Barnes Wallis created the frame of the airship using only 11 standard components. The 16 longitudinal girders were formed of three tubes each, formed from strips of Duralumin wound into a helix and riveted together. These connected 15 polygonal transverse frames, which were held in shape by wire bracing connected to a central longitudinal girder running the length of the ship. A further consequence of the new rules for airframe stress design was that a new way of harnessing the lifting force of the gasbags had to be found. Wallis's solution to this problem later led to his innovative geodesic airframe fuselage and wing design for the Wellesley, Wellington and Windsor bombers.