Lebaudy République
Encyclopedia
The Lebaudy République (later known as La République) was a semi-rigid airship
Semi-rigid airship
Semi-rigid airships are airships with a partial framework. These often consist of a rigid, or occasionally, flexible, keel frame along the long axis under the aerodynamic hull envelope. The partial framework can also be located inside the hull...
built for the French army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
in Moisson
Moisson
Moisson is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-History:On 12 November, 1903, the Lebaudy brothers made a controlled dirigible flight of from Moisson to Paris....
, France, by sugar manufacturers Lebaudy Frères
Lebaudy Frères
Lebaudy Frères was a French sugar producer based in Moisson, France. In addition to sugar, they also made a series of semi-rigid airships in the early years of the twentieth century, some of which saw service with several European armies.-Operation:...
. She was a sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
of the Patrie
Lebaudy Patrie
The Lebaudy Patrie was a semi-rigid airship built for the French army in Moisson, France, by sugar manufacturers Lebaudy Frères. Designed by Henri Julliot, the company's chief engineer, the Patrie was completed in November 1906 and handed over to the military the following month, thus becoming the...
, the main differences between the two being in the dimensions of the gasbag
Ballonet
A Ballonet is a air-filled flexible container that is located inside the envelope of a non-rigid or semi-rigid airship. Such an airship can have one or more ballonets, commonly one fore and one aft...
(or 'envelope') and the ballonet
Ballonet
A Ballonet is a air-filled flexible container that is located inside the envelope of a non-rigid or semi-rigid airship. Such an airship can have one or more ballonets, commonly one fore and one aft...
. Although she was operationally successful, the République crashed in 1909 due to a mechanical failure, killing all four crew members.
Background
The République's predecessor, the Lebaudy Patrie, had been so successful that three further airships of the same design were ordered by the French government in March 1907. Two of them saw service under the names République and Liberté. The République was completed in June 1908, flew for the first time June 24 and was handed over to the French army on 31 July of that year.Other governments had been equally impressed, and the Russian and Austrian armies each ordered an airship of the same design. The Russie saw service in Russia as the Lebed, and the Autrichienne (built under license in Vienna by the Motor-Luftfahrzeug Gesellschaft) was operated by the Austrian army under the designation M.II.
Design and development
The main structural components of the République, like those of the Patrie, were the envelope (or "gas-bag"), a nickel-steelSteel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
frame or keel, and a gondola
Aerostat
An aerostat is a craft that remains aloft primarily through the use of buoyant lighter than air gases, which impart lift to a vehicle with nearly the same overall density as air. Aerostats include free balloons, airships, and moored balloons...
suspended from the frame on steel cables. Contained within the envelope was a ballonet, the function of which was to ensure that sufficient gas pressure was maintained in the envelope at all times, irrespective of the degree of expansion or contraction of the lifting gas
Lifting gas
Because of the Archimedes' principle, a lifting gas is required for aerostats to create buoyancy. Its density is lower than that of air . Only certain lighter than air gases are suitable as lifting gases.- Hot Air :...
. These components were essentially the same as for the Patrie, the only differences initially being in the dimensions of the envelope and the ballonet, which are given in the Specifications section below. The modular structure enabled e.g. the envelope volume to be varied without impact upon the keel or the gondola. For a more detailed description, see Lebaudy Patrie
Lebaudy Patrie
The Lebaudy Patrie was a semi-rigid airship built for the French army in Moisson, France, by sugar manufacturers Lebaudy Frères. Designed by Henri Julliot, the company's chief engineer, the Patrie was completed in November 1906 and handed over to the military the following month, thus becoming the...
.
First flight
The République's first flight took place at the Lebaudy base at MoissonMoisson
Moisson is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-History:On 12 November, 1903, the Lebaudy brothers made a controlled dirigible flight of from Moisson to Paris....
on 24 June 1908. She was flown to Chalais-Meudon to take up her military duties on 31 July 1908.
