entrusted to firms which had had no previous experience of this
class of work, and it is rather curious to reflect that envelopes
were produced by the makers of mackintoshes and that cars and
planes were constructed by a shop-window furnisher. This was a
sure sign that all classes of the community were pulling together
for the good of the common cause.

Among other difficulties was the shortage of hydrogen tubes,
plants, and the silicol for making gas.

Sufficient sheds and aerodromes were also lacking, and the
airships themselves were completed more quickly than the sheds
which were to house them.

The lack of airship personnel to meet the expansion of the
service presented a further obstacle. To overcome this the
system of direct entry into the R.N.A.S. was instituted, which
enabled pilots to be enrolled from civil life in addition to the
midshipmen who were drafted from the Fleet. The majority of the
ratings were recruited from civil life and given instruction in
rigging and aero-engines as quickly as possible, while technical
officers were nearly all civilians and granted commissions in the
R.N.V.R.

A tremendous drawback was the absence of rigid airships and the
lack of duralumin with which to construct them.

Few men were also experienced in airship work at this time, and
there was no central airship training establishment as was
afterwards instituted. Pilots were instructed as occasion