5. E a r l y 2 0 t h C e n t u r y F l i g h t
Early 20th century: great technological developments, including flight
1908 Prime Minister Asquith approves formation of an ‘Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics’
On 25th July 1909 Louis Blériot crossed the English Channel in an aeroplane (46
minute flight)
1910: 4 more Channel crossings – 3 by airships
Airships were being developed
in Germany, France, Italy and
England – but the political
situation meant that each
country worked separately.
6. A i r s h i p s a n d t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r
Advantages of airships over aeroplanes:
• Longer flights / greater travel distances
• Ability to fly in fog/low cloud
• Low/slow flight & maintaining position
• Carry more people
• Engine repair in the air
• Slow ‘crash’ landings
• Good visibility
• Quick to build
• Easy to train crew
7. A i r s h i p t y p e s
Rigid: (like Zeppelins): a linen covered frame containing
gas-bags
Non-rigid: a gas-bag - shape determined by internal
pressure
Semi-rigid: a gas-bag - shape determined by internal
pressure but with keel running along bottom for added
rigidity
Pilot & crew in ‘car’ or ‘cars’ suspended beneath the envelope (balloon)
Steering via rudders and elevators at back of envelope
8. What made the airship particularly useful
in the fight against submarines?
Advantages
• Quick to build
• Easy to train crew
• Can carry more people
• Longer flights / greater travel distances
• Ability to fly in fog/low cloud
• Low/slow flight & maintaining position (good for searching and marking a spot)
• Excellent viewing platform (no wings to obscure view)
• Easier to communicate
• Easier to navigate (can turn without upsetting compass like a banking plane does)
• Climb/dive better than any plane
• Fewer cockpit tasks (more searching time)
• Air-sickness unheard of
• In-air engine repairs possible
• Deterrent: forcing U-boats under water
A i r s h i p s & U - b o a t s
Image:ImperialWarMuseums
9. A i r s h i p s & U - b o a t s
Disadvantages of airships
• Need for calm winds
• Relatively slow (40 – 55 mph)
• Threat from enemy aircraft
• Large hangars needed for storage/maintenance
• Large ground crews needed
• Supply of hydrogen (and related safety concerns)
SSZ43beingbroughtintoshedin40mphwinds
Image:FlightGlobal,January1916,191
Airship hangars in Cornwall
Image: Pete London
10. B r i t i s h n o n - r i g i d a i r s h i p s
March 1915 SS1
The car was the fuselage of a BE2 aeroplane
It could carry a crew of 2
Airships became essential in the fight against U-boats
A simple design was needed so a fleet of airships could be built quickly
The prototype (SS1) was built at RNAS Kingsnorth, Kent
11. S e a S c o u t Z e r o ( S S Z )
Sea Scout Zero
Improvements:
New streamlined, watertight, boat-shaped car – fits 3 people
New engine (Rolls-Royce 75hp Hawk)
12. A i r s h ip c re w
SSZ: Crew of 3 (front to back): Wireless Operator, Pilot, Engineer
Airship crews all volunteers (mostly Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve)
Training – approximately 12 flights (10 hours) in a training balloon (with baskets carrying
up to 5 trainees and an instructor), then solo in a 2-person craft
Conditions:
Unable to move for 8 – 12 hours (sometimes 24 hours!)
Open-exhaust engine (creating noise and smell)
Open car, in often sub-zero temperatures
Crews often bodily carried after a flight frozen and stiff
13. Transported by rail to Cornwall (July 1917)
Assembled and tested at RNAS Mullion, Cornwall
Sept 1917: entered operational service
S S Z 1 5 ( S e a S c o u t Z e r o )
14. I n h i s o w n w o r d s
In December 1917, a young aircraftsman in the
Royal Naval Air Service had a terrifying experience
with SSZ15 in Cornwall.
You can read his incredible story at:
http://forgottenwrecks.maritimearchaeologytrust.
org/ssz15/ssz15-incident
From: Voices in flight: the Royal Naval Air Service
During the Great War by Malcolm Smith
15. 1917 & 1918:
Operated out of Liara (near Plymouth) and Toller (near Bridport)
13th April 1918 – set out from Toller early morning
Flying for almost 15 hours
9.45pm - seen landing at sea 2 miles south of Exmouth (poss. engine
failure)
Rescue boats sent – no sign of crew
S S Z 1 5 ( S e a S c o u t Z e r o )
16. T h e W r e c k
No physical remains have been
found of SSZ15
The position shown is
approximate based on reports of
its loss.
