The Zeppelin in Combat A History of The German Naval Airship Division, 1912 - 1918  by Robinson. Douglas,

Hard back book with colour pictorial cover, 417 pages, 24 chapters illustrated with B/W plates and drawings, glossary of Airship terms, bibliography, appendices, index.

The German Naval Airship Division commands an important place in aviation history, for almost half of the 162 rigid airships ever built served with the German Navy in World War I. Fantastic indeed is the story of their reckless attacks on England which Dr. Robinson unfolds. All too many of the fragile giants, filled with inflammable hydrogen, fell an easy prey to the incendiary bullets of defending British aeroplanes. They were the first strategic bomber force, and their range, endurance and carrying capacity far exceeded those of other aircraft of their day. Yet for years, only fragmentary and inaccurate information was available about the German Naval Airship Division and its accomplishments-until the fortunes of war placed all the official records of the German Navy in Allied hands in 1945.

Dr. Robinson has had the privilege of examining these documents, which form the basis for this first objective and authoritative study of the German Navy's Zeppelins in World War I. In addition, he has had the assistance of many former naval airship men in Germany, including naval officers who commanded Zeppelins in many an attack on England. The photographs published in his book come from a large collection, obtained partly in the 1937 visit to the Zeppelin works at Friedrichshafen, and partly from the archives of the late Herr Freidrich Moch, secretary of the German Naval Airship Veterans' Association, of which Dr. Robinson has the honour to be a member.