SS - class blimp SS ( Submarine Scout or Sea Scout ) class blimps were simple , cheap and easily assembled small non - rigid airships that were developed as a matter of some urgency to counter the German U - boat threat to British shipping during World War I . The class proved to be versatile and effective , with a total of 158 being built in several versions . Requirement . Soon after the outbreak of World War I , the threat to British shipping from German submarines became increasingly apparent , with numerous losses occurring during October and November 1914 . Then , on 4 February 1915 , a communiqué issued by the Imperial German Admiralty declared that : " All the waters surrounding Great Britain and Ireland , are hereby declared to be a war zone . From February 18 onwards every enemy merchant vessel found within this war zone will be destroyed . " The situation had become critical and the Admiralty recognised that airship s would be effective at spotting submarines and useful for Fleet observations , but at that time Britain ' s airship fleet consisted of just seven craft – four RNAS airships ( HMA 17 , 18 , 19 , and 20 ) , two continental ships and a small Willows training craft – with only four airfields existing that possessed hangars capable of housing them . Consequently , on 28 February the First Sea Lord , Admiral Lord Fisher called a meeting with Commander E A D Masterman ( Officer Commanding the Naval Airship Section ) and representatives from Vickers and the London - based firm of Airships Limited to discuss the possibilities of creating a fleet of suitable patrol airships , sometimes referred to as " scouts " . Design and development . The type was to have a speed of , carry a crew of two , of bombs , wireless equipment , fuel for eight hours flying , and should be able to reach an altitude of . Most importantly their design should be simple in order to ease production and to facilitate training of the crews ; since the new airships , designated the " Submarine Scout " or " Sea Scout " ( SS ) class , needed to be in the air within weeks rather than months . Prototype . The prototype SS craft was created at RNAS Kingsnorth on the Hoo Peninsula , and was effectively a B . E . 2c aeroplane fuselage and engine minus wings , tailfin and elevators , slung below the disused envelope from airship HMA No . 2 ( Willows No . 4 ) that had been lying deflated at the Royal Aircraft Establishment ( RAE ) , Farnborough Airfield . It was ready for evaluation trials within a fortnight of approval being granted for the scheme , and on 18 March 1915 the first SS class blimp entered service . The whole process had taken less than three weeks , and voicing his approval , Admiral Fisher made the famous comment : " Now I must have forty ! " The officer commanding the Kingsnorth facility was Wing - Commander N . F . Usborne , who also assisted in the design of the airship . In recognition of his contributions the following comment was made : " Admiral Sueter desires to place on record his high appreciation of the hard work and devotion to the airship cause displayed by Commander Usborne . Far into the night and the early hours of the morning this scientific officer worked to make these airships a success and due to him in large part their wonderful success was due . " Two private firms , Armstrong Whitworth and Airships Ltd . , were also invited to submit designs and consequently three versions of the SS class blimp were produced : the SS " B . E . 2c " , the SS " Armstrong Whitworth " and the SS " Maurice Farman " ( thus named because the car designed by Airships Ltd . resembled a Farman aeroplane body ) . Envelope . The envelope of the experimental prototype had a volume of , but production models used a envelope of similar shape that provided a typical gross lift of , a net lift of and a disposable lift of with full fuel tanks and a crew of two on board . Each of the SS versions used similar envelopes that were composed of four layers : two of rubber - proofed fabric with a layer of rubber between them , and a further rubber layer on the inner , or gas surface . The external surface had five coats of dope applied to it to protect it from the elements and to render the envelope completely gastight . The first two coats were of " Delta dope " ( a flexible dope used for the first time in 1913 on the British Army semi - rigid airship " Delta " ) , followed by two of aluminium dope and finally one of aluminium varnish . To stiffen the nose of the envelope and to prevent it blowing in , 24 canes were arranged radially from its centre and covered with an aluminium cap . The envelope contained two ballonet s of each instead of just one as used on the prototype . These were supplied with air from the propeller draught via a scoop and a slanting aluminium tube to the underside of the envelope , and then via horizontal fabric hoses containing non - return fabric valves known as " crab - pots " . Planes . The original design featured four fins ( or planes ) and rudders set radially to the envelope : two horizontal fins , and two below the envelope in an inverted V - tail configuration ; however , in some cases the two lower fins were replaced with a single central fin that carried a larger rudder . The fins were identical in size and shape , and were constructed of spruce , aluminium , and steel tubing , braced with wire and covered with doped fabric . Versions . SS B . E . 