Lighter Than Air

by Guy Warner

  Colonel Seely then made some very interesting points about the division of responsibilities between the Army and the Royal Navy:

  ‘The main division between the army and the navy, I think, should be, in this matter of aerial warfare – if warfare there must be – that the navy should take all lighter-than-air and the army should take all heavier-than-air; that is to say, the navy should have the airships and the army the aeroplanes. That is a natural division, because those who know most about it will tell you that the navigation and management of an airship are more like the management of a ship, and the management of an aeroplane is more like the management of a horse. There are exceptions in the case of our small dirigibles that we pack in boxes, and in the case of the hydroaeroplanes in possession of the Royal Navy, which are, of course, heavier-than-air.’215

  More Flying

  The Parseval airship PL.18, which became HMA No 4, took to the air for the first time on 23 April 1913. She was 312 feet (98 metres) in length, with a diameter of 51 feet (15 metres) and a capacity of 364,000 cubic feet (10,301 cubic metres). Two 180 hp (133 kW) engines gave a top speed of 43mph (69kph). She could carry two officers and a crew of seven men:

  ‘The Navy’s Parseval over London. The Metropolis has had an early opportunity of seeing the Parseval airship purchased by the British Government for the navy. On Monday afternoon, at about half past four, the airship was brought out, and after circling round Farnborough Common, and getting up to a height of 2000 feet, she was headed for London. Steering a direct course, the airship passed over Brooklands and then across South London, past the Houses of Parliament to St. Paul’s Cathedral, where the airship was turned. With the wind behind, the Parseval made a fast run back to Farnborough, which was reached at a quarter past six. The wind had veered round a little, and so the vessel was moored in the open for some time until the weather conditions were more suitable for getting her into the shed, Nine passengers were on board, including Lieutenant Stelling, of the Parseval Company, in charge; Herr Schaak, in charge of the motors, and a German mechanic; Captain Sueter, RN, Commander Masterman, RN, Commandant of the Naval Wing, Royal Flying Corps; Lieutenants F.L. Boothby and Wilson, RN; Engine Room Artificers Marchant and Cahill; and Mr Ryan, representing Messrs. Vickers.’216

  Parseval Airship No 4 at Farnborough. (Via PS Leaman)

  Sueter enjoyed the flight and was able to look in through his office window at the Admiralty.217

  Three weeks later Flight noted:

  ‘2½ – Hour Trip by Naval Parseval. With Lieutenant Boothby in command and a crew of nine on board, the new Parseval airship of the Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps made a trip from Farnborough to Cowes, Isle of Wight, and back, a distance of about 100 miles in 2 ½ hours on Monday.’218

  The airship had a very narrow escape in July when a fire broke out inside its shed at Farnborough, which, not surprisingly, was reported as having created ‘considerable excitement’ before the blaze was brought under control by the airmen with their own fire appliances. It had apparently been started accidentally within a heap of waste on the floor of the shed.219

  In Usborne’s opinion:

  ‘The Parseval made some good flights, but difficulty was found in preventing the envelope stretching during inflation; also the fabric was badly stressed in the wake of the patches that the rigging was secured to. All these stresses made the envelope bad for retaining hydrogen.’220

  While the Parseval was carrying out its early flights, the First Annual Report was issued by the Air Committee on the Progress of the Royal Flying Corps. With regard to airships it recommended that a policy of active development should be adopted, but not necessarily of large rigid types – to, ‘allow the progressive education of the members of the Royal Flying Corps in this class of work with the ultimate end in view of being able to evolve an airship in no way inferior to those in the hands of foreign powers.’221 The existing position was summarised thus:

  Beta, Gamma, Delta, Eta – Military Wing

  Epsilon – Military Wing (not yet constructed)

  Willows (HMA No2), Astra-Torres, Parseval – Naval Wing

  Two of Neville’s pre First World War Certificates of Service. (Via Sue Killbracken)

  It was noted that none of these craft were as large as the big German airships and that it was likely that larger airships would be needed for naval purposes, to which end negotiations had been entered into by the Admiralty with regard to the purchase or construction of these. It was added that no airship in military service had been involved in a major accident leading to loss of life, that both mooring masts and sheds were required, and that the question of the manufacture and storage of hydrogen was in an unsatisfactory state.

