CHAPTER VIII

THE NAVY THAT FLIES

Heard the Heavens fill with shouting, and there rain’d a ghastly dew From the nations’ airy navies grappling in the central blue.

_Tennyson._

From an account of the work of the British Navy in the war there must not be omitted some exposition of the gallant doings of the men of the Royal Naval Air Service. They have made their mark in the war, in every theatre of it, and no one can tell what part they will play before the struggle is at an end. Of some of their work very little is known. They render “silent” service, like that of the Navy to which they belong. They do not always carry on their duty alone. On occasions they participate in that of the Royal Flying Corps of the Army. They have been associated with the gallant French airmen, and the Americans come with a new burst of energy. The Germans know British naval airmen at Zeebrugge and Ostend, and in all the country behind those places; at sea also, when the German raiders return from their exploits; and on the West front of the Army, too, where they go at times far behind the line, spying out the land, taking number and note of the enemy, dropping bombs on his store and ammunition dumps, disturbing all his rearward services, and stirring up his aerodromes and the nursing places, where his fledglings, whom they call “quirks,” are taking to themselves wings and learning to fly.

The Royal Naval Air Service has lent its aid to the Italians, has provided unpleasant experiences for the Bulgarians, has dropped bombs on the Turks at Gaza and thereabout, has rendered good service in the Mesopotamian business, and was invaluable in “spotting” for the guns which destroyed the fugitive German cruiser _Königsberg_ in the jungle-clad reaches of the Rufiji River. From dawn to dusk these knights of the air have been flying in many parts of the world, and night-flying is their particular pleasure when there is great work to be done. Their “game book” is very full of astounding episodes of fighting which, in exciting experiences, put into the shade the thrilling narratives which for generations have delighted the hearts of boys. Few people know the sleepless vigil which the naval airmen keep all round the British coasts, constantly flying to keep watch upon the enemy, to spot his submarines, to discover his mine-fields, and to defeat any efforts he may make when transports are moving at sea. Such is an outline of the occupations and duties of the Royal Naval Air Service.

There was an “Air Department” at the Admiralty before the war, and a Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps with its “Central Air Office,” its Flying School at Eastchurch, and seaplane and aeroplane stations at six places on the coasts, as well as airships at Farnborough and Kingsnorth. At the Royal inspection at Spithead of the great mobilised Fleet, just before the war, naval aeroplanes, seaplanes, and airships gave a fine display. Development was rapid, the Royal Naval Air Service came into independent existence, and there is now the Fifth Sea Lord at the Admiralty charged with the supervision of the Royal Naval Air Service, and representing it on the Air Board.

Some of the most useful work of the Royal Naval Air Service is in “spotting” for the guns of the warships. Its officers made a methodical photographic survey of the coast from Nieuport to the Dutch frontier early in the war to assist the monitors which were then bombarding the coast, and to observe and correct their fire. They worked from a height of about 12,000 feet, constantly observing the development of the enemy’s gun emplacements, all in despite of hostile aeroplanes and shells. That survey has been continued, and the result is the finest thing in aerial cartography which has ever been achieved.

It will illustrate this part of the special work of the seaplanes if we describe how they began, which we are enabled to do by a lively-witted official scribe, who examined the records of their operations, and has given his impressions:—

“I can’t see where they’re pitching,” said the Navy-that-Floats, referring to the shells of the monitors bursting twelve miles away. “What about spotting for us, old son?” “That will I do,” replied the Navy-that-Flies. “And more also. But I shall have to wear khaki, because it’s done out here; by everybody, apparently.”

“Wear anything you like,” replied the Navy-that-Floats, “as long as you help us to hit those shore-batteries. Only—because you wear khaki (the Royal Naval Air Service does not usually wear khaki) and see life, don’t forget you’re still the same old Navy, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.”

The Navy-that-Flies added “Amen,” and said that it wouldn’t forget. Wherever its squadrons were based they rigged a flagstaff and flew the White Ensign at the peak. They erected wooden huts and painted them Service grey, labelling them “Mess-deck,” “Ward-room,” “Gun-room,” etc., as the case might be. They divided the flights into port and starboard watches, and solemnly asked leave to “go ashore” for recreation. They filled in shell-holes and levelled the ground for aerodromes; they ran up hangars and excavated dug-outs—whither they retired in a strong silent rush (the expression is theirs) when the apprehensive Boche attempted to curtail their activity with bombs.

