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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0263.PDF
By R. P. The Airship Lake. I WONDER when we shall have our Airship Lake, bordered by laboratories and factories, and with the secluded and sheltered waterway as testing place for our ships of the air? It looks a far-off affair, and yet it must come. After this war we shall have to meet Ger man competition and German preparation again in some form or other, and it is only by our scientific and technical progress that we can keep prepared. After one sound beating Germany will be cautious about tackling us again, provided that 7ve maintain strength and prepared ness. Grow slack, and she will plot again. It is certain that the great problem of aerial supremacy must be worked out on a grand scale in which no branch of aeronautics can be neglected. Hence, the airship in every practical form will call for much attention. Once this is recognised—and we only require a broad-minded Air Ministry to discover it—we shall see a new industry- springing up for the manufacture of airships. The Airship Lake will then be a necessity. The value of Lake Constance to Count Zeppelin cannot be over-estimated. With his very first ship, launched sixteen years ago, he was able to score a success. If the vessel had been tried over land it would assuredly have been wrecked by collision with the earth before the early errors of design, &c, could have been corrected. But the lake surface provided a buffer and flotation medium which saved the ship from destruction. Incidentally it also suggested the idea of the naval Zeppelin in later years. Had Zeppelins not been built and tested over water we would probably have had no raids upon England in this war, nor would the German fleet have had the service of naval Zeppelins. The orthodox airship pilot fought shy of oversea work, mainly because his ship was evolved and tried out over land. When we have a well founded and well supported industry for building the necessary airships for the country's requirements we must of necessity have our Airship Lake, or other sheltered waterway. Then we can promise developments which will keep us level, or ahead of, all other rivals. Some people will ask if the result can be worth the cost. But in war one cannot strike a balance in that way. If the enemy has any weapon which enables him to hurt you, or which enables him to buoy up his own people with the idea that this weapon does hurt you, then it is most advisable that the advantage conferred by that weapon be neutralised. Zeppelin Fleet Growing Stronger. Many specialists have been called in to deal with the Zeppelin menace to England, and also with the Zeppelin advantage to the German navy for scouting purposes. Every remedy has been tried save the most logical one of meeting Zeppelin with Zeppelin. As matters stand now, the Zeppelin fleet resembles the British fleet in that both are stronger and better than at any other Period of the war. Just as the Germans have vainly nibbled at our fleet with submarines and mines, so we have nibbled at the Zeppelin fleet with gun defences and HEARNE. We must disregard the exist by the hundred, and out daily. But the fact fleet is steadily growing spasmodic aeroplane raids, silly rumours that Zeppelins that new ones are turned remains that the Zeppelin stronger. Annihilating the Airships. There is one little point which aeroplane enthusiasts overlook when they speak of annihilating the Zeppelins in their sheds. Where are these sheds? How many new sheds may not Germany have built since she shut out or shut up foreigners in 1914 ? Indeed, many of the pre-war Zeppelin harbours were so deep in the heart of Germany that they are unreachable by military aeroplanes in war trim. And what daring air raider will seek to destroy the subterranean Zeppelin sheds on Heligoland ? By all means let us try mightily to destroy the Zeppelin bases which come within reach, especially those tem porary harbours in Belgium, but do not let us raise false hopes that all Germany can be scoured by our aeroplanes and every Zeppelin eliminated by that means. It would be another story if we had super-Zeppelins of our own, which at once could cruise along our coast and destroy any raiders by superior gun power and superior speed. Should We Call Them Zeppelins ? By the by, I sometimes take myself to task for calling rigid airships " Zeppelins," and so leading on to the phrase " super-Zeppelin." But what is one to do ? The public will have no other word. In the early stages of the war the descriptive reporters used to call aeroplanes Zeppelins. If Germany had not broken the peace Count Zeppelin would one day have come to be universally honoured as the originator of the rigid airship. And although he has turned out to be a nasty and murderous kind of old thug, we cannot dissociate his name from a great invention which he has used to base ends. However, let us -get our super-Zeppelins, and make his ships a back number. No Improvement! A rather mischievous statement has appeared in the Observer, to the effect that Zeppelins to-day can do no more than was feasible for them eighteen months ago. This is as foolish as to say that the military aeroplanes of August, 1914, were as good as the latest machines. No one in this country can tell what improvements the Zeppelin engineers have made during the war period, nor can any one declare that they have stood still. Not even our authorities have sufficient comparative data to go upon. But we know that war is a tremendous stimulant to the improvement of war material. We know also that aerial motors have developed very rapidly under this stimulus, and we can only conclude that if Zeppelins get the improved engines of to-day they must have greater power, greater speed, more reliability and a wider range of action. The engine is the very heart of every aerial vehicle, and engine improvement confers new powers on the vessel. It also leads to further improvement in the vessel itself. Thus to circulate the idea that Germany is not making 263
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