First conceived in 1670, the notion of dirigibles made of metal has given rise to a number of curious failures over the last three centuries. This New Scientist article details a number of them, including the uniquely successful example: the US Navy’s “Tin Bubble”, an aluminium-plated airship capable of making 110km/h and lifting 5 tonnes, which flew for 2,250 hours over ten years of active service before being scrapped in 1941.