Moreover, it was proved that a Zeppelin, if travelling under
military conditions with full armament and ammunition aboard,
could carry sufficient fuel for only ten hours at the utmost,
during which, if the slightest head-wind prevailed, it could not
cover more than 340 miles on the one fuel charge.
This information has certainly proved a revelation and has
contributed to the indifference with which the Parisians regard a
Zeppelin raid. At the outbreak of war the Zeppelin station
nearest to Paris was at Metz, but to make the raid from that
point the airship was forced to cover a round 500 miles. It is
scarcely to be supposed that perfectly calm weather would prevail
during the whole period of the flight, so that a raid would be
attended by considerable risk. That this handicap was recognised
in German military circles is borne out by the fact that a
temporary Zeppelin hangar was established at a point considerably
nearer the French capital, for the purpose of enabling a raid to
be carried out with a greater possibility of success.
The capture of Zeppelin IV revealed another important fact.
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