Not all the good work of the Royal Naval Air Service in its co-operation with the Fleet comes into public notice. It rendered excellent service at the Dardanelles, the seaplane carrier _Arc Royal_ being present. There were many fine achievements, including the bombing of a transport in the Straits by Flight-Commander C. H. K. Edmonds, R.N. Seaplanes may take the place of scouting cruisers, as the eyes of the Fleet, and relieve destroyers of some of their scouting duties. What would Nelson not have given for the help of seaplanes when he was crying out for frigates, and was groping for the French in the Mediterranean in 1798, and came unknowingly within a short distance of them; or, again, when, in 1805, they eluded him off Toulon? Intelligence of the movements of our enemy is of the utmost importance to officers commanding at sea, and this is the service which the naval airmen have been rendering.

At the beginning of the war the Germans enjoyed an advantage in the possession of some dirigible airships, which sailed in calm airs, unimpeded, over the North Sea, surveyed its full extent, and reported what they saw to the German naval authorities. Their number rapidly increased. Thus the British Fleet was to a certain extent hampered in its operations. Now the situation is changed. The enemy’s airships know the peril of coming within range of anti-aircraft guns, and they dread the “hornets” which carry special means of setting them on fire. There are British airships, too, and observation captive balloons, fixed and towed, as well as seaplanes, maintained in adequate numbers. The seaplane played a useful part in the battle of the Jutland Bank, and craft of the class will astonish the enemy in any subsequent naval engagement.

The dropping of bombs by the seaplanes or aeroplanes of the Royal Naval Air Service has become the most prominent of its activities. The machines are of great power, and, acting in numbers, they have been able to drop an enormous weight of bombs on the enemy positions, particularly in the districts behind the coast of West Flanders. Within the space of four or five months 70 tons of explosives were dropped on the German aerodromes in Northern Belgium. Brave naval airmen in July, 1917, from a height of 800 feet, dropped bombs on the _Goeben_ and other enemy warships at the Golden Horn, and hit the Turkish War Office also. In this work the young officers—for the service demands youth—have given proof of exceeding keenness. It would be difficult to catalogue the expeditions of the naval airmen on the Belgian coast. They have assisted in most important operations.

How far such work may be continued, to what range carried, or what will be the full effect, we do not know. The Navy-that-Flies will leave nothing undone that is capable of accomplishment. It has operated in association with the work of French flying men on many occasions, at the bombardment of Zeebrugge and elsewhere. It will find a powerful co-worker in the new and gallant allies who are bringing all their force to bear from beyond the Atlantic. The United States air service will develop with extraordinary rapidity, and its co-operation will be warmly welcomed by British naval airmen. So abundant is the confidence of Americans, so strong and virile their faith in themselves, that some of them look to the aeroplane to end the war. Rear-Admiral Bradley A. Fiske has demanded an immediate naval attack on the German fleet and submarine bases in the Baltic by a monster fleet of aeroplanes and seaplanes. He believes that the importance of naval aerial operations is not sufficiently realised by the Allies and that Essen may be destroyed by bombardment from the air.

The field of speculation does not fall within the scope of this little book, the object of which is to illustrate the work of the Fleet and its associated services in all the theatres of war. The Royal Naval Air Service is still young, and has undoubtedly a great future. Already it has proved a valuable auxiliary. It has assisted in the important business of providing complete strategical observations. It has aided the work of the commercial blockade, in making more easy on many occasions the operations of the much-tried examination service. Undoubtedly the transport of the armies and their stores across the Channel and in many seas, which was the subject of the last chapter, would have been conducted with less certainty, and perhaps with less confidence, if it had not been for the active co-operation, as the eyes of the Fleet, of the naval flying men. The long-range gunnery of warships against permanent fortifications, both at the Dardanelles and on the Belgian coast, has gained in accuracy from the observation by the aircraft of the Navy.

This subject might have been pursued further, but enough has been said to show that, among the agencies employed by the British Fleet in the accomplishment of the supreme duties which it exercises for the safety of the country and the support of the Allies, the Royal Naval Air Service holds an important place. It has evoked enthusiasm among its officers, who have maintained in a high degree, in many a battle in the air, the fearlessness, resource, and daring of the Naval Service to which they belong.