and the roof leaked badly. This caused the glue holding the plywood together to deteriorate; as a result the airship became unairworthy, and was beyond repair. In February 1919, it was dismantled. The covering was removed and returned to Cardington, while the frames were sold for £200; these were broken up and sold for firewood, but due to the fireproofing treatment they had received, they would not burn. R32 After being formally accepted by the Royal Navy, R32 made its first trial flight on 3 September 1919, and then on 6 September went to RNAS Pulham, Norfolk. On 10 September, in formation with the R33, she made a flight over the Netherlands, Belgium and Northern France and back to Pulham. In October 1919, the R32 with the rest of the airship fleet was formally handed over to the Royal Air Force. The airship was used by the National Physical Laboratory for structural testing. On 20 March 1920, it was flown to Howden to be refurbished and used for crew training by the American party, who had come to accept the R38 (ZR-2). When the metal-framed R80 became available, the use of the by now obsolete wooden-framed R32 stopped, and, to save money, it was decommissioned and used to assess the effect of a gas-bag bursting. Once the covering had been removed, and the engines taken away, cell No.18 was overpressurised until the expansion caused the bracing and structure to fail. The frame was subsequently dismantled. Operators Specifications (with five engines) Notes References Higham, Robin. The British Rigid Airship 1908–1931. Henley-on-Thames: Foulis, 1961. Mowthorpe, Ces. Battlebags: British Airships of the First World War, 1995 1910s British patrol aircraft Airships of the United Kingdom Aircraft first flown in 1918