Firth of Forth
FIRTH of FORTH: Military seaplane operating area
NOTES: It appears that probably the first military seaplane operation in this estuary was flown by Cdr.Samson with a Short S.41 in October 1912?
QUITE A TALE
In ‘To the Ends of the Air’ Group Captain G E Livstock describes his WW1 experiences whilst posted to the seaplane tender HMS Engadine previously a cross-channel steamer fitted out to carry four Short’s seaplanes. His aircraft being a Short Type 830 No.1336.
Operating initially out of the estuary between Felixstowe and Harwich they were posted for anti-submarine duties in the Forth of Firth, in late May, early June 1915. They anchored about a mile off Granton, (which is about 2nm NW of Edinburgh city centre), and stayed there for about one year! Swinging around on anchor day after day, week after week, month after month and achieving 'SFA'.
Most of the flying was done locally, training observers from the RN crew on board, (nobody in the Navy had thought to supply them!), and the whole exercise was a total waste of time - not a single periscope sighted.
A couple of ‘sorties’ were carried out across the North Sea to harass the Germans to little or no effect, but it was his account, after returning to their previous duties in the Firth of Forth in October 1915 that intrigued me. “One bitterly cold day when there was snow lying on the ground and the atmosphere was beautifully clear I could not resist the temptation to climb up to 4,000ft and fly over Edinburgh to take a photograph with my little Kodak camera. This flight created a tremendous impression; the traffic in Princes Street stopped and everybody looked up as I passed overhead. The next day one of the newspapers had a heading ‘Aeroplane over Edinburgh’ and devoted several inches of space to describing this historic event.”
HARD TO APPRECIATE TODAY
I really do think that today it is really quite difficult to appreciate the effect of seeing for the very first time balloons then aircraft, (including airships), had on most people. By 1915 thousands of aeroplanes were flying, but most of the people of Edinburgh still hadn’t seen one? Or, at least, the impact of spotting one was enough to bring traffic to a stop?
THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND
On the 31st May and the 1st of June 1916 HMS Engadine formed part of the fleet the biggest WW1 naval action known as the “Battle of Jutland”. It appears that a Short aircraft flown from HMS Engadine, crewed by Rutland and Trewin who first spotted the German cruiser fleet and reported their position by R/T, on the 31st May. This was it appears the first RNAS seaplane to be engaged in a major naval battle?
Livstock quite rightly asks if more use could have been made of the other seaplanes still sitting unused on HMS Engadine for flying off on other bearings?
In late 1916 Livstock had flown just one hundred and fifty hours, but was regarded as a seasoned pilot having flown eleven types, and was then posted to GREAT YARMOUTH. Please read his fascinating book.
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