NEW ZEPPELIN SEASON.

Waikato Times, Volume 87, Issue 13269, 26 August 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

NEW ZEPPELIN SEASON.

By Willinn A Robson. ihe renewed Zeppelin raids all'ord arnplo proof, if proof were needed of the perseverance with which Germany intends to prose-cute her futile policy ot aitomptinK to undermine the morale ol our civil population. That this is the chief motive which inspires the raids is by this time obvious, for no intelligent person in this country now believes that the German Hi£h Command can still imagine that oven with luck thev could by their present methods inflict enough damage of a military nature on us to have any appreciable effect on the war, considering that in twentv mouths they have achieved exactly nothing in that respect with their aeroplanes. However, it U certain that the Zeppelin will continue unabated until we ourselves stop them. That we shall he able to do mi during the next ie-.w month;! is extremely probable, for the bringing down of Llo is good evidence of the improvement in our anti-aircraft u,s t nres, while the recent destruction of LZ 77 by French artillery, and of L 19 are emphatic confirmations of the vulnerability of the Zeppelin to anu-air-

U; " PSYCH'JLOGICAL MOMENT

What we are unable to foretell yet is at what stage the Germans will abandon thoir air campaign against us; that is to say what losses they are prepared to suifer m men and material in order to satisfy the "Gott Strafe England ' sort in b])'irit which prompts them to send the airships. . „ , There is first, the question oi the utility, or,' rather, lack of Utility, of ■ heir' Zeppelins apart from these useless ni hi raids on England and elsewhere. Dirigibles are useless for the three great militarv functions which have made air. craft so invaluable in the war—namely, reronnaisanco, directing artillery fare, ami bomb-dropping raids in daytime behind the e.ncmv's lines. The Germans would, therefore, have no object _in hoarding their Zeppelins, lor, in view of Russia's largclv increased supply of aeroplanes, thev could not be used even j„i the eastern front, as they occasionally were in the early months of the war.

There is, it is true, the useful patrol work which has been performed by Zeppolins over the North Sea and the Baltic and when the German fleet ventures out ■ t would onlv do so accompanied by a licet of ligiitcr-than-air craft. But smaller airships, such as the Parse-vai and Gross tvpes. with which the German navy is well equipped, would do equally well for this work, so that almost the whole of the supply of the Zeppelins could be probably spared for long-dis-tance raids on this country if necessary. It. can be seen, therefore. ..that even fairly large losses in dirigibles would not in themselves necessarily be sufficient to stop the raids, especially as Germany is now producing Zeppelins at a fairly high rate DEMORALISED CREAYS.

We now come to the human element

in the raids, which is an entirely important factor. The crow of a Zeppelin, consisting of about twenty-nine men for short journeys and about twenty-three for long voyages, have to be very highly trained: in'faet, they take quite as long to train—about two years, to be exactas the crew of a submarine. Losses in men are, therefore, a more serious matter for Germany than losses in airships. But, besides this, there is the pyscholo'dcal factor to be taken into consideration, and in this matter a comparison with the submarine warfare is of significant interest. "What was the real reason for the collapse of Germany's submarine '■blockade" last year? Was it a sudden conversion to the principles of humanity? Was it an equally sudden desire to placate America. We havo not, it is true, succeeded yet iu stopping the revival of this "blockade" which has been taking place during the last few weeks, but this is merely because the Germans have introduced certain new methods, which naturally take time to overcome. But no one doubts our ability in due course to render the enemy's fresh effort as abortive as the previous one. It is quite possible that even already London may be subjected to but very occasional raids, owing to tho progress which has been made with the London anti-aircraft defences. Of course, no matter how efficient defence may be, raids can always be made now and then under exceptional conditions favorable to the enemy, as, for instance, where there is a calm night with a light fog, such as on the occasion of the last Pans raid. THIRTY AIRSHIPS.

Turning to the question of the output of Zeppelins, it would appear that When war broke out there were in all twelve Zeppelins owned by the German military authorities, and the series number of the next Zeppelin which, was launched was iZ3L As it isknown that LZ 77 was the very latest model, it would seem, that forty-six ships hiave been built (or rebuilt) in nineteen- months—or a* the rate of about one a fortnight. Deducting a reasonable percentage for rebuilt, and in consequence re-nujmJbered ships, the fresh output would pfot»bbr come out to two ships every five weeks. The forty-six ships, plus the original twelve, and three pravatelyrOlpned asaft