Poveglia Island, Venice Lagoon - seaplane base?

[Ian Burns]

I have been asked by an Italian contact if I know of:

"a tiny island of the lagoon: Poveglia that was a temporary base for the floatplanes of a Royal Naval Air Service flight during a bombardament mission, in 1918 October. In the official Italian Navy log I found the planes were Bristol, but I don’t know any thing else."
If the base existed it must have been intended to support the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. But, the unit would have been RAF at this time and the only 'Bristol' aircraft in Italy were Bristol Fighters - not floatplanes! The island is tiny, too small for an airfield for landplanes, so the floatplanes (if they existed) must have been Short 184 or 320 types.

Any information, stories, rumours are welcome.

[pete-c]

Ian,

The War in the Air Vol 5 has details of this location: '... slipways were built at Poveglia Island in the Venice lagoon from which the seaplanes could, when the time came, start on their torpedo or bombing attacks on the Austrian bases at Pola and Fiume.' The work on these slipways seems to have been completed by April 1917 but when exactly any attacks actually occurred - if indeed they did - I have not been able to find out.

As you surmise the aircraft were probably Short 184s or/and 320s possibly from the torpedo school at Malta.

I think your contact may have put a request for these details on the CCI Forum. Andy K has come up with much the same info.

Cheers,

Peter.

[Ian Burns]

Yup. Andy K has answered the question.

Missed the pages in WinA. Could you provide reference please - for my own interest.

Probably Short 320 from Otranto come to think of it.

The Malta school supported Otranto.

Ian

[pete-c]

Ian,

Chapter VII, p391.

Peter.

[Ian Burns]

Thanks Peter,

Must be getting hard of seeing!

Ian