The length of the
dirigibles composing these fleets runs from 150 to 500 feet;
they are equipped with engines of from 50 to 500 horse-power,
with a rate of speed ranging from 20 to 30 miles per hour.
Their approximate range is from 200 to 900 miles; the longest
actual run (made by the Zeppelin II, Germany) is 800 miles.
A British naval airship, one of the largest yet built, was
completed last summer. It has cost over $200,000, and it was
in course of designing and construction two years. It is 510
feet long; can carry 22 persons, and has a lift of 21 tons.
The relative value of the dirigible balloon and the aeroplane
in actual war is yet to be determined. The dirigible
is considered to be the safer, yet several large balloons of this
class in Germany and France have met with disaster, involving
loss of lives. The capacity of the dirigible for longer
flights and its superior facilities for carrying apparatus and
operators for wireless telegraphy are distinct advantages.
There has not yet been much opportunity to test the airship
in actual warfare. The aeroplane has been used by the
Italians in Tripoli for scouting and reconnoitering and is said
to have justified expectations. On several occasions the Italian
military aviators followed the movements of the enemy, in
one instance as far as forty miles inland.
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