CURLY:
Most of us were Navy men.
But our Boss was a topping old
Army General,
And we'd all been made one tiny part
Of this brand-new Royal Air Force.
But they were all Heavier-Than-Air:
'Birdmen',
And didn't exactly make us welcome.
Said airships drifted about
Like a bad smell...
We were the future for all long-range flight
'Cause planes would never be
The size to compete.
Oh yes, I know
That sounds comic in hindsight.
But we were just bursting
To prove it was true...
But it was clear a Zeppelin
Makes a pretty lousy warship;
One burst of tracer
And the thing explodes.
Our General was nuts on airships
Like the rest of us,
And game for any stunt
To show them in a peaceful role.
He sent us on some comical missions,
Like dropping leaflets
Advertising Victory Bonds
Over Sheffield and Bradford,
Manchester and Liverpool,
Towing a socking great banner behind us,
And, just to add to the general festivity...
A cold and terrified RAF band
Crammed onto the machine-gun platform
Perched right up on top of the hull,
Banging away for dear life
As we droned up and down...