  On a more personal level, to cover the period May 1913 to December 1913 at Farnborough as Lieutenant and Squadron Commander, Usborne was formally reported on by Commander Masterman (the location is given as HMS Hermes, as this temporarily and rudimentarily converted cruiser was at this time carrying the HQ of the Naval Wing on its books). ‘He is a most capable airship pilot with an excellent knowledge of all aspects of aeronautical work.’222 While awaiting arrival of the Astra-Torres and as a, ‘naval cuckoo in the Farnborough nest’,223 Usborne trained the additional naval officers gradually appointed there in free ballooning, and in flying and handling the smaller military airships. He made a return visit to Portsmouth in Beta in mid-1913, with a mixed naval and military crew. This time signals were made ‘from a considerable height’ asking for permission to land at Whale Island Gunnery School. While the necessary preparations were made to assemble a ground handling party, the airship circled Portsmouth Harbour and Spithead as she gradually descended to land on a lawn in front of the officers’ quarters.224

  The King and Queen, along with Princesses Mary and Victoria, visited Aldershot in May and were treated to some aerial displays:

  ‘On his arrival at Aldershot the King witnessed a cavalry display, and then saw some manoeuvres by Beta. From the airship a photograph was taken of the King and the plate sent down on a parachute, and developed in one of the field dark rooms. They then inspected Gamma and Delta in the shed, and also the car of the new Astra-Torres airship, and subsequently Gamma made an ascent.’225

  That evening:

  ‘Some night flying was indulged in, the airship Beta being up and cruising over the Royal Pavilion. Several aeroplanes were flying in the moonlight, and one machine, owing to a failing engine, brought down some telegraph wires. The King sent a message to his troops, luckily not by telegraph, “I was glad to find a marked development in the work and administration of the Royal Flying Corps, and what courage and esprit de corps animate all ranks of this newly-formed arm.”’226

  Early the following month, at the King’s Birthday Parade, Gamma and Beta performed some attractive evolutions during a mass fly-past (including four BE-type biplanes, six Maurice Farmans, two Henri Farmans, and a Blériot) over Laffan’s Plain at Farnborough:

  ‘The machines flew at an altitude of about 150 feet, and each (including the airships), on passing the saluting point, dipped almost to the ground, the graceful way in which the manoeuvre was carried out being very impressive. The airships in particular showed the ease with which they can be handled, descending as they did, to within a few feet of the earth, and then up again in a gentle sweeping movement.’227

  The magazine featured a very attractive photograph of the two airships in flight with the Blériot circling around them. Not long afterwards Gamma was despatched on a six-day reconnaissance tour, making camp at Bracknell in Berkshire with the Irish Guards.

  The first flight of the Astra-Torres XIV, HMA No 3, was made at Farnborough on 12 June 1913 with the French pilot, M Rousell in charge and a French crew, but with Usborne and others on board; it was not very successful. Masterman later wrote:

  ‘During the trial the blower broke down and the ship lost pressure, Usborne displayed great coolness and assisted to avoid disaster in the free balloon landing subsequently carr
ied out.’228

  HMA No 3 at Farnborough in 1913.

  Onlookers saw the envelope begin to sag in the middle, being almost doubled up before the car touched the ground. It was later reported that the problem had been caused by slippage of the belt that drove the fan to maintain the air pressure inside the envelope.229

  It was a much larger craft than the other British non-rigids, having a capacity of 280,000 cubic feet (7924 cubic metres) and was driven by twin Chenu engines of 210 hp (155 kW) each. She carried a crew of six, was equipped with wireless and could be armed with machine guns. The car could be moved fore and aft for trimming purposes, either by power or by hand; this proved unsatisfactory and was abandoned. During the same week as HMA No 3 made her debut, Delta undertook a successful flight of nearly 200 miles (321 kilometres) in a time of some four hours, which indicated a ground speed in the region of 50mph (80kph).230

