NS class airship
| North Sea class | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| N.S.8 | |
| Role | Naval patrol airship |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | RNAS Kingsnorth |
| First flight | 1 February 1917 |
| Introduction | 1917 |
| Retired | 25 October 1921 (last flight) |
| Primary user |
Royal Navy Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 14 |
The British NS (North Sea) class non-rigid airships were the largest and last in a succession of "blimps" that served with the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I; developed from experiences gained with earlier classes to operate off the east coast of Britain on long-range patrols. Despite early problems, examples of the class went on to break all flying records for non-rigid airships, and the type became regarded as the most efficient of its kind.
The NS class airship was developed in response to the increasing requirement of the RNAS to carry out long-range anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort duties off the west coast of Great Britain, though its name came from the fact that the type was intended to work in collaboration with the Grand Fleet which mainly operated in the North Sea east of the British Isles.
In 1916, Britain's rigid airship programme was unable to provide an effective airship; the NS class was developed as a substitute using experiences gained with the Coastal and improved C* classes to create a larger and more weather-worthy long-endurance non-rigid vessel. The main requirements for the new design were:
Approval was given in January 1916 for the construction of six NS class airships; designed and built at RNAS Kingsnorth on the Hoo Peninsula, not far from the Chatham Dockyard in Kent.
Similar to the Coastal and C-Star classes, the "North Seas" employed a tri-lobe envelope based on the Astra-Torres design principles. It incorporated all the improvements that had been previously suggested for those classes – its shape was streamlined throughout, and having a capacity of 360,000 cu ft (10,000 m3) it was significantly larger than that of the "Coastals". Six ballonets of 128,000 cu ft (3,600 m3) in total were provided; equivalent to 35.5% of the total volume.
Attached to the envelope were four fins. The smaller top fin was merely for stabilizing purposes; while the larger other three were identical in size and shape, and carried the rudder and elevators. The aluminium fuel tanks were initially situated above the top ridges of the envelope, but its varying shape caused the aluminium fuel lines to fracture and consequently the tanks were later placed inside the envelope.
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Wikipedia