Airshipwreck

Deighton, Len & Arnold Schwartzman. Airshipwreck. 1978. 74p. 0-03-046451-X. Available at 904 DEI on the library shelves.

Before the airplane became ubiquitous, the only way to travel across long distances by air was on an airship. Commonly known as blimps or Zeppelins, these giants of the skies were first developed in the 18th century, and became incrementally safer, faster, and more comfortable until a horrific accident, the explosion of the Hindenburg in 1937, brought a swift end to the airship.

Hundreds of airships were built by Germany, Britain, and America. During the First World War, these ships were used as scouts and bombing platforms, but as the airplane gained the upper hand on the battlefield, the vulnerabilities of a floating platform filled with highly inflammable gas were exposed and gradually the airships were grounded.

When the war concluded, airships resumed their civilian lives and transported people between Germany and Brazil and Germany and the United States. Deighton and Schwartzman write the story of the airship through its many wrecks, exploring the development of the airship from its humble beginning to its golden age in the 1930s. Beautifully illustrated, fans of military history or of novel transportation methods will enjoy this short book.