Lighter Than Air

by Guy Warner

  Sadly for the Count, after one further flight, with all his funds exhausted, the LZ1 was grounded and dismantled. Its top speed had been just over 19mph (32kph). The concept of a rigid airship had been proved workable, but further development was needed to make it a practical aerial vehicle.

  Other Dirigibles

  Privately funded experiments with small non-rigid dirigibles had achieved a degree of success in France, and indeed England. On 19 October 1901, the Brazilian, Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873–1932), and his small airship No 6, flew from Saint-Cloud, circled the Eiffel Tower and returned whence it came in under thirty minutes to win a prize of 100,000 francs offered by M Deutsch de la Meurthe of the Aéro-Club de France. Santos-Dumont and his series of fourteen small designs can truly be said to be the first practicable non-rigid airships. Later, he worried about the non-peaceful use of airships, envisaging, ‘aerial chariots of a foe descending upon England’.44 He also predicted that the airship would be used for observing submarines below the surface of the sea and that they might drop ‘dynamite arrows’ on them.45 Further progress was made by Paul and Pierre Lebaudy, together with the engineer Henri Julliot, whose first airship, the eponymous Lebaudy, took to the air on 13 November 1902, and a year later made the world’s first cross-country flight by dirigible of 38 miles (62 kilometres), from Moisson to the Champs-de-Mars in Paris.

  Santos-Dumont and his first dirigible in Paris, 1898.

  In 1902 came the first navigable flight in the UK by an airship, made by Stanley Spencer at Crystal Palace on 22 September. He landed safely after an hour and forty minutes in the air. It was 75 feet (23 metres) long, with a diameter of 20 feet (6 metres) and a capacity of 20,000 cubic feet (566 cubic metres). The engine was a water-cooled 3 hp (2.22 kW) Sims with a propeller of 10 feet (3 metres) in diameter. The motive power was very low and the airship could progress at a very slow rate only, and had great difficulty making any headway against even a slight wind.

  It may therefore be considered that the Committee on Military Ballooning should have widened its scope somewhat and not just examined other governmental establishments. However, detailed recommendations were made as regards the future organisation of the Balloon Sections, Balloon School and Balloon Factory. It was proposed that the latter should be re-sited to a location which would allow greater room for expansion – early possibilities which were considered included sites in the vicinity of Northampton and Rugby. Research and development objectives were identified: a dirigible balloon, an elongated balloon, man-lifting kites, small signal balloons, a mechanical winch to haul down balloons, and photographic equipment. One of the most difficult problems which it debated concerned the major weaknesses of the spherical balloon – its tendency to wobble and rotate at the end of its tether, so causing a certain amount of motion-induced sickness to the occupants, and the limitations this imposed on accurate observation as it made it rather difficult for the observer to hold his binoculars still; a wind speed of greater than 20mph (32kph) so exacerbated these that any useful work from the balloon was all but impossible. The committee’s final report was submitted on 4 January 1904. It has been described as, ‘the most comprehensive review of military aviation’ made to that date.46

  The Stanley Spencer airship at Crystal Palace on 22 September 1902. (via Nick Forder)

  It should also be considered in the light of another historian’s comment that:

  ‘By 1900, education, experience and environment, had created a ruling caste [in England] whose knowledge of the revolution then taking place in armaments was limited. A very long period of peace and prosperity was ending. The Boer War announced the need to change from a colonial to a world-wide strategic concept.’47

  Farnborough – the cradle of British Military Aviation

  The new location selected was Farnborough Common, a few miles up the road from Aldershot. (This move heralded the start of a process whereby a small town in Hampshire, just outside Surrey and close to the border with Berkshire, would become one of the most renowned centres for aeronautical experiment, testing and development in the world.) A few months later Colonel Templer received a welcome boost, as his salary was increased to £900 a year. His worth was underlined in a letter to the War Office from Major General W.T. Shone, the Inspector General of Fortifications:

  ‘We cannot afford at the present time to lose the services of Colonel Templer, and I would invite attention to the large sums now expended by France and Germany in endeavouring to manufacture a satisfactory dirigible.’48