2c . Similar to the prototype , the production car was a wingless B . E . 2c fuselage stripped of various fittings , and equipped with two ash skids in place of the wheeled undercarriage . Mounted at the front of the car was an air - cooled Renault engine driving a diameter four - bladed propeller . The pilot was seated to the rear of the observer , who also served as the wireless operator . A camera was fitted , while armament consisted of bombs carried in frames suspended about the centre of the undercarriage , and a Lewis Gun mounted on a post adjacent to the pilot ' s seat . The bomb sight and release mechanism were located on the outside of the car on the starboard side of the pilot ' s position . SS Maurice Farman . The Airships Ltd . design initially used , and later envelopes . Dual controls were fitted for both the pilot and the observer / wireless operator seated behind him . Occasionally a third seat was fitted to carry a passenger or an engineer . Renault engines were normally fitted , mounted at the rear of the car in pusher configuration , but a Rolls - Royce Hawk proved effective in one instance . The type was slightly slower than the SS B . E . 2c , but the cars were roomier and more comfortable . SS Armstrong Whitworth . The version fitted with the Armstrong Whitworth F . K . car was similar in many respects to the B . E . 2c type , but had a single - skid landing gear with buffers , and required the larger envelope to maintain a reasonable margin of lift . A water - cooled Green engine was fitted in tractor configuration , and fuel was carried in two aluminium tanks supported in fabric slings suspended from the envelope , saving in weight compared to the internal tanks fitted to the B . E . 2c . Airship stations . At the same time a number of new air stations were set up as well as a training station at Cranwell . The rigid airship programme was also gathering momentum , and these stations were later joined by several more that together formed a chain all around the UK coast . Production . Initially undertaken by the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough , production was soon transferred to Kingsnorth , and in addition shortly afterwards to Vickers ' works at Barrow - in - Furness and to the Wormwood Scrubs Naval Air Station in London . However , construction at each of the facilities was hampered by aeroplane orders affecting the supply of envelopes . In total , some 60 examples of the three versions of SS class blimp were assembled , costing around £2 , 500 each . Service history and legacy . During the entire war there was only one instance of a ship being sunk whilst being escorted by an airship . During the final 15 months of the war SS type airships carried out over 10 , 000 patrols , flying nearly one - and - a - half million miles in more than 50 , 000 hours . A total of 49 U - boats were sighted , 27 of which were attacked from the air or by ships . An SS B . E . 2c set the current altitude record for a British airship when it reached in the summer of 1916 , and the sole Hawk - engined SS Maurice Farman on one occasion carried out an extended patrol of 18 hours 20 minutes . Also in the summer of 1916 , an Armstrong Whitworth model coated with black dope carried out night - time operations over France , proving that airships could be of value when operating with military forces over land . The SS type was further developed with purpose - built cars to create the SSP ( Pusher ) , SSZ ( Zero ) , SST ( Twin ) and SSE ( Experimental SST ) types . Demand for the versatile " Sea Scouts " was so great that a grand total of 158 of all versions and variants were constructed , some of which were acquired by France , Italy and the United States . Although the SS class types proved invaluable , their use was restricted to coastal patrols in reasonably fair weather owing to their low engine power and comparatively small size . For work farther out at sea and in all weathers , three further classes were developed : the " Coastal " , the " C * " and " North Sea " - class ships . Each had larger engines and envelopes , carried more crew , and had greater patrol duration than the previous class ships .