The Giant Airships (Epic of Flight)

I enjoyed the book. Has good illustrations and photos. It has cutaways showing the details of the airships. It had good technical information that's not too overwelming. It has history, adventure, and some politics. Definitely worth reading.

V. 6 of "The Epic of flight" series. Great photography and good Time-Life level writing. This is the perfect coffee table companion to John Toland's more detailed history The Great Dirigibles.

This excellent volume on the history of the rigid airship is part of the Time-Life "The Epic of Flight" series. It has a simulated embossed leatherette cover in dark blue with a full color printed insert of the Hindenburg. It is profusely illustrated with many full color and crisp black-and-white photographs and drawings.The first chapter deals primarily with Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin's development of the first practical, navigable, rigid airship in 1900. Also included is a history of experimentation and speculation prior to this date. Early non-German efforts such as the Lebaudy, Nulli Secundus, and America are depicted and discussed. The efforts of Santos-Dumont are examined. The pre-war accomplishments of the German Airship Transport Company (DELAG) are detailed.The second chapter deals with the use of the airship during the First World War. Both the German Naval and Army Airship Services are covered. A detailed account of German bombing missions over England is given. Also included is an account of the long-range relief mission of the L-59 to German East Africa. The British rigid fleet (eight British rigids flew during the war), as well as, the blimp fleet, is also briefly examined. The third chapter deals with between-the-wars development. The chapter starts with the 1919 visit of the British R-34 to the United States. The specifications and histories of the great United States airships Shenandoah and Los Angeles are covered next. The ill-fated mission of the Norge to the North Pole is included. Finally, the construction and magnificent record of the Graf Zeppelin is detailed.The fourth chapter continues on with the world cruises of the Graf Zeppelin. The excellent British R-100 and the troubled R-101 are covered. The construction and operational history of the American U.S.S. Akron (ZRS-4) is examined in some detail.The fifth chapter continues with the career of the Akron. The metalclad ZMC-2 is briefly touched upon. The life and death of the U.S.S. Macon (ZRS-5) is covered. The history of the Hindenberg rounds off the chapter and the book. However, it is pointed out that the Graf Zeppelin II was launched in 1938 (the original Graf was honorably retired in 1937) and took part in military recon missions to probe electronic and radar defenses of Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. A one-paragraph description of United States Navy nonrigid blimp operations during the war is given. There is no mention of post-war developments or missions.All in all this is an excellent one-volume history of pre-WWII rigid airship development. It should be noted that such development did not halt forever at that time, as this book seems to suggest, and that such vessels may even hold some promise for the future.