THE ZEPPELIN FIGHTERS

by Arch Whitehouse ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 1966

Buffs of the World War I air war will be delighted with Whitehouse's new addition to his five-foot shelf of aerial historiana. The story of the Zeppelins, or ""monsters of the purple twilight"" as one writer calls them, is pretty much the story of their development as a military weapon. Old Count Von Zeppelin was not very happy that his peacetime invention could only be developed at the hands of the military. But the Zeppelin's value as a high flying raider and spotter was clearly seen by the German high command. Eventually there were over 70 German Zeppelins, all of them getting bigger and bigger, until the LZ.70 was built. This held 2,195,800 cubic feet of hydrogen, which is a lot of gas. Even though their Zeppelins flew higher than the British planes could reach, the big ships had power problems and needed delicate weather to keep on course. Not only that, the British planes did manage to shoot down ship after ship that wasn't high enough. Quite naturally these dozens of aerial explosions are the high points of the account, although the opening chapters on Count Seppelin and his admirers are charming. Whitehouse himself still has a whiff of the old War Aces purple in his prose and there are more descriptions of airplane engines than seem necessary.

Pub Date: Sept. 9, 1966

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION