British Airships 1905-30 (New Vanguard) [Paperback]

Ian Castle (Author), Tony Bryan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: New Vanguard | Publication Date: May 19, 2009

At a time when German U-Boats were ruthlessly attacking the maritime convoys engaged in bringing essential supplies to British shores, British airships played a vital role in neutralizing this danger and were crucial in enabling Britain to eventually emerge victorious. In 1907 the British Army built the military's first airship, and at the outbreak of World War I there were a total of seven airships under control of the Admiralty, hunting U-Boats from the skies. This book reveals the fascinating story of the cat and mouse duel between the airship and another pioneering form of technology - the submarine. Detailed cut-away drawings reveal the design and development of the airship, during and after the war, whilst full-color illustrations depict the airship in dramatic action shots. A tragic accident in 1930 brought the airship's military service to an end, resulting in a tiny window in which they were used and little acknowledgement over the years. Ian Knight gives deserved attention to an aeronautical wonder that for a short amount of time played a crucial service to the defense of Britain.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a small book but it is jam packed with photographs... It is divided into 3 sections; non-rigid, semi-ridged, and rigid airships. It includes the envelope capacity, overall length, engines, disposable lift, and top speed. This book even has a bibliography so that the curious, like me, can go and get more detailed information on them... I highly recommend this book." -Mike Hinderliter, IPMS USA (August 2009)

"The book is full of superb period photos and the superb artwork of illustrators Tony Bryan and Giuseppe Raval really help bring to light the fragility and the look of these airships. In all, it makes for another fascinating read and one that I know will draw you into it as it did I."  -Scott Van Aken, www.modelingmadness.com (August 2009)

"Ian Castle provides a highly lucid explanation of the various types of dirigibles, covering not only the development and operational use of the nonrigid blimps during World War I, but also Britain's far less successful program for the construction of giant rigid airships... Castle's book is a must for World War I enthusiasts, focusing on an aspect of that conflict rarely covered anywhere else. It should prove equally indispensable to anyone interested in lighter-than-air technology." - Robert Guttman, Aviation History (July 2010)

About the Author

Ian Knight is a leading international expert on the Anglo-Zulu War. He has written, co-written or edited over 30 books, including several in the Osprey Men-at-Arms, Elite, Warrior and Campaign series. He studied Afro-Caribbean Studies at Kent University, and is an Honorary Research Associate of the Natal Museum and Vice President of the Anglo Zulu War Historical Society. He has also contributed to a number of television documentaries on the war. Ian has also always been interested in the use of airships during World War I and has recently published London 1914-17 in Osprey's Campaign series which detailed the German Zepplin bombing raids.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (May 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184603387X
• ISBN-13: 978-1846033872
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,101,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Clutter of facts mars fascinating topic, July 6, 2009

By 

Graves (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: British Airships 1905-30 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

Scholars of aviation history know that after the First World War Britain's dabbling into the field of lighter than air transportation ended when the R101 crashed explosively on its maiden voyage. However it is far less well known that the R101 was the last of a long line of British airships. When one thinks of `lighter than air' craft in the First World War one thinks of the great German Zeppelins, but in fact during the war the British had a larger and far more efficient fleet of airships.

In his book British Airships 1905-30 Ian Castle explores in detail this little known element of the British war effort in the Great War. While the Germans spent vast resources on building massive ridged airships with a goal of aerial bombardment The British build many smaller craft, usually blimps with a crew of 2-4 men that they used to patrol for U-boats.

Castle knows his stuff and has been able to follow the labyrinthine course of development in His Majesties Airships as different models were developed by different companies, the trouble is he follows the labyrinth too closely. The opening pages follow the prewar interest in the airships and the closing pages which follow their war record are fascinating reading but the intervening pages, where he details the many different models of airships, is a convoluted mess of numbers and models without context.

Castle wants to show you every model that rolled out of the shed regardless of its use. So for example the SSP and SSZ are given nearly the same amount of space in the text even though there were only 6 SSP's built because the SSZ was so superior it cancelled out the SSP. Also the text has each model as a stand alone item. There is little explanation of the world in which each model existed and why changes were made. For example on page 31 he writes "In the wake of the shocking R38 disaster..." but does not tell us what this was until several pages later when he has talked about several other models and then reaches the Model R38.

The effect is that the reader is left floundering around and finds himself caring less and less about each successive model. Castle cares about the ships and wants to share his knowledge with the reader on this fascinating topic but the delivery is awkward.

There are ways to write this sort of `number crunching' book which Osprey produces but this is not it. There is no explanation as to why other models were made, beyond the bigger/faster mind set, but no explanation for how the existing models were in need of improvement.

Castle would have done far more to interest his readers by going into more detail about fewer models, how they were used and led to other developments in the war. As it stands Castle has served to whet the reader's appetite for information on this fascinating but little known topic, and then served up a poor meal to follow.