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The British NS (North Sea) class
non-rigid airship A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hydr ...
s were the largest and last in a succession of "blimps" that served with the Royal Naval Air Service during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
; developed from experiences gained with earlier classes to operate off the east coast of Britain on long-range patrols.North Sea Three
- Turpin, Brian J. Retrieved on 30 March 2009.
Despite early problems, examples of the class went on to break all flying records for non-rigid airships,Whale (2008), p.69. and the type became regarded as the most efficient of its kind.
The Airship Heritage Trust. Retrieved on 30 March 2009.


Design

The NS class airship was developed in response to the increasing requirement of the RNAS to carry out long-range anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort duties off the west coast of Great Britain, though its name came from the fact that the type was intended to work in collaboration with the
Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the F ...
which mainly operated in the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
east of the British Isles. In 1916, Britain's
rigid airship A rigid airship is a type of airship (or dirigible) in which the Aerostat, envelope is supported by an internal framework rather than by being kept in shape by the pressure of the lifting gas within the envelope, as in blimps (also called pres ...
programme was unable to provide an effective airship; the NS class was developed as a substitute using experiences gained with the
Coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...
and improved C* classes to create a larger and more weather-worthy long-endurance non-rigid vessel.British Airship Design.
Charles Vivian, E., ''A History of Aeronautics'' pt.3, ch.V. Retrieved on 30 March 2009.
The main requirements for the new design were:Whale (2008), p.67. *Capability to carry out flights of considerable duration 24 hours with a speed of *Great reliability. *The necessary lift to carry an ample supply of fuel. *Adequate arrangements to accommodate a double crew in comfort. Approval was given in January 1916 for the construction of six NS class airships; designed and built at
RNAS Kingsnorth RNAS Kingsnorth was a First World War Royal Navy air station for airships, initially operating as an experimental and training station, it later moved on to large scale production of airships. It also provided anti-submarine patrols. A number o ...
on the
Hoo Peninsula The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in Kent, England, separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of chalk, clay and sand hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The n ...
, not far from the
Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...
in Kent.


Envelope

Similar to the Coastal and C-Star classes, the "North Seas" employed a tri-lobe envelope based on the Astra-Torres design principles. It incorporated all the improvements that had been previously suggested for those classes – its shape was streamlined throughout, and having a capacity of it was significantly larger than that of the "Coastals". Six
ballonet A ballonet is an air bag inside the outer envelope of an airship which, when inflated, reduces the volume available for the lifting gas, making it more dense. Because air is also denser than the lifting gas, inflating the ballonet reduces the over ...
s of in total were provided; equivalent to 35.5% of the total volume. Attached to the envelope were four fins. The smaller top fin was merely for stabilizing purposes; while the larger other three were identical in size and shape, and carried the
rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
and
elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
s. The
aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
fuel tanks were initially situated above the top ridges of the envelope, but its varying shape caused the aluminium fuel lines to fracture and consequently the tanks were later placed inside the envelope.Whale (2008), p.68.


Cars

The first examples of the type were equipped with two enclosed cars slung from the underside of the envelope – a control car, and to the rear an engineers' car (power or engine car), joined by an exposed wooden walk-way suspended on cables. The control car was rectangular in cross-section, long"North Sea Class Airships".
Retrieved on 30 March 2009.
and high, and was constructed from a frame of light steel tubing braced with diagonal wires. The forward portion was clad in duralumin, and the remainder covered with fabric laced to the framework. Duralumin sheeting was chosen instead of aluminium as it is not affected by the combined action of sea air and water. Windows and portholes provided both light for the crew, and afforded a good field of view. The forward section of the control car was extensively glazed, and formed the pilot's cabin which housed all the flight controls, navigating instruments,
engine telegraph An engine order telegraph or E.O.T., also referred to as a Chadburn, is a communications device used on a ship (or submarine) for the pilot on the bridge to order engineers in the engine room to power the vessel at a certain desired speed. ...
s and
voice pipe A speaking tube or voicepipe is a device based on two cones connected by an air pipe through which speech can be transmitted over an extended distance. Use of pipes was suggested by Francis Bacon in the ''New Atlantis'' (1672). The usage for tel ...
s. Behind this was the
wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...
cabin, while the living and sleeping accommodation for the 10-man crew was located at the rear of the car. In addition to the radio equipment, the wireless operators' compartment carried
Aldis lamp Signal lamp training during World War II A signal lamp (sometimes called an Aldis lamp or a Morse lamp) is a semaphore system using a visual signaling device for optical communication, typically using Morse code. The idea of flashing dots and da ...
s as well as international maritime signal flags. The latter could be lowered from the control car, and were effective for communicating with foreign vessels. The engineers' car housed the controls for the engines, and gave access to a flanged hotplate for cooking that was attached to one of the engine exhaust pipes. Two
dynamo file:DynamoElectricMachinesEndViewPartlySection USP284110.png, "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator (electric), commutator. Dynamos were the f ...
s and batteries provided power for the ship's electrical systems which included lights, telephones and signalling lamps etc.


