It is, however, the rigid airship that has made Germany famous,
and we must now glance at the evolution of these ships with which
we became so familiar during the war.
The first rigid airship bearing any resemblance to those of the
present day was designed by David Schwartz, and was built in St.
Petersburg in 1893. It was composed of aluminium plates riveted
to an aluminium framework. On inflation, the frame-work
collapsed and the ship was unusable.
In 1895 he designed a second rigid airship, which was built in
Berlin by Messrs. Weisspfennig and Watzesch. The hull framework
was composed of aluminium and was 155 feet long, elliptical in
cross section, giving a volume of 130,500 cubic feet. It was
pointed in front and rounded off aft. The car, also constructed
of the same material, was rigidly attached to the hull by a
lattice framework, and the whole hull structure was covered in
with aluminium sheeting. A 12 horse-power Daimler benzine motor
was installed in the car, driving through the medium of a belt
twin aluminium screw propellers; no rudders were supplied, the
steering being arranged by means of a steering screw placed
centrally to the ship above the top of the car. Inflation took
place at the end of 1897 by a method of pressing out air-filled
fabric cells which were previously introduced into the hull.
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