1-344-019 - Art Media/Heritage Images

The airship of Pierre and Paul Lebaudy, France, 1903. The Lebaudy Brothers' airship was an attempt by French designers to counter the achievements of Germany, where Count Zeppelin had made tentative flights with his first dirigible in 1900. It was 183 feet long, held 80,000 cubic feet of gas, and was powered by a 40hp Daimler engine. On 12 November 1904 it succeeded in covering 38 miles from Moisson to the Champ de Mars in Paris in one hour and 41 minutes. Front cover from the magazine 'La Vie au Grand Air', 19 November 1903.