Propulsion

The type was initially fitted with a pair of
Rolls-Royce Eagle The Rolls-Royce Eagle was the first aircraft engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce Limited. Introduced in 1915 to meet British military requirements during World War I, it was used to power the Handley Page Type O bombers and a number of oth ...
engines mounted one either side of the power car in streamlined enclosures. Each drove a diameter four-bladed propeller on independent shafts through an elaborate transmission system.


Armament

A maximum of six bombs could be carried as well as up to five machine-guns. Similar to the Coastal and C-Star class airships, one gun was mounted on a platform on top of the envelope which was reached through a climbing shaft.


Crew

The normal crew comprised two watches of five – necessary for extended patrols – and consisted of a Captain and Second Officer, a
Coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boa ...
and Second coxswain, two W/T (Wireless Telegraph) Operators, two Engineers and two Air Gunners. The Captain was in overall command of the vessel, and was assisted by the Second Officer in navigating, maintaining height, and regulating gas pressure. The Coxswain was responsible for the rest of the crew, and for the care and maintenance of the ship whilst on the ground. He or the Second Coxswain steered the vessel in flight from a position at the very front of the control car. During patrols, the Air Gunners took on the duties of look-outs and also acted as cooks.


Development


Testing and problems

The first example, ''N.S.1'', carried out initial flight trials on 1 February 1917. Preliminary trials were regarded as being satisfactory; the ship achieving a speed of and proving easy to handle. Two further flights were carried out in March, the second of which was a longer cross-country round trip from Kingsnorth to Maidenhead, Farnborough,
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
, and back to Kingsnorth again. Following the success of this flight, ''N.S.1'' transferred to
RNAS Pulham RNAS Pulham (later RAF Pulham) was a Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) airship station, near Pulham St Mary south of Norwich, UK. Though land was purchased by the Admiralty in 1912 the site was not operational until 1915. From 1918 to 1958, the ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, on 18 April 1917 for more extensive trials. Minor snags encountered during flights over the next few weeks were ironed out, and it was then decided to carry out a full-scale endurance test taking place on 5 June. However, just over 16 hours into the flight, the
universal joint A universal joint (also called a universal coupling or U-joint) is a joint or coupling connecting rigid shafts whose axes are inclined to each other. It is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion. It consists of a pair of hinges ...
on one of the propeller driveshafts broke and the ship returned to Pulham. Then, on 26 June, she again took to the air at 06:00 and remained aloft until 07:22 on 28 June – a flight duration of during which she covered and encountered only minor technical problems. At that time, this was a record for a British airship of any type. ''N.S.2s early trials at Kingsnorth were also satisfactory, but during an endurance trial on 27 June similar to that of ''N.S.1'', she became unmanageable when she lost gas and was wrecked in an attempted landing near
Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the busy A14 road (Great Britain), A14 trunk ...
, Suffolk. ''N.S.3'' made an 11-hour non-stop flight on 22 July 1917 to her operational base at RNAS
East Fortune East Fortune is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, located 2 miles (3 km) north west of East Linton. The area is known for its airfield which was constructed in 1915 to help protect Britain from attack by German Zeppelin airships during t ...
following trials in June at Kingsnorth. She was joined there on 6 September by ''N.S.1'', and by ''N.S.4'' from Kingsnorth on 15 October. ''N.S.5'' set off for East Fortune on 12 December, but both engines failed within sight of her destination, and she drifted with the wind for about before they could be restarted. However, since both engines continued to be troublesome it was decided to make a "free balloon" landing, but she was damaged beyond repair during the attempt.


Modifications

The Rolls-Royce engines together with their method of installation and complex transmission continually presented problems. They were connected to the propellers via long, heavy driveshafts that were only lightly supported, thus placing undue strain on the transmission system and invariably causing the universal joint nearest the propeller to fracture. The Kingsnorth design team hastily set about redesigning the power car and transmission gear, and at the same time, staff at East Fortune were also looking into ways of improving the design. Kingsnorth considered the idea of replacing the Rolls-Royce engines with Fiat units having a direct drive to the propellers; while East Fortune's Engineering Officer, Lt.Cdr. A. S. Abell,
RNVR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...
, together with Flt.Cdr. J. S. Wheelwright,
DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...
(Captain of ''N.S.3''), came up with the idea of raising the control car to the same level as the engineers' car; form them into a single fully enclosed unit that measured in length and tapered to the stern, and fit the propellers directly onto the engine crankshafts. These and other minor measures provided the crew with more room and improved their comfort; increased top speed through reduced air resistance (the redesigned car was more aerodynamic and positioned closer to the envelope); resulted in a reduction in weight; and improved reliability due to the abolition of the troublesome transmission shafts. In January 1918, the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
granted permission for these modifications to be undertaken at both Kingsnorth, and at East Fortune where the work was completed by the beginning of March. Mainly due to the lack of a suitable alternative, official interest continued in the NS class despite the early reliability problems and the loss of two examples during their first months of service, and a further six were subsequently ordered in November 1917. Production continued until the end of the war and for a short time after.


