Michael Moorcock

The hubris of the great airship designers

Rushing to build the world’s largest flying machine was perhaps Britain’s greatest imperial folly, with a disregard for safety measures dooming the R101 to disaster

The R101 was supposed to head a fleet of airships capable of carrying troops and goods to any part of the British Empire [Alamy] 
issue 09 December 2023

  • His Majesty’s Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World’s Largest Flying Machine

    S.C. Gwynne

    Oneworld Publications, pp. 300, £25

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY 3 MONTHS FOR $5
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Start your 3-month trial today for just $5 and subscribe to more than one view

Read next

Trending

Michael Taube

How will Mark Carney govern?

Canada went to the polls on Monday. The election campaign only ran for 37 days, but it was a wild ride with shifts in political momentum that few could have predicted.   Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau on March 14, won last night. It’s the fourth consecutive Liberal win, but it

More on imperialism

Also by Michael Moorcock

Latest

Comments

Join the debate for just £1 a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in