"TOG@Toil" wrote:
The R101 airship used diesel engines, which were then really untried
technology as far as aircraft went, and they were unsuccessful. Had
the thing not crashed and the British airship programme continued,
it's almost certain the R101 would have been re-fitted with petrol
engines.

The thinking apparently was that the diesel was less flammable (for
whatever reason fire risk was at the back of the minds of the
designers). Although as I understand it this was all to no avail since
there were also separate engines for starting the diesels, which were
petrol.

You couldn't make this stuff up.