RNAS Kingsnorth Coastal class airships

C-23A

The Coastal Class (often known as the C-Class or simply the 'Coastals') were a class of non-rigid airship or "blimp" used by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) during World War I. The C-class blimp operated by the United States Navy after the war was a completely unrelated design. In total 35 Coastals were built, all at RNAS Kingsnorth, Kent. Entering service in 1916, the Coastal class remained in widespread service until 1918, with a few members of the class still in service at the signing of the Armistice, while others were replaced by the improved C-Star class as they became unfit for service. The blimps were used for long anti-submarine patrols in the Western Approaches and English Channel, protecting convoys from German U-Boats. The Coastal class was one of the first aircraft types specifically designed to detect and attack submarines.^[1]

Gondola of the C-23A

On 11 December 1917 C-27 was shot down by Friedrich Christiansen flying a Hansa Brandenburg W-12. Operating from Zeebrugge.

General characteristics

• Crew: Five
• Length: 218 ft 0 in (59.76 m)
• Width: 39 ft 6 in (12.04 m)
• Height: 52 ft 0 in (15.85 m)
• Volume: 170,000 ft³ (4,800 m³)
• Useful lift: 3,580 lb (1,630 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Sunbeam engines, 150 hp (112 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 52 mph (84 km/h)
• Endurance: at full speed 11 hours, at half speed 22 hours
• Service ceiling: 8,000 ft (2,400 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s) 

Armament

• 2–6 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis machine guns
• 4 × 112 lb (50 kg) bombs or 2 × 230 lb (104 kg) bombs or depth charges

Literature :

German aircraft of the first world war page 70

https://www.airshipsonline.com/airships/coastal/index.html

https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=1132

wikipedia