Dream a Little Dream

Here's a little taste of the days when airships were all the rage from Max Raabe and the Palast Orchestra:



Sadly I have only recently been introduced to Max Raabe and his vintage cabaret sound. His sound is very much the Roaring '20s but his playlist extends all the way through the Naughty '90s to ... whatever this mess we're in now is. Look him up and give him a listen.

Masters of the Skies

"Airships must be powerful masters of the skies as the ultimate symbols of freedom and defiance, roaming the clouds without hindrance and restraint".
-- Nick Ottens

view from French dirigible (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nick Ottens has posted a splendid article at The Gatehouse on the ups-and-downs (Haw Haw) of airships in wartime. The main vulnerability was the flammable hydrogen gas used for lift. Also, the effectiveness of airships as bombers was hindered by altitude, wind and cloud cover. All problems easily solvable in a world of Science gone Mad!
Firstly the development of non-flammable lifting gas or alternate means of neutral buoyancy. Cavorite comes to mind. With a strong enough lifting force armor becomes possible. Clockwork ailerons could make bombs into self-correcting air torpedoes while dastardly spies guide the attack with wireless telegraphy.

Related articles

• The Heyday of Rigid Airships
• A new age of airships
• Steampunk Hands Around The World - Join in!
• Mad scientists, airships and class: the politics of Steampunk by Rjurik Davidson
• The Rise Of The Blimp