than the dirigible, but actual
campaigning has proved conclusively that the dirigible and the
heavier-than-air machines have their respective fields of utility in the
capacity of scouts. In fact in the very earliest days of the war,
the British airships, though small and slow in movement, proved more
serviceable for this duty than their dynamic consorts. This result
was probably due to the fact that military strategy and tactics were
somewhat nonplussed by the appearance of this new factor. At the time
it was an entirely unknown quantity. It is true that aircraft had been
employed in the Balkan and the Italo-Ottoman campaigns, but upon such a
limited scale as to afford no comprehensive idea of their military value
and possibilities.

The belligerents, therefore, were caught somewhat at a disadvantage,
and an appreciable period of time elapsed before the significance of
the aerial force could be appreciated, while means of counter acting
or nullifying its influences had to be evolved simultaneously,
and according to the exigencies of the moment. At all events, the
protagonists were somewhat loth to utilise the dirigible upon an
elaborate scale or in an aggressive manner. It was employed more after
the fashion of a captive balloon, being sent aloft from a point well
behind the front lines of the force to which it was attached, and
well out of the range of hostile guns. Its manoeuvres were somewhat
circumscribed, and were carried out at a safe distance from the enemy,
dependence being placed upon the advantages of an elevated position for
the gathering of information.

But as the campaign progressed, the airships became more daring. Their
ability to soar to a great height offered them complete protection
against gun-fire, and accordingly sallies over the hostile lines were
carried out. But even here a certain hesitancy became manifest. This
was perfectly excusable, for the simple reason that the dirigible, above
all, is a fair-weather craft, and disasters, which had overtaken these
vessels time after time, rendered prudence imperative. Moreover, but
little was known of the range and destructiveness of anti-aircraft guns.

In the duty of reconnoitring the dirigible possesses one great advantage
over its heavier-than-air rival. It can remain virtually stationary in
the air, the propellers revolving at just sufficient speed to off-set
the wind and tendencies to drift. In other words, it has the power of
hovering over a po