Breguet's Aircraft ID Challenge #153

[Varese2002]

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Breguet's Aircraft Challenge #153

For the LTA fans, what is this EXACTLY ?

Kees



Scoreboard at the beginning of #153:

28.3 Varese2002
14.6 Dave_Kent
11.5 Rbailey
9.3 Rod Filan
7.3 YavorD
7.0 Breguet
6.1 joegertler
6.0 Eric Goedkoop
5.6 ercoupepilot
5.5 EdStevens
5.4 Colin A. Owers
5.0 JohnMacG
4.3 Cruze
4.1 bshatzer
4 greenknight
3.7 dpolglaze
3 Gilles
2.4 Ross Moorhouse
2 Tom L
1.7 Berman
1.2 Ransom E. Olds
1 Peter Zambori
1 Gregoire
1 cubsfan4life
1 austin08
1 Cliff
.8 Machinbird
.4 Vilkata
.2 Paul_J._Fisher

Previous challenges are on http://www.earlyaviator.com/br.challenge/

[cruze]

Hello

I think it's the french Zodiac SPIESS in its first version
113 m long
13 m diametre
12800 m3 volume
2 x 175ch Chenu engines
First flight april 30th 1913 (comte de La Vaulx, André Schelder)

The SPIESS is the only rigid dirigible built in France.

Laurent

[dpolglaze]

Exactly?

The Zodiac SPIESS rigid airship. My information says it's the only French rigid dirigible, but I don't know about that.

More information to follow.

Dan

[dpolglaze]

Well, since Cruze got it too - here's more pics.

Dan

[Rod_Filan]

Atta boy Kees. Don't give them any points unless they get it exactly right.
!
Cheers
Rod

[cruze]

The structure of the SPIESS was built with wooden hollowed beams.

After modification :
Volume: 16400 m³
Length: 140.0 m
Diameter: 13.0 m
Motors: 2x200ch Chenu
First flight (after modification) : december 8th 1913

Nice pictures Dan

[cruze]

Here is a picture of the SPIESS after modification :


Picture from : Les premiers dirigeables français - Stéphane Nicolaou - E.T.A.I. & Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace - 1997

You can easily see the three sections added to make it longer.

September 27th 1873, the engineer Joseph SPIESS (1839-1917) took out a patent (n°91.321 ?) for a rigid airship, he named it "Système de la double enveloppe".
Zodiac built this airship using the 1873 patents and gave the airship its inventors name.

Laurent

[Rod_Filan]

Originally Posted by cruze

You can easily see the three sections added to make it longer.

Three gas cells of purportedly 1200 m³ each were added for a total of 17 cells.

Enlarged volumes given range from 16,000 m³ up to 16,450 m³. Lengths given can vary between 140 m and 146 m.
Lord Ventry's and the French Museum list give the enlarged Spiess volume as 16,400 m³ and 140 m in length. I would tend to agree. The math adds up. The specifications of the enlarged Spiess being somewhat uncertain are probably in part due to errors on contemporary postcards.

The magazine L'Illustration reported acceptance trials made 16 January 1914 had been a success; in the end however, the design was unacceptable to the French military and its unlikely the airship ever flew again.
...Just under the wire to qualify this aircraft acceptable to the rules of the Challenge.

Cheers
Rod

[Varese2002]

Originally Posted by Rod_Filan

--
...Just under the wire to qualify this aircraft acceptable to the rules of the Challenge.

Cheers
Rod

Just under the wire is close enough.... the machine made it to 1914..
I think Cruze made it exactly as honoured by Zodiac expert Rod.

I searched for the alleged 1873 Patent of Joseph Spiess but they may be only available in paper form, so you must rush off to Paris. Count Zeppelin apparently made a later Patent in Germany which was (partly ?) based on the Patent of Joseph Spiess.

The tomb stone of Joseph Spiess is at the Père-Lachaise cemetary in Paris, bearing this study of the Zodiac Spiess rigid airship.



Cruze has risen to the ranks of Aces, so I think he can manage a few Challenges till the moment that John has got his new scanner. There is some organizing to do here.

Kees ('Atta boy' ?)

Scoreboard at the end of #153:

28.3 Varese2002
14.6 Dave_Kent
11.5 Rbailey
9.3 Rod Filan
7.3 YavorD
7.0 Breguet
6.1 joegertler
6.0 Eric Goedkoop
5.6 ercoupepilot
5.5 EdStevens
5.4 Colin A. Owers
5.3 Cruze
5.0 JohnMacG
4.1 bshatzer
4 greenknight
3.7 dpolglaze
3 Gilles
2.4 Ross Moorhouse
2 Tom L
1.7 Berman
1.2 Ransom E. Olds
1 Peter Zambori
1 Gregoire
1 cubsfan4life
1 austin08
1 Cliff
.8 Machinbird
.4 Vilkata
.2 Paul_J._Fisher

Previous challenges are on http://www.earlyaviator.com/br.challenge/

[Varese2002]

Just as an extra, this interesting drawing from 1913 of the Spiess dirigeable.



Kees