The R102 (originally referred to as Project H) was a proposed British

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

that was never built. The development of the R102 in 1930 resulted from the

Imperial Airship Scheme The British Imperial Airship Scheme was a project conceived in 1924 to improve communication and provide transportation between Great Britain and distant countries of the vast British Empire by establishing regular air service using passenger ...

, 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 o ...

and

R101 R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme, a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was d ...

airships would not be economically viable operating over the planned routes. After the crash of the R101 in October 1930, the project was reevaluated and the entire Imperial Airship Scheme abandoned.

Design and development

The design was to use seven (instead of the five used by R101) of an improved version of the Beardmore Tornado 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 is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

using

and

, to be lengthened, like R101. In 1934, R102, and a future sister-ship, R103 would begin service. By 1935, the airships would offer weekly flights to

Ismailia Ismailia ( ', ) 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 had an estimated population of about 1,434,741 according to the statistics issued by the Cen ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1936. In August 1931, following the crash of the R101 on 5 October 1930 and influenced by the worsening economic climate of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the cabinet decided to abandon further British airship development, although Cardington would retain a watching brief on overseas developments. The remaining airship, the R100, grounded since the loss of the R101, was ordered to be dismantled and sold for scrap.Masefield, Peter G.''To Ride the Storm: The Story of the Airship R.101''. London: William Kimber, 1982. pp. 526-539 Had the R102 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