It has been the practice in this country to erect windscreens in
order to break the force of the wind at the mouth of the shed.
These screens are covered with corrugated sheeting, but it is a
debatable point as to whether the comparative shelter found at
the actual opening of the shed is compensated for by the eddies
and air currents which are found between the screens themselves.
Experiments have been carried out to reduce these disturbances,
in some cases by removing alternate bays of the sheeting and in
other cases by substituting expanded metal for the original
corrugated sheets.

It must be acknowledged that where this has been done, the
airships have been found easier to handle.

At the outbreak of war, with the exception of a silicol plant at
Kingsnorth, now of obsolete type, and a small electrolytic plant
at Farnborough, there was no facility for the production of
hydrogen in this country for the airship service.

When the new stations were being equipped, small portable silicol
plants were supplied capable of a small output of hydrogen.
These were replaced at a later date by larger plants of a fixed
type, and a permanent gas plant, complete with gasholders and
high pressure storage tanks was erected at each station, the
capacity being 5,000 or 10,000 cubic feet per hour according to
the needs of the station.

With the development of the rigid building programme, and the
consequent large requirements of gas, it was necessary to