but will there be a guy in an invisible spaceship tethered to Big Ben?

No wait, wrong war, my bad.

I don't think zeppelins were ever offensive weapons. They certainly never dropped bombs on England from them.

real shaman: I don't think zeppelins were ever offensive weapons. They certainly never dropped bombs on England from them.

Oh contraire, mon frere. I have a piece of LZ-31 that my grandfather watched being shot down at Potter's Bar in the Great War.

"It's not a balloon, it's a Zeppelin!" (new window)

If you know where to look, there are bomb splinter holes in some of the large bronze lions along the Thames Embankment that are from the Zeppelin raids.

Look, ash lonk as you haff your papers signed und SHTAMPED zere won't be any problems viff de ZEPPELIN.

real shaman: I don't think zeppelins were ever offensive weapons. They certainly never dropped bombs on England from them.

Watch the movie "Hell's Angels" for some excellent footage of zeppelin operations.

/obligatory

real shaman: I don't think zeppelins were ever offensive weapons. They certainly never dropped bombs on England from them.

Zeppelins were the first long range bombers. They were used throughout WWI for strategic bombing. Though after 1916, fixed wing bomber aircraft had improved to the point that the Zeppelins were mostly discontinued.

Note to self: Do not trust real shaman when it comes to lighter than air war ships.

well, color me stupid... i was only thinking of WWII......

Modern airships are no longer filled with the flammable hydrogen gas that caused the Hindenburg's demise.

I thought it was the dope on the fabric that is now considered to be at fault.

/and New Jersey, of course.

Hmmm... I've been trying to work out how zeppelins are superior to blimps.

Is it that the rigid structure means they don't have to maintain positive pressure in the gas bags, thus reducing the overall mass involved? That's the only thing jumping out at me.

I once worked out why we couldn't build vacuum zeppelins with the hypothesis that the vacuum would have a smaller mass than an equal volume of helium. The overall idea was to have a ship with very low inertia. Turns out that the gas wins because even under high vacuum you still have molecules in the space, and it would be about the same either way. But the vacuum container and support systems would inevitably add mass.

And why are we playing with zeppelins? There's already a global helium shortage and we should be conserving it for use in welding, superconductivity research, and parade balloons.

wildcardjack: There's already a global helium shortage

A global shortage of the second most common element in the universe?

Sometimes you need to take a step back from economic "rules" when they get to this point. Just sayin'...

whidbey: A global shortage of the second most common element in the universe?

Yes... a global shortage of an element that floats to the top of the atmosphere and bleeds away. Our helium supply is the result of nuclear decay, deep down.

And let me guess. It's too "expensive" to create in a laboratory.

wildcardjack: Hmmm... I've been trying to work out how zeppelins are superior to blimps.

Is it that the rigid structure means they don't have to maintain positive pressure in the gas bags, thus reducing the overall mass involved? That's the only thing jumping out at me.

Sort of. The Hindenburg was over 800 feet long. I think it still holds the record for the biggest flying object. If you made a blimp that big, it'd just turn into a big balloon. And pop.

With modern carbon fibre composites and other lightweight materials, I'll bet someone could make a really really big zeppelin.

/I like zeppelins

Unashamedly stolen from another thread earlier today.... I laughed then and I laughed again now. Very clever whoever you are who made this.

They could always retaliate with all those swords. Oh, wait.

*POW*

No ticket.

Before all you blitzkrieg fans chime in I have to ask..
Have you ever seen a person really bombed from a zeppelin?
I mean a human being bombed with deadly force.
Just wondering...

wildcardjack: Hmmm... I've been trying to work out how zeppelins are superior to blimps.

Is it that the rigid structure means they don't have to maintain positive pressure in the gas bags, thus reducing the overall mass involved? That's the only thing jumping out at me.

I once worked out why we couldn't build vacuum zeppelins with the hypothesis that the vacuum would have a smaller mass than an equal volume of helium. The overall idea was to have a ship with very low inertia. Turns out that the gas wins because even under high vacuum you still have molecules in the space, and it would be about the same either way. But the vacuum container and support systems would inevitably add mass.

And why are we playing with zeppelins? There's already a global helium shortage and we should be conserving it for use in welding, superconductivity research, and parade balloons.

While the global helium market is pretty tight, the US has the largest reserve of it. We keep it underground in what used to be a giant natural gas field, and we have quite a bit. If we didn't, little Timmy's birthday balloons would just lay on the floor

LittleSmitty: little Timmy's birthday balloons would just lay on the floor

Good. Timmy is a little bastard.

Dangleberry Alliance: I mean a human being bombed with deadly force.
Just wondering...

Do you like movies with gladiators?

I wish some company would start a new transatlantic zeppelin service.

I know I'd pay to ride one.

Shaggy_C: LittleSmitty: little Timmy's birthday balloons would just lay on the floor

Good. Timmy is a little bastard.

No balloons for Timmy. NOT yours!

I'm not a big fan of gladiator movies.

/And before all you gladiator fans chime in I have to ask..
//have you ever seen a person really killed in a gladiator ring?
///I mean a human being mutilated with deadly force.
////Just wondering...

And I only have one shot left in the camera.

