Visitors from abroad By donaguirre Watch

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The NHI-22/NHI-22bis (Nikkokan Heavy Industries Airship No.22/22 improved) became a common military and civilian transport airship in the early 1930s, when the Imperial Nikkokan Air Force had started an ambitious program to push the nations lighter than air technology to higher standards, following the spirit of the "Tokimeku" era. NH-22 vessels served as military transporters, tanker vessels and dropships for airborne operations in the Nikkokan (Paxific) Ocean theatre. The modern duraluminium airframe, developed by the Imperial Institute of Applied Arithmetics (IINAA) turned out to make the NH-22 highly manoeuvrable and fast, due to a consequent philosophy of leightweight construction. To improve aerodynamics and top speed, the four licence built Kyffhaeuser engines, developed by the teutonian Mayberg company, had been integrated into the ships' hull and drove the propellers through external driveshafts. Especially early NHI-22 models suffered from frequent overheating of the driveshafts' bearing shells, though, and soon were nicknamed "The Emperors comets" by nikkokan airmen. Also, compared to their western counterparts, they seemed to have traded off structural stability for performance.





NHI-22/NHI-22bis rigid airship

Overall length :418.27ft (127.49m)

Height (tail fin above ground): 74.86ft (22.82m)

Width : 72.53ft (22.11m)



Engines: four Mayberg "Kyffhaeuser" 12 cyl. in-line engines.



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Published : Jan 22, 2011