On this day in 1931 Wilfrid V. N. Powelson and Warren Travel were granted the patent for MEANS FOR MOORING AND HOUSING AIRSHIPS. U.S. Patent No. 1,823,063.
According to present practice, airships are housed in large buildings, called hangars, erected above the surface of the ground. Airships are moved into and out of these hangars by hand, through large doorways or openings the ends, requiring a very large number of men for the larger airships. Accidents to airships in entering and leaving these hangars are not infrequent, due to the inability of human hands to hold the airships securely in position, by reason of the very great forces that are frequently applied to the surface of the airship by the wind. All hangars at present in use have a very large cubic capacity as compared with the cubic capacity of the airship; also hangars built to accommodate an airship of a given size may not be increased to accommodate a larger airship without practically destroying the building.
It is the object of this invention to provide housing facilities which are free from the above mentioned defects. The inventors propose to construct an airship shelter preferably either wholly or partly under ground, conforming to the shape of the airship, and providing opportunities for inspection and repair that are not available in any type of hangar now known to the art, into and from which the airship is moved vertically under mechanical control, with freedom from the dangers heretofore incident to entrance and exit.
