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Author Topic: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]  (Read 2768 times)

Lurkndog

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Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« on: January 08, 2021, 11:22:44 AM »
Nice presentation on the interior layout of the R-100 passenger airship, built in Great Britain  from 1926-1929, with her maiden voyage taking place in December 1929.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-4P-6b3lFI

This video has very clear illustrations of the interior of the airship cabin, combined with archival photographs, and if one wanted to set a historical adventure on an airship, this should certainly get you thinking.

GameDaddy
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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #1 on: January 31, 2021, 02:38:37 AM »
Too bad they don't make these now. I's totally take a trip on them!
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Lurkndog

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #2 on: January 31, 2021, 11:49:08 AM »
There's certainly a romance to the airships, but there were also good reasons why they were never a success. They were prone to catastrophic failures, and couldn't operate in high or even moderate winds.

Still, they make for great alt-history scenery.

Samsquantch

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2021, 09:05:45 PM »
It would have been such a thrill to have travelled on one of these. I'm going to write up an adventure on an airship for Callnof Cthulhu I think.

Omega

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2021, 11:28:42 PM »
Pretty sure early editions of CoC had deck plans for an airship. I'd have to dig to confrm

Samsquantch

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2021, 01:43:48 AM »
Pretty sure early editions of CoC had deck plans for an airship. I'd have to dig to confrm

I do recall one adventure that did but the name escapes me. My intent is to have my players watch the video or use some stills from it during play.

Omega

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2021, 10:35:45 AM »
Found some. The 2nd Ed set. Also the 2nd ed version of the 1920's Sourcebook which reprints some parts of the core.
The map is not very useful. But the rest of both books is pretty solid.
the 3rd ed set combined the two somewhat. Airship map is even less useful.
My 4th ed is in storage unfortunately so can not check that. But believe it lacked airship or train layouts or even most of the maps.

Ratman_tf

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2021, 10:18:30 PM »
It's probably on the level of combat mecha, but I always wondered if it would be possible to build a real life airship in the fantasy style. Essentially a sailing vessel attached to a drigible.
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Lurkndog

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #8 on: February 23, 2021, 10:50:42 AM »
It's probably on the level of combat mecha, but I always wondered if it would be possible to build a real life airship in the fantasy style. Essentially a sailing vessel attached to a drigible.

In terms of weight, it would certainly be doable. Just a matter of making the dirigible/blimp big enough.

In terms of functionality, I'm not sure. You're not going to land the dirigible on the ocean. You might be able to lower the sailing ship on a winch, but again, to what end?

Might be fun as a fantasy pirate ship. You think you're coming up on a big fat freighter, then the airbags deploy, and it lifts out of the water and starts dropping bombs...

I could also see it in an alt-history game where the age of sail went straight into dirigibles after the Montgolfier Brothers. England might take Heart of Oak and convert it into a dirigible just to piss off the French.
« Last Edit: February 23, 2021, 10:56:56 AM by Lurkndog »

Omega

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #9 on: February 23, 2021, 04:16:52 PM »
It's probably on the level of combat mecha, but I always wondered if it would be possible to build a real life airship in the fantasy style. Essentially a sailing vessel attached to a drigible.

Some of the early ones pretty much are this. Except the top of the hull was glued to the bottom of the balloon.

I am pretty sure one or two really early balloons and neo-zepplins tried it as well. Didnt Griffard propose such a design too?

Check out the WWII SSZ blimps for example. They carried a boat under them. Small. But still a boat as they were intended for sea use.



All the ones I've come across actually built seem to be fairly small. But could surely be done for larger vessels using dirigibles?

« Last Edit: February 23, 2021, 04:18:25 PM by Omega »

hedgehobbit

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #10 on: February 26, 2021, 09:19:20 PM »
Here's an old BBC documentary about an around the world voyage of the Graff Zeppelin written by an American reporter who was sent as a publicity stunt. It's an hour and a half but, IMO, worth watching as it has plenty of ideas for events and intrigue on such a trip. It also gives a good scale for the speed at which these things travelled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0sPTxA01BQ&t=3542s

As for a fantasy version of an airship, it wouldn't work. Without internal combustion engines driving propellers, the airship would just float away. You'd need magic to make it controllable and, at that point, you might was well just make a magical ship that can fly.

Lurkndog

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #11 on: February 26, 2021, 09:23:57 PM »
The airship is a staple of the Final Fantasy games.

Trond

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #12 on: March 14, 2021, 10:06:36 AM »
There's certainly a romance to the airships, but there were also good reasons why they were never a success. They were prone to catastrophic failures, and couldn't operate in high or even moderate winds.

Still, they make for great alt-history scenery.
The high or moderate winds is incorrect, at least when handled by experienced crews.
The Graf Zeppelin navigated around the globe through several storms, including one that made an airplane crash. Eckener actually learned to use storms to gain speed.

Shrieking Banshee

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #13 on: May 04, 2021, 10:56:21 AM »
Man I wish this technology caught on so much. Its so cool. A flying ship is just such a dreamy idea.

Bishop Reynolds

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Re: Welcome Aboard The R-100 [1920s Passenger Airship]
« Reply #14 on: June 29, 2021, 07:33:59 PM »
For any Doctor Who fans, there is an audio drama with the 8th doctor set on one of these and it is amazing. it was actually set as the first in his new line of Saudi episodes, and the start of some of the best Who of all time. It is called Storm Warnings.