I know this relates to the wrong war, but some of you know I'm as much into WW1 as WW2 and I couldn't resist sharing something that brightened up my day with people who will understand. Driving into work today (Monday morning) through South East London, I nearly caused a pile-up when I saw a Zeppelin in the sky! And I mean a Zeppelin, not one of the small Lightship blimps we get occassionally. A Zeppelin NT [New Technology], all 246 feet of it, i.e longer than a 747, though nothing like as big as its 600 or 700 foot ancestors. A truly beautiful sight on a sunny morning, though I must admit I had a brief fantasy of going after it in a BE2c with a Lewis gun firing Buckingham incendiary ammunition rather than in a small Japanese car! Later on, it flew several times over my workplace at about 1000 feet and I got a better look at it. It is advertising Stella Artois, rather than Krupp incendiaries. I was struck by how quiet it is, due to having three Lycomings rather than six Maybachs. This is all very Green, but the only problem with this is that it must detract from its advertising effect, as a lot of people won't even notice it. None of my colleagues have commented, though they are used to me jumping up and looking out of the window whenever I hear an unusual aircraft sound. Checking the net tonight, I found that it is going to be over here giving pleasure flights until August 21st. But at £185 for half an hour, I fear I'm not going to get any closer. :cry_smile: Stella Artois zeppelin over London - Telegraph Homepage Adrian
Now that is a I sight I'd love to have seen. The last Britain at War magazine had an article about airships in WW1. Here are a few videoes of the NT one: YouTube - Zeppelin NT Airship Ventures YouTube - A Zeppelin NT Lands and other related one's on the side panel of the above links
Around 1977/78 I lived in a village in Lincolnshire that sits alongside the A1. I was in my garden one foggy Sunday morning just as the sun was beginning to burn off the fog I became aware of a strange humming noise. The noise got louder and then suddenly looming out of the mist came the Airship Europa. An absolutely stunning sight. Europa was flying south at about 300 feet navigating IFR (I follow roads) along the A1. I don't know where she had been or where she was going but it was a sight that has forever been impressed on my mind. What became of Europa? Was she part of a U.K. attempt to get back into the airship industry?
Airshipsonline is a great site (if you're into airships) but can be rather intermittent. I tried it just now, and it seems to have gone down altogether. Basically, OTOMH, Europa was made by Goodyear and was one of the first of the revival of the blimp concept that started in the 1970's - bearing in mind there had been no commercial airships since the demise of the Hindenburg, and no airships at all from when the US Navy retired their blimps in the 50's. I saw Europa at Biggin Hill when I was a boy in the 70's. I believe that she was eventually wrecked by high winds. Bad weather has always been the big danger for airships, far more so than catching fire even in the days of hydrogen. The Lightship has been the most successful make of airship since the 80's, used for all sorts of advertising and survey work. See this link: Airships, Blimps and Aerial Advertising: The Lightship Group - but note that at 118 feet, the largest Lightship is half the length of the Zeppelin NT. The New Technology Zeppelins were developed in the 90's and are mainly used for giving pleasures trips from Friedrichshafen (where the company has always been based) over Lake Constance. They are strictly speaking semi-rigids - they have a triangular tubular internal framework which stiffens the outer envelope, and from which the engines can be hung - the smaller vessels are non-rigid "blimps" which keep their shape entirely by gas pressure, so the engines must be attached to the gondola. The Zeppelin company is the oldest surviving aviation company in the world, having been incorporated in 1907. It's still a family business; the chairman is none other than Count Nicholas von Zeppelin, great-grandson (or nephew?) of the great Count (Graf) Ferdinand von Zeppelin. And, I do know the NTs are filled with helium so my Lewis gun with Buckingham incendiary ammunition wouldn't have done much damage (whether fitted to a BE2c or a Honda Jazz). But as I'd never hear the last of it if I spent £185 for half an hour I might just try it .. :laser: :mad2:
If the Lewis gun was fitted to the Honda would it have to fire through the rubber band? LOL. Only kidding, AR. Did not know that about the Zeppelin family or business. Would be intriguing to know what they have been up to since the Hindenburg surely must have closed them down - at least that's what I would have thought until seeing pics of the NT recently in a "big machines" book.
I believe that between the demise of the Hindenburg and the 1990's they survived as a general engineering company, fabricating whatever components they could get contracts for. Obviously their expertise with aluminium would have been very useful in WW2 and later in the reconstruction of Germany. It was Dr Hugo Eckener who kept them going, the greatest Zeppelin Commander of them all and later the Chief Executive of the Company. (Though he never flew Zeppelins in action - he was deeply suspicious of militarism and the Nazis, but he commanded the Graf Zeppelin during her round the world flight in 1928). In fact the last of the traditional Zeppelins were the Graf Zeppelin and the Graf Zeppelin II - the latter was a sister-ship to the Hindenburg - they were scrapped in 1940.
Phone this number and come down to London and you can - if you have £185 to spare. Maybe for my 50th birthday next year..... PS Haven't seen it the last couple of days. Maybe the RAF Air Defence squadrons have shot it down after all. Oh, I forgot - we've just retired our Air Defence to save money.....
Return of the Zeppelin: From height of luxury to war machine, the ill-fated past of the largest flying machines ever built | Mail Online
