Nostalgia: Rare pictures of the R100 Airship taking shape near Howden

The flat farmlands to the north of Howden were once peppered with airfields. Some survive to this day but others live on only in pictures like these.
An enthusiastic crowd rushes to meet the  R-100, as she approaches her mooring tower at Cardington, Bedfordshire.   (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)An enthusiastic crowd rushes to meet the  R-100, as she approaches her mooring tower at Cardington, Bedfordshire.   (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)
An enthusiastic crowd rushes to meet the R-100, as she approaches her mooring tower at Cardington, Bedfordshire. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Little remains of the aerodrome at Spaldington, where these days waste wood is made into biomass, but in the 1920s it was the site of one of the most remarkable – and even more remarkably, almost forgotten – chapters in British aviation history.

It was there that Barnes Wallis architect of the later Dam Busters raid on Germany, developed the R100 Airship, a craft intended to enter commercial service.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Built in an unheated shed with a leaky roof, the 720ft craft resembled an ocean liner, with a double staircase to a sumptuous dining room for its 100 passengers. It flew to Canada and back, but two months later the Air Ministry’s rival craft crashed in France on its maiden flight to India, killing 48, and the airship programme was abandoned.

29th November 1929:  The first public view of the completed R100 airship in a hangar at Howden, Yorkshire.  (Photo by S. R. Gaiger/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)29th November 1929:  The first public view of the completed R100 airship in a hangar at Howden, Yorkshire.  (Photo by S. R. Gaiger/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
29th November 1929: The first public view of the completed R100 airship in a hangar at Howden, Yorkshire. (Photo by S. R. Gaiger/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Few had seen it coming. Airships could fly vastly greater distances than the conventional aeroplanes of the day, and in the years during and after the First World War, they were considered the future of aviation.

It was no accident that Barnes Wallis found himself installed in the backwater of the East Riding. The Government had requisitioned 100 acres there in 1915 to build an airship station that would protect the shipping convoys out of Grimsby and Goole. It remained open until 1921, when a disastrous crash over Hull killed 44 crew members.

Nevertheless, post-war optimism was high for the airborne liners, and Barnes Wallis was one of two engineers competing for a contract from Ramsay MacDonald’s Labour government. As the giant craft took shape, Howden became a hive of industry.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But the dream died with those on board the rival airship, and within five years the old shed had been taken down and sold for scrap.

The dining saloon of the airship R100, before its launch at Howden, Yorkshire.   (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)The dining saloon of the airship R100, before its launch at Howden, Yorkshire.   (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The dining saloon of the airship R100, before its launch at Howden, Yorkshire. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click here to subscribe.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.