R101 was a British rigid airship completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes. When built, it was the world's largest flying craft at 731 ft in length, and it was not surpassed by another hydrogen-filled rigid airship until the Hindenburg flew seven years later. The crash of R101 effectively ended British airship development, and was one of the worst airship accidents of the 1930s. The loss of life was more than the 36 killed in the highly public Hindenburg disaster of 1937.
