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Subject: Airship Battle
Miles    3/8/2007 7:28:50 PM
His another idea, an airship battle. The battle vessels are flying ships that fly in the sky. Unlike space ships, they are only travel high above landscapes or across the ocean. They can be similar to WW2 battle ships or subs, but they all fly in the sky like airplanes or jets. What do you think? Have a good idea for an airship? And how do they fight in a sky battle.
 
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Jeff_F_F       3/8/2007 7:48:00 PM
Balloons with guns--that's an idea. It's all about first-mover advantage. Rockets with cannister or flachette rounds would rule. So would white phosporus.
 
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JohnBarry       3/9/2007 3:17:11 PM
Rather than airborne battleships, warfare would have been between airborne aircraft carriers, airships like the USS Akron and the USS Macon would have been further developed.   If you have never played you might want to get the game Crimson Skies, it had alot of airships in it.
 
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JohnBarry       3/9/2007 3:53:08 PM
Rather than airborne battleships, warfare would have been between airborne aircraft carriers, airships like the USS Akron and the USS Macon would have been further developed.   If you have never played you might want to get the game Crimson Skies, it had alot of airships in it.
 
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flamingknives       3/11/2007 8:16:23 AM
If filled with helium, airships are surprisingly robust. More so than conventional aircraft.
 
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andyf    airships   3/11/2007 2:26:31 PM
they cant carry a lot tho, as compared with volume
 
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TrustButVerify       3/12/2007 10:36:18 AM
I quite agree with Miles- an airship carrying a few small fighters would have a big advantage in striking range over a conventionally-armed foe. But how durable would the airships be? If you stick to helium and assume some sort of flame-retardant outer skin, the preferred anti-zeppelin weapon (incendiary bombs) is a tough sell, and I suppose it falls back on tearing big holes in the gasbags. Perhaps the aircraft would adapt HVARs with fragmentation warheads, or some sort of proto- cluster-bomb, or even big-bore shotguns. Thus we might see flights of biplanes with racks of one-shot "beehive" or canister tubes under their wings for use against airships while retaining their machine guns for use against escorting fighters.

But that's not so interesting. Honestly, what's more fun to imagine- carrier battles such as Coral Sea, or gun battles such as Savo Island or Leyte Gulf?
I imagine the airships would retain their point-defense machine guns, but find cannons (probably 40mm Bofors) and possibly aerial rockets (the same HVARS as above, if an appropriate mounting method could be devised) or small- 75mm?- bore artillery. In every event I think the idea would be to destroy the enemy's gas bags until ranges closed sufficiently to allow for shots at specific targets such as engines, weapons, hangar facilities, or the gondolas.
Overall I expect lots of canister, flak, and beehive rounds until appropriate fuses are devised for HE rounds- circa 1941 I should think- which would keep arty rounds from passing through the airship without detonating.

Another aspect of airships which seems to be frequently overlooked- they were very vulnerable to bad weather, as the Macon, the Akron, and the Shenandoah- not to mention a number of European craft- tragically showed. Thus one might see tactics from the age of sail returning to a small degree, in which the weather would be an important factor in determining when and where a battle would take place.

It's such a wonderfully Gernsback scene- squadrons of airships bombarding enemy airfields and doing battle with swarms of biplanes. Sky Captain would be right at home.
 
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Ficher_Dude    Fischer Dude   1/9/2010 11:23:46 PM
Huge fan of Airships. It would depend on what tech was available. For my input, I will use 1939 (the peak of Airship tech) to dictate what weapons would be used. Fairly deccent low range unhoming rockets with flack style fragmentation would be the weapon of choice whilst closing range. Heavy guns (5 inch and bigger) would be impractical due in part to their wheight. But rockets, were about the same wheight as said guns, so you could carry as much and more ammo due to rockets light wheight launchers. Once you get close, of course have 50 mm cannon to blast tactical parts of the ship, like bridge engine, steering gear ect. Using the LZ Hindenburg as a airship model, it could likely house 3 aircraft (depending on what armament is present) which would also help immeasurably in the attack. They could be used as scouts, long range attack platforms, and if the case proved desperate enough, tow the airship for more speed (Hindenburg had a max of 81 MPH which means, the aircraft could fly low enough to latch on to pull). If I were and air ship captain, I would climb high, into or above clouds, and then using a lowered platform spy on the enemy and use it's directions to position my self on top of her. This is crucial, since and Airship must have the majorityof her wheight unter center (else wise she would role over) meaning her defences would be light on her back. The lowered platform (Germans developed in WW1 they looked like VERY small wingless aircraft) could guide me into postion while I am hidden. (to maintain the element of surprise of course) Than, I would simple drop down on her back and take out her dorsal guns, try to get men down on ropes (hopefullf before they start to manouvre to shake us) and try to seize the airship. If not, I would drop some sort of heavy guilotine like device to break the ships rigid frame and break her into. This will eventually spell her demise. I would than climb back into the clouds and disappear.
 
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Ficher_Dude    Fischer Dude   1/9/2010 11:30:14 PM
 
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Calyster-Solaris       5/19/2010 7:28:23 PM
im also a fan of airship i mean the fantasist one not blimp i mena i really want a game of air ship like you said ww2 ship shooting each other in the air in a epic battle and would be even better if they were battling between fling island :D id love to see that concept once day maybe like a freelancer but instead of space its an airship that you upgrade  and change weapon on it from a small ship at the start to a huge dreadnaught at the end and you could even have your base on a flying island that you also upgrade i mean like the game Battle Stations on facebook but in 3D it would be so an epic game and maybe MMORPG like EVE online
 
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ker       8/22/2013 12:01:54 AM
Crimson Skies zeppelins used guns. Muzle brakes and recoil absorbing hydralics could be used but gun mounting structures still must survive recoil and there for weigh more. Rockets have different problems. Sheilding zeppelinins skin fron rocket exhaust being one. Generaly rocket launchers weigh less than comparable gun tubes and comunicate much less recoil so weapon mounts weigh less when using rockets. Zeppelin to zeppeline fire would prove more efficent with rockets. Defence against fighter winged aircraft would involve machine guns. A threat to the zeppelins would be bomber airplains armed with rockets that have longer range than the machine guns. Bar and chain rounds were used against sailing ships rigging. Zeppelines would be volnarable to that type od weapon. Two weights conected by a thin cutting cable would do more damage other projectiles because they would do much more damage wile passing though the zeppelin.
 
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