AHC: Zeppelins commercially viable

samcster94

Banned
What is a POD at any point(including post 1900) that will lead to Zeppelins being as viable as airlines or even as weapons of war. Bonus points if planes still exist.
 
What is a POD at any point(including post 1900) that will lead to Zeppelins being as viable as airlines or even as weapons of war. Bonus points if planes still exist.

Does this have to last? Because there's a brief period where the combination of greater range, fuel efficiency, and carrying capacity vs. required engine power actually DID make them viable as airliners and cargo transport for long-distance hauls (Particularly Trans-Oceanic).
 

Pangur

Donor
Does this have to last? Because there's a brief period where the combination of greater range, fuel efficiency, and carrying capacity vs. required engine power actually DID make them viable as airliners and cargo transport for long-distance hauls (Particularly Trans-Oceanic).
Just add helium and yeah they have the edge maybe up 1950 or so
 
It's the old slow and stylish versus the quick and dirty thing. The more I look at it, the more I realize our fascination with zeppelins is just a longing for a more gentlemen-like retro-future where flying from New York to London meant spending two days in a luxury cabin dining on roasted venison and red wine instead of spending 10 hours cooped up in rows of 10, eating pre-packed microwave meals with a spork. So the obvious solution would be to swap our current culture of 'time is money- even when on holiday' for a more value-based slower culture where style still trumps gain and the ultimate sign of wealth is to be worth waiting for. Don't know if this could be done and even if, I know it wouldn't be happening in my lifetime anymore. Still... What if those times could come again... That's the fascination with zeppelins.
 
Several threads on the subject (some by me).
My thinking is that if it came 20 years earlier, it'd be amazing for colonial conquest but of limited use in European warfare. It's quite fast but big and visible (although not as fragile as thought).
For hauling stuff, few things beat a boat, or a clipper if you want speed.

It could be interesting for smuggling as it'd probably take a while for the law to decide how high a frontier goes
 

samcster94

Banned
Several threads on the subject (some by me).
My thinking is that if it came 20 years earlier, it'd be amazing for colonial conquest but of limited use in European warfare. It's quite fast but big and visible (although not as fragile as thought).
For hauling stuff, few things beat a boat, or a clipper if you want speed.

It could be interesting for smuggling as it'd probably take a while for the law to decide how high a frontier goes
Imagine them in the ACW on both sides(especially the North in the latter phases of the war).
 
It's the old slow and stylish versus the quick and dirty thing. The more I look at it, the more I realize our fascination with zeppelins is just a longing for a more gentlemen-like retro-future where flying from New York to London meant spending two days in a luxury cabin dining on roasted venison and red wine instead of spending 10 hours cooped up in rows of 10, eating pre-packed microwave meals with a spork. So the obvious solution would be to swap our current culture of 'time is money- even when on holiday' for a more value-based slower culture where style still trumps gain and the ultimate sign of wealth is to be worth waiting for. Don't know if this could be done and even if, I know it wouldn't be happening in my lifetime anymore. Still... What if those times could come again... That's the fascination with zeppelins.

Probably you'd need a proper aristocracy to survive, consisting of people who don't need to work for a living (so much -- there'd still be estate management and the like, but this would take up much less time than, e.g., being CEO of a major modern company), and who therefore can better afford to prioritise things like style and culture over making money. The big problem is that, historically, land-owning as a source of wealth was done a number by better transportation and consequent availability of cheap imported food, and I'm not sure how to get around this. Maybe some new cash crop which can be grown in European climes and which the gentry can switch to growing after food becomes less economical? No idea if such a crop exists, though.

The British using them against the Boers perhaps.

Very likely, I'd say -- IOTL one of their problems during the latter stages of the war was finding and cornering the Boer guerrillas, so having a few zeppelins to scout around would be very useful.
 
Probably you'd need a proper aristocracy to survive, consisting of people who don't need to work for a living (so much -- there'd still be estate management and the like, but this would take up much less time than, e.g., being CEO of a major modern company), and who therefore can better afford to prioritise things like style and culture over making money. The big problem is that, historically, land-owning as a source of wealth was done a number by better transportation and consequent availability of cheap imported food, and I'm not sure how to get around this. Maybe some new cash crop which can be grown in European climes and which the gentry can switch to growing after food becomes less economical? No idea if such a crop exists, though.



Very likely, I'd say -- IOTL one of their problems during the latter stages of the war was finding and cornering the Boer guerrillas, so having a few zeppelins to scout around would be very useful.
Wine and Olive Oils are still classics!
 
Maybe market it as a cruise type situation where the ride on the Zeppelin is as important as the destinations, although I'm not sure what the cost would be compared to cruises and what kind of entertainment you can fit on a zeppelin to attract people.
 
Maybe market it as a cruise type situation where the ride on the Zeppelin is as important as the destinations, although I'm not sure what the cost would be compared to cruises and what kind of entertainment you can fit on a zeppelin to attract people.

Yes, I can see Zeppelins surviving as cruise ships, even with a no Hindenburg disaster POV. The same way you can't board a transatlantic anymore (well, you can, but it's not a widspread service anymore) but there are tons of cruises in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, etc. Some zeppelin stations were in Brazil and other tropical regions, and the blimps were actually very luxurious. I could see a race for larger, more luxurious zeppelins, especially if more companies (US, maybe European or Russian) come to compete in that regard.

But there's no way they could compete against transatlantic jets for normal passanger traffic. In due time, they would be displaced from that role.

As for military uses, they never struck me as very useful. Once fighters get on the air, it's over.
 
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