The Airshipmen: A Novel Based on a True Story. A Tale of Love, Betrayal & Political Intrigue.

by David Dennington

  “I just had a huge breakfast, and once the birth of this creature is over, I shall feel even better,” Wallis told him.

  The R.A.W. officials gathered in a group at the front of the shed where they were joined by Wallis, Norway and Lou. There were no pleasantries, no handshaking, no attempts at cordiality; they merely swung their arms trying to keep warm and ignored each other. They had reached a critical period in the fight to the death between the dueling airships—a moment of truth. Lou wondered would this ship fail its initial tests, too?

  Unlikely!

  The ground rules were laid down by Scott, in charge of the operation on behalf of the R.A.W. However, he’d allow Wallis to oversee the removal of the ship from the hangar before taking over. Wallis and Scott met with the army colonel and a sergeant to discuss the formation of the walking party. Scott set things up as he’d done at Cardington in October.

  The crew of ten riggers, including Billy and Jessup, six engineers, and three ship’s officers, one of them Lou, climbed on board through the control car. Norway followed and went upstairs to the observation windows. Lou remained in the control car, which was much larger than that of Cardington R101, since the chartroom formed part of the control car itself.

  Everybody was in position. Wallis gave the order through the bullhorn for the soldiers to take up the ropes. Floodlights made the scene surreal; clouds of exhaled breath from straining shadows and silhouettes; ten thousand footprints in the frost. The ship, over two football fields long, was eased out into the darkness to weak cheers. It was 6:20 a.m.

  Once the airship’s stern had cleared the doors, Scott took command, directing soldiers in lockstep to pull her out to the middle of the field. Wallis stalked off to one side where he watched them manhandle his creation. The bow was turned from the shed and pointed toward the open fields.

  Molly rushed forward from the crowd and hugged Wallis, kissing his cheek, while people clapped and cheered. He showed no emotion, except embarrassment. They stood together for a few minutes, surveying the magnificent, silver structure, like its womb, overwhelming and gargantuan, gradually becoming bathed in the rising sun’s glow.

  The soldiers formed a line around the perimeter, keeping hold of the ropes while Scott checked the ballasting of the ship. The engines were started and warmed up. When Scott was satisfied, he stepped aboard, beckoning Wallis to join him in the control car. Wallis left Molly with a brief nod and trudged to the ship. Before disappearing inside, he turned and waved to her and at that moment, the cheer of approval rose to its loudest. Lou smiled at Wallis and shook his hand as he came aboard.

  How proud they are of this man—and rightly so.

  Wallis and Scott remained in the control car.

  “Are you ready, Captain Booth?” Scott asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Then let’s get the hell out of here!” Scott grunted.

  Booth opened the sliding window and instructed the sergeant to be ready to cast off and then to Lou, “Drop half ton at bow and stern simultaneously, Commander Remington,” he ordered.

  “Aye, aye, sir,” Lou answered. Water gushed from the outlets of the ballast tanks, causing soldiers to scatter and the ground to become slick. The ship was immediately drawn upwards by invisible forces.

  “Let her go now!” Booth called. “Thank you, sergeant; thank you all.”

  The soldiers cheered and shouted up to them.

  “Hooray!”

  “Good luck!”

  “God bless!”

  Howden R100 lifted into the pale blue sky. All faces on the ground were raised heavenward in wonder.

  “Go to slow ahead on Engines 1 and 2,” Booth ordered. With increase in momentum, the elevator coxswain eased her bow up to six hundred feet. The rudder coxswain, following Booth’s orders, circled over the village of Howden as they gained height. Lou admired the old minster in the early sunlight—a stunning sight from the air.

  “How’s she feeling on the wheels?” Booth asked.

  “Light as a feather, sir,” the rudder coxswain replied.

  “Like silk, sir,” the height coxswain confirmed.

  Lou looked at Wallis and Scott. They must have heard this, but their faces remained impassive. Lou would tell Norway when he got a chance. His calculations concerning steering assistance must have been on the money.

  Thank God! I guess ol’ Nevil ain't as dopey as he looks!

  Booth called back to Johnston at the chart table. “Johnny, what’s the bearing for York?”

  Johnston looked at the chart. “Steer three hundred and forty degrees and look out for a big cathedral,” he said.

  Twenty minutes later, they were over York, flying at an altitude of thirteen hundred feet in a radiant, clear blue sky. People on the ground were excited and waved at the ship. After a salutary thirty-minute flight, Booth came back to Johnston.

  “We need the heading for Bedford now, Johnny.”

  Johnston already had the answer. “Steer due south for now. I’ll give you corrections on the way.”

  Wallis stirred himself. “I’m going for breakfast.”

  “Good idea. I could use some coffee,” Scott said. He turned to Booth before mounting the stairs. “Send me word of any problems, Captain Booth.”

  “Yes, sir,” Booth replied.“Why don’t you join them, Lou? Captain Meager and I’ll be fine.”

  People from the R.A.W. and the Howden team filed into the dining room and sat down to breakfast in two separate groups. The atmosphere was cold, with no attempt at communication beyond icy stares. The journey south was uneventful. Lou spent much of the time with Wallis and Norway on the observation deck. Though it was winter, the views of the pastures and towns of England were truly beautiful.

  Charlotte expected Lou home for dinner and for Norway to join them. At noon, she went to the butcher’s at the parade of shops and bought a loin of pork. As she left, a milkman was unloading crates of milk and carrying them into the dairy. Irwin, who’d stopped in to buy cigarettes at the corner store, walked out, bumping into Charlotte.

  “Charlotte—how nice to see you.”

  “Oh, hello, Captain Irwin,” Charlotte said. A droning in the sky in the distance interrupted them and they glanced up. The milkman put down the crate and dashed to the door of the corner store.

  “Alan, the other ship’s 'ere, come and see!”

  The butcher, in his bloodied, blue and white apron, also came running out to join them and so did the owners of the dairy and greengrocer’s. The sound of four of the six crackling Rolls-Royce engines got louder as the airship approached from Bedford.

  “Now here comes trouble, eh, Captain?” the milkman said, looking at Irwin, who was getting his first glimpse of the Howden airship.

  “I wouldn’t say trouble, no,” Irwin said. “She looks like a very fine ship to me.”

  The kids poured out from the school across the street. They crossed the road toward the shops and gathered around Charlotte and the shopkeepers, staring at the airship, jabbering with excitement.

  “It’s the other ship from up north,” a kid yelled. The airship roared directly overhead. “That’s my dad’s airship. He’s going to fly in that one,” another shouted in a north-country accent.

  “It’s not as good as my dad’s.”

  “My dad’s is bigger.”

  “No, it’s not, my dad’s is bigger!”

  “And my dad’s is faster!”

  “My dad says that one’s going to crash and burn like this,” one kid yelled gesturing with his hand, showing it crashing into the ground. “Boom!” he yelled. The first kid jumped on the other’s back and they rolled on the ground in a fierce fight, the rest urging them on.

  “Stop that, immediately,” Irwin shouted, grabbing them both by the scruff of the neck. One boy’s eye was puffed and closing up. The other’s nose was dripping with blood.

  “You should be ashamed of yourselves. Don’t ever talk like that!” Irwin scolded.

  “See what I mean?” the
milkman said. “It’s been bad around here lately and it’s getting worse. Those Yorkshire crewmen have been causing a lot of trouble in the pubs and the kids are fighting in the schools.”

  “Now be careful what you say, mister! I’m from Yorkshire. There’s been a lot of bad feelings on all sides,” Charlotte snapped, her own accent loud and clear.

  The milkman held up his hand. “Sorry, miss, no offence. I meant nothing by it.”

  “All this conflict has spilled out of the offices and into the streets and schools,” Irwin said to Charlotte.

  “It’s sad, if you ask me. I’d better go. I’ve got more shopping to do,” Charlotte said, trying to force a smile.

  “See you again, Charlotte. I’ll tell Lou when I see him, not to be late home.”

  She went to the greengrocer’s further along the parade to buy Lou’s favorite roasting vegetables, tears running from her eyes as she went. After that, she went into the off-license for wine.

