The Airship ''NS11'' crash was an

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

accident which occurred on 15 July 1919. The

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF) airship exploded off the east coast of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

over the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

, killing all nine crew on board.

Aircraft

''NS11'' was one of 14 ''North Sea''-class airships ordered by the Royal Navy for the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

, but by the time ''NS11'' was delivered in September 1918, the Royal Naval Air Service had been amalgamated with the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

to form the RAF. The airship was built and tested at

RNAS Kingsnorth RNAS Kingsnorth was a First World War Royal Navy air station for airships, initially operating as an experimental and training station, it later moved on to large scale production of airships. It also provided anti-submarine patrols. A number o ...

near Kingsnorth in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. She was fitted with two 260 hp (195 kW)

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

engines and had an

envelope An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card. Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one of three shapes: a rhombus, a shor ...

with a capacity of cubic feet. Prior to the accident, she had made voyages of more than 1000 miles (1600 km) over the North Sea, setting a world record for non-rigid airships.

Accident

''NS11'' had taken off from

RAF Pulham Pulham is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in south-west England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale, southeast of Sherborne. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had 105 dwellings, 103 households and a population of 269. P ...

in Pulham St Mary,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, around midnight on the night of 14/15 July 1919 and was heading over the

on a mine-hunting patrol. In the early hours of 15 July, she was seen to fly beneath a long "greasy black cloud" off the village of Cley next the Sea on the Norfolk coast when locals reported an abnormal noise from her engines (which may have suggested she was experiencing engine trouble). She was returning towards the coast when she exploded into a ball of flames, causing a vivid glare lasting for several minutes as the burning airship descended, plunging into the sea after a second explosion. None of the nine crew members on board the airship survived. The

Sheringham lifeboat Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban Distr ...

was launched but its crew could only find a small part of the aluminium wreckage."Airship Burnt At Sea." Times ondon, England16 July 1919: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 29 Oct. 2013 The accident occurred less than 48 hours after the airship ''

R34 R34 may refer to: * R34 (New York City Subway car) * R34 (South Africa) * HM Airship ''R.34'', a rigid airship of the Royal Air Force * , a destroyer of the Royal Navy * Nissan Skyline (R34), a mid-size car * Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34), a sports ca ...

'' arrived at RAF Pulham after a successful double-crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, including the first-ever east–west crossing by air.

Cause

The findings of the official Court of Enquiry were inconclusive, but amongst other possibilities it was thought that a lightning strike may have caused the explosion.

Aftermath

There is a memorial plaque and drinking fountain in the grounds of the Viaduct Sports & Social Club in Earlestown,

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

. The names of the crew are commemorated on Hollybrook Memorial,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. One of the crew was buried at Ann's Hill Cemetery in

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Airship NS11 crash Aviation accidents and incidents in 1919 Aviation accidents and incidents in Norfolk Accidents and incidents involving balloons and airships Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather Accidents and incidents involving military aircraft Accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft 1919 in England Aviation accidents and incidents in the North Sea 20th century in Norfolk 1919 disasters in the United Kingdom

Aircraft

Accident

Cause

Aftermath

See also

References