  He was also described by ‘The World’s First Air Correspondent’, Harry Harper of the Daily Mail, as, ‘a burly, genial figure with a walrus moustache.’49

  The Treasury allocated the sum of £2000 to build an airship for the army; upon which Templer started work in respect of manufacturing an elongated envelope from goldbeater’s skin, and investigating the design and construction of a suitable engine. To assist with familiarising some of his officers and men with the internal combustion engine, Templer bought two second-hand motor cars. These proved highly popular with foxhunting Royal Engineers, as they now had a free means of transport to their meets.50 He also paid another visit to Colonel Renard at Chalais-Meudon, where he discovered the French Government was apparently allocating between £25,000 and £30,000 to the activities of the establishment.51 Back at Aldershot, two envelopes had been prepared by 1904 and tests were carried out with regard to gas retention, which used up all the available funds and so work ground to a halt. The move from Aldershot to Farnborough, while it would prove beneficial in the long run, did not, of course, serve to speed up work in hand while the transfer of location was being carried out, nor indeed would the change of command from Templer to Capper.

  A flavour of life with the Balloon Section in those days may be gained from the autobiography of F.M. Sykes, who, at that time, 1904, was a 27-year-old lieutenant in the 15th Hussars. (Air Vice-Marshal Sir Frederick Sykes (1877–1954) would become an important figure in British aviation and was later described in glowing terms by Murray Sueter in his book, Airmen or Noahs; ‘The Military Wing, RFC, owed much to Sykes’ great abilities. He was a hard worker and bore much of the burden in those difficult times in creating a military air service for the army, which is slightly less conservative than the navy.’) By permission of Colonel Capper, he was attached to the Balloon Camp for a period, under the command of Lieutenant P.W.L. Broke-Smith at Bulford, and then attended a course at Farnborough. He first flew in a very small balloon of only 4500 cubic feet (127 cubic metres) capacity. In fact it could not even lift a basket, so Sykes was taken up to 200 feet (61 metres) in a net suspended from the gasbag. He recalled:

  ‘We had an exciting time with the various types of balloons on fielddays. We tried experiments in raising and lowering a balloon while on the move with an observer in the car, both forward, backward and laterally, so as to render it as difficult as possible for the envelope to be hit by gunfire. Sometimes, in favourable conditions, we managed to attain an elevation of 1300 feet (396 metres) with two of us in the car, and gained a splendid view of many miles in all directions. With one of us alone, a height of 1600 feet (487 metres) was achieved, and various methods of signalling were tried.’52

  Filling a balloon at Aldershot in 1903.

  Sir Frederick Sykes.

  Captain P.L. Broke-Smith.

  As the balloons were all spherical in shape, they had a marked tendency to oscillate in the wind in such a way as to promote motion sickness in some of the aeronauts, but not Sykes:

  ‘When the balloon was fairly steady one could sketch the country with considerable accuracy, and in addition we did a lot of photographic work, and also practised telephoning from the air to headquarters.’53

  Free-trailing was popular as a diversion, lowering a hemp rope and dragging it across the ground to keep the balloon at more or less an even height – though:

  ‘Crossing telegraph wires and woods led to considerable complications, as we were completely at the mercy of the wi
nd and a change of direction occurred at every few hundred yards.’54

  Other exciting pastimes included:

  ‘Pleasant but chilly night ascents, but the most enjoyable and instructive experiences were on free runs. The stillness and serenity of moving as a part of the wind at a great height above the earth gave pure delight.’55

  The experience, though enchanting, was not without its perils:

  ‘A sudden change of temperature often caused a balloon to descend with such velocity that it became necessary to expend much ballast to avoid being entangled in trees, hitting houses, or (in open ground) getting severe bumps. On one occasion we only escaped a collision with a passing train by letting out an extravagant amount of ballast.’56

  A free balloon above the clouds.

