US1239796A - Airship. - Google Patents

Description

A. H. S. LANDOR.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED APR.23. 1917.

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Patentd Sept. 11, 1917.

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Inventor: Ar oldHAZL 220202;

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. v APPLICATION FILED APR.23. 19!?- A. H. S. LANDOR.

AIRSHIP.

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Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

.tions.

ARNOLD HENRY savnen LANDOR, or FLORENCE, ITALY.

AIBSI-IIP.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 23, 1917. Serial No. 164,043.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARNOLD HENRY SAV- AGE LANDOR, a subject of the King of Great Britain and'Ireland, and residing at Florence, Italy, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Airships, of which the following is a specification.

The ,present'invention relates to airships of the type in which a rigid framework of depth greater than its width is associated with a number of separate gas-containing compartments arranged with their axes vertical.

i The object of the present invention is to provide .an improved construction of the type indicated, which shall give among other advantages simplicity and rapidityjof construction, great rapidity of maneuver, great speeds, freedom from rolling and pitching,

.oifer a small target when viewed from below or above and provide abundant buoyancy in case; of damage, and permit the firing of guns mounted beneath the airship at objects vertically. above or below the airship.

The present invention consists broadlyin an airship of the type indicated, in which the framework is in the form of a girder whose depth is considerable in relation to its width and is a maximum toward the forward end, tapering to a point at the bow I and slightly tapering toward the stern, while in plan also the airship is broad toward its bow and narrow toward its stern, the gas compartments being in the form of one or more ranks of cylinders or similar shapes,

the axes of which are vertical when the airship ishorizontal, so that in plan and cross section a substantially stream-line outline is provided.

The invention further consists in providing improved means whereby the lower portion of the gas cylinders can be compressed either automatically or under hand control,

.to accommodate the reduced volume of the gas due to reduction of'barometric pressure ,or temperature or diffusion.

The present invention further consists in providing a rudder at each of'the extreme ends of the framework, the rudderat the bow being composed of two pivotedpor- The invention further consists in providing a propeller on each side of the airship,

and one or more further propellers in rear .ing guns on platforms so constructed that they can be fixed or else made to swing or telescope out' when in action or rest along-'- Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

side the airship so as not to interfere with her speed, and which extend from the lower portion of the sides of the framework, in i such a manner that the guns can be fired at objects vertically above or below the airship.

A gun can also be mounted at the forward end of the gondola.

- At the extreme lower point aft of the airship a small observation platform may be provided on which a light machine gun can be mounted and a searchlight; this would protect it from attacks by aeroplanes from behind, above, below or at the sides.-

The present invention further consists in the improved airship hereinafter described. I

Referring to the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a, diagrammatic elevation showing oneform of the present 1nvent1on. Fig. 2 1s a plan of F g. 1.

2515a plan showing an alternative form in which cylinders are made of the ,same cross-section throughout the length'and ing gun platforms.

Fig. 10 shows a form of telescoping gun platforms; while Fig. 11 isa detail view showing the aft observation platform.

In carrying the present invention into effect, accordlng to one form and as shown ,in Figs. 1-l, there is provided a framework a, 6,0, composed of any suitable material,

for example, steel or aluminium, wood or bamboo. with'any suitable form of joint. This framework is inthe form of a deep narrow girder of substantially fish-shaped outline tapering to a point at the bow and gradually tapering toward the stern. from the point of maximum depth which is near the forward end (see Fig. 1) and may be composed, for example, of tubes or suitably. sectioned rolled or stamped material, and" braced as for example by wires cl in such a.

'manner as to provide longitudinal stiffness in a vertical and horizontal plane.

In the central plane of this framework, cylindrical gas compartments 6 are arranged, the diameter of the cylinders being approximately equal to the width of the girder, so i that the cylinders are of substantiallength as compared with their diameter. A single or more rows of such gas cyhnders may be provided in the central plane of the airship, and at the forward end-a further row or rows on either side of the central row or rows, or if desired, the diameter of the cylinders may be varied as shown in Figs. 2 and 2 when extra cylinders of any suitable section are employed to fill up spaces. 7

In order to obtain the maximum gas ca- "pacity thespace between the large cylinders may be filled in by small diameter cylinders e"; or gas bags elliptical in section may be employed as shown at theright-hand side of b p Fig.2.

