La France(airship)

The 1884La France,the first fully controllable airship.

The 1884 Krebs & Renard first fully controllable free-flights with the LA FRANCE electric dirigible near Paris (Krebs arch.)

Artist's depiction ofLa France

TheLa Francewas aFrench Armynon-rigidairshiplaunched byCharles RenardandArthur Constantin Krebson August 9, 1884. Collaborating with Charles Renard, Arthur Constantin Krebs pilotedthe first fully controlled free-flightwith theLa France.The 170-foot (52 m) long, 66,000-cubic-foot (1,900 m³) airship, electric-powered with a 435 kg (959 lb) zinc-chlorineflow batterycompleted a flight that covered 8 km (5.0 mi) in 23 minutes.It was the first full round trip flightwith a landing on the starting point. On its seven flights in 1884 and 1885theLa Francedirigible returned five times to its starting point.

Hangar

Hangar Y,Chalais-Meudonnear Paris, France 2002

TheLa Francewas constructed in Hangar "Y" atChalais-Meudonnear Paris in 1879. Hangar "Y" is one of the few remainingairship hangarsin Europe.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew:2
• Length:50.90–52.00 m (167 ft 0 in – 170 ft 0 in) 32.9 m (108 ft) gondola of bamboo with silk covering
• Diameter:8.4 m (27 ft 6 in)
• Volume:1,841–1,900 m³(65,000–66,000 cu ft)hydrogen
• Propellers:2-bladed propellers, 7.0 m (23 ft 0 in) diameter 24 m (28 ft) pitch, 14.9 m (49 ft) drive shaft

Performance

• Maximum speed:23.40 km/h (14.54 mph, 12.63 kn)
• Range:12.2 km (7.6 mi, 6.6 nmi)

See also

• Timeline of hydrogen technologies

External links

• "LE BALLON DIRIGEABLE" LA FRANCE "/ Plans, croquis et photos / N° 1 – Plans du dirigeable (élévation longitudinale et dessous)".Archived fromthe originalon May 28, 2007.
• "LE BALLON DIRIGEABLE" LA FRANCE "/ Plans, croquis et photos / N° 10 – Moteur du dirigeable (face avant)".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-08-09.
• "9 August 1884".9 August 2016.Archivedfrom the original on August 12, 2016.
• "9 August 1884".9 August 2020.Archivedfrom the original on March 26, 2021.