The Dixmude

While the polar trip of the American Shenandoah is being decided upon, the loss of the French Dixmude serves to emphasize the dangers of the project.

The Dixmude, originally known as the L-72, was completed at the great airship works at Friedrichshafen, Germany, at the signing of the armistice. It had a cruising radius of 9,500 miles, a tank capacity of 11,000 gallons. Turned over to the French by the terms of the armistice, it was the pride of the French Air Service and held the world's...