America (airship)
| America | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Airship America at Spitzbergen, with its hangar, 1906 or 1907 | |
| Type | semi-rigid airship |
| Manufacturer | Mutin Godard |
| Manufactured | 1906 |
| First flight | 1906 |
| Owners and operators | Wellman Chicago Record-Herald Polar Expedition Company |
| In service | 1906–10 |
| Fate | Cast adrift south of Nova Scotia. |
The America was a non-rigid airship built by Mutin Godard in France in 1906 for the journalist Walter Wellman's attempt to reach the North Pole by air. Wellman first conceived of using a balloon to fly to the pole during a failed polar attempt by boat and sledge from Svalbard in 1894. He then visited Paris to review the state of balloon technology but left disappointed by the lack of a suitable steering and propulsion capability. A decade later while at the 1905 Portsmouth Peace Conference he learned of recent innovations in French dirigible design and believed a solution might be at hand for his Arctic aerial plan. After receiving the backing of the newspaper publisher Victor F. Lawson, the Wellman Chicago Record-Herald Polar Expedition was announced, and Wellman traveled to Paris in search of a suitable design and manufacturer. In the meantime a public company was established to raise the $US 250,000 required for the expedition and airship (to which Lawson contributed $60,000).
As originally constructed, the America was 165 ft (50 m) long and 51 ft 10 in (15.80 m) wide at its greatest diameter and enclosed a volume of 258,000 cubic feet (7,300 m3) of hydrogen. The envelope was of three layers of fabric and three of rubber, and contained no internal framework. The gondola could hold a crew of five, and power was supplied by three internal-combustion engines delivering a total of 80 hp (60 kW) to two propellers, one fore and one aft. It was delivered by ship to Spitsbergen on July 8, 1906 where Wellman and his team attempted to erect it. Their efforts met with failure when the engines fell apart. In September, the America was dismantled and returned by ship to France.
Wellman returned to Spitsbergen with the America in June the following year, 1907. The airship had a new centre-section sewn into it to increase its length to 185 ft (56 m) and volume to 272,000 cubic feet (7,700 m3). The weather was very unfavourable, however, and it was 2 September before the America could even leave the hangar. Wasting no time, Wellman launched later that day with mechanic Melvin Vaniman and navigator Felix Riesenberg in an attempt to reach the pole. Unfortunately, more bad weather forced this to be abandoned after only a few miles and the America was deflated to avoid a crash landing. America once again returned to France for repairs.
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Wikipedia