17. The crew of SSZ15 were all killed:
• Pilot: Lt G R J Parkinson – 20 years
• Air Mechanic: R T James (Engineer) – 21 years
• Air Mechanic: V H Hudson (Wireless Operator) – 19 years
R e m e m b e r i n g & C o m m e m o r a t i n g
https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/community/2097
18. H o l l y b r o o k M e m o r i a l
Valentine Hudson’s body was never found. He
is therefore commemorated on the Hollybrook
Memorial
19. Fascinating fact:
Sky fishing!
An airship crew member recalled after the war:. “I mentioned a canvas bucket; this
had three hundred feet of line attached and it afforded us many a fine bit of sport.
We used to fish with it, when I say fish I mean that we would hover round a fishing
smack, drop the basket and it would be filled up with some nice fresh caught fish for
the ship's crew breakfast the next morning.
We once hovered over farmsteads on Bardsey Island and all the villagers came to
view us. We put half a crown and a note in the bucket for some eggs, lowered the
bucket and had it filled up with some nice fresh eggs…..
The fishing afforded a little diversion from otherwise tedious patrol duties. It was a
glorious life, healthy, and adventurous, and I was pleased to have been able to serve
my country in such a manner” (A. H. Gamble)
20. The Maritime Archaeology Trust is grateful for Brian Turpin, Airship Historian
for his help and assistance in relation to SSZ15.
21. Fur ther Information
Please visit our website
www.forgottenwrecks.maritimearchaeologytrust.org
Here you will find other wreck case study & WW1
PowerPoints, audio articles, 3D models of sites and artefacts ,
articles about the war at sea and much more!
Please contact us if you would like more information, to volunteer, or to book a talk
or schools session.
Editor's Notes
These PowerPoints have been prepared as part of the Heritage Lottery funded Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War project for the use of groups and teachers. More information about the project can be found at: http://forgottenwrecks.maritimearchaeologytrust.org/
This PowerPoint was created by the Maritime Archaeology Trust as part of the Forgotten wrecks of the First World War Project. Fully funded by the Heritage Lottery, this project coincides with the centenary of the First World War, exploring and raising the profile of the wrecks and related coastal sites along the south coast of England, dating to the First World War.
This PowerPoint focuses on one of the Forgotten Wrecks project’s wreck case studies. Each slide provides summary information about the wreck and its story, with more detailed information for teachers here in the Notes section. Please note the separate Introduction PowerPoint, providing background and context, which can be found at: [insert URL].
The subject of this PowerPoint is Airship SSZ15, assembled at the Royal Navy Airship Station (RNAS) at Mullion, Cornwall and trialled on 10th August 1917. Historical records show that the airship flew for 215 hours during 1917 and 195 hours in 1918 before being lost at sea, with the loss of all 3 people on-board on 13th April 1918.
An airship is a lighter-than-air craft, typically comprising a hydrogen-filled ‘envelope’ (balloon) with rudders (for turning) and elevators (for ascending/descending), powered by a propeller engine.
Public Warning poster: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/31653
This Public Warning poster was published by HM Stationery Office in 1915. It aimed to help people recognise and differentiate between British and American aircraft and shows a variety of First World War era aircraft.
The early 20th century was a time of great technological developments, even before the start of the war, which drove further advances. Flight was no exception.
Blériot’s flight – source: Flight Global, April 5th 1913: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1913/1913%20-%200387.html
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Bl%C3%A9riot#/media/File:Bleriot_pre-takeoff-25_July_1909.jpg
See slide of the advantages that airships had over aeroplanes at the beginning of the 20th century.
Sources:
Abbariello, John, J. 2006. Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I: British naval aviation and the defeat of the U-Boats. Routledge.
Mowthorpe, Ces. 1998. Battlebags: British Airships of the First World War. Sutton Publishing.
During the First World War there were 3 basic types of airship in use (see slide).
