British Army Dirigible No 1
British Army Dirigible No 1, christened Nulli Secundus was a semi-rigid airship. First flown on 10 September 1907, it was Britain's first powered military aircraft.
British Army Dirigible No 1
Nulli Secundus II being walked out of its shed
The Airship Nulli Secundus
A semi-rigid airship is an airship which has a stiff keel or truss supporting the main envelope along its length. The keel may be partially flexible or articulated and may be located inside or outside the main envelope. The outer shape of the airship is maintained by gas pressure, as with the non-rigid "blimp". Semi-rigid dirigibles were built in significant quantity from the late 19th century but in the late 1930s they fell out of favour along with rigid airships. No more were constructed until the semi-rigid design was revived by the Zeppelin NT in 1997.
Internal structure of semi-rigid airship
Italian explorer Umberto Nobile crossed the North Pole in his semi-rigid airship Norge in 1926.