The Aircraft Carrier Story 1908 - 1945, Guy Robbins
Page 13
Samson duly flew off the forecastle of the old battleship Africa in Sheerness harbour on 10th January 1912. His aeroplane (a Short 538) was equipped with pontoons attached to the wheels for emergency tough-down on the sea. As a result Seuter and Rear Admiral E C T Troubridge, Chief of the War Staff, suggested trials in four cruisers of the Home Fleet before issuing two machines per warship in the fleet. Further experiments involved flying-off from cruiser's deck at sea and while underway at 10 ½ kts.
Unlike Ely, however, Samson never attempted to follow up these experiments (taking off) by flying onto a ship despite having a technique proposed for doing so. In December 1911 Lieutenant H A Williamson, a submariner, forwarded a proposal to the Admiralty to concert existing warships, or even to build a new carrier, to launch and retrieve aeroplanes for fleet anti-submarine duties. This design was rejected by Samson as too complicated, but primarily because he had decided to develop seaplanes. He considered flying onto a ship too dangerous for fast machines and unnecessary for seaplanes.
Page 29-30
On 5th March (1915) Williamson, injured in a seaplane crash, went home for treatment and was appointed to the Supply Section of the Air Department on 19th July. He tried to improve seaplane design by met with resistance from Booth, the designer who told Churchill seaplanes could not be used as aeroplanes.
He therefore turned to the problem of fleet carrier aircraft when scouting and attacking Zeppelins and, as in 1911, concluded that the solution lay in superior performance of both aeroplanes and landing-on technique. His design consisted of a long deck with flying-off forward and alighting aft (aided by arrestor gear) with a streamlined 'island' (for navigation, funnel and mast) on the starboard side to give a clear air flow. His explanatory model was similar to Eagle in the 1920's.
Ok, so if Williamson's proposals had been the route taken and wheeled aircraft rather than seaplanes had been developed from 1912 with attempts to land on a moving ship, how much quicker could you expect the flush deck carrier and island carrier?
What does this do to the cross channel conversions, while the later ones could launch wheeled aircraft, I cant see them being able to be modified for landing on
Page 13
Samson duly flew off the forecastle of the old battleship Africa in Sheerness harbour on 10th January 1912. His aeroplane (a Short 538) was equipped with pontoons attached to the wheels for emergency tough-down on the sea. As a result Seuter and Rear Admiral E C T Troubridge, Chief of the War Staff, suggested trials in four cruisers of the Home Fleet before issuing two machines per warship in the fleet. Further experiments involved flying-off from cruiser's deck at sea and while underway at 10 ½ kts.
Unlike Ely, however, Samson never attempted to follow up these experiments (taking off) by flying onto a ship despite having a technique proposed for doing so. In December 1911 Lieutenant H A Williamson, a submariner, forwarded a proposal to the Admiralty to concert existing warships, or even to build a new carrier, to launch and retrieve aeroplanes for fleet anti-submarine duties. This design was rejected by Samson as too complicated, but primarily because he had decided to develop seaplanes. He considered flying onto a ship too dangerous for fast machines and unnecessary for seaplanes.
Page 29-30
On 5th March (1915) Williamson, injured in a seaplane crash, went home for treatment and was appointed to the Supply Section of the Air Department on 19th July. He tried to improve seaplane design by met with resistance from Booth, the designer who told Churchill seaplanes could not be used as aeroplanes.
He therefore turned to the problem of fleet carrier aircraft when scouting and attacking Zeppelins and, as in 1911, concluded that the solution lay in superior performance of both aeroplanes and landing-on technique. His design consisted of a long deck with flying-off forward and alighting aft (aided by arrestor gear) with a streamlined 'island' (for navigation, funnel and mast) on the starboard side to give a clear air flow. His explanatory model was similar to Eagle in the 1920's.
Ok, so if Williamson's proposals had been the route taken and wheeled aircraft rather than seaplanes had been developed from 1912 with attempts to land on a moving ship, how much quicker could you expect the flush deck carrier and island carrier?
What does this do to the cross channel conversions, while the later ones could launch wheeled aircraft, I cant see them being able to be modified for landing on
