Page xiv (blank on the first edition), printed as a footnote to the Introduction on the second edition. "Since the first edition went to press two more Zeppelin raids were made on England..."

On 2 July 1900 the people of Friedrichshafen, Germany, witnessed a momentous occasion the first flight of LZ 1, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin's first airship. Although deemed a failure, a succession of better craft (LZ2 to 10) enabled the Zeppelin to expand into the consumer market of airship travel, whilst also providing military craft for the German Army and Navy. The years of the Great War saw the Zeppelins undertake strategic bombing missions against Great Britain. This title covers the post-war fate of the Zeppelins, including the crash of the Hindenburg, and their use by the Luftwaffe at the beginning of World War II.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 edition. Excerpt: ... chapter vi the zeppelin in warfare germany has taught us the abuse of the Zeppelin in warfare, and we can trace in it the same evil-directing spirit which has befouled the name of the German sailor and soldier. In the science and technique of war and war preparation the Germans had gained a triumph, which would be admirable if we can admire any part of this man-killing business. But in perfecting her military machine Germany destroyed her civilisation, and with it went many precious qualities incomparably better than military triumph. Germany could have achieved even greater results in the military as well as the political sense if she had not departed from the rules of warfare. The doctrine of frightfulness is a stupid creed when applied indiscriminately. It is on this doctrine that Germany misused her Zeppelins. Only a wooden-headed German militarist could believe that a great race like the French or the British could be stampeded into panic because some civilians were killed by submarines or airships. Quite possibly a small town or a little nation in the last extremity might be terrorised into submission by frightfulness directed against defenceless people. But to imagine that bombs on London, or even the destruction of London could terrify the British race is so absurd that it cannot be generally believed in Germany. We must seek in other directions for the motives of the German raids. In the previous chapter I have outlined the theory that the raids on England were dictated by the hysteric hatred which the Teuton gives way to under certain conditions. But there is also the grim prompting of ordered destruction. In the cold-blooded business of war you can weaken an enemy in numerous ways. There is the direct military injury of...

The 1930s was the period of extensive growth of military aviation throughout the world, including carrier-based aviation. The world's greatest navies began extensive efforts to produce aircraft carriers. The German Navy, rebuilding its potential after the First World War, also had the ambition to possess carriers. The first of them was the Graf Zeppelin, but it was never to enter service.

"Oh, the humanity!" Radio reporter Herbert Morrison's words on witnessing the destruction of the Hindenburg are etched in our collective memory. Yet, while the Hindenburg -- like the Titanic -- is a symbol of the technological hubris of a bygone era, we seem to have forgotten the lessons that can be learned from the infamous 1937 zeppelin disaster. Zeppelins were steerable balloons of highly flammable, explosive gas, but the sheer magic of seeing one of these behemoths afloat in the sky cast an irresistible spell over all those who saw them. In Monsters, Ed Regis explores the question of how a technology now so completely invalidated (and so fundamentally unsafe) ever managed to reach the high-risk level of development that it did. Through the story of the zeppelin's development, Regis examines the perils of what he calls "pathological technologies" -- inventions whose sizeable risks are routinely minimized as a result of their almost mystical allure. Such foolishness is not limited to the industrial age: newer examples of pathological technologies include the US government's planned use of hydrogen bombs for large-scale geoengineering projects; the phenomenally risky, expensive, and ultimately abandoned Superconducting Super Collider; and the exotic interstellar propulsion systems proposed for DARPA's present-day 100 Year Starship project. In case after case, the romantic appeal of foolishly ambitious technologies has blinded us to their shortcomings, dangers, and costs. Both a history of technological folly and a powerful cautionary tale for future technologies and other grandiose schemes, Monsters is essential reading for experts and citizens hoping to see new technologies through clear eyes.

The Robert Wichard Pohl letters, which are the basis of this book, have never before been translated or published. Pohl provides a rare personal account of life aboard a WWI airship This was the first flight to exceed 100 hours, and to prove that Zeppelins were, indeed, capable of flying across the Atlantic Ocean.

The first significant fresh reporting on the legendary band in twenty years, built on interviews with all surviving band members and revealing a never-before-seen side of the genius and debauchery that defined their heyday. Veteran rock journalist Mick Wall unflinchingly tells the story of the band that pushed the envelope on both creativity and excess, even by rock ‘n' roll standards. Led Zeppelin was the last great band of the 1960s and the first great band of the 1970s—and When Giants Walked the Earth is the full, enthralling story of Zep from the inside, written by a former confidante of both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Rich and revealing, it bores into not only the disaster, addiction and death that haunted the band but also into the real relationship between Page and Plant, including how it was influenced by Page's interest in the occult. Comprehensive and yet intimately detailed, When Giants Walked the Earth literally gets into the principals' heads to bring to life both an unforgettable band and an unrepeatable slice of rock history.

An exploration of the history and development of the dirigible airship from its humble beginnings in the late eighteenth century through to its current role as military command posts among other uses. Starting out as an unreliable experimental aircraft whilst aeronauts first began to learn the secrets of aerial navigation, the airship was remodelled in 1900 by Count Zeppelin to become a potent weapon of war. It was then transformed again into a short-lived solution to long-distance passenger air travel. With over 100 technical drawings and contemporary images of dirigible aircraft, Ridley-Kitts presents a comprehensive and fascinating history of the airship. Military, Naval and Civil Airships is a must read for those that wish to delve into the development of the aircraft for the first time and for airship specialists alike.