Why did Britain not use blimps for anti-submarine warfare in the 1920s?
Short answerThey could not attack low and precisely without high risk, and expected enemy fighter coverage made their slow, poorly maneuvering airframes too vulnerable.
NotesAccurate bombing of a surfaced submarine required an airship to descend into a dangerous low-level attack. Its limited maneuverability then made it vulnerable to the submarine and especially to hostile fighters. British planning focused on the Mediterranean and Far East, where land-based or Japanese carrier aircraft made that vulnerability operationally decisive. These attack and theatre requirements explain why Britain rejected blimps for interwar anti-submarine work.