  Sykes believed that flying had a great future for both military and civil use, which was strengthened by: ‘The practical experience of ballooning, the only form of aeronautics then in existence in England.’57

  This was not strictly accurate, as man-lifting kiting was also practised under the flamboyant S.F. Cody. One of the aeronauts regularly taken aloft was Lieutenant Broke-Smith, describing it as:

  ‘Reliable in practice to lift an observer to a height of 1500 feet above the ground, which was the normal balloon observation height and which could be operated in winds of 20–50mph. Reports could be made by telephone or message bag and the same cable, observer’s car or basket, and limbered winch wagon, could be used for both kiting and ballooning. A drill was evolved, and the kites could be set up and flown in less than the twenty minutes taken to fill and put up a balloon.’58

  The intrepid Broke-Smith, on at least one occasion in 1905, was raised to a height of 3500 feet (1060 metres) by this means.

  Observation from the air was starting to be regarded as a necessary component of the order of battle. Balloons had proved their usefulness, but they were either tethered or were taken to wherever the wind blew them. Moreover, they were large, round targets for enemy guns. A balloon also took a long time to unpack, inflate, launch, recover, deflate and stow away on its wagon. About eight wagons were needed to transport a balloon company – which the sections had been renamed in 1905. These were usually horse drawn, though motive power was sometimes provided by traction engines.

  A Cody man-lifting kite.

  By 1905, the old Balloon Shed had been dismantled and re-erected at Farnborough, a new large airship shed had been constructed, as well as a substantial main workshops building and a hydrogen plant. Over the next few years, the work of the Balloon Factory included investigations into man-lifting kites, photography, signalling between ground and balloons, petrol motors, elongated balloons and mechanical towing machinery. Experimental work was carried out at Gibraltar and Malta to examine the possibility of using balloons in spotting submarines and mines. The Gibraltar detachment, commanded by Lieutenant G.F. Wells, RE, conducted trials with a balloon operating off a destroyer. Due to the difficulties encountered with the weather, and its effect on the stability of the balloon at speeds in excess of 25mph (40kph), it was not judged a great success.

  2nd Balloon Section at Gibraltar, 1904.

  Willows No 1, Splott, Cardiff, on 18 August 1905. (Via Ces Mowthorpe)

  Airship activity was not confined to the Balloon Factory. The first of several successful airships constructed by Ernest Willows (1886–1926), which was 72 feet (22 metres) in length, had a diameter of 18 feet (5.5 metres) and a capacity of 12,000 cubic feet (340 cubic metres), first flew on 5 September 1905, near Cardiff, powered by a 7 hp (5.18 kW) Peugeot motorcycle engine driving a propeller aft, measuring 10 feet (3 metres) in diameter, but with two further steering propellers on swivelling mounts in the nose of the triangular keel. Willows believed that the ability to direct the passage of an airship accurately was of the utmost importance and his work with steering propellers was based on the previous ideas of Captain William Beedle. During the course of its maiden flight, which lasted an hour and twenty-five minutes, Willow’s airship attained a height of 120 feet (36 metres).

  In April 1906, the Balloon Companies were absorbed by the Balloon School under Colonel Capper as Commandant, who was also appointed Superintendent of the Balloon Factory from May 1906, with a total salary of £944 a year. Capper had been a Brevet Lieutenant Colonel since 1900, being appointed to substantive rank in October 1905, with further brevet promotion to full colonel in January 1906. Capper was noted as a rigid disciplinarian who had done a good job in reorganising the Balloon Sections. He inspired loyalty and respect, and was capable of personal kindnesses to his men off parade. He was, however, much less accomplished than Templer as regards scientific and mechanical engineering knowledge. Templer retired as superintendent in 1906, but was retained for a further two years as Consultant Engineer on the development of the dirigible, at a fee of £300 per annum plus his retired pay. Templer (1846–1924) deserves to be remembered as one of the seminal figures in British aviation history. Capper praised his enthusiasm, boundless energy, optimism in the face of setbacks, kindness and dogged determination to overcome all obstacles placed in his path by his official superiors. He noted that Templer was not always popular with senior officers due to his disregard of regulations and bureaucracy, but in the end usually managed to get his own way and convince them he was right. It would appear that he fell foul in some way of Lieutenant General Sir John French, the C-in-C of Aldershot Command. A letter from French, of 19 October 1905, shows that he did not regard Templer highly as an administrator and that he had something of a prejudice against non-regular officers holding executive positions.59 An unorthodox financial arrangement made by Templer’s clerk, Warrant Officer Jolly, with a private company regarding the sale of surplus oxygen, did nothing to improve Lieutenant General French’s humour.60

