|
The Lebaudy ''Patrie'' was a semi-rigid airship built for the French army in Moisson, France, by sugar producers Lebaudy Frères. Designed by Henri Julliot, Lebaudy's chief engineer, the ''Patrie'' was completed in November 1906 and handed over to the military the following month. The ''Patrie'' bears the distinction of being the first airship ordered for military service by the French army.〔The ''Patrie's'' predecessor, known as "''Le Jaune''" ("The Yellow (One)") because of its yellow lead chromate protective coating, was donated by Lebaudy Frères to the French army in September 1906 and was therefore the first airship to see military service in France.〕 In 1907, from her base at Chalais-Meudon near Paris, a successful series of military manoeuvres was conducted with the airship by the military command, which included a visit by France's President of the Council Georges Clemenceau. Following the successful completion of these operations, in November 1907 the ''Patrie'' was transferred under her own power to her operational base at Verdun, near the German border. Due to a mechanical fault, the ''Patrie'' became stranded away from her base on 29 November 1907 in Souhesmes. During a storm on 30 November she was torn loose from her temporary moorings and, despite the efforts of some 200 soldiers who tried to restrain her, she was carried away by the high winds and lost from sight. Had the rope to the emergency gas-release system been attached, her loss could possibly have been avoided.〔 After crossing the English Channel and passing unseen through English airspace during the night, the ''Patrie'' was sighted over Wales and Ireland on 1 December. She made a brief landfall near Belfast, before rising again to be blown out over the Atlantic Ocean. Following a sighting from a steamship off the Hebrides, she was never seen again. Despite the loss of the ''Patrie'', Lebaudy went on to complete a sister-ship to the ''Patrie'', the ''République'', for the French Army. Additionally, several airships of a similar design to the ''Patrie'' were ordered and delivered to export customers, these included the Russian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. ==Development== The military uses of airships at the time were considered to be the dropping of bombs (from an altitude at which they were deemed to be out of range of ground-based weapons)〔 and reconnaissance. M. Julliot, the designer of the ''Patrie'', stated that "each of the French ships can carry thirty, and on short journeys, even fifty torpedoes of 10 kilogrammes (22 lb) each."〔 For reconnaissance purposes the ''Patrie'' was equipped with "a mounting for a telephotographic apparatus, and for a 100-candlepower acetylene searchlight".〔 A contemporary author related that "from a height of the ''Patrie'' observed the smallest movements of formed bodies of troops at the Satory camp and obtained very clear telephotographs of them." Semi-rigid airships were considered more suitable for military use because, unlike rigid airships, they could be deflated, stored and transported by land or by sea.〔 〕 The ''Patrie'' was a semi-rigid airship manufactured by the French sugar magnates Paul and Pierre Lebaudy and designed by their chief engineer, Henri Julliot. She was the second Lebaudy airship, and "surpassed her predecessor in both size and method of construction".〔Vivian (c1921) p.253.〕 The company's first airship, simply known as the ''Lebaudy'',〔The first Lebaudy airship, ''Lebaudy 1'', underwent a series of reconstructions and was renamed ''1bis'', ''2'', ''3'' and ''4'' consecutively, thus making the ''Patrie'' only the second, completely new Lebaudy airship.〕 and dubbed by the French public "''Le Jaune''" ("The Yellow (One)") because of the yellow colour of the lead chromate paint on its cloth exterior, was considered the most successful airship then in operation.〔 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Patrie (airship)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|