NEW AERIAL MONSTERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16205, 15 April 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

NEW AERIAL MONSTERS.

METAL-COVERED ZEPPELINS. AcconDiKO to a cable published in last Monday's Heealp the latest Zeppelins arcsaid to approximate invisibility as a result of thd Germans' experiments. The following account gives some particulars of trials recently made on Lake Constance with the latest type of baby-killers :—The Swiss paper Bund, published at Berne, has interesting news concerning recent experi-

ments with new Zeppelins on Like Constance. The Germans now claim to finish one Zeppelin every week, which is giveu its trial on the lake opposite Friedrich6hafen. The number of operatives, which was 3000, has been considerably increased. Trial flights are accomplished every day, and sometimes two new airsliipr may bo seen cruising together. The greiit motor factory at Maibach, adding ths Zeppe- i Jin works, is producing two motors, which are tested for 24 and 48 hours without interruption, and which make a noise heard far out on the lake. The forms and dimensions of the Zeppelins have been further modified from the primitive shape. They are now much more elongated, and resemble the outlines of fislies. The two gondolas, which seem to he hanging lower, no longer communicate with each other, unless, invisibly by a corridor inside the balloon. Each gondola is covered with armour, and carries six ma-chine-guns and one or two quick-firing { guns, with a special device- also for throw' j ing aerial torpedoes. The platform for the machine-guns, which used to be visible in the earlier models, is no longer seen. i Metal Surface. Hie paint of the new Zeppelin has a/ metallic polish or brilliancy tor one-fifth oi the entire length of the airship, Count Zeppelin having acquired the Schoop patent for metallisation, and employing it for the envelope. The rudder gear is smaller and more compact, and the motors have been reinforced, but make a louder uoise. The trial flights on the lake are interesting, and it is noticeable that the Zeppelins have improved their speed and power of manoeuvring rapidly in ail directions, but the latest invention is the creation of artificial clouds round the airship in flight, by means of gases. At a given moment great volumes of vapour and fumes issue from the airship, enveloping it entirely, and if there is any mist or cloud id the sky the airship becomes identified with it, and is absolutely invisible from the

ground. The following is a description of the Schoop process referred to above :—A new application of extreme interest at the present time of the metal sprinkling process invented by Mr. M. U. Schoop, an engineer of Zurich, consists in the manufacture of cartridge cases, from metallised paper in lieu of brass'or copper. The advantage of such a process "are apparent even to the layman. A certain independence of the large quantities of brass and copper hitherto required is obtained. In addition to this, there is a saving in weight of three to four grammes in each cartridge, as a result of which the soldier can carry a considerably larger quantity of ammunition than heretofore. In the Schoop process the liquid metal is crushed by means of compressed air and is then inflated by any known method into extremely fine particles, Metallised cardboard or paper can in this way be provided with any durable and well adhering metal covering -of any desired thickness! tor the purpose above-mentioned very thin coatings of a few thousandth part of a millimeter in thickness are of course sufficient.