The year was 1938. On the evening of one February day, the snow-covered slopes of the low mountains west of Kandalaksha were illuminated by a huge torch. In a matter of minutes, a hydrogen fire destroyed the best airship of the Union, the USSR-V6 Osoaviakhim, and with it 13 of the 19 crew members. The death of the flagship of the airship fleet was overgrown with various rumors; in recent times, lovers of pseudo-sensational investigations have turned to it more than once, but the true ones the circumstances and causes of the disaster remained unknown. Historian of airship construction Alexei Belokrys puts forward his version, based on various sources, including dozens of archival documents, many of which were declassified only recently and are being put into circulation for the first time. The book does not focus on the polar tragedy, but talks about events preceding the construction of the airship, about its place in the overall picture of domestic controlled aeronautics, covering the period from the beginning of the twentieth century until the cessation of the construction of airships in 1940. Here is a kind of history of airship construction in our country, presented in an accessible form, with many unexpected facts and interesting details.