R102

The R102 (originally referred to as Project H) was a British airship planned in 1930 but never built. The R102 would have carried the registration G-FAAX.^[1] The plan for R102 came out of the Imperial Airship Scheme as a successor to the experimental R100 and R101 airships then under development. With the loss of the R101 in an accident, the scheme was reviewed and further airship development stopped.

Design and development

The design was essentially an enlarged R101, and was to use seven (instead of five) of an improved version of the Beardmore Tornado diesel engine with output of 850 bhp (630 kW, maximum) or 700 bhp (520 kW, cruising, continuous).

It was recognized that the R102 would be too small to be commercially viable on the intended routes, and it was intended to be a prototype for an even larger class of airship, the R103 and R104.

The 1930 proposals were to provide scheduled airship services from 1931 from Cardington to Karachi and Montreal with R100 and R101 (both lengthened with additional bays) until 1934 when the new ships R102 and R103 would be available. By 1935 the four airships would offer a weekly service to Ismalia in Egypt and monthly return services to Montreal (direct) and Karachi (via Ismalia, 5 days). Australia would join in 1936.

But on 31 August 1931 the Cabinet decided to abandon British airship development, although Cardington would still keep a watching brief on overseas developments.^[2]

Specifications (provisional)

Data from ^[1]

General characteristics

• Capacity: 50 passengers plus 5 tons of freight
• Length: 822 ft 0 in ( m)
• Diameter: 134 ft 0 in (41 m)
• Volume: 7,500,000 ft³ ( m³) each

Performance

• Cruise speed: 69 mph (111 km/h)

See also

Imperial Airship Scheme

Notes

References

• R102, the inside story of Project H, Airship Heritage Trust 

External links