Oooo this is interesting. The British rigid airship R.33 with two Gloster Grebes slung underneath for aeroplane dropping trials in late-1926. The Grebes were J7400 at the front and J7385 to the rear. A few drops were made until the idea was 'dropped' so to speak. Information I wrote for an article I had published some years ago:
"Because each Grebe weighed around a ton, it was calculated that approximately 40,000 cu ft of hydrogen per aeroplane from the 'ship's overall internal volume was required to lift them. Loading tests proved that the effects from releasing two tons of weight were minimal. Flown by Fg Off C. Mackenzie Richards, J7385 was the first Grebe dropped on 21 October 1926. With Fg Off R.L. Ragg in the cockpit, J7400's engine refused to start, but a successful drop was later made over the airship station at Cardington in Bedfordshire, where R.33 was to be temporarily based. Neither aircraft attempted reconnection; both successfully landed at the airship's new home, where it was to provide support for the Imperial Airship Scheme. An unusual test carried out on this flight was an attempt to calculate an aircraft's altitude by acoustics.
Over a month later R.33 went up again with the two Grebes; this time piloted by Sqn Ldr B.E. Baker and Flt Lt Shales. Both were released successfully, but no attempt was made to reconnect either aircraft; both making uneventful landings. During this flight, dummy parachute drops were made from the airship before it flew to Pulham, over which Leading Aircraftman 'Brainy' Dobbs parachuted safely to the ground. Having spent two hours and fifty minutes in the air, R.33 landed at Pulham after what was its last flight."
Of interest was that following these trial flights, J7400 was overhauled by the manufacturer and converted to a two-seater and was sold to the New Zealand government.
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