Seven airships were possessed, Nos. 2,
3 and 4, and the four ex-army ships--Beta, Gamma, Delta and
Eta--and of these only three, Nos. 3, 4 and the Beta, were in any
condition for flying. Notwithstanding this, the utmost use was
made of the ships which were available.
On the very first night of the war, Nos. 3 and 4 carried out a
reconnaissance flight over the southern portion of the North Sea,
and No. 4 came under the fire of territorial detachments at the
mouth of the Thames on her return to her station. These zealous
soldiers imagined that she was a German ship bent on observation
of the dockyard at Chatham.
No. 3 and No. 4 rendered most noteworthy service in escorting the
original Expeditionary Force across the Channel, and in addition
to this No. 4 carried out long patrols over the channel
throughout the following winter.
No. 17 (Beta) also saw active service, as she was based for a
short period early in 1915 at Dunkirk, and was employed in
spotting duties with the Belgian artillery near Ostend.
The Gamma and the Delta were both lying deflated at Farnborough
at the outbreak of the war, and in the case of the latter the car
was found to be beyond repair, and she was accordingly deleted.
The Gamma was inflated in January, 1915, and was used for mooring
experiments.
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