The Lebaudy République (later known as La République) was a semi-rigid airship built for the French army in Moisson, France, by sugar manufacturers Lebaudy Frères. She was a sister ship of the Patrie, the main differences between the two being in the dimensions of the gasbag (or 'envelope') and the ballonet. Although she was operationally successful, the République crashed in 1909 due to a mechanical failure, killing all four crew members. Background The République's predecessor, the Lebaudy Patrie, had been so successful that three further airships of the same design were ordered by the French government in March 1907. Two of them saw service under the names République and Liberté. The République was completed in June 1908, flew for the first time June 24 and was handed over to the French army on 31 July of that year. Other governments had been equally impressed, and the Russian and Austrian armies each ordered an airship of the same design. The Russie saw service in Russia as the Lebed, and the Autrichienne (built under license in Vienna by the Motor-Luftfahrzeug Gesellschaft) was operated by the Austrian army under the designation M.II. Design and development The main structural components of the République, like those of the Patrie, were the gasbag, a nickel-steel frame or keel, and a gondola suspended from the frame on steel cables. Contained within the envelope was a ballonet, the function of which was to ensure that sufficient gas pressure was maintained in the envelope at all times, irrespective of the degree of expansion or contraction of the lifting gas. These components were essentially the same as for the Patrie, the only differences initially being in the dimensions of the envelope and the ballonet, which are given in the Specifications section below. The modular structure enabled the envelope volume to be varied without affecting the keel or the gondola. For a more detailed description, see Lebaudy Patrie. Operational history First flight The République's first flight took place at the Lebaudy base at Moisson on 24 June 1908. She was flown to Chalais-Meudon to take up her military duties on 31 July 1908. Military operations During the autumn of 1908 and the spring and summer of 1909, the République was engaged in two campaigns of peacetime military operations from her base at the French airship headquarters at Chalais-Meudon, the objectives of which were to train the pilots and the support team