As long as it's not near Lakehurst, all will be well

real shaman: I don't think zeppelins were ever offensive weapons. They certainly never dropped bombs on England from them.

oh they did, but this was first world war, nothing like the blitz of ww2 - not quite as sore an issue as the article makes out i feel

Zeppelin hopes that the tours will help to erase the negative image of the airship among Britons following its use in the first world war.

Seems like they should be over it by now, given that everyone who saw that happen is dead.

It's obviously a sneak attack.

Sun God: wildcardjack: Hmmm... I've been trying to work out how zeppelins are superior to blimps.

Is it that the rigid structure means they don't have to maintain positive pressure in the gas bags, thus reducing the overall mass involved? That's the only thing jumping out at me.

Sort of. The Hindenburg was over 800 feet long. I think it still holds the record for the biggest flying object. If you made a blimp that big, it'd just turn into a big balloon. And pop.

With modern carbon fibre composites and other lightweight materials, I'll bet someone could make a really really big zeppelin.

/I like zeppelins

You know who else liked zeppelins....?

/srsly sorry

real shaman: well, color me stupid... i was only thinking of WWII......

I too first thought of WW2... and then did the math from the headline.

Dangleberry Alliance: Before all you blitzkrieg fans chime in I have to ask..
Have you ever seen a person really bombed from a zeppelin?
I mean a human being bombed with deadly force.
Just wondering...

Dangleberry Alliance: I'm not a big fan of gladiator movies.

/And before all you gladiator fans chime in I have to ask..
//have you ever seen a person really killed in a gladiator ring?
///I mean a human being mutilated with deadly force.
////Just wondering...

Are you having fun?
/pass it around dude

Hopes they REALLY know what they're doing.

0Icky0: Modern airships are no longer filled with the flammable hydrogen gas that caused the Hindenburg's demise.

I thought it was the dope on the fabric that is now considered to be at fault.

/and New Jersey, of course.

You think correctly. The hydrogen gas just kind of accelerated the process, but even with helium she'd crash and burn with that paint.

Zeppelins are cool. Think what they could do for air freight. OK, they're not that fast but you can haul massive loads.

"I don't think zeppelins were ever offensive weapons. They certainly never dropped bombs on England from them."

The operative words in this statement are clearly the first three. Or, at least "I don't research." I've been in the pub in London where the first ever casualties of ærial bombing occurred, and by..... a zeppelin. The Dolphin, in Red Lion Street, not terribly far from the British Museum.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWzeppelinraids.htm

The Germans made a rather major commitment of resources to the zeppelin raids, but they proved ineffective......

FTA: German airships are coming back with a more benign purpose.



"Or so the Germans would have us believe."

whidbey:
A global shortage of the second most common element in the universe?

whidbey:
And let me guess. It's too "expensive" to create in a laboratory.

I suppose if you had a FUSION REACTOR.

rico567
"I don't think zeppelins were ever offensive weapons. They certainly never dropped bombs on England from them."

Obviously rico567, that person didn't play enough of the old Avalon Hill bookcase games.

/obscure, I hope not
//My immaculate geeky lawn, off it!
///Panzer Blitz, FTW

This thing is hanging in the Imperial War Museum in London:


The Germans would put a guy in it, winch it down from the Zepplin so that it was below the cloud layer while the Zepplin was above. The spotter would phone back up the location, threats, bomb hits, etc.

ahhh, Zeppelin. 'Zepplin' is the Swabish spelling. Sure, that's it.

if you think zeppelins in the skies over london are bad, just you wait til you have stukas over disneyland!

"I have a piece of LZ-31 that my grandfather watched being shot down at Potter's Bar in the Great War."

How the zeppelin got in the bar, we'll never know...

lolmao666: Please, bomb Gordon Brown house, the house of commons and the scum that call themselves the kings and queens of UK... the royalties shouldn't exist anymore, they should die.

DEATH TO THE QUEEN.


You're not allowed to instigate death to any member of the government of the United Kingdom, elected or otherwise, untill you learn proper sentence structure and grammar, and how to count.

I was hoping for bombs too...Bummer. The Scots & Irish could finally go free.

Add in cc skin with internal ducted turbofans & a bit of smart design on top of that, add in an AC130-like package too . It would have a loiter time of days.

Oh, and somebody call Boeing to see if they want a bigger payload capicity for that chem laser. Needs a full passive array for full effect tho.

Keep it over 20k feet and see if that adaptable camo is avail too.(how hard can shades of blue, white & black/gray be?)

Full combat group of 3?

/this concludes today's brain fart

lotustuned: lolmao666: Please, bomb Gordon Brown house, the house of commons and the scum that call themselves the kings and queens of UK... the royalties shouldn't exist anymore, they should die.
DEATH TO THE QUEEN.


......but how will we get paid for our artistic creations????

SilentStrider: but will there be a guy in an invisible spaceship tethered to Big Ben?

No wait, wrong war, my bad.

Impressed with your Boobies nonetheless:

DRTA

Tell me they're going with Hydrogen...please.

...or at the very least, good, safe radon/methane mix.

/Thank you Google! You are still full of awesome win!
//Was looking for an 'Oh the Sean Hannity' pic, but found this instead.
///Actually kinda, sorta like Ron Paul... although I can't stand his supporters.