Quote:
Originally Posted by mookiemookie
I never could understand how a slow cumbersome blimp would be an effective anti-U-boat weapon. I figured they'd be too slow to catch them by surprise unless they could pull of a maneuver as described in the link and swoop down out of the clouds. But you can't rely on that happening all the time.
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They were plenty fast enough to keep up with the convoy, and had enough fuel to stay on station for up to more than a day. From the air you can see down into the water far enough to spot a u-boat at periscope depth, and then tell the escorts exactly where it is. No need to swoop down, and plenty of surprise when the escorts could drive straight to the sub.
In that respect they were of more value than much faster aircraft.