Military operations
During the autumn of 1908 and the spring and summer of 1909, the République was engaged in two campaigns of peacetime military operations from her base at the French airship headquarters at Chalais-Meudon, the objectives of which were to train the pilots and the support team and to assess the airship's capabilities. These test flights included a long flight on Wed. 4 August 1909, during which she covered 130 miles (209 km) in 6 hours; this was reported in Flight Magazine on 7 August 1909.In 1909 the army decided to integrate airship reconnaissance into its military manoeuvres of that year ("Les grandes Manoeuvres du Bourbonnais") and the République was assigned to this task. A temporary hangar, comprising a metal framework over which a fabric skin was draped, was constructed at Lapalisse
Lapalisse
Lapalisse is a commune in the Allier department in central France.-Population:-References:*...
to accommodate the airship. On 3 September 1909 the République set off from Chalais-Meudon for the flight to Lapalisse. After 62 miles (105 km), while over La Charité-sur-Loire
La Charité-sur-Loire
La Charité-sur-Loire is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.-History:The town began as the first of the Cluniac priories on an island site in the Loire....
, the motor overheated due to poor water circulation and had to be stopped immediately, requiring the crew to land in poor conditions at Policards, in the commune of Jussy-le-Chaudrier
Jussy-le-Chaudrier
Jussy-le-Chaudrier is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre region of France.-Geography:An area of forestry and farming, comprising the village and several hamlets situated in the valley of the river Vauvise, some east of Bourges, at the junction of the D53, D25 and the D920 roads...
.
Some local farm workers who were on the scene caught the guide ropes but were unable to prevent the gondola from impaling itself on an apple tree, which damaged the airship’s keel and gondola in several places. With the keel and gondola damaged and given the loss of a quantity of gas, it was decided not to risk the République suffering the same fate as the Patrie (which was lost when a storm blew up while she was moored in the open due to mechanical problems), but to deflate the gas-bag immediately. The gondola and keel were sent on to Lapalisse for repairs and the envelope was returned for repairs to Chalais-Meudon. The necessary repairs were made sufficiently quickly for the République to be reassembled and inflated, ready to take part successfully in the manoeuvres by 12 September 1909 as planned.
Final flight
After the manoeuvres the crew which was assigned the task of returning the République to Chalais-Meudon decided to fly her back, rather than have her deflated and dismantled for the return journey by rail. On the morning of 25 September 1909 while near the Château of AvrillyAvrilly, Allier
Avrilly is a commune of the Allier department in central France.-Population:...
, one of the metal propeller blades sheared off its shaft and pierced the envelope, which deflated catastrophically, causing the République to crash into ground at high speed, killing all four crew members: Capt. Marchal, Lt. Chauré, and the 'Adjudants mecaniciens' Vincenot and Réau.
Epilogue
The French government took immediate steps to replace the République, ordering two airships to replace her. The République's sister-ship, the Liberté, already in production, was modified by the addition of a second engine following the loss of the République before being commissioned to take up her military rôle, based at the garrison of BelfortBelfort
Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...
.
A new airship, named Capitaine-Marchal in honour of the deceased commander of the République, was presented to the French government by Lebaudy Frères.
After the accident criticisms were voiced about the advisability of operating the République following her accident prior to the manoeuvres and about the design of the airship's propellers; the latter point was addressed in the order for replacement propellers.
Opinions such as those expressed by the New York Times that the "War Dirigibles Must Yield to the Aeroplane" and "France Loses Faith in Army Balloons - Loss of Four Lives in La République Accident Turns Public Favor to Aeroplanes" reflected a growing awareness of the relative potentials of airships and aeroplanes, although all major powers continued to invest in military airships for some years. Airships were to be used throughout most of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, before their vulnerability to improved heavier-than-air aircraft led to their being abandoned for military purposes; the British military Airship Branch was disbanded in 1921.