| Show England Drops Airship Program U. U S. S and Germany Champions By MILTON BRONNER NEA Service Writer LONDON Dec Dee 7 When 7 When very shortly the clatter of hammers and the he fire ire of torches reduces airship R R-lOO to neat piles plies of ot Junk it will mark nark the end of or England's proud for forty ty million dollar dream of ot leading the world in hi airships It will wil mean more than that It will mean that England has definitely definitely nit ly gone out of the airship game It will wUl leave to the United States the definite championship In naval airships and to Germany the definite championship in commercial air aJr- ships Other countries are not in it and ne never have been The end of the chapter was vas as definitely den written when the British government goy gay emInent made the brief announcement announcement announce announce- ment that it had given the contract to a firm of or metal dealers to breakup break brenk breakup up the R R-lOO at Cardington where she is moored The Tho ship cost about The price for which the metal in her was sold was not mentioned but it probably probably ably does not exceed The government is retaining the engines the fabric and the gas bags A small part art of the metal will also be retained re- re tamed and out of this souvenirs will willbe willbe willbe be made for sale sate The balance of the framework will go to the successful bidders They expect to get jet some 54 tons of metaL For a a. time he the British government hoped to sell the R to the United States government government gov gay but nothing came of ot it PERSISTENT ILL LUCK LUCre England has had more bad than good luck with airships In 1919 the R 34 built according to plans gathered by British engineers rs from German jerman Zeppelins brought down during during dur duro ing the world war thrilled the British people by being the first to cross the Atlantic In July 1919 she flew to New Mew York in hours and came back In n 75 In 1921 she was wrecked reeked at Howden And from that time on most of ot the breaks were against the Brit Brit- ish sh There were vere a number of mIshaps mishaps mis- mis haps laps one of the worst being with the R 38 which the government built for sale to the United S States Stes tes navy August August August Au Au- gust 24 24 1921 she broke In two and andell id ell teU in flames names w while she was on a trial light flight over England Commander Camp Campbell ll her constructor and a crew of young American naval hava officers and men were in her and 44 oW of them per per- per per-I Th There re was a pause pausa for some me time and then several years ears ago the BrItIsh British Brit BrIt- ish entered upon a grandiose scheme of airship building Simultaneously the R and the R n were con con- Their cost together with Giant air sheds and mooring masts ran up to about ten million dollars The R was designed for passenger passenger ger gel transatlantic flight between Britain Brit Brit- ain sin and the United Unitt States and Canada Canada Can Can- ada if it could be proved to be commercially commercially com corn successful Th lOt R was designed for air service to India and andt back If they were successful more I were to be built I The R left her home base at glon Cardington July 28 1930 and reached Montreal in slightly less than 79 hours Then came the turn of the tha R R-lOI She left on Saturday night October 4 1930 on her trial trip to India She was a So proud ship considered the last word in construction with ample berth accommodations for passengers passengers passengers gers lounges dining room and other things reminiscent of a a true ocean vessel The flower of or Britain's air- air i minded men were on her headed by Lord Thomson secretary of air In the early hours of Sunday mornIng mornIng morning morn morn- ing October 5 news came that the R had met with a terrible ter tel The giant air liner had crashed on a hillside near Beauvais France and almost her entire crew and passenger passenger passenger pas pas- list had lost their lives when she became a n. seething hell of ot off flames lames and explosions The terrible doom of ot the ship and 48 out of 64 54 of her passengers passengers passengers pas pas- also marked the doom of airshIp airship airship air air- ship programs for England The French got out of the big airship air air- ship game almost before they got in Under the peace treaties Germany delivered to them the Zepp known as L 72 which they the She was sent out by the French government on a cruise over oter the Mediterranean and North Africa Africa ca in Decem December r 1923 She never re reo re- turned Since then the French have adopted adopt adopt- ed a plan for very ery small ships One they call caU the They have only cubic feet gas capacity and are Intended for lor coastal BUon The type have ha cubic feet gas capacity and andare andare andare are intended for tor convoy P purposes Italy only made two attempts to build big ships The N N-l constructed In 1925 was ns loaned to Roald Amundsen Amund Amund- sen and called the Norge In her accompanied by Umberto Noblie Nobile her constructor he flew from Rome to England then to Oslo Odo Leningrad and Spitzbergen over the north pole pale to Alaska where she was deflated In 1927 the citizens of Milan MUan subscribed the funds for another ship In which Mobile flew to the north pole but was wrecked on the way back |
