Empire of the Clouds story of the R101 airship, which crashed on its maiden voyage in northern France on 5 October 1930. The song was written entirely by the band's lead vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, who initially intended it to be about "World War I fighter airplanes;" Dickinson abandoned the idea after using the same theme for the song "Death or Glory," also from "The Book of Souls". At the time of recording, Dickinson was reading "a big, sort of encyclopedic crash report" of the R101, entitled "To Ride the Storm", which gave him the idea for the song's eventual subject. Dickinson describes it as
R101 (South Africa) North West Province for about 7 Km before entering Limpopo. From Hammanskraal, it is parallel to the N1, passing through Pienaarsrivier. 20 Km north of Pienaarsrivier, the R101 stops being parallel to the N1 and makes a direct line for Bela Bela (Warmbaths) (17 Km), where it meets the R516. The R101 continues by way of a right-turn at Potgieter Road in Bela Bela and the route makes a 27 Km journey to Modimolle (Nylstroom). As a straight road passing through Modimolle central, it intersects with the R33. After passing the Phagameng suburb of Modimolle, the R101 turns east towards