It will be understood that the gas bags "may be more or less flattened throughout their length sothat their cross-section approximates to a hexagonal, octagonal elliptical or other suitable form to give thegreat est possible gas capacity for given over-all dimensions of'the aerostat.

Such a construction is illustrated in. Figs.

' and'2 in whichmodifiedconstructions The outer row of gas cylinders maycona veniently be of less length than the central Figs. t and 5.

' the ga s bags care made ofhexagonal section and the smaller gas bags 6 of tr1angular or circular section.

row, in order that the cross-section ofthe airship may approximateto a stream-line crosssecti0n, or the lower and. upper portions of the cylinder may be of decreasing diameter for the same purpose as shown in l Anysuitablemeans are provided to support a suitable outer envelop of fabric,

"celluloid or the like, mica, thin metal, or

other suitable material, in order that the framework and gas compartments may pre- "sent. an unbroken and continuoussurface,

for the purpose of reducing air'friction.

All the gas cylinders are preferablyconnected toa common gas mainas at y '(Fig.

They may be connected in groups ifde- ,SIIQCl, orelse feach one may be a separate unit.

.At each end of the framework-rudders and g are provided. The :rudder g. at the {stern may comprise a large plane surface, ;mounted on a vertical hinge, and'adapted to swing through a very considerable are on 7 i It is tonbe noted that byproiiiding the framework.

' tail Fi g. 11.

, either side of the central v plane of the airship with or without simultaneous warping. At the bow a pair of planes 7' f may be provided, pivoted upon vertical hinges, and so arranged that they can be swung within the framework, or projected on either side, the hinge being so arranged that the planes aftrai-l with respectto the hinge. These planes 7, f, are preferably fixed at a definite angle with respect to one another. In proximity to the bow and stern rudders elevating planes h and may be provided, and further elevatingplanes j may be provided at one or more intermediate points along the main frame.

plane it (either single, or composed of several parallel planes) at theextreme forward end of the airship, a very powerful and sensitive control of the-upward and downward inclination of the ship. is provided.

. Beneaththe forwardend' of the airship, in the reglon where three or more ranks of part oftheframework a. and a passagew-ay+ be P Q d d' the. wholelength O f th ship in the part. 64.:

thesides of the framework; suitable brackets m are provided, carryingrpropellers n. "lwoor more-pairs of propellers are provided. The propellers on each-side are 1 so arranged that each succeeding pr-opeller is situated at a greater distance from the side of the airship than the preceding propeller so that the wash of the preceding propeller shall not interfere with the propeller immediately behind it, and therefore a greater propeller efficiency can; be obtained (see Fig. 2).

Belowthe rear portion of the airship. suitable platforms 0 are provided, projecting on jeither'side of the lower part of'theframework, and upon these platforms guns p are mounted. The effect of this arrangement'is that the guns canbe fired at objectsyertically abovethe airship, without requiring to be mounted on the top part o'fthe airship Itisobyiou's that the same guns may be H There may also be provided an aftj'observat on platform 1, carrying ,a searchhght 2, and machine gun 3, itSlllLlStIfttGd in dealso be-const'ructed so that when not in action fired vvertically downward,,or in any direc- Y tion to either sideof the airship. (-see.Fig.6)

The gun platforms p may 7' they can be swung or telescoped backalongside, or under the part a of the airship. This can be effected either by mounting the platforms on swinging armso as shown in Fig.

9, or on brackets 0 constructedon the lazy tongs principle as illustrated extendedat -Fig. 10.

' On the upper'and lower portions of the imain framework, stationary fins 9 may be near the upper part of the airship. I I In order to accommodate the size of the gas chambers to the volume of gas contain. ed within them, means are provided to compress the lower portions of the cylinders.

This may be effected (see Fig. 5) for exam ple, by providing a pair of rods 1' upon either side of each rank of cylinders, the

rods being arranged so that they can be brought together to nip the cylinders when required, and mechanism being also provided to raise and lower each pair of, rods, so that the nipping can be applied at the re .quired point of each cylinder. As an alternative, the cylinders of each rank may be connected at their lower ends to a common roller, provided with means whereby it can be rotated, either automatically or by hand, so that that portion of the gas compartment.

which is not occupied by gas can be rolled up by rotating the roller.

