Panhard e Mercedes

"... tutti i paesi e tutte le officine vi erano rappresentati, francesi, inglesi, tedeschi, belgi, ecc... dalle popolari e borghesi Dion Bouton alle aristocratiche Panhard e Mercedes." (pag. 201)

Panhard PL 17

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Roadster

Panhard is a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA (after the 1974 Peugeot Citroën merger), for 40 years.

The American Mercedes was made by Daimler Manufacturing Co. of Long Island City, New York, USA from 1904 to 1907. They were licensed copies of German Mercedes models. Some commercial vehicles, such as ambulances, were also made. The company was in direct competition with Mercedes Import Co. of New York, which handled the imported Mercedes for the entirety of the United States, at least in 1906.

The Hindenburg disaster

The Hindenburg disaster took place on Thursday, May 6, 1937, as the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, which is located adjacent to the borough of Lakehurst, New Jersey. Of the 97 people on board (36 passengers and 61 crewmen), there were 35 fatalities. There was also one death of a ground crewman.

The disaster was the subject of spectacular newsreel coverage, photographs, and Herbert Morrison's recorded radio eyewitness reports from the landing field, which were broadcast the next day. A variety of hypotheses have been put forward for both the cause of ignition and the initial fuel for the ensuing fire. The incident shattered public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigidairship and marked the end of the airship era.

Per un maggiore approfondimento: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenburg_disaster
Per leggere l'articolo in italiano: traduzione eng-ita.

Hindenburg disaster

Montgolfiere Balloon.

"<<C'è un pallone in cielo? Ah sì! Ancora dei matti che vogliono fracassarsi il collo! Ma non ne hanno mai abbastanza? Dopo i rompicolli che andavano a cento all'ora, vi sono adesso gli sportsmen dell'aeronautica? E' cambiata la moda! Benissimo, così si romperanno la testa più presto>>." (pag. 135)

I fratelli Montgolfier (Montgolfier brothers)

The Montgolfier brothers, born in Annonay, France, were the inventors of the first practical balloon. The first demonstrated flight of a hot air balloon took place on June 4, 1783, in Annonay, France.


Montgolfiere Balloon

Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier, paper mill owners, were trying to float bags made of paper and fabric. When the brothers held a flame near the opening at the bottom, the bag (called a balon) expanded with hot air and floated upward. The Montgolfier brothers built a larger paper-lined silk balloon and demonstrated it on June 4, 1783, in the marketplace at Annonay. Their balloon (called a Montgolfiere) lifted 6,562 feet into the air.


First Passengers

On September 19, 1783, in Versailles, a Montgolfiere hot air balloon carrying a sheep, a rooster, and a duck flew for eight minutes in front of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the French court.


First Manned Flight

On October 15, 1783, Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes were the first human passengers on a Montgolfiere balloon. The balloon was in free flight, meaning it was not tethered.
On January 19, 1784, a huge Montgolfiere hot air balloon carried seven passengers to a height of 3,000 feet over the city of Lyons.


Montgolfier Gas

At the time, the Montgolfiers believed they had discovered a new gas (they called Montgolfier gas) that was lighter than air and caused the inflated balloons to rise. In fact, the gas was merely air, which became more buoyant as it was heated.

Tratto da:("History of Airships and Balloons")

Per la traduzione in italiano clicca qui.

Pour la traduction française s'il vous plaît cliquez ici.

Invicta: the first locomotive.

"Oh! Io ricordo la profonda commozione che mi turbò quando all'Esposizione di Parigi del 1900 i miei occhi si affissarono reverenti ed estatici sull'Invicta, la prima locomotiva dello Stephenson, il greve carro di ferro dal ventre di fuoco..." (pag. 31)

"...sia alla composizione meccanica dell'Invicta di Stephenson, al pari delle forze dell'universo che si compendiano ora nella quercia solenne, ora nella volubile e policroma farfalla." (pag. 125)

Invicta

In questo breve video possiamo osservare il funzionamento di alcuni modellini con le stesse caratteristiche dell'Invicta di Stephenson.

Invicta is an early steam locomotive built by Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1829. She was the twentieth locomotive built by Stephenson, being built immediately after Rocket.

Invicta was built for £635 to work on the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway.