The enthusiastic supporters of aerial navigation maintained that
the dirigible and the aeroplane would supersede the captive
balloon completely. But as a matter of fact the present conflict
has established the value of this factor more firmly than ever.
There is not the slightest possibility that the captive balloon
sections of the belligerents will be disbanded, especially those
which have the fruits of experience to guide them. The airship
and the aeroplane have accomplished wonders, but despite their
achievements the captive balloon has fully substantiated its
value as a military unit in its particular field of operations.
CHAPTER III
GERMANY'S RISE TO MILITARY AIRSHIP SUPREMACY
Two incidents in the history of aviation stand out with
exceptional prominence. The one is the evolution of the Zeppelin
airship--a story teeming with romance and affording striking and
illuminating glimpses of dogged perseverance, grim determination
in the face of repeated disasters, and the blind courageous faith
of the inventor in the creation of his own brain. The second is
the remarkable growth of Germany's military airship organisation,
which has been so rapid and complete as to enable her to assume
supremacy in this field, and that within the short span of a
single decade.
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