Lot 33
Vickers Ltd - A side view of the R80 Airship in Flight at Walney Island, Barrow in Furness, gelatin silver print photograph, published by Vickers circa 1920, 56cm x 70cm, within a stained wood frame 66cm x 80cm. Provenance: Sir Barnes Wallis thence by descent. Note: The R.80 was a British rigid airship, first flown on 19 July 1920, and notable as the first fully streamlined airship constructed in Britain. Designed by Barnes Wallis and H. B. Pratt for Vickers, it was originally commissioned as a military project for the British Admiralty but was ultimately completed for commercial passenger service. In practice, however, the R.80 proved too small to operate viably in this capacity. After a brief period assisting in the training of personnel from the United States Navy who were to crew the ZR-2 airship, the R.80 was withdrawn from service and was eventually scrapped in 1925  £100-150