[Suggested activity: brainstorm advantages/disadvantages that airships might offer over fixed-wing aircraft, particularly in the First World War’s Anti Submarine Warfare – see following slides for advantages/disadvantages]
See slide of the advantages that airships had over aeroplanes at the beginning of the 20th century.
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_airships#/media/File:SSZ_37_over_ship_WWI_IWM_Q_48005.jpg
Sources:
Abbariello, John, J. 2006. Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I: British naval aviation and the defeat of the U-Boats. Routledge.
Mowthorpe, Ces. 1998. Battlebags: British Airships of the First World War. Sutton Publishing.
See slide of the advantages that airships had over aeroplanes at the beginning of the 20th century.
Calm winds – in 1915, the inexperienced crews seldom flew in winds of more than 15mph By 1917 they were able to fly in winds of 30-35mpg.
Large ground crews – e.g. for the small SS type aircraft, a ground-crew of 25 needed (more than 40 in poor weather).
Flight Global image: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1919/1919%20-%200073.html?search=airship%20sheds
Pete London image: http://petelondon.blogspot.co.uk/2014_10_01_archive.html
Sources:
Abbariello, John, J. 2006. Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I: British naval aviation and the defeat of the U-Boats. Routledge.
Mowthorpe, Ces. 1998. Battlebags: British Airships of the First World War. Sutton Publishing.
On 1st July 1914 the Admiralty created the Royal Naval Air Service (which officially came under the control of the Royal Navy in August 1915).
At the outbreak of war in August, the RNAS had 93 aircraft, 7 airships, 2 balloons and 727 personnel.
On 28th Feb 1915 the Admiralty issued a specification for a small airship, capable of a max. speed of 50mph, an 8 hour flight time, carrying a crew of 2, 160lb of bombs and a radio set with a range of 30 miles. It also had to be able to be mass produced.
The RNAS answered the specification with Sea Scout 1, built at Kingsnorth, Kent using an envelope from a previous airship (Willows No. 4) and an adapted fuselage from a BE 2 aeroplane.
Approximately 50 were built but by 1916 an airship with better performance was being sought. This led to the development of the Sea Scout Zero (SSZ) class at RNAS Capel, Kent.
Further information about airship development in the early 20th century can be found at: 21-years of airship progress - https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1930/untitled0%20-%200084.html
The Sea Scout Zero was a great improvement on the Sea Scout, with a new streamlined, watertight, boat-shaped car to take 3 people and a new engine (see slide) – both specifically designed for the task.
The new car enabled the SSZ to land on calm waters. The car also had a v-shaped strengthened bottom so it could make normal landings without skids etc.
77 Sea Scout Zeros were built up to 1919.
SSZ15 was one of nearly 80 SSZ Airships built during the First World War.
From: Voices in flight: the Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War by Malcolm Smith
See slide for details of loss.
SSZ15 was one of nearly 80 SSZ Airships built during the First World War.
The bodies of Lt Parkinson and Air Mechanic James were later found washed up on shore in Devon. The body of Air Mechanic Hudson was never found.
Although the Sea Scout Zero car was designed to float on water the fact that other Mullion-based airships were recalled during the afternoon due to poor weather, suggests that conditions may have had a part to play. A partially deflated envelope may well have pulled the car over and the poor weather and darkness are likely to have exacerbated the situation.
The Forgotten Wrecks project is helping to commemorate the lost crew of SSZ15 by creating a community for them on the Imperial War Museum’s Lives of the First World War digital memorial (see slide).
The Hollybrook Memorial in Southampton commemorates by name almost 1,900 servicemen and women of the Commonwealth land and air forces whose graves are not known, many of whom were lost in transports or other vessels torpedoed or mined in home waters. The memorial also bears the names of those who were lost or buried at sea, or who died at home but whose bodies could not be recovered for burial.
Recollections of A.H. Gamble, in ‘Voices in Flight: the Royal Naval Air Service’ by Malcolm Smith (p68)
If you have used this PowerPoint, we would very much like to hear from you, please send us a quick email to let us know how you found it so that we can improve this and other resources. You can contact us at: forgottenwrecks@maritimearchaeologytrust.org or via the details below:
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