  Lou was much later than he should have been. It took three hours to dock the ship, mostly due to everyone’s inexperience with the mooring gear, but Scott’s interference made matters worse. It reminded Lou of Freddie. They were forced to make multiple attempts at landing, leaving the mast and flying out and returning three times. When they finally docked, Wallis left the ship immediately and was driven to Bedford Station. A meeting had been prearranged for five thirty to assess the flight and schedule another test.

  Since they’d time to spare, Norway asked Lou to show him Cardington R101. Lou was happy to oblige, interested himself to see how the lightening operation was going. Upon entering Shed No.1, they ran into Richmond. Surprise and contempt for Norway showed in Richmond’s face.

  “May I ask what you’re doing in this shed?” he demanded.

  Lou thought Richmond must be embarrassed—‘caught in the act’ by his rival. “You know Nevil Norway, Assistant Director of Engineering at Howden,” Lou said. Richmond glanced at Norway. Norway stuck his hand out. Lou glared fiercely at Richmond, daring him to be rude. After a brief hesitation, Richmond begrudgingly shook Norway’s hand as though he were infected with Spanish flu.

  Perhaps this visit wasn’t such a good idea.

  “I was going to show Nevil around—unless you have any objections, of course?”

  “Er, I suppose, if you must. But don’t be long. They’ll be shutting down for the day.”

  “That’s aw-awfully g-good of you,” Norway said. Richmond smirked and hurried away without another word.

  “What’s the matter with him?” Norway asked.

  “You’ll see,” Lou said. “Don’t worry. We’ll take a quick gander.”

  The ship had been handed back to the Cardington works staff. She’d been degassed and her gas bags removed. The hangar looked as though a bomb had dropped—parts and pieces everywhere. Glass removed from promenade decks was propped against the shed walls. A line of workmen, carrying toilets, lavatory basins and bunk beds, filed past Lou and Norway. The first one, carrying a toilet on his shoulder, smiled and winked at Lou, did a little jig, and broke into song. “Oh, we puts the toilets in, we takes the toilets out, we puts the toilets in and we shake ’em all about, we do the Hokey Pokey, we turn around and that’s what it’s all about—oi!”

  Norway looked around, puzzled, but didn’t comment. Lou called across to the shop foreman and waved. The foreman nodded. They had no beef with Lou.

  “How’s it going, Ronnie?”

  “Oh, same ol’ same ol’.”

  “You know what you’re doing?” Lou said, grinning.

  “Yeah, we gotta get the fat lady’s weight down.”

  “We’re just going to take a quick look, if you don’t mind. You’re closing up in a few minutes, right?” Lou asked.

  “Not any time soon, no, sir.”

  Lou and Norway spent thirty minutes wandering around inside the ship. They went through the passenger quarters, the dining room and the sitting areas. Norway’s eyes scanned everything. He admired the gold-leafed columns and other finishes, nodding his head in approval. During their tour, Norway inspected the servo assistance mechanism and frowned.

  “That looks damned heavy,” he said.

  Later, by the light of the rising moon, they walked over to Cardington House. With the exception of Capt. Meager who was on watch, the key players gathered in the conference room. These included Scott, Colmore, Richmond, Inspector McWade, Irwin, Atherstone, and a few R.A.W. staff members. The day’s flight was dissected and a list of defects drawn up: a leaking cylinder on one engine, a possible big end problem, and a vent that allowed in too much air, causing the gas bags to blow around. That would be sewn up. It was agreed that if these issues could be dealt with tonight, another test flight would take place in the morning, meaning they could take advantage of the favorable weather. In less than an hour, Lou and Norway headed home for dinner on Lou’s motorbike—Norway looking like cartoon character in a furry, fleece-lined 'teddy' from the ship.

  51

  HOME FOR DINNER

  December 16, 1929.

  Delicious aromas wafted up from the kitchen to greet them as they walked in the front door, just after 7 o’clock. Norway had brought a bottle of Scotch. He handed it to Charlotte.

  “Ah, there you are. Thank you Nevil,” she said as he kissed her cheek. “Dinner’s been ready for some time.”

  “Sorry we’re late, honey. We had to go over the flight at a conference,” Lou said, giving her a hug and a kiss.

  “That’s okay, you’re here now. It’s a bit dried out, I’m afraid.”

  “I’ve got to take Nevil back later. He’ll be working most of the night.”

