Metal-Clad Rigid Airship Development

Extract

GENTLEMEN—My duty to-night is to introduce to you Mr Upson, who is GeneralManager of the Aircraft Development Corporation of Detroit He is a bird ofpassage this time in one respect, because he only has a very few days in London,and consequently we are all the more lucky and grateful to him that he has cometo us He is to tell us some of the new developments with regard to the airshipSome of us divide ourselves into two camps over aeroplanes and airships, but ifairships are a luxury to some countries, in my opinion they are a necessity toan Empire like our own, where long distances have got to be tackled and wherebig weights and large bales must be carried very long distances We have haddisasters in the past, we will have disasters probably in the future, but do notlet our faith in the big airship ever waver With America we have had a disasterin common, but in America they still have faith, they are going on developingand in our own country even with successive Governments we have not varied fromseeing the necessity of building airships for this country more than for anyother Consequently they go on, and soon we hope to see them in the air