This is John Bachelor. A happy conversation with

SC Gwyn. His new book, His Majesty's Airship,

the life and tragic death of the world's largest flying machine.

The date the 1920s, R101. And here Mr Gwyn explains very

carefully that the British mean to meant to make this and did make this the showpiece of empire

The quick the Rudyard Kipling empire spanning the world

Not only the Royal Navy but but the Royal Flying Corps, led by R101, the largest rigid airship

ever launched, and its unhappy conclusion. Tonight, much more of this in detail, and here's the author explaining

how R101 was loaded with the top of the top of the top of the technology of the moment

R101 was going to be an entirely new thing.

As we said before, you know, Zeppelin were invented,

the rigid airships rather were invented by Ferdinand on Zeppelin

1900 used extensively in World War I,

which was also a great theater to illustrate their problems,

which is that they all went down in flames, most of them. But R101, so as you said,

there's a capitalist airship and the socialist airship.

The socialist airship was, here we're going to give you X amount of money, do it for that money.

R101 was what we'd call cost plus.

It was like Vickers, whatever you wanted.

And they just loaded it with technology.

And it was meant to be a flagship of empire.

It was meant to demonstrate, you know,

...