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Description: | British officer served as airship pilot with Royal Naval Air Service based at Anglesey, GB, 1916-1918; flew SR 1 from Italy to GB, 10/1918
REEL 1 Background to commission into Royal Naval Air Service, 11/1915: prior work in shipping business; father's role in securing attachment to airship service; pre-war interest in flying and visits to Hendon Airfield; ; reactions. Period of initial training at Wormwood Scrubs, London , 1/1916-6/1916: prior assessment at Greenwich; reception; flying over Wormwood Scrubs prison; nature of naval establishment at Wormwood Scrubs. Initial balloon training and subsequent periods as instructor at Hurlingham Club, Hammersmith, London, 1916-1918: preparing balloon for flight.
REEL 2 Continues: role of balloon training; amusing stories illustrating flights with trainees; story of first solo flight including gaining excessive altitude as result of thunderstorm, use of ballast, use of trail rope and difficult landing; night flight.
REEL 3 Continues: scope of training. Period at Kingsnorth, 6-11/1916: naval traditions; opinion of SS Airships; nature of establishment; instructors; airship flying training.
REEL 4 Continues: role on posting to command SS 31; conditions flying SS Airships; illustrations of experimental work and flights to try and improve perfomance of SS Airships including relocating rudder, failure of lighter control wires and forced landing following freezing of water cooled engine; sense of patriotism; status as airship pilot; comparison of flying characteristics of Coastal and SS Airships.
REEL 5 Period operating over Irish Sea based at Anglesey, 11/1916-4/1918: convoy escort role; conditions and latrine arrangements flying SS Airships; station establishment; story of dispute with adjutant over control of ground crews following formation of RAF, 1918; nature of airfield; posting to command SS 25; convoy escort duties; use of emergency landing ground at Malahide, Ireland and question of Irish situation, ca 1916; story of alerting troop convoy to presence of possible submarine in front of them.
REEL 6 Continues: story of difficulties with bad weather conditions during night search for missing ship; crew duties in SS Zero Airships; anti-submarine role and question of effectiveness of bombing; story of engine failure in SS Z 35 including rescue by trawler, releasing defused bomb and being towed to Llandudno.
REEL 7 Continues: story of engine failure in SS Z35 including welcome on return to Anglesey; story of emergency landing during cricket match; success in identifying pattern in submarine attacks and subsequent successful airship/destroyer counter operation; question of effectiveness of airships in anti-submarine operations; collecting SS Pusher airships from Wormwood Scrubs and problems with engine reliability.
REEL 8 Continues: area of operations; armaments carried on SS Airships; SS Pusher Airships and problems with engine reliability; use of sea anchor and grapnel on trail rope; reactions on collecting new SS Zero Airship from Kingsnorth; method of air navigation; layout of SS Zero.
REEL 9 Continues: test flight in SS Zero flying low along Thames; method of testing new airships prior to acceptance; reliability of Rolls Royce Hawk engines in SS Zero Airship and consequent increase in operational efficiency; 24 hour patrols and effects of weather.
REEL 10 Continues: Journey to collect newly purchased Semi Rigid 1 from Ciampino, Italy, 5-11/1918: question of nature of Rigid and Semi Rigid Airships; nature of first flights in crew; wait for completeion of construction of SR1; characteristics of SR 1; Italians pilots' relatively fast landing speed; pre-acceptance trials on SR 1; crew.
REEL 11 Continues: Flight from Italy to GB, 11/1918: overnight mooring problems; problems with foggy weather; dangerous nature of engine problems; radio silence;overnight stop at Paris, France.
REEL 12 Continues: establishing radio communications; personal appearance on landing at Kingsnorth. Reaction to formation of RAF, 1/4/1918: relationship between airship and aircraft pilots; pride in status as naval officers; reaction to former Royal Flying Corps personnel. View from SR 1 of surrender of German submarine fleet to Grand Fleet in North Sea, 11/1918. | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Lance, David G | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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