having
been taken, it was found that the disposable lift under standard
conditions was 6.28 tons. It was therefore decided that all the ships
of the class should be modified to this design when circumstances
permitted. Speed trials were carried out under various conditions of
running, when it was found that the ship possessed a speed of 54 1/4
miles per hour with the engines running full out.

To summarize the performances of these ships as we did in the case of
No. 9, we find:

Speed:
Full 54 miles per hour
Normal =2/3 48 " " "
Cruising =1/3 33 " " "

Endurance:
Full 18 hours = 1,000 miles
Normal 26 " = 1,250 "
Cruising 50 " = 1,900 "

The production of the rigid airship during the war was always
surrounded with a cloak of impenetrable mystery. Few people, except
those employed on their construction or who happened to live in the
immediate vicinity of where they were built, even knew of their
existence, and such ignorance prevailed concerning airships of every
description that the man in the street hailed a small non-rigid as "the
British Zeppelin" or admired the appearance of R 23 as "the Silver
Queen." The authorities no doubt knew their own business in fostering
this ignorance, although for many reasons it was unfortunate that
public interest was not stimulated to a greater degree. In the summer
months of 1918, however, they relented to a certain extent, and R 23
and one of her sister ships were permitted to make several flights over
London to the intense delight of thousands of its inhabitants, and a
certain amount of descriptive matter appeared in the Press.

From that time onwards these large airships have completely captured
the popular imagination, and many absurd rumours and exaggerations have
been circulated regarding their capabilities. It has been gravely
stated that these airships could accomplish the circuit of the globe
and perform other feats of the imagination. It must be confessed that
their merits do not warrant these extravagant assertions. The fact
remains, however, that R 23 and her sister ship R 26 have each carried
out patrols of upwards of 40 hours duration and that, similarly to No.
9, they have proved of the greatest value for training airship crews
and providing experience and data for the building programme of the
future. At the present time highly interesting experiments a