The R.101, larger than any other airship in the world, was built at Cardington, near Bedford, in 1930. Seven hours into her maiden voyage to India, in increasingly threatening weather, she crashed into a hillside at Beauvais in France. Of the 54 people on board, all but eight died instantly. This is the report of the inquiry into the disaster and the tragic loss of life which exposed the pressure from the Air Minister, Lord Thomson, that, whatever the technical causes of the crash, had at the last minute unduly hurried designers, constructors and crew. The early end of the airship in modern commercial flight was the result. Uncovered Editions are historic official papers which have not previously been available in a popular form.