Airship Number PLIV (PL16)

This is a non-rigid airship: it has no skeleton, and the overall shape of the craft is maintained by a single main hydrogen cell that contains two ballonets of air.  Transferring air between the two ballonets changed the ship's attitude.  Several manufacturers in Germany and in other countries had similar designs.

The first Parseval craft delivered to the German Navy for the war effort is the PL-16, overall dimensions: Length – 92.0 meters; diameter – 15 meters; cubic meters of hydrogen.

Much smaller than the Zeppelin or Shütte-Lanz, these craft were limited in payload, range, and altitude and were usually restricted to reconnaissance/scouting missions.  They did carry a machine gun, radio, and from time to time bombs.

The craft is steered by the vertical rudder below the ship and is propelled by a single engine and propeller in the gondola below the airship.  Vertical control was aided by horizontal stabilizers attached to the outer fabric covering.  Lacking a keel, the weight of the airship and payload are carried through vertical lines attached to the mid-section of the fabric covering.