The Zeppelin Airship in War and Peace

When one hears the term airship, two images typically are conjured up: The German "Zeppelin" Airship which attacked England so mercilessly in bombing raids during World War I and the incredible explosion on the American shores of the Hindenburg in 1937 (Walker, 1973). Although the Zeppelin is the best known of these airships, it is merely one part of a larger definitional class called "aerostats" which includes balloons, blimps, dirigibles, airships of both rigid and non-rigid construction (Walters, 1979, 92).

This analysis will trace the invention and design of the Zeppelin airship by dealing in turn with the following: definitions, history, design strengths and flaws, military uses, peacetime uses, future uses, and conclusions.

An "aerostat" is any lighter-than-air craft and consists of three basic elements: (a) a balloon-shaped bag (round, oval or cylindrical) made of natural cloth or lightweight metallic cloth, (b) a gondola, or cabin, connected to the balloon for the purpose of carrying people or equipment, and (c) some system of steering (Lahm, 1911). The balloon is filled with any one of a number of gaseous substances (hot air, helium, hydrogen) and when a certain volume is reached, the balloon lifts the gondola off the ground (Lahm, 1911; Sinclair, 1934, 22-44).

Many people confuse hot air balloons as being part of the air ship category. They are not. What separates the ball

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ith phosphorous that would blow up the hydrogen in the balloon (Robinson, 1966). Two types of these bullets, the Pomeroy and the Brock exploded on impact while a third, the Buckingham, was a phosphorus incendiary bullet. When these three types of bullets were fired at Zeppelins, the Pomeroy and Brock models blew holes in the Zep's gas shells, letting it escape. The hydrogen then mixed with the oxygen and became a highly volatile mixture that the Buckingham then ignited. This combination of bullets has been called by many "Britain's wonder weapon against airships" (Stroud, 1962, 113). The Germans tried to counter this assault of high-tech bullets by making higher-flying, lighter "Height Climbers." The idea was that if a Zeppelin could fly high enough, it would exceed the operational limits of British aircraft at the time. A second route taken by the Germans was to paint the undersides of the Zeppelins black, making them less likely to be spotted in the night sky (Robinson, 1966). These were both valid ideas, but by then, the Zeppelin's days as a war weapon were effectively over. However, during the War, the Zeppelins did log an amazing 100 hours of bombing raids on England (Stroud, 1962). Peacetime Uses Following World W
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Definition Aerostats, France Japan, Strengths Flaws, Zeppelin Appendix, Atlantic Ocean, World War, War II, French Air, Graf Zeppelin, Jersey East, air ship, world war, nitske 1977, robinson 1966, stroud 1962, sinclair 1934, air ships, zeppelin company, von zeppelin, graf zeppelin, cylindrical shape aerodynamic, world war ii, skeletal structure modular, design strengths flaws, shape aerodynamic spherical,
Approximate Word count = 3175
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)