Groß-Basenach

Groß-Basenach (or Gross-Basenach) is the designation for a series of five so-called M-class German military semi-rigid airships constructed by the well-known balloonist Nikolaus Basenach and Major Hans Georg Friedrich Groß (1860 - 1924) of the Royal Prussian Airship Battalion Nr 2Luisenstadt 2008] between 1907 and 1914.

They produced one experimental and four so-called military Groß-Basenach types, rebuilding each one several times. In all they were not as successful as Major Groß wished. He was the one of the sharpest critics of the Zeppelin airship system. However the war and the ever increasing demands on airship performance left his own system in oblivion. Even his direct competitors, Parseval and the rigid airship maker Schütte-Lanz, did not fare differently after the war's end.

"Versuchsluftschiff"

The "Versuchluftschiff" (experimental airship) had a volume of 1,800 cubic metres and had a keel directly under the balloon envelope. It was mostly constructed by the firm Siemens-Schuckert GmbH.Pilot und Luftschiffe]

The first flight took place at 1907-05-07. The power plant was a 24-25 horsepower (HP) Gaggenau automobile engine and allowed a top speed of convert|29|km/h|mph.

Later the airship was rebuilt, including among other things the empennage.

M I

*5,000 m³ volume
*Length 65.5 metres, Diameter 11.1 metre
*built by the Luftschiffer-Bataillon in Berlin Tegel
*First flight: 1908-06-30
*Propulsion: two Körting-engines each 75 HP

On 1908-09-21 it set a flight endurance record of over 13 hours. In 1913 the hull was lengthened to 71.8 metres. In its lengthened state it first flew on 1913-03-26. The keel was changed three times and the volume increased to 5600 m³. Nevertheless the maximum speed remained unchanged at convert|47|km/h|mph.

M II

M II was built in 1909 and in enlarged in 1911.

M III

M III was built in 1909 and first flew on 1909-12-31
*Volume: 7,800 m³
*Länge: 81.5 metres
*enlarged in 1912 to 9,000 m³ and a length of 83.3 metre
*Propulsion: two Körting-engines each 75 HP
*Maximum speed: convert|59|km/h|mph; after rebuild: convert|68|km/h|mphM III was the fastest airship of its time.

M IV

*19,000 cubic metres volume
*fitted with a ballonet to regulate the pressure
*1913 Rebuilt and equipped with 100-kilogram bombs
*1914 enlarged
*Propulsion: three Maybach-engines with a total of 480 horsepowerM IV achieved a top speed of convert|82|km/h|mph. From 1914-12-28 until 1915-11-03 it performed 24 patrols over the Baltic Sea. On 1915-09-10 it attacked a U-Boat with 100-kilogram bombs.

Notes

References

*Luisenstadt 2008. [http://luise-berlin.de/strassen/Bez16a/G620.htm Großstraße in Köpenick] (German) last accessed 2008-07-05
*Editors of German Wikipedia [http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gro%C3%9F-Basenach&oldid=41588397] ()
*Pilot und Luftschiff. [http://www.pilotundluftschiff.de/Grossbasenach.htm Halbstarre Luftschiffe vom Typ Groß Basenach] (German) last accessed 2008-07-05]

"Unless otherwise cited, this article was sourced from editors of German Wikipedia] "

Further reading

* Schmitt, G. und Schwipps, W., "Pioniere der frühen Luftfahrt",Gondrom Verlag, Blindlach 1995, ISBN 3-8112-1189-7 (German)
* Basenach, N., "Die drei Systeme" in: Bröckelmann (Hrsg.), "Wir Luftschiffer", Ullstein , Berlin und Wien 1909, pages 240–268. (German)