damaged on the trial flight as the ship had not been properly ballasted, and the lifting gas heated causing the ship to rise too fast. The result was extensive buckling of the framework. The ship was returned to its shed to be repaired, which took until January 1921. After further test flights the airship flew to the airship station at Howden, East Yorkshire in February where it was used for training the United States personnel who would crew the R.38 (ZR-2). The US Navy made 4 flights in the ship totalling some 8 hours 45 minutes between 26 March 1921 and 1 June 1921. After these flights it was flown to RNAS Pulham, Norfolk. There the airframe was used for stress analysis and destructive testing before being dismantled in 1925. In total, this relatively small but well designed craft flew for only 73 hours. Although the trials were successful it was too small for its intended use. Many lessons were learnt, and incorporated in the design for the R100. One of the lasting innovations introduced by Barnes Wallis during construction was the first use ever of colour-coded wiring for the electrical systems of an aircraft. Specifications References Griehl, Manfred and Dressel, Joachim Zeppelin! The German Airship Story. 1990 Higham, Robin. The British Rigid Airship 1908–1931. Henley-on-Thames: Foulis, 1961. Morpurgo, J. E. Barnes Wallis - A Biography. London: Longman, 1972 Mowthorpe, Ces Battlebags: British Airships of the First World War. 1995 Swinfield, John. Airship: Design, Development and Disaster. London: Conway, 2012. Lord Ventry and Eugene Kolesnik, Jane's Pocket Book 7 - Airship Development, 1976 Lord Ventry and Eugene Kolesnik, Airship saga: The history of airships seen through the eyes of the men who designed, built, and flew them . 1982, External links Walney Island Airship Sheds Airship Heritage Trust R80 page 1920s British airliners Airships of the United Kingdom R80 Vickers airships Barnes Wallis