R80 (airship)
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1917 |
| Headquarters | Barrow-in-Furness , United Kingdom |
| Products | Rigid airships (including R.80) |
The R.80 was a British rigid airship that took to the skies for the first time on 19 July 1920, marking Britain’s initial venture into fully streamlined airship construction. Initially commissioned as a military asset for the British Admiralty, it was ultimately completed with the intention of serving commercial passenger transport. However, the R.80 was found to be inadequately sized for this purpose. Following a brief period during which it served as a training platform for United States Navy crews preparing to operate the ZR-2, the airship was withdrawn from service and dismantled by 1925.
Development
The assembly of the R.80 began in November 1917 at Vickers’ airship facility on Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furness. The design was created by Barnes Wallis alongside H. B. Pratt. Originally, Vickers had been contracted to construct R.37, but due to unavailability of larger sheds and wartime shortages of steel preventing expansion, they utilized the smaller Walney shed instead. This facility had previously been used for building R.27 and R.29, thus imposing dimensional constraints on the size of the R.80.
Progress was hindered by workforce shortages, and with the conclusion of the First World War, the viability of military airships was reassessed. In mid-1919, the Air Ministry halted construction, deeming the vessel obsolete for both military and commercial purposes. Despite this, Vickers proceeded with outfitting the airship for commercial use, although plans did not come to fruition. Co-designer H. B. Pratt produced a report outlining a potential intercity European route akin to those operated by the Zeppelin company:
"The chosen route to Rome spans 1,000 land miles, which falls within the ship’s endurance capabilities. The ship is expected to cruise at an altitude of around 2,000 ft. The path would take it over southern England, then across the English Channel directly to Paris. Upon arrival, mail and passengers would be delivered before continuing southeast towards Lyon. After passing Lyon, it would proceed south through the Rhone Valley to Nice on the French coast, then turn eastward following the coastline toward Rome over the sea. The return journey would retrace this same course."
Operational history
By April 1920, the external covering was completed, and by June, the airship itself was ready for flight. On 19 July, R.80 made its inaugural flight after emerging from its hangar. Unfortunately, improper ballast management combined with heating of the lifting gas caused an overly rapid ascent, resulting in significant structural buckling of its frame during this trial flight. It was returned to its shed for repairs that lasted until January 1921.
Following additional test flights, in February the airship relocated to Howden, East Yorkshire, where it served as a training platform for United States Navy personnel preparing to operate the R.38 (ZR-2). The US Navy conducted four flights aboard R.80, accumulating approximately 8 hours and 45 minutes between 26 March and 1 June 1921.
Subsequently, R.80 was transferred to RNAS Pulham, Norfolk, where its framework underwent stress testing and destructive trials before being dismantled in 1925. Overall, this modestly sized yet well-engineered craft logged only 73 hours of flight time.
Although it successfully completed trials, its limited size rendered it unsuitable for its original mission. Valuable insights gained from its design and operation informed enhancements incorporated into the later R100. Notably, during construction Barnes Wallis pioneered the first implementation of colour-coded wiring in an aircraft’s electrical system—a practice that has since become standard.
Specifications
References
- Griehl, Manfred and Dressel, Joachim Zeppelin! The German Airship Story. 1990 ISBN 1-85409-045-3
- Higham, Robin. The British Rigid Airship 1908–1931. Henley-on-Thames: Foulis, 1961.
- Morpurgo, J. E. Barnes Wallis - A Biography. London: Longman, 1972 ISBN 0-582-10360-6
- Mowthorpe, Ces Battlebags: British Airships of the First World War. 1995 ISBN 0-905778-13-8
- Swinfield, John. Airship: Design, Development and Disaster. London: Conway, 2012. ISBN 978-1-84486-138-5
- Lord Ventry and Eugene Kolesnik, Jane's Pocket Book 7 - Airship Development, 1976 ISBN 0-356-04656-7
- Lord Ventry and Eugene Kolesnik, Airship saga: The history of airships seen through the eyes of the men who designed, built, and flew them . 1982 ISBN 0-7137-1001-2
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