When the R101 first took to the skies she was the largest aircraft ever to fly. What followed
was a tragic finale to a tale of human folly on a grand scale. 'I loved every page of this
book.' THE TIMES BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF 2023 In 1929 the R101 was the largest object ever
to take to the air. It was meant to dazzle the world with cutting-edge technology and awesome
size. Better than a plane more luxurious than an ocean liner the R101 would connect the
furthest reaches of the British Empire tying together far-flung dominions at a time when
imperial bonds were fraying. It was however not to be. The spectacular crash of the
British airship R101 in 1930 changed the world of aviation forever. Most have heard of the
fiery crash of the Hindenburg a German ship that went down in New Jersey seven years later.
But the story of R101 and its forty-eight victims has largely been forgotten. His Majesty's
Airship recounts the epic narrative of the ill-fated airship and her eccentric champion
Christopher Thomson. S. C. Gwynne brings to life a lost world of aviators driven by ambition
and killed by hubris.
