[quote=Mantido]
I believe it does matter. Technological development is a logical process, not a piecemeal collection of random advancements. Don't just slap some magical flintlock revolver rifles into your army because you think it's cool. There are people here who just don't seem to know how this kind of firearms technology worked, and that's not a statement against them--it just means someone should clarify so that things make sense and it's not some weird alternate universe of helicopters or whatever alongside muskets. Armored airships means that one of the first things to be developed in warfare would be a way to reliably pierce that armor repeatedly from long distances, unless you want every battle with airships to just be an aerial Battle of Hampton Roads where we just ping useless munitions off each other, or throw heavy rocks instead of dropping bombs. This is why one of the first things they did in aerial combat was to stick machine guns and autocannons on planes. The same goes for ship-based combat, where most ships were armed with autocannons rather than any giant guns. They're an easy and effective countermeasure, and logically they'd be one of the first things developed for that purpose.
[/quote]

Also, more efficient use of hydrogen to keep airships aloft would be a prime research area. The first big airships would be very large, and easy to hit, not being able to really sport any armor. Then they'll get smaller and more efficient, keeping or even gaining firepower and armor, while losing size. If the world has had airships for quite some time, as the traits and the like suggest, then I would think that, in the current time period, there would be a variety of ships, with a variety of options for lift. I wouldn't go so far as to say they have helicopters and the like, but planes would've undoubtedly been, at the very least, thought of and maybe sketched, while at the most, experimental types had been made. This is a world that has significant focus on air power; planes to take down airships would be quite valuable, especially since some nations have powerful dreadnaughts in their fleets.