A blimp (/blɪmp/), or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships, blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas inside the envelope and the strength of the envelope itself to maintain their shape. Blimps are known for their use in advertising, surveillance, and as observation platforms due to their maneuverability and steady flight capabilities.
An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air to achieve the lift needed to stay airborne.
USS Akron (ZRS-4) was a helium-filled rigid airship of the U.S. Navy, the lead ship of her class, which operated between September 1931 and April 1933. It was the world's first purpose-built flying aircraft carrier, carrying F9C Sparrowhawk fighter planes, which could be launched and recovered while it was in flight. With an overall length of 785 ft (239 m), Akron and her sister ship Macon were among the largest flying objects ever built. Although LZ 129 Hindenburg and LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II were some 18 ft (5.5 m) longer and slightly more voluminous, the two German airships were filled with hydrogen, and so the two US Navy craft still hold the world record for the largest helium-filled airships.
John Ericsson was a Swedish-American inventor. He was active in England and the United States.
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bullets) fired by a machine gun. Autocannons have a longer effective range and greater terminal performance than machine guns, due to the use of larger/heavier munitions, but are usually smaller than tank guns, howitzers, field guns, or other artillery. When used on its own, the word "autocannon" typically indicates a non-rotary weapon with a single barrel. When multiple rotating barrels are involved, such a weapon is referred to as a "rotary autocannon" or occasionally "rotary cannon", for short.
USS Los Angeles was a rigid airship, designated ZR-3, which was built in 1923–1924 by the Zeppelin company in Friedrichshafen, Germany, as war reparations. She was delivered to the United States Navy in October 1924 and after being used mainly for experimental work, particularly in the development of the American parasite fighter program, was decommissioned in 1932.
Novgorod was a monitor built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1870s. She was one of the most unusual warships ever constructed, and still survives in popular naval myth as one of the worst warships ever built. However, a more balanced assessment shows that she was relatively effective in her designed role as a coast-defence ship. The hull was circular to reduce draught while allowing the ship to carry much more armour and a heavier armament than other ships of the same size. Novgorod played a minor role in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 and was reclassified as a coast-defence ironclad in 1892. The ship was decommissioned in 1903 and used as a storeship until she was sold for scrap in 1911.
The T95 was an American prototype medium tank developed from 1955 to 1959. These tanks used many advanced or unusual features, such as siliceous-cored armor, new transmissions, and OPTAR fire-control systems. The OPTAR incorporated an electro-optical rangefinder and was mounted on the right side of the turret, and was used in conjunction with the APFSDS-firing 90 mm T208 smoothbore gun, which had a rigid mount without a recoil system. In addition, although the tanks were designed with a torsion beam suspension, a hydropneumatic suspension was fitted, and one of the tanks was fitted with a Solar Saturn gas turbine for demonstration purposes.
Gun laying is the process of aiming an artillery piece or turret, such as a gun, howitzer, or mortar, on land, at sea, or in air, against surface or aerial targets. It may be laying for either direct fire, where the gun is aimed directly at a target within the line-of-sight of the user, or by indirect fire, where the gun is not aimed directly at a target within the line-of-sight of the user. Indirect fire is determined from the information or data that is collected, calculated, and applied to physical coordinates to identify the location of the target by the user. The term includes automated aiming using, for example, radar-derived target data and computer-controlled guns.
Tom Swift in the Caves of Ice, or, The Wreck of the Airship, is Volume 8 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat, or, Under the Ocean for Sunken Treasure, is Volume 4 in the original Tom Swift novel series, written by Victor Appleton and published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Airship, or, The Stirring Cruise of the Red Cloud, is Volume 3 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle; or, Daring Adventures in Elephant Land is a young adult novel published in 1911, written by Stratemeyer Syndicate writers using the pen name Victor Appleton. It is Volume 10 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap. The novel is notable for inspiring the name of the Taser.
Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight, or, On the Border For Uncle Sam, is Volume 15 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Giant Cannon, or, The Longest Shots on Record, is Volume 16 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift Among the Fire Fighters, Or, Battling Flames From the Air, is Volume 24 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
The 3-inch/23-caliber gun was the standard anti-aircraft gun for United States destroyers through World War I and the 1920s. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 3 inches (76 mm) in diameter, and the barrel was 23 calibers long
The Matsushima class was a class of protected cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), with three ships named after the three most famous scenic spots in Japan. The Matsushima class was a highly unorthodox design among cruisers of the 1890s, as each ship had a primary armament of a single massive 320 millimetres (13 in) Canet gun, resulting in a monitor-like appearance.
The 1.59-inch breech-loading Vickers Q.F. gun, Mk II was a British light artillery piece designed during World War I. Originally intended for use in trench warfare, it was instead tested for air-to-air and air-to-ground use by aircraft. Although it fired shells and had no capability to launch rockets, it was widely but misleadingly known as the "Vickers-Crayford rocket gun."
Vitse-admiral Popov was a monitor built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1870s. It was one of the most unusual warships ever constructed, and still survives in popular naval lore as one of the worst warships ever built. The hull was circular to reduce draught while allowing the ship to carry much more armour and a heavier armament than other ships of the same size. Vitse-admiral Popov played a minor role in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 and was reclassified as a coast-defence ironclad in 1892. The ship was decommissioned in 1903 and sold for scrap in 1911.