As a further alternative, a ring or perforated disk t may be provided internally at the mouth of the cylinder, and this may be attached by cords s with cords u passing over pulleys suspended from the top of the cylinder which is in its turn attached to the framework and carrying weights 4). As the volume of the gas decreases the weight pulls up the slackpart of the cylinder.

Again, in a further modification an ar rangement of draw strings may be provided at intervals up the cylinder so that the capacity may be regulated by constraining the mouth of the cylinder. I

All the devices described for adjusting the volume of the gas-containing cylinders may be arranged to automatically adjust the volnine or may be arranged to be adjusted by hand.

' In addition to the propellers already described additional tractor propellers may be provided.

According to a modification the rear rudder- 9 may be arranged so that it can be warped in such a manner as to incrcaseits controlling effect. I. I

'In all the forms described suitable floats m may be provided under or along the gendola under the swinging gun platforms and along thelower portion of the airship framew'ork to support the airshipwhen adescent is made upon water. I I

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description. that the constructions contemplated have among others the following advantages i I Owing to the center of buoyancy being always situated toward the upper part of the airship, greater freedom from rolling and pitching is "obtained than with the known constructions. Owing to the narrow aspect .of the airship in plan it offers a small target when fired at from above or below and this narrownessalso permits the firing of the guns mounted beneath the airship at objects vertically above or below the airship. 'Owing to the narrow shape of the airship and the special disposition of the propellers great speed can be attained. Great rapidity of maneuver either to go up or down, or quick lateral revolutions can be obtained by the special disposition of the frontal elevating planes and rudders acting in conjunction with the rear ones,

The arrangement is such that the-frameworkmay be easily adapted so that it can be both dismounted and put together with rapidity and ease to facilitate transport, repairs, etc.

Further, owing to the plan section ofthe airship being broad at one end and narrow at the other, two isuch airships may be housed in a single shed of moderate width, where there would be room for only one airship of other existing shapes. I

A further advantage of the construction described is'that owing to the large number of gas chambers into which the airship is divided, it is rendered practically indestructible so far as perforation by bullets and shell fragments are concerned, .as a large number of the chambers can be damaged without reducing the buoyancy sufiiciently to bring the airship down.

It will be seen that many modifications may be made in the method of carrying the present invention into effect without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is I 1. An airship of the type indicated in which the framework is in the form of a girder whose depth is. considerable in relation to its width, and'is a maximum toward the forward end tapering to a point at the bow and slightly tapering toward the stern,

while in plan also the airship is broad tomeans for compressing the lower portlons of :the gas cyhnders in order to accommo-.

a cross-section a "'Ward its boW and narrow toward its stern,

the gas compartments being the form of one or more ranks of substantially cylindrical bodies, the axes of Which are vertical When 3 the airship is horizontal, the gas compart scribed, I r

' 2. In an airship as claimed claim 1 date the reduced volume of the gas due to increase of barometrlc pressure or IBClHCtlOII of temperature or"d1ffus1on, thus -.do1ng away altogether with theinternal air ballonnetsnow in generaluse, substantially as described.

3'. In an airship as claimed in claim 1, a rudder at each. ofthe extreme ends oifqthe girder framework, the rudderat: the bow.

' about a common aXis' and an elevating plane preceding-one. I v. M

'5. In an airshlp as claimed ln wclaim 1,

being composed of two portions pivoted on the nose of the airship.

4. In an airship as claimed in claim 1; having a propeller on each side of the air-: ship and one, two or more further pro'-' pellers in rear of the first, each succeeding propeller being situated at a greater dis tance from the side of the airship than the guns. mountedfon adjustable platforms eX- tending from the lower portion of the sides j V of the framework in. such a manner that the guns can befired at objects ,-vertica1ly;

above orbelowthe airship, substantially as described. y

signature. 7

I ARNOLD HENRY SAVAQELAND'ORL 00910;: or this patent may be obtained for five cents eael by-addressing the fcomm i si ozier o f Pat ents.

' 1 v .Wa:h1ngton,D,0.. i 1 v

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