A project to replicate a full-sized Zero class airship control car, the first to be built in 100 years.
with the encouragement and support of the Airship Heritage Trust, we have launched a final appeal to raise the funds to complete program 4 of Project Zero.
What is Project Zero?
Project Zero has been researching the role and development of airships during the First World War as a centenary commemoration of the conflict around the coasts of Wales. Its aim is to tell the remarkable story of the men and women who designed, built and served with the little-known fleet of airships, known as Blimps or Dirigibles to combat the U-boat threat to our shipping from 1914-1918.
It has been initiated and led by 'History Matters' a not for profit community heritage organisation and the research funded by a grant from HLF Wales. A part-time project officer (Gary Ball) has been leading a small group of volunteers from across the globe in this task.
The story of the Zero airship first presented itself with the discovery of this photograph of SSZ 31 flying under the Menai bridge near Anglesey on November 14th 1918 to celebrate the Armistice. By 2014 it had become the initiator for our WW1 centenary project, partnered with the Imperial War Museum and the Living Legacies engagement centres.
Our research began in November 2016 to determine if there was surviving evidence and details to build a faithful full sized and detailed replica of a Submarine Scout Zero class airship control car. Not just a museum exhibit but a prop for a hands-on and interactive display, to engage the old and young alike and create a unique living history experience to initiate the discovery and learning of this remarkable yet forgotten chapter in the history of conflict and technology. 
The resources for this replica have been drawn from the few remaining plans and drawings, preserved in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington at the National Aerospace museum, supplied to the project by the RAF Museum, Cosford, Staffordshire; alongside a number of photographs of the only surviving example held in the reserve collection of the French aerospace museum, again kindly supplied by RAF Cosford.
How much do we need to raise?
We are asking for pledges to meet the target of £14,000
All of the funds will be used to pay for the cost of the replica and the rewards we have offered.
How do I pledge my support?
You will be asked to honour your pledge once the target has been reached at the end of the appeal on January 19th 2019. Payments will be made directly to the account held by our organisation 'History Matters'.
What will your contribution fund?
You will be contributing to the existing budget we have been granted by the Heritage Lottery Fund (40% of the project costs) to make this happen.
The crowdfunding will allow our team of heritage specialists and volunteers to build a full-sized Zero class control car that is as accurate as possible and will be the centrepiece of our national tour of the pop-up museum. This display will feature the airship gondola were visitors can climb aboard and experience first hand the sights and sounds of a bygone age of aerial warfare, alongside a crew of Living History interpreters wearing authentic RNAS flying uniforms, with the equipment that will include working wireless to teach the history of signalling and radio.
Some of the funding will pay for the specialist elements of the build from heritage craftspeople we have engaged, such as the 3 cane aircraft seats to be commissioned from Tim Palmer (http://www.timpalmerbasketmaker.co.uk/) and the (inert) Lewis machine gun from a specialist prop maker. A specialist heritage smith and engineer Rowan Taylor will oversee the fabrication of the metal components.
Workshop costs, transport and storage have all been included in our budget for the recreation of a unique display to enable us to educate and enthral visitors of all ages.
Why Crowdfunding?
During the Great War the British government issues war bonds to help raise the cost of building the new technology required in the first mechanised war, such as aircraft and the newly developed tanks.
Airships were employed in this task, dropping thousands of circulars onto central London to encourage the public to support the cost of the war.
Rewards for your support
We appreciate your support and the fact that many backers will be airship heritage and vintage aviation enthusiasts, so have created some unique rewards such as limited edition 'sweetheart' badges of a Zero airship and also replica RNAS cloth badges,(observer, engineer, pilot) perfect gifts! You can even have a full sized print of the 1917 plans, these 1/8th scale blueprints will have your name added to it as a unique reward for helping us to make this happen.
£10 or more
£10 Reward
Your name will appear online in the list of supporters and will also appear in the publication 'Airships Over Wales' that details the results of our project and documents the building of the replica.
£20 or more
£20 Reward
A unique full colour clothe badge of a Zero class airship, as seen in the project's logo, specially commissioned and designed and only available as a reward from our project. Your name will also appear on the list of supporters in the book.
£75 or more
£75 Reward
Choose one of three available reproduction cloth badge as issued to the crew of airships serving with the RNAS during the Great War. All rewards from previous tiers will also be gifted to supporters at this level. See the video for samples of these unique reproductions of the Pilot, Wireless Operator and Flight Engineers insignia.
£100 or more
£100 Reward
A unique, handcrafted and hand cast white metal badge, specially designed for the project, showing a Zero blimp over the Welsh coast. Designed to imitate the 'sweat heart' badges of the period, and sent regular personal updates via videos and photographs of the progress plus all of the previous tiers rewards.
£200 or more
£200 Reward
Alongside all of the previous rewards, you will receive a unique print of the original 1917 plans for the control car, with your own name inserted into the 'issued to' box. These 1/8 scale blueprints were found in the Smithsonian museum as part of our research.
£250 or more
£250 Reward
All of the above and a personal invitation to attend the launch event where the finished control car will be presented to other supporters, our project partners and the media. Be one of the first to sit in this unique replica, the first chance to do so for nearly 100 years!
£500 or more
£500 Reward
Your name will appear on a plaque inside the replica control car and you have the option to feature in a supporters interview to appear in the book, explaining your interest and why you supported this project. You will also receive all previous tiers of rewards for your pledge.
£1,000 or more
£1000 Reward
As well as being invited to the launch event, having your name inscribed on a plaque inside the replica and the other gifts you will be invited to exclusive previews of the build and sent regular personal updates via videos and photographs of the progress as it happens on a weekly basis. Be one of the very first to see and experience this unique replica before it leaves the workshop.
Supporters will be updated on the build progress, broadcast direct from the workshop via Facebook Live to a 'secret supporters group' as the replica progresses. There will also be a professional video documenting the build, to be exclusively premiered to our backers and a written and photographic account in the project's forthcoming publication 'Project Zero 100: Experimental airship archaeology' (to be published Spring 2019), with copies available for our higher tier backers.
Please help us tell this story, lest we forget.
There is a final opportunity to create a lasting legacy that is visual and has an impact to create new knowledge through experiences, a 'pop-up museum' exhibit manned by costumed interpreters, to tell the story first hand and continue to offer learning opportunities to the next generation, to ensure the story is never forgotten.
Stretch goals
Design and build a touring exhibition space for the car that includes a section of the envelope, rigging and a covered shelter to enable the display to be set up outside in the open air This would give an impression of how large the dirigible's envelope actually was (143 feet in real life!)
We would also replicate a working WW1 wireless set for transmitting Morse code to and from the control car for youngsters to learn about the history of 'wireless' and early communications.
A replica of the envelope control fin would also be built, to give another impression of the scale of the airship, along with a silhouette of the blimp's envelope that can be unrolled on the ground, again at full size.
Legacy
The replica, SSZ100 will tour the UK and feature as a living history display at Heritage events, museums and airfields for visitors to explore and learn about 'Airships over Wales'. Supporters will be notified of opportunities to see the replica for themselves.
The workshop will be used by History Matters volunteers for maintenance of the replica and it will enable us to pursue other early aviation projects in the future.
A blog with the background of such a project can be found at www.codygliderkite.blogspot.co.uk The workshop will allow us to build a 1/3 rd scale version of Cody's man carrying glider kite from 1905. But that's another story!
