Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume III

DIRIGIBLE BALLOONS. 53 On July 2, 1900, at 7.30 p.m., the first trial was made. At the signal all ropes were re- leased, and the airship rose and moved against ~ . the wind, turning now to the First Trials. ° leit, now to the right, m answer to the movements of the helm. Unfortunately one of the rudder cables broke, and Zeppelin decided to descend, which he managed to effect without accident. Further trials took place on October 17 and 21. During the first of these the airship remained aloft for eighty minutes ; during the second it attained an independent velocity of twenty miles an hour, which quite eclipsed the performance of Renard’s La France. The tests served to show that, within the limits of its speed, the huge structure could be driven against the wind, and made to circle ; also that the design of the framework needed modification to give greater stiffness. The expense of his experiments had ex- hausted Zeppelin’s finances, and compelled him to appeal with which to Zeppelin II. to the public for the means continue his researches. But times were bad, and popular interest in aeronautics was as yet unawakened. So four years passed before he had collected sufficient money to construct Zeppelin II. This airship had a somewhat larger volume than its predecessor, but was much better engined, two 90 horse-power Mer- cedes motors taking the place of the two 14'7 horse-power Daimlers. Also, the workmanship and design showed a decided advance. For ascensional purposes, two vertical screws, each giving a lift of 240 lbs., were provided. The trials, made early in 1906, showed that the new craft was much faster than Zeppelin I., but that it lacked longitudinal stability. . . On the last trip the steering gear and the motors failed to act, the airship began to drift before the wind, and a descent had to be made into a meadow. During the night, however, a gale arose, drove th© airship against a tree, and in a few minutes had reduced it to a com- plete wreck. Count von Zeppelin announced his intention to retire from the field after this disaster, but was persuaded by the Government to per- sist. Within nine months he had Zeppelin III. afloat. This ePPe^n had nearly 4,000 cubic metres more volume than No. II., being of larger diameter and length.. Two 110 horse-power motors supplied the driving power. The balloon itself had sixteen sides only, instead of the twenty-four sides used previously, as the reduction of number facilitated construction. On trial the Zeppelin III. proved a great success, carrying eleven passengers sixty-nine miles in 2 hours 17 minutes at an average speed of 35 miles an hour. The Government now came ^ePpe^n forward with the offer to purchase an airship for £100,000 if it could make a continuous flight of twenty-four hours, and land safely. Accordingly, Zeppelin busied himself on the construction of No. IV., wherewith to fulfil the conditions laid down. This ship was ready by the beginning of June 1908. On July 1 she left Friedrichshafen, and travelled westwards along the north shore of Lake Con- stance towards Schaffhausen. Just before reaching this town she turned southwards and made for town and lake of Lucerne, round which she passed without difficulty. Thence the course was set northwards to Zürich, and, after that city had been passed, eastwards over Sulgen and Tr’p over Romanshorn to the east end ^w^zer^an^’ of Lake Constance, and so back to the great floating shed at Friedrichshafen. A distance of 236 miles had been covered in twelve hours —an average of 18| miles an hour—without mishap of any kind. The world was electrified by a performance which threw completely into the shade all previous achievements of dirigibles. On Tuesday, August 4, 1908, Zeppelin set out on his first attempt to win the Govern-