airships built by any country and, while pre-eminent with the
non-rigid, is seriously challenging Germany for the right to say
that she has now built the finest rigid airship.


FRANCE

To revert to early history, in the same year in which Brisson
read his paper before the Academy, the Duke of Chartres gave the
order for an airship to the brothers Robert, who were mechanics
in Paris. This ship was shaped like a fish, on the supposition
that an airship would swim through the air like a fish through
water. The gas-chamber was provided with a double envelope, in
order that it might travel for a long distance without loss of
gas.

The airship was built in St. Cloud Park; in length it was 52 feet
with a diameter of 82 feet, and was ellipsoidal in shape with a
capacity of 30,000 cubic feet. Oars were provided to propel it
through the air, experiments having proved that with two oars of
six feet diameter a back pressure of 90 lb. was obtained and with
four oars 140 lb.

On July 6th in the same year the first ascent was made from St.
Cloud. The passengers were the Duke of Chartres, the two
brothers Robert and Colin-Hulin. No valves having been fitted,
there was no outlet for the expansion of gas and the envelope was
on the point of bursting, when the Duke of Chartres, with great
presence of mind, seized a pole and forced an opening through
both the envelopes. The ship descended in the Park of Meudon.