No. 9r
| Industry | Aerospace, Defence |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1828 |
| Headquarters | Barrow-in-Furness , United Kingdom |
HMA No. 9r was a rigid airship developed and constructed by Vickers at Walney Island, near Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Although commissioned in 1913, it did not achieve its maiden flight until 27 November 1916, marking it as the first British rigid airship to take to the skies. After accumulating approximately 165 hours of flight time, primarily for research and testing, it was dismantled in June 1918.[1]
Background
Following the unsuccessful experience with the HMA No. 1 (His Majesty's Airship No. 1) Mayfly, the Committee of Imperial Defence approved plans in early 1913 to develop a successor.[2] They tasked Vickers with designing an enhanced rigid airship that would incorporate current knowledge gained from studying Zeppelins.[3] After the Mayfly's failure, Vickers had disbanded its airship design division; however, a new team was assembled for this project. H. B. Pratt was appointed chief designer—he had previously worked at Vickers during the Mayfly construction but left due to concerns about its structural integrity. Pratt then recruited Barnes Wallis, whom he knew from their time at the shipbuilding company J. Samuel White, to assist him.[4] The initial contract for this new airship was placed on 10 June 1913, with final designs approved by year-end and a formal agreement signed in March 1914.[3]
Design
Originally, the airship was specified to have a disposable lift capacity of 5 tons (5080 kg), reach speeds of 45 mph (72 km/h), and sustain an altitude of 2,000 ft (610 m) for half an hour; this requirement was later adjusted downward to a load capacity of 3.1 tons (3150 kg).[5] The structure featured a mostly cylindrical hull supported by seventeen-sided transverse frames and included a triangular keel beneath. Two gondolas were attached to the keel: the front housed the control cabin and two engines, while the rear contained an emergency control station plus the other two engines. Additionally, the keel accommodated a radio cabin and crew mess area, as well as fuel and ballast tanks.[6] Propulsion came from four 180 hp (130 kW) Wolseley engines arranged in pairs within the gondolas. Similar to the Mayfly, watertight gondolas were incorporated to enable water operations. The design drew partially on French-acquired plans of the German Z IV, which had landed in France on 3 April 1913 after unintentionally crossing French airspace, allowing detailed inspection.[7]
Construction faced delays due to several factors, including challenges in manufacturing the duralumin girders for the transverse frames and multiple design modifications. These changes involved reinforcing the hull for safer handling by less experienced crews and replacing the original paired side-mounted propeller system with swivelling propellers mounted directly on the gondolas, following practices used in contemporary British Army dirigibles.[5]
Construction
The construction shed located at Cavendish Dock in Barrow was inadequate for the new airship design, prompting the erection of a larger hangar on Walney Island, situated west of Barrow. This newly built shed measured 540 ft (160 m) in length, 150 ft (46 m) in width, and stood 98 ft (30 m) tall. Its floor consisted of 6 in (15 cm) thick concrete embedded with handling rails that extended 450 ft (140 m) into the neighboring field. To enhance safety, the facility was equipped with eight fire suppression jets supplied by a dedicated water reservoir. Adjacent to the hangar, a gasbag manufacturing plant was established, employing around 100 workers.
At the outbreak of World War I on 4 August 1914, No.9r was nearly ready for assembly. Despite competing demands for resources and labor across various wartime projects, construction efforts persisted during the initial war months. Nevertheless, there was a perception that Admiralty support for the project had waned: Winston Churchill, serving as First Lord of the Admiralty, was known to be indifferent toward airship development. Consequently, on 12 March 1915, he terminated the order for No.9r. The rationale cited included expectations that the conflict would conclude within 1915 and that the airship would not be operational by then, rendering its completion an inefficient use of scarce resources.
Following Churchill’s replacement by Arthur Balfour as First Lord, a conference convened at the Admiralty on 19 June 1915 to review airship programs comprehensively. At this juncture, non-rigid airships were demonstrating success, leading to a decision to expand their production and to reinstate construction of HMA No.9. However, work recommencement faced delays due to the need to recall Pratt and Wallis, who had enlisted in the Army after the initial cancellation. Final assembly resumed in autumn 1915 but encountered further setbacks caused by difficulties sourcing flax from Ireland—necessary for gasbag netting—following the Easter Rising. Ultimately, No.9r was completed on 28 June 1916.
Operational history
No.9r exited its shed on 16 November 1916 and was moored externally to conduct equipment and engine trials. Its maiden flight occurred on 27 November 1916, marking the first flight of a British rigid airship. However, it failed to lift the contractual payload of 3.1 tons and was therefore lightened by removing both rear engines and installing a single engine salvaged from the Zeppelin L 33, which had been forced down near Little Wigborough, Essex, on 24 September 1916. Additionally, new lightweight gasbags were installed. These adjustments increased its available lift capacity to 3.8 tons (3861 kg), leading to formal acceptance by the Navy in April 1917.
Following acceptance, No.9r was transferred to the RNAS airship station at Howden in the East Riding of Yorkshire, where it primarily served for experimental mooring and handling procedures. From 17 October 1917 until June 1918, it operated out of RNAS Pulham in Norfolk. The airship was ultimately dismantled there due to a requirement for hangar space to support newer airship construction projects. Over its operational life, No.9r accumulated 198 hours and 16 minutes airborne time, including approximately 33 hours spent at a mooring mast. Although it could not rival contemporary Zeppelins in performance, No.9r contributed significant knowledge regarding rigid airship handling and pioneered techniques involving mooring masts that later became a distinctive method for airship docking.
Specifications
See also
Notes
- ↑ Higham 1961, p. 131
- ↑ Higham 1961, p. 65
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ Higham 1961, p.125
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Higham 1961 p. 130
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ Higham 1961, p. 124
References
- Higham, Robin. The British Rigid Airship 1908-1931. London: Foulis, 1961.
- Morpurgo, J. E. Barnes Wallis — A Biography, Longman, 1972 ISBN 0-582-10360-6.
- Mowthorpe, Ces Battlebags: British Airships of the First World War, 1995 ISBN 0-905778-13-8.
- Lord Ventry and Eugene Kolesnik, Jane's Pocket Book 7 — Airship Development, 1976 ISBN 0-356-04656-7.
- Lord Ventry and Eugene Kolesnik, Airship saga: The history of airships seen through the eyes of the men who designed, built, and flew them, 1982, ISBN 0-7137-1001-2.
