At 09:50 on 16 April 1925 the R.33 was torn from the mast at Pulham during a gale and was carried away with only a partial crew of 20 men on board. Her nose partially collapsed and the first gas cell deflated leaving her low in the bow. The crew on board started the engines, gaining some height, and rigged a cover for the bow section, but the R.33 was blown out over the North Sea. A Royal Navy vessel was readied and left the nearby port of Lowestoft in case the R.33 came down in the sea. The local lifeboat was launched, but was driven back by the weather conditions.