  The Army’s future in the air could have been considerably enhanced if a venture undertaken by Capper in December 1904 had met with official approval. While in the USA attending the World’s Fair Exhibition in St Louis on behalf of the War Office, he had taken the opportunity to visit the Wright brothers at Dayton.61 (Orville Wright’s historic first flight of 17 December 1903 was described in the Daily Mail as having been made by a balloon-less airship.) They had just finished flying for the season, having progressed to flights of five minutes duration. Quite informally and without authority, Capper sounded out the brothers with regard to coming to England and working for the War Office. They responded that in return for a hefty fee, £20,000, they would be prepared to work solely for the British Government for four years. This sum represented about twice the yearly budget allocated by the War Office at that time for ballooning. Back in England, Capper very strongly recommended that this proposal should be taken up; negotiations did in fact take place over the next year and more, but no agreement was reached.62 Capper wrote in his report:

  ‘At least [the Wright Brothers] made far greater strides in the evolution of the flying machine than any of their predecessors. The work they are doing is of very great importance, as it means that if carried to a successful issue, we may shortly have, as accessories of warfare, scouting machines which will go at great pace, and be independent of obstacles of ground, whilst offering from their elevated position, unrivalled opportunities of ascertaining what is occurring in the heart of an enemy’s country.’63

  Interestingly, the Secretary of State for War, R.B. Haldane, who served in that position between 1905 and 1912, was of the opinion that the Wrights were not scientific enough in their approach to solving the challenge of sustained, powered flight. He regarded them as clever empiricists.64 Haldane, a very able Liberal Imperialist, was noted for his arrogance and smoothness, which considerably irritated his political opponents.65 (Richard Burdon Haldane (1856–1928), held ministerial office in both Liberal and Labour administrations. In a recent book he has been described as one of Britain’s ablest war ministers, whose greatest political gift was a willingness to listen to professional advice, distil the best and facilitate its implementat
ion.)

  Neville Usborne’s career between 1903 and 1908

  On 15 March 1903, Neville Usborne was promoted to Lieutenant RN. He joined HMS Thames to enter the nascent submarine service on 24 June 1903. This was a Mersey Class 2nd class cruiser of 4050 tons launched in 1885. She was converted to a submarine depot ship in 1903. The Thames was fitted as a floating workshop, and was moored with the powder and quarantine hulks high in Fareham Creek, Portsmouth, because submarines were a new and uncertain weapon – HM Submarine No 1 had been launched only a few months before on 2 November 1902. It would appear that the underwater life was not appealing, as Usborne left the submarine service in 1904 to serve – from February 1904 to August 1904 – in HMS Doris, one of a class of nine 2nd class cruisers of 5600 tons built between 1894 and 1896. His commanding officer reported that he was, ‘a capable, zealous and hard-working officer.’66 Additionally, the written approbation of their Lordships of the Admiralty was expressed for two reports submitted by Usborne on the defences of Lisbon and of Palma, Majorca.67 It is interesting – but inconclusive – to note that HMS Doris was one of four Royal Navy ships supplied in 1903 with a set of Samuel Cody’s man-lifting kites; pilot kite, two lifters and a carrier with controls and a basket, and intended to be launched and towed behind a ship for the purposes of reconnaissance, signalling, spotting the fall of shot, or of elevating wireless aerials.68 (The other vessels supplied with kiting apparatus were the battleships HMS Majestic and HMS Revenge, and the armoured cruiser HMS Good Hope. Officers and men from the four ships undertook instructions in London in the use of the kites.) No records remain to show if Doris used the kiting apparatus while Usborne was a member of the crew, but if this was the case then it may well have stimulated his interest in the possibilities of aviation.69