The gas-bag has an asymmetrical shape, and is pointed
at both ends, although the prow is blunter or rounder than the
stem. The gas-bag comprises a single chamber for the inflating
agent, the distended shape of the envelope being sustained by
means of an air-ballonet. By varying the contents of the latter
through the agency of a pump the tension of the gas in the
lifting envelope can be maintained, and the shape of the inflated
balloon preserved under all conditions.
Beneath the gas-bag is a long strengthened girder, and from this
in turn the car is suspended. It is the introduction of this
rigid girder which is responsible for the descriptive generic
term of "semi-rigid." On the other hand the "non-rigid" type may
be roughly described as a pisciform balloon fitted with
propelling machinery, inasmuch as the car containing the driving
machinery is suspended from the balloon in the manner of the car
in the ordinary drifting vessel. So far as the French effort is
concerned the Bayard-Clement type is the best example of the
non-rigid system; it is represented in Germany by the Parseval
class.
The Gross airship has been definitely adopted as a military
machine by the German authorities, and figures in the "M" class.
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