Description
Object description
British officer served as airship pilot with Royal Naval Air Service at Royal Naval Air Service Station Kingsnorth, GB, 6/1916-11/1916; served with Royal Naval Air Service Anglesey, GB, 11/1916-4/1918; served with RAF standing by during construction of Airship SR.1 at Ciampino, Italy, 5/1918-11/1918; commanded Airship SR.1 during flight from Italy to GB, 3/11/1918-6/11/1918
Content description
REEL 1 Aspects of enlistment and commissioning in Royal Naval Air Service in GB, 11/1915: prior work in shipping business; father's role in securing attachment to Naval Airship Section; pre-war interest in flying and visits to Hendon Aerodrome; reaction to commissioning. Aspect of training at Royal Naval Air Service Station Wormwood Scrubs and Hurlingham Club, London, GB, 1/1916-6/1916: prior assessment at Greenwich; reception; flying over Wormwood Scrubs Prison; nature of naval establishment at Royal Naval Air Service Station Wormwood Scrubs; initial balloon training and subsequent periods as instructor at Hurlingham Club, London, 1916-1918 including preparation of 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. Recollections of period as airship pilot with Royal Naval Air Service at Royal Naval Air Service Station Kingsnorth, GB, 6/1916-11/1916: naval traditions; opinion of Submarine Scout (SS) Class Airships; nature of establishment; instructors; airship flying training.
REEL 4 Continues: role commanding Airship SS.31; conditions flying Submarine Scout (SS) Class Airships; experimental work and flights to try and improve perfomance of Submarine Scout (SS) Class Airships including relocating rudder, failure of lighter control wires and forced landing following freezing of water cooled engine; personal motivation; status as airship pilot; comparison of flying characteristics of Coastal (C) Class and Submarine Scout (SS) Airships.
REEL 5 Continues: Recollections of operations as airship pilot with Royal Naval Air Service at Royal Naval Air Service Station Anglesey, GB, 11/1916-4/1918: convoy escort role over Irish Sea; conditions and latrine arrangements flying in Submarine Scout (SS) Class Airships; station establishment; story of dispute with adjutant over control of ground crews following formation of Royal Air Force, 1918; nature of airfield; taking command of SS.25; convoy escort duties; use of emergency landing ground at Royal Naval Air Service Station Malahide, Ireland and question of situation in Ireland, 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 Submarine Scout Zero (SSZ) Class Airships; anti-submarine role and question of effectiveness of bombing; story of engine failure in SSZ.35 including rescue by trawler, releasing defused bomb and being towed to Llandudno.
REEL 7 Continues: welcome on return to Royal Naval Air Service Station Anglesey; story of emergency landing during cricket match; identifying pattern in submarine attacks and subsequent successful airship/destroyer counter operation; question of effectiveness of airships in anti-submarine operations; collecting Submarine Scout Pusher (SSP) Class Airships from Royal Naval Air Service Station Wormwood Scrubs and problems with engine reliability.
REEL 8 Continues: operational area; armaments carried on Submarine Scout (SS) Class Airships; problems with engine reliability in Submarine Scout Pusher (SSP) Class Airships; use of sea anchor and grapnel on trail rope; reaction on collecting new Submarine Scout Zero (SSZ) Class Airship from Royal Naval Air Service Station Kingsnorth; method of air navigation; layout of Submarine Scout Zero (SSZ) Class Airship.
REEL 9 Continues: test flight in Submarine Scout Zero (SSZ) Class Airship.
flying low along River Thames; method of testing new airships prior to acceptance; reliability of Rolls-Royce Hawk Engine in Submarine Scout Zero (SSZ) Class Airship and consequent increase in operational efficiency; twenty four hour patrols and effects of weather.
REEL 10 Continues: Recollections of period standing by during construction of newly purchased Airship SR.1 at Ciampino, Italy, 5/1918-11/1918: question of nature of Rigid (R) Class and Semi-Rigid (SR) Class Airships; nature of first flights in crew; wait for completion of construction of Airship SR.1; characteristics of Airship SR.1; Italians pilots' relatively fast landing speed; pre-acceptance trials on Airship SR 1; crew.
REEL 11 Continues: Aspects of flight in Airship SR.1 from Italy to GB, 3/11/1918-6/11/1918: overnight mooring problems; problems with foggy weather; nature of engine problems; radio silence; overnight stopover in Paris, France.
REEL 12 Continues: establishing radio communications; personal appearance on landing at RAF St Pulham St Mary, 6/11/1918; prior recollection of reaction to formation of Royal Air Force, 1/4/1918 including relations between airship and aircraft pilots, pride in status as Royal Navy officers and attitude to former Royal Flying Corps personnel; sight from Airship SR.1 of surrender of German submarine fleet to Grand Fleet in North Sea, 20/11/1918.