FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1914
1914 - 1152.PDF
Friedrichshafen on Saturday last, by a trio of officers of the Royal Naval Air Service, official confirmation of which was issued by the Admiralty on Monday. The announce ment, although brief, is instructive; it shews that Squadron-Commander E. F. Briggs, with Flight-Com mander J. T. Babington and Flight-Lieutenant S. V. Sippe as pilots, flew from French soil 120 miles into German territory, and dropped bombs on the Zeppelin factory on tht banks of Lake Constance. Flying low to make sure of their objective, they came under a heavy fire from guns, mitrailleuses, and rifles, and one of them, Commander Briggs, was wounded, brought to earth, and taken to the hospital as a prisoner. The other two officers returned in safety to France, though their machines were damaged by the German attack. They were satisfied that the bombs they had discharged had reached their mark, and that serious damage had been done to the Zeppelin factory. The raid is a worthy successor to those that have already been made to Diisseldorf and Cologne, and should do much to instil in the minds of the German public the fact that the Allies are not as yet being held in a tight grip round Paris. As the Admiralty communiqut states, "this flight of 250 miles across mountainous country, in difficult weather conditions, constitutes with the attack a fine feat of arms " on which the three officers in par ticular and the Royal Naval Air Service as a body are to be heartily congratulated. It is gratifying to learn from the later report that the injuries sustained by Com mander Briggs are not so serious as at first feared, and, although, naturally, he will be held as a prisoner of war, we trust he will speedily recover from the penalties of his daring exploit. *» «• m Time was, and that but a year or so ago, Precautions wnen an aeroplane flight across the teOvWM* Channel was regarded as a marvellous Flight. performance. Since then, however, the progress made in the aviation world has been so rapid that such flights have become, relatively speaking, an everyday occurrence, of which little or no notice is taken by the daily Press, or even by the general public. Unfortunately, although the number of accidents 'is very small in proportion to the numerous trans-Channel flights accomplished, all such attempts do not meet with success. Prior to the outbreak of the war, we had to bemoan the loss of several well-known aviators who lost their lives in the course of such a journey, while, THE AIR RAID ON THE Secretary of the Admiralty, through the Press Bureau, on Monday evening made the following announcement:— " On Saturday a flight of aeroplanes,* under the command of Squadron Commander E. F. Briggs, of the Royal Naval Air Service, with Flight Commander J. T. Babington and Flight Lieutenant S. V. Sippe as pilots, flew from French territory to the Zeppelin Airship Factory at Friedrichshafen. " All three pilots in succession flew down to close range under a heavy fire from guns, mitrailleuses, and rifles, * 80 h. p. Gnome-Avros.—ED. ® & The Roll of Honour, THE following casualties in the Expeditionary Force were reported from General Headquarters under dates of November 3rd and 21st:— NOVEMBER 27, 1914. since hostilities commenced, there have been additions to the death role in the same direction. Only a few days ago it was announced that Lord Annesley and Flight Lieut. C. F. Beevor had set out for a flight across the Straits of Dover, and as they never arrived at their destination and have not since been heard of, it is to be feared that their names must be added to the list of those who have given their lives in the work of the conquest of the air. At a time when aircraft is rendering such valuable assistance to our naval and military forces in their operations against the enemy, we require the assistance of every possible flying officer, and it is in this connection that we suggest it is incumbent on the authorities to see that no machine is permitted to be flown over sea until it has been made capable of floating, at least for some reasonable period, in order to reduce the risk of loss of valuable life, by reason of the unexpected which will somehow always assert itself for preference under such circumstances. In this connection we may mention that, turning over the files of FLIGHT the other day, we find that in July, 1912, the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom adopted, on the recommendation of its Public Safety and Accidents Investigation Committee, after full consideration, a resolution to the effect "that aviators shall be prohibited from attempting flights over the sea, beyond the three-mile limit, unless suitable precautions have been taken to render their aircraft capable of flotation." In spite of the present comparatively complete reliability of aeroplanes, not only are we strongly of opinion that the suggestion is one that should be rigidly still adhered to in all flying operations over the sea, but we furthermore consider that a regulation should be put into force forbidding any flying officer to set out on such a journey without being equipped with a life-saving jacket as well as with one of the swimming collars—which uninflated take up the room of about an ordinary tobacco pouch—now being served out to men serving on the vessels of the Navy. Great as has been the progress made in the field of mechanical flight, the risks associated with it are still such that no possible steps should be left untaken to reduce, especially at such a vital time as the present, to the lowest possible minimum the danger of such acci dents, and, hence, we repeat that those in charge of our naval and military air services should see to it that every thing is done, both as regards man and machine, prior to flights over sea being undertaken, which tends in this direction. ZEPPELIN FACTORY. and launched their bombs according to instructions. Commander Briggst is reported to have been shot down, wounded, and taken to hospital as a prisoner. Both the other officers have returned safely to French territory, though their machines were damaged by gun fire. They report positively that all bombs reached their objective, and that serious damage was done to the Zeppelin factory. "This flight of 250 miles, which penetrated 120 miles into Germany, across mountainous country, in difficult weather conditions, constitutes with the attack a fine feat of arms." + Avro No. 874.—ED. ® ® Wounded. Read, Lieut. W. R., 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards and Royal Flying Corps. Paterson, Second Lieut. R. O., Royal Flying Corps. 1152
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
