An airship of the Royal Naval Air Service crashed

[larneman]

Bygone Days in Larne{Larne Gaz}

Written:-11th July 2001

85 years ago - Somme battle rumours hit Larne

HMS Larne to the rescue

The struggle was not confined to the battlefields of Europe, Africa and the Near East.

At sea a titanic struggle was being waged between the British and German fleets, a struggle which had climaxed at the bloodily indecisive yet vital Battle of Jutland earlier in the year, after which the German High Seas Fleet would have to remain in port for the rest of the war.

Technoligical advances had also opened up a new and fateful dimension for the conduct of warfare - the air.

Playing a part in both these fields of conflict was the valuable addition to the Royal Navy, HMS Larne.

An airship of the Royal Naval Air Service ran out of petrol while on a flight from Kent to Cornwall and was forced to ditch in the sea.

Alas, all aboard were lost except for the wireless operator who was picked up by HMS Larne and brought safely back to shore.

Liam

[Guest Pete Wood]

This was the 'Coastal' airship C8 commanded by:

Name: DICKINSON, CECIL WILLIAM

Initials: C W

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Flight Lieutenant

Regiment: Royal Naval Air Service

Unit Text: H.M. Airship "C8"

Age: 24

Date of Death: 09/06/1916

Additional information: Son of Louise Dickinson, of Chapel House, Hensingham, Whitehaven, Cumberland.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: 18.

Cemetery: CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL

If you ask Terry Denham, he should be able to tell you who the other two crew were, who died on that day. The wireless op, as you say, survived. Three of the crew, including Dickinson, were drowned.

The C8 had only just been built. Trialled on 16th May 1916. It crashed on an endurance flight on 2 June 1916, after the engines failed near the Isle of Wight, and landed after 14 hours 15 minutes near Polegate. Only the skid was damaged, then.

The airship was flying from Kingsnorth to Mullion. The cause for ditching was not discovered. I can scan a pic of C8 if needed.

See the AHT site for more details http://www.aht.ndirect.co.uk/airships/coastal/index.html

[Terry Denham]

The other two were

Chief Petty Officer (Air Mechanic) Ernest Bernard AMES J/7913 RNAS

Chief Petty Officer (Mechanic) George PALMER 231416 RNAS

[larneman]

Thank you both. A scan would be nice as I am researching the Larne Area, its soldiers and all the ways it had to do with/was affected by WW1 or added to the war effort.

Liam