to the Index, or the Air Transport page

     Listings in red are fictional, or proposed but never built.

     Helium is sold by the US Government for 1.5 cents per cubic foot; annual production is about 5 million cubic feet. In bulk, it is sold in 2500 psi cylinders, each containing 5600 cubic feet of helium when released. A few industrial-scale users within the US receive helium in tanks 40' long, 4' in diameter, sent four to a flatcar -- each tank contains 200,000 cubic feet of helium. A transatlantic dirigible voyage results in the loss of about 5% of the lifting gas (more or less depending on conditions, construction techniques, and crew skill). Hydrogen is usually produced at airship bases as needed, rather than being stored in large quantities. 

Douzeperan

A German Y-class dirigible from the very end of the First World War.

Goliath Airship

Helium-filled dirigible, 30 crew + 80 paratroops + 300 tons freight; 16 petrol engines of about 1000 HP each, paired to operate counter-rotating propellors, and further paired as tractor-pusher sets in four nacelles; cruise speed 72 mph, top speed 100 mph, ceiling 25,000', range 7000 miles (much more if the "cargo" is extra fuel); length 1500', diameter 200'. Fitted with rifle-caliber-proof armor on nacelles and the control areas; mounts several machineguns or light autocannon (gun positions at the nose, tail, in each nacelle, two on the upper surface, two in the gondola, one in the 'landing cabin'), bomb bay for 20 tons of bombs, aircraft hanger to contain up to six small aircraft (such as the Barnes "Stormer" or Curtiss F9C-2 Sparrowhawk), 'landing cabin' with capacity for 12 persons on 2000' of cable. The central portion of this airship is made of cylindrical sections, basically identical, and with considerable flexibility allowed between sections. Cost: more than $5 million, plus the difficulty of obtaining helium.

LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin

German hydrogen-filled dirigible, 45 crew + 20 passengers + 12 tons cargo; five 530 HP Maybach engines; cruise 72 mph, endurance 118 hours; length 774', diameter 100', weight (empty) 74 tons; launched 1928; visited America (including a stop in Los Angeles) during 1929 round the world trip. Cost, 7.5 million Marks -- about $1,800,000.

USS Los Angeles ZR-3

American helium-filled dirigible, crew 40 - 45; five Maybach 400 HP engines; top speed 76 mph. Length 658', diameter 90' 8". Originally the German LZ-126, this ship was obtained as war reparations in 1924 and used to test various systems and procedures for the later Akron and Macon, including some that were not used (or not publicly acknowledged), such as glider-landed troops. Decommissioned in June of 1932, it was announced in 1939 that she would be dismantled.

USS Macon ZRS-5

American helium-filled dirigible; eight Maybach engines of 560 HP; top speed 70 mph; length 785', diameter 133'. Carries up to five Sparrowhawk fighter aircraft aboard. Its sister ship USS Akron (ZRS-4) was lost in April of 1933. They cost about $4 million each.

R-100

British hydrogen-filled dirigible, 30 to 45 crew + 100 passengers, carried in 3 decks (cabins are two or four berths each, and accomodations include a 56 person dining room); engines six Rolls Royce Condor V-12, 650 HP each; max 131 mph, range about 8,000 miles; length 720', diameter 136', hull weight 59 tons empty, fuel and oil 32 tons, water ballast 21 tons, gross lift 175 tons (mass of airship, cargo, fuel, crew, ballast, etc.); cost $900,000. First flight was on December 16, 1929.

Vickers Transoceanic Airship

British hydrogen-filled dirigible, 37 crew + 100 passengers + 5 tons freight; six Rolls-Royce Condor V-12 engines, each producing 675 HP; cruising speed 52 mph, top speed 75 mph, range 10,000 miles at cruise speed, 5600 miles at top speed; length 800', diameter 100'. Designed by Barnes Wallis, these fictional (but proposed in period) airships are very advanced, with a geodetic space frame; all passenger staterooms, saloons, and an open deck are on top of the hull! They make the trip from Cardington to Montreal in 48 hours (weather permitting); there are three of these ships in service, all of the the R120 type -- registry codes G-FAAY Royal Westminster, G-FAAZ Royal Kensington, and G-FBAA Royal St. James, with one of them being maintained and flying "day excursion" flights from Cardington or Montreal while the other two are handling the North Atlantic route; thus passengers can catch a flight about four times a week. The passage between Canada and Britain costs $700 per person (50 lb. luggage allowance), although Vickers hopes to bring the fare down to about $525 in a few years. Mooring masts were erected by the British government in Cape Town, Ismailia and Karachi in 1926-1928, at the same time as the mast in Montreal; but aircraft proved to be more economical on the routes to Africa and Asia. See here for transatlantic schedules.