The metallic skeleton
was built up from aluminium and over this was stretched the
fabric of the envelope, care being observed to reduce skin
friction, as well as to achieve impermeability. But it was the
internal arrangement of the gas-lifting balloons which provoked
the greatest concern. The hull was divided into compartments,
each complete in itself, and each containing a small balloon
inflated with hydrogen. It was sub-division as practised in
connection with vessels ploughing the water applied to aerial
craft, the purpose being somewhat the same. As a ship of the
seas will keep afloat so long as a certain number of its
subdivisions remain watertight, so would the Zeppelin keep aloft
if a certain number of the gas compartments retained their
charges of hydrogen. There were no fewer than seventeen of these
gas-balloons arranged in a single line within the envelope.
Beneath the hull and extending the full length of the latter was
a passage which not only served as a corridor for communication
between the cars, but also to receive a weight attached to a
cable worked by a winch. By the movement of this weight the bow
or stem of the vessel could be tilted to assist ascent and
descent.
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