> The deep-ring design also accommodated a Navy requirement that all areas of the structure be accessible during flight; the 8-foot deep rings were large enough for a man to climb their entire circumference.
How did this work? Weren't they meant to be sealed and filled with helium?
Even if you could open a hatch on the bottom without too much leakage, was the plan for mechanics to operate inside the envelope wearing some kind of breathing apparatus?
Rigid airships are not full of helium (or hydrogen). The outer skin is for aerodynamics, not to seal the gas.
Inside, they have a series of gas bags affixed to the rigid structure that can expand or contract according to the pressure at altitude. At full altitude, those gas bags would expand to their full size and take up most of the volume in the airship, but there was still a lot of space around them (and inside the trusses) for storage, maintenance access, walkways, and so on.
The helium was in bladders (big balloons) inside the structure and the outer skin covering. There were many bladders together inside the metal and the outer skin.
How did this work? Weren't they meant to be sealed and filled with helium?
Even if you could open a hatch on the bottom without too much leakage, was the plan for mechanics to operate inside the envelope wearing some kind of breathing apparatus?