Pall of Tragedy Hangs over Nation - R101 Last Pictures

Series

Series Name
British Movietone News

Issue

Issue No.
70
Date Released
6 Oct 1930
Stories in this Issue:

Story

Story No. within this Issue
6 / 6
Summary
MOVIETONE CARD TITLE: Pall of Tragedy Hangs Over Nation - R101 Last Pictures. DESCRIPTION: Last pictures of the R101 taken a few hours before the start of her fatal flight and shots of the wrecked airship. SHOTLIST: Shots of Airship moored to mast. Close shot of the tail. Long shots of Airship moored. Lift being loaded with supplies. Airship leaves mast. Shots in the air. THE DISASTER Panning shot along wreckage with people in the foreground. Close shot of wreckage.
Researcher Comments
Commentatary: "The British airship has been taken from her shed and is now moored at the huge mast at Cardington, where she is being prepared for her flight to India. Notice how she appears to dwarf the cottages on the edge of the aerodrome. Taking a closer look at the ship from the stern, the beauty of her lines and the immense size of her rudder and elevators are strikingly impressive. During her long stay in her hangar seen on the left, an extra bay or section 45ft in length had been built into the ship, to bring her total length to 777th, making her the largest airship in the world." [Sound of engines]. Different voice (official at scene?) "You’re now looking at the airship 101. This ship was on it’s way from England to India. It had 57 people on board approximately, including the Director of Civil Aviation Air Vice Marshal ?, also the minister of Air, Lord Thompson. Out of the crew and passengers there are exactly 7 survivors. These are engineers who must have got out of the ship as she struck the side of the hill that you are now looking at. She was flying very low in a terrible storm and the wind blew it sideways and the engine gondolas hit the side of the hill, and one sad thing I noticed arriving here was the observation cockpit at the end of the airship which you can see still flying the British flag." [Sound of motor-bike engine and someone whistling.]
Keywords
Aviation; Aircraft; Accidents and disasters
Card file number
881
Story extras:
Film clip

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How to cite this record

'Pall of Tragedy Hangs over Nation - R101 Last Pictures', British Movietone News Issue No. 70, 6 Oct 1930. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/newsonscreen/search/index.php/story/2683 (Accessed 31 Jan 2025)