Rigid Airship - France

France

France's only rigid airship was designed by Alsatian engineer Joseph Spiess (1838 - 1917), using the principles set out in his patent of 27 September 1873. It was constructed by Société Zodiac at the Aérodrome de Saint-Cyr-l'École. It had a framework of hollow wooden spars braced with wire, and was given the name Zodiac XII but had the name SPIESS painted along the side of the envelope. It was 113 metres long, with a diameter of 13.5 metres, powered by a single Chenu 200 horse power engine that drove two propellers. It first flew on April 13, 1913, but it became clear that it was underpowered and required more lift, so the envelope was extended to 140 metres to accommodate three more gas cells and a second engine was added. Spiess then presented the airship to the French government as a gift. After further trials it was not accepted by the French military, because their view was that smaller non-rigid types would be more effective. The Spiess airship seems to have been broken-up in 1914. Joseph Spiess is buried in the Cimetiere du Pere-Lachaise in Paris; his gravestone has a bronze frieze depicting his airship.