ZRCV
{{Short description|Proposed aircraft carrier}}
The ZRCV was a large dirigible aircraft carrier proposed by the Lighter-than-Air Bureau of the United States Department of the Navy and the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation. It would have been a {{convert|9.55|e6ft3|m3|adj=on}} airship designed to carry nine Douglas-Northrop BT–1 dive bombers.
Building the ZRCV became impossible when the Roosevelt administration, which wanted greater investment in long-range patrol aircraft, placed an upper limit of {{convert|350|ft|m}} in length for any new rigid airships.{{cite journal |last=Wilmoth |first=Gregory C. |title=False-Failed Innovation |journal=Joint Force Quarterly |issue=Autumn/Winter 1999–2000 |page=53 |url=http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/jfq/1223.pdf|access-date=16 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719115707/http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/jfq/1223.pdf |archive-date=2013-07-19 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite thesis |last=Miller |first=Casey L. |title="What About the Airship?": Military Innovation, Rigid Airships, and the U.S. Navy (1900–1939) |date=2020 |degree=MA |publisher=Naval Postgraduate School |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/trecms/pdf/AD1114265.pdf |place=Monterey, California |pages=87–88}}{{sfnp|Smith|1965|pp=157–167}}
Origin of name
Previous Navy airships had used the designation "ZR" (Zeppelin Rigid), which was combined with the designation for aircraft carriers, "CV" (Carrier aViation).{{cite web|title=Aircraft Carrier Designations|url=http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/hydrodynamics/q0226.shtml|publisher=Aerospaceweb.org|access-date=16 May 2013}}
Design
Like the Akron-class airships that preceded it, the ZRCV was designed as an aerial aircraft carrier. With a complement of nine BT–1 dive bombers, the ship would have required a strong keel and design more in line with conventional Zeppelins than the Akron-class airships. The ship was designed at {{convert|897|ft|m}} with a diameter of {{convert|148|ft|m}}. With a gas volume of {{convert|9.55|e6ft3|m3}}, the ZRCV would have had a gross lift weight of {{convert|592000|lbs|kg}} with a dead weight of {{convert|295000|lb|kg}}. The design called for eight 750 hp engines arranged in four pairs, each of which would drive a single four-bladed propeller. Like the Akron-class airships, a complement of 60 sailors were expected to fly the ship. Fully laden with nine bombers weighing {{convert|6000|lb|kg}} each, the ZRCV was expected to have an endurance of 175 hours at {{convert|50|kn|mph km/h}} and an ultimate range of {{convert|8750|nmi|mi km}}.{{sfnp|Clements|O'Hara|1972|pp=17–19}}
ZRCCN and ZRCVN
In the early 1970s, a Naval Research Lab report proposed reviving the Navy's lighter-than-air program with an updated, nuclear-powered version of the ZRCV. Dubbed the ZRCCN, the proposed airship would be substantially larger than the ZRCV with a length of {{convert|1000|ft|m}} and diameter of {{convert|200|ft|m}}. With a gas volume of {{convert|22|e6ft3|m3}}, the ZRCCN would have a gross lift of {{convert|1.36|e6lb|kg}}. The report envision equipping the airship with an 18,000 kW nuclear reactor to power propulsion system to provide practically unlimited range with a cruising speed of {{convert|80|mph|kn km/h}} at an altitude of {{convert|5000|ft|m}} and a cargo of up to {{convert|65000|lb|kg}}. Such an airship could be used as a troop transport or for large loads of matériel.{{sfnp|Clements|O'Hara|1972|pp=20–23}} The main limitation on operations would be connected to radiation levels and exposure in the passenger area.{{sfnp|Clements|O'Hara|1972|p=19}}
The report also suggested developing a strategic bombing platform using two ZRCCNs connected by a wing section and helicopter-type rotors with {{convert|800|ft|m}} separation between the airship hulls. This configuration, dubbed ZRCVN, would require a 63,000 kW reactor. This ship could carry 75–100 aircraft, making use of hangar space in the wing.{{sfnp|Clements|O'Hara|1972|pp=23–24}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Sources
- {{Cite report |last1=Clements |first1=E. W. |last2=O'Hara |first2=G. J. |title=The Navy Rigid Ship |date=1972 |publisher=Ocean Technology Division, Naval Research Laboratory |location=Washington, D.C. |type=NRL-MR-2463 |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0902628.pdf |access-date=2023-07-17}}
- {{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Richard K. |title=The Airships Akron & Macon: Flying Aircraft carriers of the United States Navy |date=1965 |publisher=United States Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=978-0-87021-065-5 }}
External links
- [http://zeppelinheim.blogspot.de/2014/01/goodyear-and-zrcv-airship.html Goodyear and the ZRCV Airship]
Category:Airborne aircraft carriers