R101 Airship, Cardington, Bedfordshire

Photograph taken 1929 © Historic England Archive Aerofilms Collection ref: afl03_aeofilms_29993

This is the R101 airship at Cardington in 1929. It was built in 1926-30 at the Royal Airship Works at Cardington. It's final test flight was on the 1st October 1930. Three days later it left for Karachi in Pakistan. However it crashed into a hillside near Beauvais, north of Paris. Tragically 48 of its 54 passengers were killed.

Location

Bedfordshire Cardington

Period

1920s (1920 - 1929)

Themes

"Wills, Shaw and Friese-Greene Ready to Film". This was a publicity shot for the foundation of the Aerofilms aerial photography company. It was taken at the London Aerodrome, Hendon. Francis Lewis Wills was a former Royal Naval Air Service Observer and co-founder of Aerofilms. Claude Friese-Greene, holding the cine-camera, was technical director for Aerofilms in its early days, but is best known as a pioneering cinematographer. We know very little about Shaw, the pilot, probably an AirCo employee.

R101 Airship, Cardington, Bedfordshire

Location

Period

Themes

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