The Coming Airship

Extract

The subject of my paper is the airship of to-morrow, and if I look at it rather from the point of view of military requirements, you must bear in mind that it is these requirements which have made it what it is. Commercial needs and even Naval needs have played a very small part hitherto in its development, though they may be expected to exert considerable influence on its progress in future.

Looking back over the past few years, we find an extraordinary prejudice against airships in this country, fostered in the most amazing manner by the Press, both lay and technical. This did not begin to dissipate until the autumn of 1912, just over a year ago.

As late as October, 1912, the “Times” wrote a leading article on the folly of spending money on airships, taking as its text the accident to “Gamma” after the manœuvres of that year.