Evening Star Newspaper, November 23, 1930, Page 93

TON, D. C, NOVEMBER 23, 1930, KRON Will Go to Battle in Time of War The Akron in action as drawn by Paul Krosen from U. S. Navy data. Ouwt of the hatchway in the bottom of the great ship drop these plaue§, five of them, like so many bees out of their hives. $0 those designed for the rudders, in front of “him. A confusion of instruments lies before them. There are two altimeters, one for coarse and the other for firie readings. A coarse and a fine inclinometer show the fore and aft vertical in- clination of the Akron. A variometer gives the rate of the ship’s rise or fall, in meters per second. 'I*nmx are automatic indicators for the gas '™ cell pressure-height alarm system, which rings a bell or lights a light when the cells -Pchthflrm&xlmumfuflneu. An air ther- mometer hangs alongside, and a super-heat meter shows the difference in temperature be- tween the helium gas and the outside air. An air speed meter makes an important addition to these instruments, and quite as necessary as any is the aerograph. This comprises a baro- graph, a thermograph and a hydrograph, give ing air pressure, temperature and humidity, re- spectively. Immediately above these instruments are eight toggles, or pull cords, which run to the maneuvering valves of as many gas cells. Final- ly, there’s a “tail drag release toggle” to trip or release the heavy weight that holds down the tail of the ship just before taking off from a mas’. That’s quite a lot of material for such a com- paratively small compartment, but every bit of Jt is in orderly array about the room, and each officer is in immediate supervision of the instru- ment directly before him. In the small chart room abaft the control room, only about eight feet square, sits the Junior officer of the deck in charge of the vari- ous charts and navigational instruments—sex- lants, chronometers, azimuth circles, books and 80 on. Facing this room on the starboard side of the control room is the officer of the deck’s desk, where he keeps the ship’s log. Above the control room, abaft the captain’s “Pipe down!” phones the officer of the deck to the various positions aboard ship. And only the “sea watch,” one watch for the operation of the ship in the air, remains—the officer of the deck at the “conn” in the con- trol room, a junior deck officer in the chart room, & man at the rudder wheel, another at elevator wheel, one man in the radio room, in h engine room and only a few men at the fuel tanks, ballast bags and The rest are off duty, the captain tive officers wherever in the ship they n to be, the others in their quarters conditions prevail, watches chang- , and lookouts are posted first sign of the enemy. hours under way, the Akron receives commander of the Ameri- ting fleet to take up her assigned posi- scouting line hundreds of miles battle fleet. hours pass, with the Akron co- the surface and sub-surface scouting force, moving at twice fastest cruiser and in all Suddenly the “fore-top” lookout on the OOD on the telephone. excitedly, signifying he LA i il 13 58 13 Under the nose of the great ship at the front window of the control room stands the rudderman, steering the course under orders of the captain and other, officers, who constantly study a bewildering array of complicated instruments. & height where she may hide in the thick layer of strato-cumulus clouds overhead. ‘The capiain is “at the conn” now, all officers and men at their posts. Fifteen minutes of “hiding” and the Akron ducks down just below the cloud layer for a “look-see.” Several ships of the enemy’s scout- ing line can be easily made out. It takes only a moment to identify the classes of enemy ves- sels through the glasses, the number of each class, their approximate courses and speeds. Again the Akron climbs to a high altitude in the clouds, in order to “hurdle” the enemy scouting line. The cap‘ain prepares a “contact report” to be flashed to the American fleet's commander in chief by radio and orders the ship’s planes and observation basket made ready Mox"e hours pass. Then, approaching the enemy battle fleet, the Akron’s planes are called upon to do their stuff. OUTolfluhatchwsylnthebouomoithe great Zeppelin drop these planes, five of them, like so many bees out of their hive. Off they scoot toward the enemy. High overhead Back come the scout planes with de- tailed information. They hook onto the trapeze-like extension below the great ship and are pulled back into their storage room within its bulk. from one side of the Atlantic to the other. At ~ the same time, on another secret wave length * and in code, all other information m the airplanes is radioed to the fleet’s " ing officer. Thus, before the advancing enemy has come - within hundreds, or even thousands, of miles, . the American fleet commander has complete in- - formation as to its position, its strength, its direction and its speed—all thanks to that huge Zeppelin, the Akron, its 6,500,000-cubic-feet . hulk looming ominously over the horizon or lurking in the clouds and darkness near the enemy. That isn't the only way in which the Akron . is making itself useful in this assumed war. As _ a scout cruiser it is supreme and most efficient. But as darkness comes on, the Akron advances - still toward the enemy, to hover high over his . heavy battleships during the night and per- chance to drop a bomb or two upon them. IN'.hegaf.berlngdusk.!ulnthedhhm._ from an enemy surface airplane carrier, eomeslaquukonolenmyplnnesprewed. to attack the Akron with machine gun fire, But the Akron's commander is ready for that sort of attack. Again he discharges the Akron’s . five planes, all fast pursuit or observation planes, each with a machine gun rat-a-tatting ~ its bullets through the fast-revolving in synchronism with the blades. At the same time the Akron prepares its battery of d- fire guns, above, below, at bow and a powerful defense, with its heavier-than-air squadron, against an airplane attack. Since the afternoon, the strato-cumulus clouds have evaporated and removed for the moment their “natural” cover. But the Akron’s planes lay a heavy smoke screen around the ship, and attack is so much more difficult. The Akron has gone to a height of 15,000 ° feet immediately upon sighting the enemy planes, much faster than the planes could climb. But the enemy has kept his distance miles away until he can gain several thousand feet altitude above the Akron. Now they come, diving into the attack, 36 of them, 18 on cach bow. The Akron’s planes lay a tall curtaln of smoke astern of the ship while she turns 180 degrees. A few seconds later the ship disappears at full speed through this curtain. 'HIS quick maneuver disconcerts the ate tackers. They have to flatten out their diving angle somewhat and for the moment have lost sight ef their prey. But soon they see her again over the top and beyond the smoke curtain. They are now chasing the air- ship, instead of closing “bows on,” which cuts down their speed of approach tremendously. The group leader of the more northerly at- ity : § '