A review by crafalsk264
His Majesty's Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World's Largest Flying Machine by S.C. Gwynne

adventurous challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

This is a nonfiction history of two airships.  British Airship R101 and her sister ship R100 which was still being developed by the German airship owners. R101 was a hydrogen-fueled airship which crashed in France in November 1930, preceding the Hindenburg disaster by 7 years. During the years between the end of WWI and the gear up for WWII, Germany, Britain and America continue to explore the feasibility of an airship program. The frame of R100 and R101 were laid by Germany and R101 was sold to a group of British aviation companies. After that the development of the ship was an unofficial competition. R101 was somewhat ahead of R100. This book focuses on the human side of the development of the programs. Although there was plenty of evidence of the risks inherent to using highly flammable gas as fuel and to maintain the structure of the ship. With the advent of WWII the move to the more reliable and versatile airplanes. 

This nonfiction book has been meticulously researched and the history is a unique backdrop for the story of men, machines, and mechanisms. Prior to the Hindenberg Disaster, the R100 and R101 was a foretelling of things to come. This book is similar to narrative and historical nonfiction such as work by Eric Larson, Jennifer Chastain,  Kate Moore and others. I enjoyed the journey and recommend to readers of history, nonfiction historical, aviation, world history, technology and aircraft.