A Tribute to the Avro Aviation Company

Yesterday, I was very privileged to have a guided tour around the exhibits in the Avro Heritage Centre in Manchester. It was a splendid day during which I learned much and it is a visit I can recommend to all aviation enthusiasts.

I was keen to visit after researching the Avro 504 for my WW1 naval aviation thriller, The Wings of the Wind. In November 1914, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) launched the world’s first strategic bombing raid. The German Zeppelins had been causing much fear amongst the British civilian population through their raids on London and the east coast of Britain, but at that time, they flew too high and too fast to be intercepted in the air. Accordingly, it was agreed that the best strategy was to bomb the Zeppelins in their bases and factories. Churchill, as the First Lord of the Admiralty, thought the best way to eradicate hornets was to destroy their nests. To this end, the Royal Navy requested the firm of A.V. Roe to modify six of its 504 aircraft to be modified with bigger fuel tanks to enable them to fly a breath-taking raid of 250 miles. The aircraft needed, too, to be fitted with new bomb racks to carry four 20lb bombs. The Avro 504 had been bought in large numbers by the RNAS on account of its reliability and stability in the air. Accordingly, once it was superseded by other aircraft as a bomber and fighter, it was still to become the trainer of choice for many of the world’s air forces.

Avro fitted a spare tank in the observer’s seat and shipped the aircraft in crates in great secrecy from Manchester to the south coast. After crossing the Channel, they continued their secret rail journey to Belfort on the French/Swiss border. One of the reasons the aircraft had to be stripped down and packed in crates for rail transport was because Belfort was an airship station and had no runway, so the aircraft couldn’t be flown in. In Belfort the French were most cooperative and allocated the naval airmen and their ground crew their own airship shed to reassemble the aircraft ready for their operation, the first attack of the war on German soil. One of the ground crew selected for the operation was an Avro engineer, Roy Chadwick, and it was his job to instruct the pilots in the use of the new bomb release mechanism. He went on to design the Lancaster bomber. Due to the secrecy of the operation, none of the RNAS men was permitted to leave the airship shed and, thus, they had to eat and sleep on the bare concrete floor in the depths of winter.

In the absence of a runway, the RNAS men cleared the rough field of stones and fences as best they could, but even so, on the first check flight one of the aircraft was damaged on taxiing trials. As a result, the decision was taken not to conduct any test flights. The new Avros’ maiden flights would be the actual operation, despite some of the pilots never having an Avro 504 before and none of them having dropped a bomb! Another concern was that the severe cold would freeze the engine oil. Despite the trying circumstances and some poor weather, at 09.30 on the 21st November, a flight of four RNAS Avro 504 aircraft lined up for launch with the task of bombing the Zeppelin works at Friedrichshafen, on one corner of Germany, Switzerland and Austria and on the shore of Lake Constance.

The aircraft engines only had two speeds – stop or full-speed, so the ground crew had to hang on to the aircraft whilst the engines were run at full speed before releasing them for launching at three-minute intervals. The first three Avros took off without incident, but the fourth was damaged on the rough terrain and failed to get airborne. Squadron Commander Briggs, Flight Commander Babington and Flight Lieutenant Sippe headed east towards Switzerland. Unfortunately, at the last minute, the French insisted that no maps be carried in the aircraft for fear that in the event of one of the aircraft being shot down, the attack would be blamed on them and German reprisals would follow. Accordingly, it was agreed that the pilots would proceed independently and attack individually. They skirted the border of neutral Switzerland and the mountains of the Black Forest before heading for Lake Constance.

Briggs, in command of the operation, arrived over Lake Constance and dropped his bombs, but his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Wounded and with damage to his machine’s fuel system, he was forced to land and then taken prisoner. Soon afterwards, Sippe flew over the lake at a height of ten feet to avoid detection. Five miles from the target, he ascended to 1,200 feet and then when only half a mile from the sheds, he dived to 700 feet and released his bombs in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire. His fourth bomb failed to release, so he tried to attack a nearby seaplane base, but again the bomb wouldn’t release. Attempting to avoid the flak and machine gun fire, he headed for home over the lake at sea level and made it back to Belfort safely.

Babington arrived over Friedrichshafen late due to issues with his engine. He made his attack with the sun behind him to confuse the enemy gunners and believed his attack had been successful before he headed for Belfort. However, without the aid of maps, he soon became lost and once his fuel ran low, he landed to ask for directions. Fortunately, he landed in France, about 30 miles from Belfort and a local farmer took him to a telephone from where he was able to ring the base and ask to be picked up.

Unfortunately, the raid turned out to be only a partial success. Only one bomb hit a workshop, causing only minor damage. However, it proved to be a great propaganda success, only three months into the war and just five months after the formation of the RNAS, the service had shown the pioneering spirit and character of the airmen that was to lead them to such success later in the war with more experience. For the Germans’ part, they not only had to establish better anti-aircraft defences in Friedrichshafen, but build a second Zeppelin in Berlin, well out of the range of the RNAS.

For more details of the raid and to learn about other developments in early naval aviation, I have tried to render a faithful account in my 5* historical thriller, The Wings of the Wind. For my existing readership, I am presently researching the sequel for potential release next year.