Operational history


''N.S.3''

Under the continuing command of Captain Wheelwright and with Admiralty officials on board, ''N.S.3'' successfully completed test flights on 11 March 1918, and the following day she undertook an eight-hour trial whilst maintaining a speed in excess of . Subsequently, numerous requests to start operational duties were submitted to the Admiralty, and on 3 April permission was granted for a three-quarters power duration flight over land. ''N.S.3'' flew from Longside to Kingsnorth and back to East Fortune; a journey of in 22 hours which at the time constituted a record for British airships. During the flight both engines ran perfectly – the starboard engine ran continuously, while the other was only stopped for about five minutes to replace a broken dynamo drivebelt. On 17 April ''N.S.3'' performed her first convoy escort, and from 20–22 April she completed a flight of 55 hours with various convoys – the longest flight to that date of any non-rigid airship. During May 1918, she flew over 130 hours – one patrol lasted for 33 hours, and another for 20 hours which was curtailed only by orders to return to base due to increasing winds. During a flight on the night of 31 May / 1 June whilst participating in the testing of the anti-aircraft capabilities of the Grand Fleet and shore batteries near
Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...
, ''N.S.3'' achieved a height of – another record for the type. In early June 1918, she commenced towing trials with the destroyer to examine the possibility of towing an airship at speed should it break down or run short of fuel. The tests were initially successful reaching speeds of almost , and on the final run ''N.S.3'' touched down on the sea to exchange two officers from ''Vectis'' for two of ''N.S.3''′s crew. ''N.S.3s final patrol commenced on 21 June 1918 with orders to proceed from East Fortune to escort a south-bound Scandinavian convoy. She joined the convoy off
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
around 7 pm; however, later that night increasing winds prompted the decision to return to base at full speed, but severe turbulence and loss of gas caused the ship to crash into the sea early on with the loss of five lives. The survivors were picked up from the floating wreckage some time later by the destroyer HMS ''Moy''.


Other ships

In its modified form the type contributed much valuable war service, and at the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
on 11 November 1918 six examples were still in service at operational stations – ''N.S.7'' and ''8'' were based at East Fortune and escorted the surrendered German High Seas fleet back to Rosyth, while ''N.S.4'', ''6'', ''11'' and ''12'' operated from Longside. Two further ships, ''N.S.14'' and ''16'', were under construction at Kingsnorth, and were flown after the war. Under the command of Captain W. K. Warnford ''N.S.11'' set an early endurance record of , and accompanied by ''N.S.12'' made the first airship journey to Norway. ''N.S.11'' then went on to set a further flight endurance record of 101 hours during a
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...
-hunting patrol on 9–13 February 1919 having covered some . Rigid airship ''R34'' then broke this record when she completed a voyage from East Fortune to Mineola,
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, United States in 108 hours, and while subsequently attempting (unofficially) to regain this record ''N.S.11'' was
lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
. In the early hours of 15 July on what was officially supposed to be a mine-hunting patrol, she was seen to fly beneath a long "greasy black cloud" off
Cley next the Sea Cley next the Sea (, , is a village and civil parish on the River Glaven in English county of Norfolk, north-west of Holt and east of Blakeney. The main A149 coast road runs through the centre of the village, causing congestion in the sum ...
on the Norfolk coast and a massive explosion was heard shortly after. A vivid glare lasted for a few minutes as the burning airship descended, and finally plunged into the sea after a second explosion. There were no survivors, and the findings of the official Court of Enquiry were inconclusive, but amongst other possibilities it was thought that a lightning strike may have caused the explosion.''Loss of N.S.11.''
Retrieved on 5 March 2013.
Following the loss of ''N.S.11'', only ''N.S.7'' and ''8'' remained in service – ''N.S.14'' had been sold to the
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and the rest had either been wrecked, deleted or deflated. ''N.S.8'' was deleted in October 1919, while the final flight of the last of the type, ''N.S.7'', took place on 25 October 1921. N.S.14 was transferred to the US Navy on 8 November 1918. N.S.14 was shipped to Wingfoot lake, then to Hampton Roads, arriving on 30 January 1920, There currently are no records of N.S.14 operating with the US Navy. In total 14 NS class blimps were constructed. The extended endurance flights and records broken were simply the result of normal operational flying routine while escorting convoys, hunting for submarines and performing other duties with the Fleet, and due to their success in modified form they were regarded as being probably the best large non-rigid airship that had been produced by any country.Whale (2008), pp.69–70.


Operators

; *
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
; *
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...


Specifications

*Ballonets: —6128,000 ft³ (3,600 m³)


See also


References

* *


External links


North Sea class airships, The Airship Heritage Trust

NS11 - As Bright As Day
{{RNAS blimps Airships of the United Kingdom 1910s British patrol aircraft Military airships of World War I Aircraft first flown in 1917