Mayfly and the naval problem of finding the enemy

Mayfly was the crew's name for the airship, rather than an official Royal Navy or Admiralty designation. It was intended to locate an opponent, estimate its strength, and help the fleet deploy intelligently. The project answered German experimentation and the enduring problem of finding ships across a vast ocean. Convoys and submarines could pass through large stretches of the Atlantic without seeing one another, especially before routes converged near port approaches. In a world without satellites, finding a fleet could be more decisive than having the weapons to engage it.