While on a flight to Karachi on 5 October 1930, the R-101 British airship crashed at the edge of a wood near Beauvais in France, and immediately caught fire.

Of the 54 passengers and crew, 46 were killed in the crash itself, while two more died later in hospital.

To commemorate this sad day, here is a contemporary newspaper report of the disaster.

Gloucester Citizen – Monday 06 October 1930

Image © Local World Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000325/19301006/051/0001

Western Morning News – Monday 06 October 1930

Image © Local World Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000329/19301006/078/0009