Mr. PIKE PEASEasked the Secretary of State for War the reason why the Clement-Bayard airship, which travelled from Paris to London in record time, was not further used by the War Office?
§ Colonel SEELYI have stated previously that this airship was dismantled because it was unserviceable. Since the question has been raised again, I may say that it was found, in the first place, that the airship was not new when bought, having been used in the autumn manœuvres in France on trial for the French Government, and, in the second place, that the envelope leaked very badly, to the extent of 12,000 cubic feet of gas per day, so that it would have cost about £135 a week to keep it inflated. It appeared also that the speed of the airship was not over 33 miles per hour, and that it was slow on control compared with our standards.