R36 (airship)

__NOTOC__ Infobox Aircraft
name="R36"


caption=
type=Passenger airship
national origin=United Kingdom
manufacturer=BeardmoreAirship Heritage Trust]
designer=
first flight=1 April avyear|1921
introduced=
retired=June 1926
status=
primary user=Air Ministry
more users=Metropolitan Police
produced=1921 delivered
number built=1
variants with their own articles=

"R36" was a British airship designed during World War I, but not completed until after the war. When she first flew in 1921, it was not in her originally intended role as a patrol aircraft for the Royal Navy, but as an airliner, the first airship to carry a civil registration ("G-FAAF").

History

As airship production increased during the latter stages of the war, it was seen that post-war, the use of airships would change. Civilan use for passenger transport was seen as a likely possibility.

The design was produced by the new Airship Design Department, work commencing in November 1917. She was a lengthened version of the "R33" class. These had been influenced by German Zeppelin "L 33 / LZ76" which had crash landed in England. In this case, the "L 48 / LZ95" which was forced down at Courbonne-les-Bains in June 1917 provided yet more input into the design. The "R36", along with a second ship the "R37" were to be a stretched version of the "R33", getting more lift by adding another 33 ft (10 m) bay of gas bags. Two of her five engines were German Maybach engines, recovered from the downed "L 71 / LZ113".

Construction began before the end of the war, but the design was altered to carry 50 passengers in comfort, sleeping on folding beds in 25 individual silk-walled compartments.

R36 was launched for her maiden flight on 1 April 1921 from the Beardmore works at Inchinnan near Glasgow. Late the following day she flew on to Pulham Market in Norfolk home to the "R33" (known locally as the "Pulham Pig"). She was damaged on the 5th April over London and returned to Pulham to take the "R33"'s place in the sheds for repair.

After repairs and strengthening work she re-emerged in June for a successful series of test flights including an epic voyage over 734 miles (1,174 km) of land and sea, in the air for nearly 30 hours. She was immediately used at the request of the Metropolitan Police for observing traffic congestion caused by the Ascot Races. Journalists and senior Police representatives were entertained in great comfort on the day - traffic reports and newspaper stories being dropped by parachute over Croydon airfield.

On June 21, returning form another trial flight, she suffered damage during landing. The release of emergency ballast caused a sharp pitching up, straining the ship against the mooring line. The nearest unoccupied sheds were at Howden in Yorkshire - the Pulham sheds holding the German Zeppelins. The wind increased and it was decided that the "L 64 / LZ109" would have to be sacrificed to save the "R36". Within 4 hours the "L 64" had been cut into pieces and cleared to give enough room for the "R36". Even then she was damaged by a gust of wind during the manoeuvre into the shed.

Repairs were delayed while policy on airships was reviewed because of the "R38" disaster and economic conditions. In 1925 she was refurbished for a meteorological flight to Egypt but calculations cast doubt on her ability to make the trip and in the light of her age and condition she was scrapped in 1926.

Operators

;UK
*Air Ministry
*Metropolitan Police

pecifications

aerospecs
ref=The Airship Heritage Trust
met or eng?= eng
crew=28
capacity=28 crew, 50 passengers
length m=206
length ft=675
length in=0
span m=
span ft=
span in=
swept m=
swept ft=
swept in=
rot number=
rot dia m=
rot dia ft=
rot dia in=
dia m=23.9
dia ft=78
dia in=6
width m=
width ft=
width in=
height m=
height ft=
height in=
wing area sqm=
wing area sqft=
swept area sqm=
swept area sqft=
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
volume m3=59,500
volume ft3=2,101,000
aspect ratio=
empty weight kg=
empty weight lb=
gross weight kg=
gross weight lb=
lift kg=
lift lb=
eng1 number=3
eng1 type=Sunbeam Maori
eng1 kw=260
eng1 hp=350
eng1 kn=
eng1 lbf=
eng1 kn-ab=
eng1 lbf-ab=
eng2 number=2
eng2 type=Maybach
eng2 kw=190
eng2 hp=260
eng2 kn=
eng2 lbf=
eng2 kn-ab=
eng2 lbf-ab=
max speed kmh=105
max speed mph=65
max speed mach=
cruise speed kmh=
cruise speed mph=
range km=1181
range miles=longest flight, 734
endurance h=29
endurance min=54
ceiling m=1829
ceiling ft=highest attained, 6000
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=
armament1=
armament2=
armament3=
armament4=
armament5=
armament6=

Notes

References

* 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
* Manfred Griehl and Joachim Dressel, "Zeppelin! The German Airship Story", 1990 ISBN 1-85409-045-3
* Ces Mowthorpe, "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
* [http://www.aht.ndirect.co.uk/airships/r36/index.html The Airship Heritage Trust R36 Page]