The Clément-Bayard Airship
The War Office Tests:
1. The balloon to carry a crew of six, together with wireless telegraph apparatus up to 300lb, and petrol and ballast together making up a total weight of not less than one-fourth of the full total lift.
2. The balloon to have two similar engines, of equal horsepower, all parts of which are interchangeable. Either engine independently or both together to be used at will in working propellers.
3. The ballonet capacity to be one-fourth of the total capacity of the balloon.
4. The balloon to be of the non-rigid or semi-rigid type.
5. The balloon to be portable – ie, to be capable of being taken to pieces easily when deflated and packed on wagons for land transport.
6. The balloon to have anchor ropes and guiding ropes, and to be capable of being taken in or out of its shed by not more than thirty men.
7. The balloon to be capable of anchoring in the open for twenty-four hours, in moderate winds, up to 20 miles an hour.
8. The stability and steering capability of the balloon must be satisfactory.
9. The balloon not to lose, by leakage, more than one-hundredth part of its capacity for every day of twenty-four hours.
10. The balloon must be capable of rising 6,000ft. with its full crew and wireless apparatus, and must then have in hand fuel sufficient for three hours’ run at full speed, together with one-fifth of the original complement of ballast.
11. The balloon must complete a triangular course of 100 miles each side, or 300 miles, in not more than fourteen hours, travelling fully equipped. For four hours of this journey the height above sea level not to be less than 3,000ft. Any suitable day may be chosen.
12. The speed of the balloon on a measured course of five miles with and against the wind (due allowance being made for the velocity of the wind) shall not be less than thirty-two statute miles an hour.1