At the turn of the century, one of the major innovations was flying. Heavier than air got its start during this time, but lighter than air had been around for a bit. The military development of airships by Germany in particular, resulted in the efforts of France, Italy and Great Britain to develop their own. It is in Great Britain that very little was initially done. The British Army didn't think they were anything useful and while the Navy did, they didn't have the funding needed for development.

Hence, initial forays into airship building were the results of limited local ingenuity (much of us less than successful) and overseas purchases. None of these airships saw any sort of major service and in their short lives, were generally used for training and testing.

It was when the war began, or a bit before, that the strides made by Germany really hit home to the British and there was a need to start production. These early war airships were modest to say the least and their limited range made them useful only for local convoy patrols and some short range scouting. Even when rigid airship construction got underway, it didn't go that well until a shot down Zeppelin was available for some reverse engineering. As many countries using hydrogen for lift discovered, the greater lifting power of the gas was matched by the flammability of it and it was this feature, than in the late 1920s and into the 1930s doomed airship development in the UK for generations.

In this book on the subject, author Ian Castle looks at airships in general providing the three basic types, how the Army planned on using them, their shift to Naval control and how they functioned in the early war period. Then there is a look at the various wartime designs as well as the lone semi-rigid and fully rigid airships. This is followed by their wartime operations and a look at why they did not survive much more than a decade past the war.

The book is full of superb period photos and the superb artwork of illustrators Tony Bryan and Giuseppe Raval really help bring to light the fragility and the look of these airships. In all, it makes for another fascinating read and one that I know will draw you into it as it did I.

August 2009

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