  “I’ve made a bed up for you in the spare room, if you need it,” Charlotte said.

  “I’ll have a snooze in one of the cabins, if I get a chance,” Norway said.

  Charlotte had laid the dining table on the middle level beside a blazing coal fire. She struck a match and lit the candles. “Sit down. I’ll bring dinner up. Lou, there’s a bottle of Claret on the sideboard if you’ll open it, please,” she said.

  Lou did as he was asked and Norway sat down. Charlotte made a couple of trips bringing up the meals on a tray. The meat was dry, but Lou and Nevil were too hungry to notice. Lou suddenly put his hand to his head and laughed.

  “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, but forgot, Nev.”

  “What?”

  “When R101 flew over the Howden shed, you and Barnes stood there gnashing your teeth … Remember?”

  “How could I not? It was a pretty poor show.”

  “Barnes looked like he was about to blow a gasket.”

  “He was damned annoyed.”

  “What was it you shouted in his ear?”

  Norway put down his knife and fork, casting his mind back. “Hmm. Ah yes, I remember. I said, ‘Methinks they bite their thumbs at us, sir!’”

  “What the hell's that all about?” Lou asked.

  “It’s Shakespeare—Romeo and Juliet,” Charlotte said.

  “Look, I’m just a dumb country boy. Did Barnes know what you meant?”

  “Of course he did.”

  “And what did he say to that?”

  “He shouted ‘Let them bite them till they bleed!’”

  Lou got the picture. “That’s all he said?”

  “Actually, no. Barnes is a religious man, but I’ve never heard him use such foul language before. Words I couldn’t repeat in front of a lady,” Norway said, eyeing Charlotte.

  “Enemies for life?” Lou said. Norway nodded.

  Charlotte refilled their glasses. “This is all going to end in tears,” she said.

  “So, what the heck’s going on up in that shed, Lou?” Norway asked.

  “They’re removing stuff to lighten her.”

  “That’s why he got so nasty?” Norway said.

  “You caught Richmond with his pants down. He was humiliated.”

  “I can see that. But I’ll tell you this—the work I saw
in that shed, was magnificent. Puts us to shame,” Norway said.

  “Oh, how he’d love to hear that.”

  “Was Barnes on the flight down with you?” Charlotte asked.

  “Yeah, but when we landed he got out of town immediately,” Lou answered.

  “I cooked enough food in case you brought him home.”

  “He wants to get back to his aeroplanes,” Norway said.

  “And Molly?” Charlotte asked.

  “Yes, and Molly. He’s been spending too much time away from her lately.”

  “Not good,” Charlotte said.

  “All he wants to do is organize Christmas with family. Loves Christmas,” Norway said.

  “Good for him,” Charlotte said. “I’m not looking forward to Christmas—not one bit.” She looked away into the flickering flames in the fireplace. Lou noticed.

  “The docking took far too long today,” Norway said.

  “That gear will work okay once everyone learns how to use it—as long as Scott stays out of it,” Lou told him.

  “They seem to have too many experiments going on at the same time. Everything’s complicated. They’ve got too much money at their disposal,” Norway said.

  “So were you pleased with the way she behaved, Nevil?” Lou asked.

  “She was splendid. I was relieved about the servo gear.”

  “Barnes didn’t say a word,” Lou said.

  “Oh, I can tell you he was pleased all right. That ship flew just the way he intended. I know he was satisfied.”

  “So do you think he’ll make the trip to Canada?” Lou asked.

  “I know he wants to go, certainly,” Norway replied.

  Without a word, Charlotte got up from the table to clear things away.

  About 9 o’clock, Lou took Norway back to the mast to supervise the minor repairs. A huge amount of activity was taking place, both on board and on the ground. The gasbags, fuel tanks and ballast tanks were being topped up for next morning’s flight.

  Lou returned home, thankful to be with Charlotte and not on that frigid airship. He was due on watch at 6:00 a.m. When he reached the chilly bedroom, he saw the candle was lit on Charlotte’s beside table and she was sleeping. He smiled as he stripped off his clothes and, with his teeth chattering, carefully lifted the bedclothes and snuggled down against her warm, naked body. She felt wonderfully comforting.