Somewhere above the earth
(A. R. Coster / Getty)
The interior of the R100 airship was designed with luxury in mind, but also with weight or, rather, the lack of it. The craft could accommodate a hundred passengers, supported by thirty-seven staff. Passengers occupied the top two of three decks. Access to the salon-cum-dining-room from the cabins was via a double staircase. Two promenading decks ran either side of the salon, offering spectacular views to the guests, as shown here.
The mahogany detailing throughout the interior was a much lighter timber, stained to a darker hue. Privacy was also sacrificed for lightness; the cabins, which used bunk beds, were separated from each other only by cloth barriers.
‘The passengers enter the R100 through a door in the nose of the ship. The passenger saloon is slung from the main joints of the ship, and seats some fifty people comfortably. From the saloon, with its polished mahogany veneer pillars and 5-ply birch floor, which was polished and carpeted, staircases led up to the cabins and down to the control car.’
Flight International magazine, December 27, 1929
