R101 was a British rigid hydrogen airship completed in 1929 by a design team appointed by the Air Ministry, built as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme meant to link Britain to its empire by air. At 731 feet in length, later stretched further, it was for a time the largest flying craft in the world, a record it held until the German Hindenburg surpassed it seven years afterward. R101 crashed in France in October 1930 during the first leg of its maiden overseas voyage toward India, a disaster that killed most of those aboard and effectively ended British rigid airship development.
Facts
Sources
1. Grace's Guide to British Industrial History: R101
Grace's Guide to British Industrial HistoryHistoryQuote, History
the project's completion was delayed from 1927 to 1929
R101 (Wikipedia)
In Group: Rigid Airships, Lead sentenceQuote, In Group: Rigid Airships, Lead sentence
R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme, a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire.
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