Why a few airships could not watch the North Sea

A handful of rigid airships could not maintain effective coverage across the North Sea, especially when wind, endurance, and uncertain control of their movement restricted operations. Their need to report by wireless also created emissions an opponent could intercept and use for direction finding. A proposed German airship directing Atlantic wolf packs during the Second World War would have faced the same communications problem. Equipping it as a flying aircraft carrier would have provided only a small aircraft complement, while making it a priority target for British carriers. Some pursuing carriers would have been faster than the airship. Repeated transmissions while coordinating submarine movements would reveal its position to British direction-finding stations. Surface ships could use signal lamps and flags, but airships depended on radio exchanges that exposed their movements.