Karachi’s Airship Hangar

[ghazi52]

Karachi’s Airship Hangar


If this generation doesn’t then I am sure a generation before ours definitely remembers this famous landmark of Pakistan which was called kala chapra (the black hangar).



This hangar was part of a 3-structure complex to house R101 and R102 type airships. The other two structures included a tall mooring mast to dock the airship and in the base of the mast was a hydrogen plant to refuel the airship.

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The base of the mast contained buildings followed along the baseline in an octagonal shape. The hydrogen plant had enough gasometers to completely fill the R101 airship with 5.5 million cubic ft of gas.

The photo to the right shows the airship mooring mast at Karachi along with the octagonal base building which also housed the hydrogen plant for airships.

The construction on this hangar complex started in 1927 and complete in 1929. The size of this hangar was 859ft L x 200ft W x 170ft H. In 1920s Karachi airport area was nothing but a desolate desert. In contrast to that landscape this hangar appeared as such a visual magnanimity that for many years it was used as a visual marker for airplanes attempting VFR (visual) landing in Karachi. Due to the enormosity of this structure to its surroundings, local residents of Karachi started calling this hangar as kala chapra (black hangar) – The word ‘chapra’ (or ‘chappar’) has almost become archaic in Urdu used in Pakistan these days. It means a ‘shed’. Many current residents of the city who have seen this structure still recall it by its local name ‘kala chapra.’




The cost of building this hangar complex in 1928 came out to be 93000 British pounds.

Following photo is courtesy of PakistaniAviation.com. It is circa 1941 and credited to Brian Knight.

So why was this hangar and the adjoining mooring mast complex built in Karachi? It was part of a airship communication scheme of British Government in 1924 to connect far fetched areas of British Empire with a airship service. Big airplanes were not available then and those which were available were noisy, uncomfortable and not suited for long distance travel. The mode of transport which seemed to have best chance then were the airships. These offered quiet and comfortable journey for passengers and could lift heavy cargo too. The Imperial Airship Communications Scheme was thus developed to provide mail and passenger service from Canada at one end of British Empire to Cardington, Englad to Egypt in Africa to Karachi in then India. Another leg was proposed to connect India with Australia later on.

The home base of R101 airships was in Cardington, Bredfordshire England. The mooring mast at Karachi was exactly the same size and style as the one at Cardington (shown below) except for the octagonal building at the base of Karachi mast.



A 777ft long airship called R101 was developed for this service in1927. The width of R101 airship was 131ft and height was 140ft. Airship mooring masts were erected at St Hubert in Canada, at Ismailia in Egypt and at Karachi which was selected as the terminus in then British India.

The length of the hangar in Karachi was kept 859ft so that it could fit the future R102 model of airships which was going to have a length of822ft. The hangar however never got chance to host either R101 orR102 airships.

On October 4, 1930 the R101 flew from Cardington, England on its way to Karachi but on its maiden flight it crashed in France. This crash essentially put an end to R101 type airships and Imperial Airship Communication scheme of the British Government. Eventhough the airship program got cancelled, the hangar and mast complex survived for 30 more years.

Following photo is dated May 19, 1949. It is referenced from here. It shows a portion of black hangar and one can also appreciate the size of this structure in this photo

In 1952, the Government of Pakistan decided to bring down the complex and sell the metal structure for scrap. The structure managed to survive till 1960 when it was finally brought down and steel was sold or used on Railway structures and bridges across Pakistan. This brought an end to the lifecycle of this unique piece of civil engineering in Pakistan.

Location of Black Hangar versus Isphahani Hangar?

One thing I am not sure myself yet is whether the present day wide-body Isphahani Hangar of PIA is located at exactly the same place where once this Black Hangar stood or is it in a different location. I know for sure the general vicinity of both hangars is Karachi Airport but don’t know if they shared the exact same spot. Our readers comments and citations are sought here. I’ll make the update once we confirm it either way.

Trivia:

Karachi Airport has a railway station on Pakistan’s Main Railway track. The station today is simply called ‘Airport’. But for few years in the 1920s before Karachi airport was built, this railway station was called ‘Airship’.

Following photo of kala chapra is from the later days when Karachi Airport had been built and operational. Karachi airport’s runway is visibile in this photo. This photo too is courtesy ofPakistaniAviation.com. It is circa 1941 and credited to Brian Knight.

 

[ghazi52]

Mooring Mast at Karachi for R101 Airship 1930's.................

 

[war&peace]

I wish the airships can make a return, redesigned with modern technology and safety standards. The best thing about airship is that it allows for enjoying the landscape and great for ariel photography.

 

[SQ8]

The story of both the R-101 and the sister ship R-100 are a delight to read.
The R-101 was a government spending disaster while the R-100 was a private venture with its brilliant designer was a ship that outlasted the government white elephant.

 

[ghazi52]

The R101 disaster

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The plans for the R101 were laid down as far back as 1924 when the Imperial Airship Scheme was proposed. The requirements included that a ship was proposed to take some 200 troops for the military or 5 fighter craft as an aerial aircraft carrier. It was noted that a larger ship of some 8 million cubic feet would be required however for initial plans two prototype ships of 5 million cft be constructed. It was decided that to aid with the school of thought and new ideas, one ship was contracted out to a private company and the other to be built at the Royal Airship Works in Cardington. The first ship, the R100, was built by a subsidiary of Vickers, the Airship Guarantee Company, at the shed at Howden in Yorkshire.

The second prototype ship, the R101 again moved away from traditional lines of design. After some delays with the initial project, the scheme soon got underway when work on the ship began in 1926. The ship was to have many innovative design features and incorporating these within the ship was to cause some delay to the original completion date of 1927. However it must be remembered that this project was teh larges of it's kind ever undertaken in the world at that time. The largest ship which had been constructed at that time was the Graf Zeppelin, and that was based on the original design of the "LZ126" Los Angles, and a much smaller ship than was being constructed in Britain.

On completion in October 1929 the ship was the largest man made object ever to fly. Following her initial trials, it was discovered that the original disposable lift was not as high as had been anticipated, it was agreed that the ship would need more disposable lift if the ship was to be a commercial success. It was agreed to let out the bracing wires holding the gas cells and so the overall volume and lifting capacity could be increased.

After more trials, it was decided that more drastic action would be required to enhance the overall lift of the airship. During the winter of 1929 to 1930, the airship was brought in to the hangers and was then cut in half! This meant that an extra bay for another gas bag could be inserted and give more lift. This brought her volume up to a huge 5 and a half million cubic feet (see the R101c column in the statistics table).

On a visit to Cardington in the Graf Zeppelin, Hugo Eckener was given a tour of the new ship and agreed that the R101 was from a new breed of exceptional ship. There was confidence in this new prototype which would lead to bigger ships, as planned in the R102 and R103.

Statistics:​ R101 (a) R101 (b) R101 (c) Length 735ft 735ft 777ft Diameter 131.3ft 131.3ft 131.3ft Speed 61.5mph 61.5mph 71mph Volume 4, 893, 740cft 4, 998, 501cft 5, 509, 753cft

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In 1930 a passenger was so confident in the proposed service that he had sent the Royal Airship Works £20,000 for one airship passage to New York in 1931. It was thought that the two ships could earn useful revenue over 1931-1932 with commercial operations.

Even though the R101 was often quoted as seen as flying too low compared to the earlier Zeppelins which had reached some 20,000 during the war, is was advised that all commercial (non military airships) had to fly long range and to do this had to at a low level. Hence the ships were designed to do this. The best economical results were if a ship could maintain a height of 1,500ft. This was not only financially advantageous but would also "afford splendid views of the ground and sea". The Zeppelin Company had to adopt this policy with the LZ129 - Hindenburg, which would keep between 1,500 to 4,000 ft.