Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume III

56 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. THE FRENCH DIRIGIBLE “ ZODIAC III.” {Photo, Topical.) The pipe and pump for keeping the internal air-ballonet inflated are noticeable features. Elevated planes mounted on front of the car. Rudder attached to under-side of the balloon. Non-rigid type. between Berlin and Copenhagen, Stettin, Bremen, Cologne, Stuttgart, and other im- portant centres, besides pleasure trips down the Rhine into Switzerland. FRENCH DIRIGIBLES. The Lebaudy airship, built by Julliot and Surcouf in 1902, is of the semi-rigid type, with a keel-shaped floor made of steel tubes. Length, 56’5 metres ; greatest The Lebaudy jiameterj 9-8 metres ; volume, Airship. . . 2,784 metres. The car is slung from the floor by steel rods. A 40 horse-power motor operates two screws, one on either side of the car, each 9 feet in diameter. \\ ith the engine running at 1,050 revolutions a minute, the thrust of the propellers totals 350 lbs. In 1902, 1903, and 1905 the Lebaudy made many successful trips, ranging up to nearly 100 kilo- metres. The airship behaved so satisfac- torily—especially after certain alterations and improvements had been carried out—that it The Patrie and République. was finally adopted for the French army, and is still in commission. Two other dirigibles, La Patrie and La Ré- publique, yvere subsequently constructed on Lebaudy lines. The Patrie delighted the Pari- sians in 1907 by a number of evolutions over the capital, and at the end of November made a memorable voyage of 230 kilometres from Paris to Verdun, near the German frontier. Only 140 out of the 190 litres of petrol, and but a small part of the ballast, were used, so that the journey could have been extended for many miles. During part of the trip the elevation was about 3,000 feet. (A few days before the start, the Patrie had proved her ability to rise 1,300 metres, or 4,300 feet, the record at that time for dirigibles.) Shortly after arriving at Verdun, the Patrie was overtaken by a gale while at anchor. A large body of soldiers detached to hold her down kept her captive for some hours. Then she broke away and was swept into the clouds,