5th October 1930

[antarmike]

5 October - British rigid airship R101, completed in 1929 as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme. After initial flights and two enlargements to the lifting volume, it crashed this date, in Beauvais, France, during its maiden overseas voyage, killing 48 people. Amongst airship accidents of the 1930s, the loss of life surpassed the Hindenburg, LZ-129, disaster of 1937, and was second only to that of the USS Akron, ZRS-4, crash of 1933. The demise of R101 effectively ended British employment of rigid airships.

[antarmike]

The R101 had a history of stability problems and the court of enquiry covered these up. The crash was put down to a tear in the outer covering leading to a failure of the forward gas bag. It was only after many years that the extent of the R101 stability problems and the subsequent coverup came to light.

 

The R101 was giving cause for concern throughout the whole of the flight up to the point of impact. Having repeatedly gone nose heavy, diving towards the ground, emergency action to rectify the situation, and obsevations on the ground from witness's who said it was flying too low and they feared it would hit rooftops etc.

 

The Airship had been assembled at RAF Cardington but the frames were actually built by Boulton Paul, who would go on to build the Wartime Defiant turret fighter.

 

The wreckage lay on the ground until well into 1931, and indeed Zeppelin's bought 5 tons of Aluminium from the wreck, which they built into their airships.