R80 (airship)
R80 was the first British rigid airship with a streamlined shape . It was designed by Barnes Wallis in 1916 . Construction only began in November 1917 and was delayed several times. The covering was applied in April 1920. The first test drive took place on July 19, 1920 .
business
The ship was damaged during the first test voyage. For example, there were some problems with the ballast that made the ship rise too quickly. The damage was repaired after returning to the airship hangar . Only in January 1921 the ship was put into service and transferred to Howden / Yorkshire on February 24, 1921 . The US Navy also used the R80 there to train its airshipmen. Between March 26 and June 1, 1921, four journeys were made with a total time of 8 hours and 45 minutes.
Among other things, the short range made the R80 only partially useful as a reconnaissance aircraft. So it was mainly used as a training ship.
The last trip took place on September 20, 1921. After the end of operation, parts of the ship were used for destructive component and material tests. The R80 was disarmed in 1925 after 4 years of operation with only 73 operating hours.
Despite the low use of R80, the advantages of the streamlined shape led to a competition for the construction of a commercial airship that was able to cross the Atlantic or enable a direct passage to the British colony of India. This resulted in the R100 airship, mainly built by Vickers , as a commercial contribution and the R101 as a contribution from the British government .
Commercial plans
Already during the construction in 1919 there were considerations to use the ship as a transport airship similar to the LZ 120 and LZ 121 . For this purpose, detailed modifications of the ship, such as special passenger accommodations and sleeping arrangements, were worked out, but not implemented.
technology
The gondolas were circular in cross-section and also had a streamlined shape. In the front machine gondola, immediately behind the driver's gondola, two motors acted on a propeller , while the side gondolas each housed a motor with a propeller.
- Lifting gas volume 33,986 cubic meters (1,200,000 cft)
- Dimensions: Length: 163 m (535 ft), diameter: 21.3 m (70 ft)
- Top speed: depending on the source: 105–112.6 km / h (70 mph )
- Drive: four Wolseley Maybach engines with 170 kW (230 PS) each
- Payload: 18 t
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter Kleinheins (ed.): The large zeppelins 3rd edition. Springer, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-540-21170-5 in Chapter 10 “Achievements and fate of the large airships from 1908–1924” on page 153