  The most interesting events in July were a visit by the Prince of Wales on the twentieth, when he was taken up for a half-hour cruise in Beta by Major Maitland,231 and a little later in the month some experiments in dropping bombs, Beta having been fitted with a, ‘special mechanism attached to a sighting apparatus.’232

  On 19 August 1913, Usborne was in command of HMA No 2 (Willows No 4) when it experienced engine failure due to a broken crankshaft, near Odiham in Hampshire. He managed to return it as a free balloon to its shelter at Odiham and was able to assess his options: (a) Leave her broken down at Odiham, which was undesirable as a large social gathering was due be held there. (b) Deflate the envelope and return to Farnborough by road, which would mean terminating observations of the airship’s new-type fabric. (c) Repair the engine on site, which would take two weeks. (d) To walk her home; which would be both conspicuous and laborious. (e) Seek a tow, an operation which had never before been attempted.233

  A view from the ground showing No 2 being towed by Eta. (Via Nigel Caley)

  The start of the tow, Eta above and HMA No 2 below.

  Airship No 2 being towed, as seen from Eta. (Via Nigel Caley)

  He opted for this latter course. The airship would be towed back to Farnborough by Captain Waterlow in command of the latest army airship Eta, which was still in the hands of the Royal Aircraft Factory. Therefore, Usborne sought the permission of the assistant superintendent, S. Heckstall-Smith, and also the Officer Commanding No 1 Squadron, Major E.M. Maitland, which was readily granted. Lieutenant Woodcock prepared the ship, while Usborne took charge of laying out the towing cable. Waterlow arrived at 6am on 20 August, by which time Usborne had laid out 600 feet (183 metres) of 1½ inch (4 cms) hemp rope to the leeward of his craft. The front end was secured behind the ballonet tube of Eta and run aft. To prevent the rope fouling the rudder a 15lb (6.81kg) bag of sand was hung from a cable at that point, while the line was attached to the centre of No 2’s car. No 2 was trimmed with negative buoyancy to avoid fouling Eta, the coxswain doing this with the hand pump. The slack was taken up and the tow began gently on one engine. When No 2 was clear of the trees, Waterlow started his second engine. The 8 mile (12.8 km) trip was made at a ground speed of 25mph (40kph) against a 5mph (8kph) headwind and at a height of 200 feet (60.96 m). Also taken on board as a passenger was Denys Corbett Wilson, who was the first man to complete the crossing from Great Britain to Ireland by aeroplane (on 22 April 1912 he flew in a Blériot monoplane from Fishguard to Enniscorthy in one hour and forty minutes).

  Over Farnborough the height was increased to 400 feet (121.92 m), the tow line was slipped and the sandbag dropped away. The landing party caught the mooring rope and No 2 came to rest exactly on its alighting mark. So unusual was the incident that it even received the attention of the New York Times:

  ‘The novel sight of an airship towing her disabled companion was witnessed at Aldershot this afternoon. The British Army airship Eta and a naval airship were manoeuvring when the machinery of the latter became disabled. The Eta attached a hawser to the other dirigible and towed her to the factory for repairs.’234

  Waterlow later received a letter of thanks and commendation from the Admiralty. Commander Masterman’s report on the incident stated; ‘This evolution demonstrates once more the great value of swivelling propellers; it confirms views previously held that towing of airships would be practicable and useful and is, I believe, the first experiment of the kind to be carried out anywhere.’235 Captain Sueter noted that; ‘It opens out considerable new possibilities in the employment of airships.’236

  Usborne himself summarised the incident and lessons learned as follows:

  ‘From these experiments I consider: (1) Towing is a safe and useful manoeuvre. (2) That with practice and certain preparations, airships may in due course be relied upon to take in tow in the air. (3) That material use can be made in war, for the execution of a very long voyage, or for the carriage of a very large amount of explosives, of the idea of towing a suitable old envelope (of which there are always a number available) which could carry only additional petrol, or say, five tons of explosives. (4) A great deal of experience is still necessary as regards length of tow line, relative buoyancies of the two ships, etc, before the operation can be regarded as the same straightforward affair it is at sea.’237

  Eta had just that month been accepted into service for trials, making her first flight on the evening of 18 August. Her design was the culmination of all the experience gained in the previous six years. Her suspension system was innovative in that it did away with much of the normal bridle and netting by replacing it with six rigging cables. These sub-divided several times until thirty-six attachments were affixed to the envelope by means of adhesive patches, which were also stitched on, thus the load was spread much more evenly.

