PARSEVAL I.
(Courtesy W. J. Hammer.)
PARSEVAL II.
(Courtesy E. L. Jones.)
The second Parseval was of greater bulk and power than her predecessor. Her hull which was of cylindric form, with round prow and pointed stern, measured 190 feet long, 30.5 feet in diameter, and 113,000 cubic feet in volume. She resembled her predecessor in the arrangement of the two ballonets, and in the “loose,” or trolley, system of suspension of the car. The propeller was a unique patented device of Von Parseval’s. It had four cloth blades so weighted with lead as to stand out firmly under centrifugal force, assuming an effective shape for propulsion, though limp and deformed when at rest. Various interesting evolutions were performed by this vessel in the autumn of 1908, including tests imposed by the military authorities, as a condition of purchase by the government, one requirement being a voyage of one hour at an altitude of 1,500 meters; another requirement being a continuous cruise of twelve hours. These tests completed, the Motor-Luftschiff-Studien-Gesellschaft sold its proud ship to the Vaterland for 210,000 marks.
About the same time the War Department purchased the Gross I, already described, and Zeppelin’s third great ship, naming it Zeppelin I. Germany thus began her program of developing a great aërial fleet, by acquiring three powerful and well tried ships, each capable of remaining all day in the air, and having a radius of action of several hundred miles. They were frequently called upon to make test voyages in all kinds of weather, to maneuver with the troops, to pass in review before the Emperor, at times conveying prominent officers and members of the noblest families, including Prince Henry and the Crown Prince, who manifested a fondness for navigating about their newly opened empire of the sky. But sometimes the tests were crucial. On September 11, 1908, both the Gross and Parseval were summoned to Potsdam by His Majesty. They set forth from their sheds, at Tegel, in face of a strong wind. After journeying some distance they each had to abandon the voyage, the Gross returning home, and the Parseval falling to the ground owing to an accident.
The third Parseval air ship was brought forth on February 18, 1909, by the Luftfahrzeug-Gesellschaft, an aëronautical firm founded by merging the Motor-Luftschiff-Studien-Gesellschaft with the A. E. G. This vessel closely resembled her predecessor, but possessed greater size, power, and perfection of detail. Her hull at first measured 224 feet long, 47 feet in diameter, and 198,000 cubic feet in volume, but later was enlarged to 235,000 cubic feet by increasing its diameter.
Her car, which could accommodate twelve passengers, was framed of steel tubing covered with canvas, and was divided into two parts, separated by the big gasoline cylinder running athwart ship, the passenger cabin being to the fore, the engine room aft. Here were stationed the two engines, of 120 horse power each, actuating reversible right and left Parseval screws 13 feet in diameter, located to the rear, well aloft and outward on either side. In the forepart of the passenger cabin was space for the pilot and his navigating appliances; his chart desk, his valve controls, his statoscope, manometers, etc.
The great ship with her nine tons burden was to have sailed from Bitterfeld to Frankfort, for the Aëronautical Exposition, but owing to excessive gales, she was sent by rail. Once there, she made many excursions, at times carrying passengers at a schedule rate, reported to be 200 marks for a voyage of one to two hours. In October she made an inter-city excursion covering a distance of nearly 500 miles, during which she passed four nights in the open air, finally returning in good form to Frankfort. On October 27th she made a farewell tour about Frankfort, then voyaged along the Main and down the Rhine valley to Cologne, there to participate in the aëronautic military maneuvers, together with the Parseval I, the Gross II and the Zeppelin II. Having passed creditably through these and other operations in the autumn, she was eventually stationed at Tegel, as a part of the national fleet.