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Post by hardlec on Jan 1, 2017 20:04:31 GMT
I have 3x2.75 liter soda bottles I intend to join end-to-end to make an airship.
There will be a volume loss in the joining, so I won't get a model with a volume of 8.25 liters, I estimate that 7 liters is a better estimate.
A cubic meter of helium or hydrogen has a kilogram of lift.
When using scale for volume, the multiplier is (102)3 which is 106.
that's 7 x 106 liters, which amounts to 7 x 103 cubic meters, or 14 metric tons of lift.
Allowing for 50% of the lift being used for structure, that allows 7 metric tons of payload.
Now: 7 tons is not a lot of payload, not for a model that is bigger than most figure storage boxes. The Airship will not carry any tanks, but it will carry troops, rough riders, or bombs.
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Post by boxholder on Jan 1, 2017 22:47:14 GMT
A metric ton is 1,000 kilograms. Using your 7,000 cubic meters, each producing 1kg of lift you get 7,000 kg or 7 metric tons of lift.
Looks like a factor or 2 crept in somewhere.
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Post by scottwashburn on Jan 2, 2017 1:41:47 GMT
Just doing a little searching on German WWI zeppelins, it looked like they carried a bomb load of around 4,000 pounds on average. But there were a lot of different models and then you have to make allowances for distance traveled, fuel load and that sort of thing. Dirigibles might be good for high altitude bombing of holdfasts and landing small scouting/raiding parties far behind enemy lines. But I can't see them transporting a significant combat force. Indeed, that's still the problem today with airmobile forces. Anything light enough to transport can't carry much of a punch.
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Post by hardlec on Jan 2, 2017 16:52:52 GMT
A metric ton is 1,000 kilograms. Using your 7,000 cubic meters, each producing 1kg of lift you get 7,000 kg or 7 metric tons of lift. Looks like a factor or 2 crept in somewhere. Good catch. A short ton is 2000 pounds. A metric ton is 2240 pounds. I made an unnecessary conversion. Thanks. from Scott: Dirigibles might be good for high altitude bombing of holdfasts and landing small scouting/raiding parties far behind enemy lines. But I can't see them transporting a significant combat force. Indeed, that's still the problem today with airmobile forces. Anything light enough to transport can't carry much of a punch. It would seem that the use of Airships as a major weapons system is limited. As a bomber with dumb iron bombs, yes. Insertion and extraction of special forces, yes. Reconnaissance, a very important thing. Communication and resupply of resistance groups, an important thing An aerial aircraft carrier: even with 3.5 long tons of payload, the "small" model I propose could 3 carry three Dunne Flying Wings. If there is a weapon that would make Airships formidable, it would be some form of rocket launcher. As Scott has shown in his books, part of the attraction of AQMF is the "Big Picture." Characters, individual people, who are often insignificant in combat but who uncover key information that allows to commanders to make the right choices, or, people who make brave sacrifices to turn the tide. If there is a use for Airships in AQMF, it would be at a convention, on a side table, as an attraction to draw attention. In this case, scale becomes largely irrelevant. |
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Post by madmorgan on Jan 9, 2017 15:06:48 GMT
My development of zeppelins and dirigibles are for special forces, e.i. airborne troops of the 101st, 82nd, and British 1st. Also available for the zeppelins would be 'depth charges', much like the ships with both drop and launcher versions. See my article on Airships on another post. The airborne troops would have a majority of 'stovepipe' weapons (bazookas), recoiless rifles, and medium mortars. They'd be used for special targets behind the 'lines' - notable they might be able to drop in behind a redoubt and cause major damage or used to intercept a Founder tripod on the move. Also as a blocking force for a Marine landing. With the support of riverine forces, they could deny a town or position for some time. In any case, the rocket launchers based on an airship would require very careful handling. As you can see, there are a lot of uses as hardlec has pointed out. With just a little work, they can also be major weapon as a floating battery.
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