Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

At 11 a.m. on December 26, 1878, the airship made a secret landing on the outskirts of Broken Hill in western New South Wales, Australia.

A huge airship landed slowly, and William IV walked out with Chief of General Staff Mark Rudd (66 years old) and others.

Afterwards, the two drove towards Broken Hill in the west in a latest version of a Dai-Lehm car.

Dalem, who had two Dutch tricolor flags pinned to the left and right sides of the front of the car, drove slowly. Since it only had a windshield but no roof at this time, it was an open-top car. The gentle breeze was blowing the wheat and branches on both sides of the road. sway.

Next to the Dai-Lem, there were more than 10 Mercedes-Benz escorts on both sides. After that, 20 motorcycles, ten at the front and ten at the front, drove up to the rear.

As such large convoys travel along the roads of Credentials, they attract the attention of passers-by, and with this attention, the city of Broken Hill draws ever closer to the urban area.

In Dalem in the middle, William IV was leaning on the soft seat in the back row. The captain of the guard and bodyguard Trueman next to him cleverly took out a box of wake-up call and handed it to him.

William IV unceremoniously stuffed a piece of it into his mouth and started chewing it.

"It tastes good. This mung bean cake is indeed a famous flavor spread from the Far Eastern countries to Southeast Asia."

William IV just arrived at Broken Hill Airship Station in western New South Wales, Australia, after taking an airship from Melbourne the day before yesterday and stopping at many stops along the way.

William IV went to Broken Hill, the most important airship test base in the Netherlands, which is currently the largest airship base in the Netherlands, to prepare for an airship show.

Although the Netherlands has been very calm during this period and does not seem to be affected by the situation in South America, it is uncertain in the future. If someone knocks on the door one day, it will not be good.

Therefore, during this period, the Netherlands has prepared all its sea, land and air in place as a precautionary measure.

The motorcade leisurely arrived in front of the Dutch Royal Palace in Melbourne. William IV walked off the Dai-Le-M, casually glanced at the quiet street, and walked into the palace.

As soon as I stepped in, I was greeted by Air Force Minister Leon Booker (former Vice Minister of the Navy and Governor-General of the Netherlands in Africa) and his party who had been waiting here for a long time.

"Meet Your Majesty"

William IV nodded, walked inside, and asked: "How are the development plans for airships recently?"

Leon Booker followed him and said: "Currently, we have 100 airships in active service in the Netherlands."

William IV paused for a moment, then raised his feet and started walking again and asked: "Tell me about it?"

Leon Booker took the trouble to say: "It is 51 meters long, with a maximum diameter of 9 at the front. It is powered by the electric motor of the battery palace. Accompanied by observers from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, we have successfully unmoored and tried many times. The current flight altitude is 100 meters high. Drop the cable and pull it down from the ground."

William IV stopped when he heard this and asked: "Such equipment is very heavy and difficult to descend. It is precisely because of this that I dare not let the airship go to the battlefield. Your first-generation airship has too many flaws. , I am not brave enough to use it on the battlefield. I heard that I have made great progress this time, let me tell you about it."

Leon Booker suddenly looked embarrassed when he heard this, but he quickly adjusted his mood and said: "Our new airship has really made great progress this time. Its biggest feature is that it is the first in the world to use a hard frame. , the skeleton is composed of an abdominal longitudinal beam and 24 long poles and an i16ge frame, and uses a large number of longitudinal and transverse wires to enhance the structural strength."

Seeing that William IV was listening very seriously, he said more earnestly: "The airship structure is covered with a tarpaulin skin, and there are 17 airbags inside the hull."

William IV suddenly asked: "What is the volume? What is the buoyancy?"

Leon Booker asked: "The total volume of 1 is 20,000 cubic meters, and the total buoyancy reaches 213 tons."

He smiled and said with some pride: "It is 5 to 6 times larger than the previous blimps. Moreover, because the multiple airbags can also function as water-proof compartments on ships at sea, the safety of flight is greatly improved."

William IV: "13 tons, based on a weight of 70 kilograms, which means it can only hold less than 20 people. If weapons are included, it is even less. But at this level, it is not bad, and it can be considered an upgrade. "

He asked: "By the way, I heard that the designer of this airship is from Germany."

Leon, Booker nodded: "Yes, he was originally a noble from the Principality of Baden-Württemberg, but his family was dissatisfied with the rule of Berlin, so they began to immigrate to Amsterdam in 1866, and then in 1870. Seeing that we moved the capital to Australia, he also came to Australia. Later, he saw that the Dutch United Industries Group created an airship company. He happened to like to play this when he was in the Principality of Baden, so he successfully applied for the job and is currently the company's chief airship designer. Master, in order to stabilize him, United Industrial Group called this company Zeppelin Company."

William IV asked tentatively: "What is his name?"

Leon Booker undoubtedly has his own way: "Ferdinand von Zeppelin"

William IV was shocked. He never thought that this famous airship legend would come to the Netherlands and become a major driving force in the rise of Dutch airships.

On December 28, 1878, Zeppelin, who immigrated to the Australian mainland of the Netherlands, helped the Dutch United Industries Company to design and build the first second-generation airship that made its first flight near Brooken Hill. The airship was wrapped with a metal wire. The aluminum shell is wrapped in cotton with 16 hydrogen bladders. The two 16-horsepower engines allow the airship to reach a speed of 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers per hour). It has good flight performance and a large load capacity.

The Zeppelin Airship Company, a subsidiary of the Dutch United Industries Corporation, was highly praised after King William IV inspected and watched the test flight, and directly agreed to the military's request and placed an order for 50 airships of this type. The peer also placed an order with the Ministry of Transport. 20 commercial orders.

William IV naturally had reasons to be happy, because according to history, the Zeppelin airship was supposed to have appeared in Germany around 1900, but now it was here in the Netherlands and Australia nearly twenty years earlier. They were used in World War I China once showed great power. After the outbreak of the First World War, the German Army and Navy established their own airship units. Both the German Navy and Air Force airships began to carry out bombing missions in Britain after the war, which played a very important role. Good effect.

Who said the king was idle? William IV was going to kill someone. He had just accepted the Zeppelin at Broken Hill, the Air Force headquarters in western New South Wales, and he followed him to Sydney to take part in the electric light invented by Edison. No way, this is a grand press conference of the East India Company supported by the Christian Party. Edison also invented the power plant to generate electricity. It can be said that this will be recorded in the history of global science and technology. Naturally, I, William IV, will not let it go. I am no longer a bystander.