  Rigging with Eta patches and bridles.

  Eta, which had just entered service, before giving HMA No 2 a tow.

  Eta’s capacity was 118,000 cubic feet (3339 cubic metres) with two 80 hp (58 kW) Canton-Ume engines, each chain-driving a swivelling propeller mounted on an outrigger. Their function was described as follows:

  ‘As the airship ascends, these propellers are swivelled round, so that ultimately their axes are horizontal for full speed ahead. In order to stop the airship they can be turned completely round so as to thrust backwards, and they can similarly be used for lowering the airship for the purposes of descent.’238

  Eta successfully completed the trials in September with an eight and a quarter hour cruise from Farnborough to Portsmouth and back, in the very capable hands of Clive Waterlow. Cruising with and against a 14mph (22kph) wind, she maintained a mean speed of 42mph (67kph) at a height of 4200 feet (1280 metres). This was hailed as a duration record for a British airship. Three airships, Beta, Delta and Eta, and three squadrons of fixed-wing aircraft, took part in the army manoeuvres in the area of Daventry and Aylesbury, with the two armies being commanded by Generals Haig and Rawlinson. The Times commented:

  ‘Failing defeat in the air, or fire from below, modern aircraft will, at all times, except in continuous bad weather, enable a commander to learn with very fair accuracy the position and direction of hostile columns while they are several days’ march away from him.’239

  Delta and Eta were both equipped with wireless sets for the manoeuvres and were based at Dunchurch, near Rugby in Warwickshire. In total, Delta sent sixty-six messages in the course of seven flights and, on 24 September, carried out a successful night reconnaissance. Eta, due to engine trouble, played no effective part in the manoeuvres, but during her journey from Farnborough to Dunchurch, she maintained wireless contact with Aldershot until reaching Woodstock in Oxfordshire, then she called up Dunchurch and kept in communication for the remainder of the flight. Captain Lefroy, RE, who was the RFC’s wireless expert, stated in his report:

  ‘It seems probable that HM Airships Delta and Eta can exchange messages with each other when 100 miles (160 kilometres) apart in the air, which may prove useful for organization purposes, etc. I received clear signals from the North Foreland station (and
a ship to which she was talking) when 130 miles (208 kilometres) NW of it, and whilst HMA Eta was cruising northwards at touring speed.’240

  The Times noting the good work of the airships, and Delta in particular, sagely and judiciously commented:

  ‘So far as airships and aeroplanes are concerned, the honours for obtaining information were fairly divided and do not appear to justify the threatened elimination of the airship from our war material. The Delta was usually out first and home last. She brought early, accurate and valuable information. The airship alone can work in the mists and fogs so prevalent in our islands, and she alone can at present travel safely by night and report bivouacs and railway movements. It would not be a good reply to the policy of other great powers were we to put all our money into aeroplanes and to neglect the dirigible, even if we all agree that the aeroplane has the greater future in front of her.’241

  During the course of the manoeuvres, Major Maitland expressed his concern about the lack of provision of measures to permit aircrew to escape safely from damaged airships or aeroplanes. Given his successful experiments with parachute descents, he should have been listened to much more carefully, but at this stage he was at odds with the views of senior officers – who were not the ones risking their necks. Murray Sueter had a very high regard for Maitland, whom he described as, ‘a most courageous pioneer airman; his parachute descents were famous. He would drop from an airship perfectly unconcerned. Just before he made one of his perilous descents with a parachute of no great efficiency I asked him in a casual way what he thought of death? He gave me a characteristic reply, ‘“Oh, nobody should mind death. Why should anybody mind it? They should look upon death as a great adventure.”’ Sueter noted that Maitland regularly used a Guardian Angel static-type parachute, invented by a Mr E.R. Calthrop and which saved the lives of many kite balloon crews during the First World War.242