Given the situation that there is at present something of a resurgence of interest in airships as practical vehicles, and that most people in aeronautics today are not very familiar with lighter-than-air flight, particularly in its technical aspects, it seems worth setting down a brief survey of the special characteristics of airships, as a contribution to the general understanding.

The present article was written with this aim in mind. It refers mainly to non-rigid or pressure airships, reflecting the fact that in most applications these appear to be simpler and cheaper than rigid airships, even for very high volume. However, much of the text applies equally well to rigid ships, and it must be accepted that adopting the “rigid” approach can give a useful extra measure of design flexibility (e.g. for internal cargo stowage).