keel walking way, and a certain amount is also carried beneath
the floor of the car.

Engine-room telegraphs, swivelling propeller telegraphs, speaking
tubes and telephones, with a lighting set for the illumination of
the cars and keel, were all fitted in accordance with the
practice standard in all rigid airships.

The lift and trim trials taken before the initial flight trials
showed that the ship possessed a disposable lift under standard
conditions of 5.7 tons. The original disposable lift demanded
by the specification was 3 tons but this was reduced by 2 tons
owing to the machinery weights being 2 tons in excess of the
estimate. Since then these weights had been increased by another
half-ton, making a total of 2 1/2 tons over the original
estimate. It was evident that with so small a margin of lift
these ships would never be of real use, and it was decided to
remove various weights to increase the lift and to substitute a
wing car of a similar type to those manufactured for the R 33
class for the heavy after car at present in use.

R 23 carried out her trials without the alteration to the car,
which was effected at a later date, and the same procedure was
adopted with R 24 and R 25. In the case of R 26, however, she
had not reached the same stage of completion as the other two
ships, and the alterations proposed for them were embodied in her
during construction. The gasbags were of lighter composition,
all cabin furniture was omitted and the wing car was fitted in
place of the original after car. This wing car is of streamline
shape with a rounded bow and tapered stern. The lower portion is