R-100 airship: Rare photographs inside a “flying hotel”, 1929-1930
The R100 airship was built as part of a British government program to develop airplanes to provide passenger and mail transport between Britain and the countries of the British Empire, including India, Australia and Canada.
Originally, it was proposed that two airplanes should be built: one, the R101, to be designed and built under the direction of the Air Ministry, and the other, the R100, one under a fixed-price contract. To be made by private company.
The R100, designed by Barnes Wallis, was the first to be finished in 1929 in Howden, Yorkshire. The airframe was made of duralumin, an early aluminum alloy, and covered with a massive 5-acre fabric coating that was stitched together in pieces and stretched to the inside. place. Inside the 146,000 cubic meter shell, 17 gas bags made from the intestines of oxen provided the all-important buoyancy.
The bags were filled with a combined 500 million cubic feet of ultra-flammable hydrogen. The United States had a monopoly on helium, another lighter-than-air gas, and it was not available in the qualities the UK required for their airship program.
Unlike the R100's original construction, the crew and passenger quarters were sumptuously appointed in the airship's rough center. A double staircase leads to the inner dining room.
The dining and central location contained galleries in which travelers could access accommodation. There were two large panoramic windows on each side, allowing for a two-level promenade deck, giving the interior a large, open and light feel.
The R100 can take up to 100 passengers in a selection of accommodations; There were 14 two-berth and 18 four-berth cabins available. With two sets of double height windows in a curved shape on either side of the ship, it illuminated two sets of promenade decks on either side of the passenger accommodation.
A gallery led to the upper deck cabin, which could overlook the lower promenade deck. The dining room was internal to the ship, and up to 56 passengers could be seated in one sitting.
Catering was done in an electric kitchen next to the dining room, where diners had to pass through a large window by the staff serving the food. The R-100 advertising brochure described it as "like a small hotel" and "comfortably intermediate between a Pullman coach and an ocean liner".
The R100 made its first flight on the morning of 16 December 1929. Departing Howden at 07:53, it flew slowly to York, then set course for the Royal Airship Works at Cardington, Bedfordshire, running on five engines as one engine had to take off. . Close due to torn water jacket, and the completion of the mooring process at 13:40.
A second flight was made the following day with the intention of making a flight to London, but a strip of cloth detached from the lower wing shortly after the mast was blown off, and a cruise around Bedfordshire to test flight control response. was limited to. , lasting 6hr 29 min.
The next day, the R100 was moved from the mast to the No. 2 shed in Cardington and work began to modify the wiring holding the cover: this took until 11 January 1930.
During a test run on 16 January 1930, the R100 achieved a top speed of 81.5 mph (131.2 km/h). The motion made clear a problem with the outer cover: it had a tendency to wave and excessive flapping in the form of a standing wave.
The cine film was taken from this incident during the fourth flight on 20 January, which was caused by large areas of unsupported fabric; It is also visible in some photos.
After 7 successful test flights and flights examining the outer shell wave effect, the decision was made for transatlantic flight or long-range proven flight by one of the two new airplanes.
As the R101 was put back in Shed No. 1 for further design changes to increase disposable lift, R100 was tasked with traveling to Canada, successfully crossing the Atlantic from Montreal to the newly built mast.
The ship slammed the mooring off Cardington mast at 02.48 a.m. on 29 July 1930. The ship took off over the Atlantic and headed for the Newfoundland coast.
The transatlantic route was smooth but the airship ran into difficulties on a couple of occasions over the St. Lawrence Valley. Near l'Ile aux Coudres, the R.100 was buffeted by changing winds as before.
Several major tears occurred on three wings and the engine had to be stopped for eight hours so that repairs could be made. The people of Quebec City, forty thousand or more, erupted with joy as the airship slowly flew overhead.
A second incident occurred close to Montreal as R.100 flew through storm clouds, and a very strong updraft caused more damage to the wing fabric. After a journey of 78 hours and 49 minutes, the R100 finally reached the Montreal mast at 05.37 a.m. on 1 August; 3,364 mile journey.
The airship stayed in Montreal for 12 days, while over 100,000 people boarded the airship every day, and a song was composed by La Bolduc to mock people's fascination with the R100.
On 5 October 1930, after the R101 crashed and burned down in France, en route to India, the Air Ministry ordered the R100 to be grounded. It was deflated and hung in its shed in Cardington for a year while three options were considered: a complete refit of the R100 and continuing testing for the final build of the R102; Steady testing of the R100 and the retention of approximately 300 employees to keep the program "tick over"; or retention of staff and scrapping of airships.
In November 1931, it was decided to sell R100 for scrap. The entire structure of the ship was flattened by steamrollers and sold for less than £600.
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