nder construction, and which were being hurried
forward to come into commission early in 1914.

But the most interesting factor, apart from the possession of such a
huge fleet of dirigible air-craft, was their distribution at strategical
points throughout the Empire as if in readiness for the coming combat.
They were literally dotted about the country. Adequate harbouring
facilities had been provided at Konigsberg, Berlin, Posen, Breslau,
Kiel, Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Frankfort, Metz,
Mannheim, Strasburg, and other places, with elaborate headquarters, of
course, at Friedrichshafen upon Lake Constance. The Zeppelin workshops,
harbouring facilities, and testing grounds at the latter point had
undergone complete remodelling, while tools of the latest type had
been provided to facilitate the rapid construction and overhaul of the
monster Zeppelin dirigibles. Nothing had been left to chance; not an
item was perfunctorily completed. The whole organisation was perfect,
both in equipment and operation. Each of the above stations possessed
provision for an aerial Dreadnought as well as one or more aerial
cruisers, in addition to scouts or vedettes.

Upon the outbreak of hostilities Germany's dirigible fleet was in a
condition of complete preparedness, was better organised, and better
equipped than that of any of her rivals. At the same time it constituted
more of a paper than a fighting array for reasons which I will
explain later. But there was another point which had escaped general
observation. Standardisation of parts and the installation of the
desired machinery had accomplished one greatly desired end--the
construction of new craft had been accelerated. Before the war an
interesting experiment was carried out to determine how speedily a
vessel could be built. The result proved that a dirigible of the most
powerful type could be completed within eight weeks and forthwith the
various constructional establishments were brought into line so as to
maintain this rate of building.

The growth of the Zeppelin, although built upon disaster, has been
amazing. The craft of 1906 had a capacity of 430,000 cubic feet and a
speed of 36 miles per hour. In 1911 the creator of this type launched
a huge craft having a capacity of 627,000 cubic feet. In the meantime
speed had likewise been augmented by the use of more powerful motors
until 52 miles an hour was attained. But this by no means represented
the limit. The f