Pax (airship)
The Pax was a semi-rigid airship . The airship was built by Henri Lachambre in Paris. The cost was 175,000 francs . His designer Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão and the mechanic Georges Sachê perished in the crash during the maiden flight on May 12, 1902 in Paris . The airship was about 31 m long and had a volume of 2493 m³. On the longitudinal axis of the shell there were a pull screw and a push screw at the front and back. The engines came from Société Buchet .
The balloon was initially designed for the use of coal gas . 28 m long and 11.5 m in the largest diameter. The gondola platform was 14 m long and hung with metal wires from the net shirt of the balloon. Bamboo cane, light wood, aluminum and steel wire were used for construction. The airship was propelled by two propellers, one with a diameter of 6 m at the rear and one with a diameter of 3.9 m at the tip of the balloon. In addition, there was a nacelle propeller with a 3 m diameter at the rear of the nacelle, which was supposed to compensate for the air resistance of the nacelle. Instead of the usual rudders, Severo used two steering propellers that were attached to the front and rear of the platform across the direction of travel. All propellers were double-bladed and were driven by two Buchet motors, which were attached to the front and rear of the nacelle platform. The rear engine developed 24 HP, the front 16 HP.
It turned out that the buoyancy was too low, so the balloon was enlarged to 30 m in length and 12.4 m in diameter and hydrogen was used as the lifting gas to be able to carry Severo and his companion along with ballast. At a rehearsal held on May 4th, 10 men had to hold it by means of a 10 m long rope while the screws were working. A second test on May 7th showed, like the first, that the various mechanisms were functioning correctly.
We waited for calm weather and on May 11th in the afternoon the ascent was scheduled for May 12th at 5 a.m. A trip from Paris to Issy-les-Moulineaux was planned , but the engine stopped at a height of about 400 m, followed by an explosion. Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão and Georges Sachê perished in the crash. The short film by Georges Méliès about the accident is considered lost.
literature
- Karl Neureuther: The “Pax” catastrophe on May 12th. In: Illustrirte Aëronautische Mittheilungen. German magazine for aviation. Specialized magazine for all interests of aviation technology with its auxiliary sciences, for aëronautical industry and companies. Issue 3. Commission publisher by Karl J. Trübner., Strasbourg in Alsace July 1902, DNB 012728004 , p. 113–115 (The article refers to a discussion of the catastrophe in the May issue of the French magazine L'Aerophile.).
- Severo's airship. In: Illustrirte Aëronautische Mittheilungen. German magazine for aviation. Specialized magazine for all interests of aviation technology with its auxiliary sciences, for aëronautical industry and companies. Issue 3. Commission publisher by Karl J. Trübner., Strasbourg in Alsace July 1902, DNB 012728004 , Kleinere Mittheilungen ., P. 115 .
- Georges Espitallier: About the causes of the accident of Severo's airship. In: Illustrirte Aëronautische Mittheilungen. Journal of the German Airship Association. Specialized magazine for all interests of aviation technology with its auxiliary sciences, for aeronautical industry and companies. Issue 2. Commission publisher by Karl J. Trübner., Strasbourg in Alsace February 1903, DNB 012728004 , p. 33-36 .