Lebaudy, ‘Le Jaune’, 1902

Description

The first practical airship was designed by Henri Julliot and built by Lebaudy Freres, who were sugar refiners, at Moisson, 35 miles WNW of Paris in France. Known as Lebaudy I, or La Jeune, it was of 2,265 cubic metres  (80,000 cubic feet) capacity. This semi-rigid airship first flew on 13 November 1902. It was an experimental airship with an astra hull, a 40 hp Daimler petrol engine powering twin-screws. Le Jaune was the first successful modern airship with a best endurance of 98 km. (61 miles) in 2.75 hours. Refitted with a new hull, the airship made 12 ascents but was carried away by the storm on 28 August 1904 and badly damaged.  Maximum speed was 11.2 metres per second (25 mph). Lebaudy continued development of airships until Lebaudy III which was sold to the French Army in 1905.  The French Army took over development and created a series of successful models each of which encountered a violent end as the problems of huge lighter-than-air envelopes met an often turbulent atmosphere. In 1906 La Patrie was launched which foundered in the Atlantic in a storm and then La Republique in 1908 self-destructed in mid-air in August 1909 with the loss of the crew of 4 when a propellor blade detached and flew into the envelope.