Airships known as the "Clement-Bayard" were also built about this time. They were manufactured by the Astra Company in conjunction with Monsieur Clement, a motor engineer.
In later days vessels were built by the Astra Company of the peculiar design introduced by Senor Torres. These ships, some of which were of considerable size, were highly successful, and we became purchasers at a later date of several.
The Zodiac Company also constructed a number of small ships which were utilized during the war for anti-submarine patrol. It cannot be said, however, that the French have fulfilled their early promise as airship designers, the chief reason for this being that the airship is peculiarly suitable for work at sea and the French relied on us to maintain the commerce routes on the high seas and concentrated their main efforts on defeating the Germans in the field, in which as all the world acknowledges they were singularly successful and hold us under an eternal obligation.
GERMANY
The progress and development of the airship in Germany must now be considered; it will be seen that, although the production of satisfactory ships was in very few hands, considerable success attended their efforts in the early days of the twentieth century.
In 1812, Leppig built an airship at the cost of the State at Woronzowo in Russia. This was of the shape of a fish with a rigid framework beginning at the height of the longitudinal axis.
The lower keel-shaped part of the same formed the car. Two fans were attached to the sides and a tail piece was provided behind to act as a rudder. The ship was inflated, but structural damage occurred during this operation and rendered it incapable of flight.
In 1836, Georg Rebenstein, of Nurnburg, was considering the use of the fall of inclined planes to obtain horizontal motion.
Nothing of importance was produced until a much later date, when in 1885 M. Wolf constructed an envelope of 26,500 cubic feet. An engine and propeller were fixed in a triangular framework in front of the airship, supported by the steam pipe of a steam engine fixed under the body of the envelope. The framework lacked rigidity, and the envelope tore during inflation and the airship failed to ascend.
In the following year Dr. Woelfert, of Berlin, produced a cigar-shaped envelope, to which was attached rigidly a long bamboo framework containing the car. An 8 horse-power benzine Daimler motor drove a twin-bladed aluminium propeller, and another propeller for vertical movement was provided beneath the car. Four trial flights were attempted, but on each occasion the motor gave unsatisfactory results, and Woelfert sought to improve it with a benzine vaporizer of his own pattern. This improvement was not a success, as during the last flight an explosion took place and both Woelfert and an aeronaut named Knabe, who was accompanying him, were killed.