The R.102 (originally referred to as Project H) was a British

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 ...

planned in 1930 but never built. The development of R.102 resulted from the

Imperial Airship Scheme The British Imperial Airship Scheme was a 1920s project to improve communication between Britain and the distant countries of the British Empire by establishing air routes using airships. The first phase was the construction of two large and t ...

, when it became apparent that the

R100 His Majesty's Airship R100 was a privately designed and built British rigid airship made as part of a two-ship competition to develop a commercial airship service for use on British Empire routes as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme. The ot ...

and

R101 R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Mi ...

airships then being built would not be capable of economic operation over the planned routes. After the crash of the R.101 in October 1930, the project was reevaluated and further airship development abandoned.

Design and development

The design was to use seven (instead of the five used by R.101) of an improved version of the

Beardmore Tornado The Beardmore Tornado was an eight-cylinder inline diesel aircraft engine built in 1927 by William Beardmore and Company of Glasgow, Scotland, and used in the British R101 airship when petrol engines were thought unsafe in the tropics. The mo ...

diesel engine with a maximum total output of and cruising output of . The 1930 proposal was, starting in 1931, to provide a scheduled airship service from Cardington to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

using

and

, the former to be lengthened like R.101. In 1934 R.102, which would have carried the registration ''G-FAAX'', and a sister-ship, R.103 would become available. By 1935 the airships would offer a weekly service to

Ismailia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and monthly direct return services to

and

via Ismalia. The service was to be extended to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1936. Following the loss of the R.101 on 5 October 1930 and influenced by the economic climate of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

the Cabinet decided to abandon British airship development on 31 August 1931, although Cardington would still keep a watching brief on overseas developments.Masefield, Peter G.''To Ride the Storm: The Story of the Airship R.101''. London: William Kimber, 1982. pp. 526-539 Had the R.102 been built, it would have been the largest airship of all time, measuring 18 feet longer than the '' Hindenburg''.

Specifications (provisional)

Notes

References

External links

{{Admiralty airships 1930s British airliners Airships of the United Kingdom Abandoned civil aircraft projects of the United Kingdom

Design and development

Specifications (provisional)

See also

Notes

References

External links