid
up the Graf Zeppelin and suspend
ed airship service while searching
for helium at home. Helium was
found in Germany = at least
enough to run the one large air.
ship successor to the Hindenburg,
then ready to go into service. But
the war struck before Germany
could exploit her own helium sup
ply.
Loss of the Shenandoah, Akron
and Macon also had dampened the
ardor of even some rigid air
ship advocates. The limited govern
ment program spark-plugged by
the seeing late Rear Admiral
William A. Moffett and few other
naval personnel, begged down. The
small non-rigid airships, ''blimps, :"
N-ioeVel, CdIIl6 OdCh d1ICA ca
Harbor to various duties in the
Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific, and
gave lighter-than-air a new lease
on life.
Solve Problems
Rear Admiral Rosendahl and a
few others have retained increas-
ing belief and hope that the rigid
alrship, which they insist has
basically proved itself, would again
lily the oceans - this time for the
United States.
1t must be remembered" said
Admiral Rosendahl today in giving
MS personal views, that the Shen
andoah, Akron and Macon were