On the evening of the same day she left for her
station, East Fortune, on the Firth of Forth. This short passage
from the Clyde to the Forth was not devoid of incident, as soon
after leaving the ground a low-lying fog enveloped the whole
country and it was found impossible to land with any degree of
safety. It having been resolved not to land until the fog
lifted, the airship cruised about the north-east coast of England
and even came as far south as York. Returning to Scotland, she
found the fog had cleared, and was landed safely, having been in
the air for 21 hours.
The original intention was that the Atlantic flight should be
made at the beginning of June, but the apparent unwillingness of
the Germans to sign the Peace Treaty caused the Admiralty to
retain the ship for a time and commission her on a war footing.
During this period she went for an extended cruise over Denmark,
along the north coast of Germany and over the Baltic. This
flight was accomplished in 56 hours, during which extremely bad
weather conditions were experienced at times. On its conclusion
captain and crew of the ship expressed their opinion that the
crossing of the Atlantic was with ordinary luck a moral
certainty. Peace having been signed, the ship was overhauled
once more and made ready for the flight, and the day selected
some three weeks before was July 2nd.
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