Air Navigation Acts

[mbriscoe]

I came across a page in a newspaper of 6th March 1913 that had a series of announcements of the Air Navigation Acts, seems to be in every newspaper around that time.

 

The list of prohibited place is interesting, also the places that are not listed.

 

From the British Newspaper Archive

 

Belfast Weekly News - Thursday 06 March 1913
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Home Office. Whitehall. Ist March, 1913.

SCHEDULE 1.

Prohibited Areas.

Each of the places named or described ia the following list, with the land and territorial watera surrounding such place distance of three geographical miles in all directions from its boundary, shall be a prohibited area for the purposes of the foregoing order No. 1 :- Kirkwall town, Flotta (island of). Thurso town, Cromarty Ness, Invergordon pier. Aberdeen wireless station, Montrose town. Brougbty Ferry Castie, Inchkeith Island, Rosyth Dockyard, Pitfirvane Park, Forth Bridge, Tynemouth north pier lighthouse, Elswick railway station, Cleethorpes wireless station. Louth railway station. Wroxham Broad (Norfolk). Weedon railway station (Northamptonshire). Landguard Point breakwater (Felixstowe), Parkeston Quay, Ipswich wireless station. Shoeburynees Church, Fobbing Church, Tilbury Fort, Purfleet railway station. Barking Creek mouth. Waltham Abbey railway station, Enfield Lock railway station, Chatham Dockyard, Teapot Hard. Chittenden farm, All Hallows' Church, Grain Martello Tower, Sheerness Dockyard, Dover Castle, Archcliffe  Fort, Lydd railway station, Newhaven station, harbour, and jetty; Fort Cumberland. Spithead (namely, the space between a line from Lee-on-Solent pier to Wootton Point, and a line from Southsea Castle to Seaview Pier), Portsmouth Dockyard, Cosham railway station, Fareham railway station. Culver Cliff naval signal station, Needles lighthouse, Southampton docks, Marcbwood Park. Hurst Castle, Osmington Church, Weymouth pier. Portland convict pier. Turnchapel railway station. Plvmstock railway station. Keyham Dockyard. Devonport Dockyard, Saltash railway bridge. Penlee Point, Thorn Island (Milford Haven). Pembroke wireless station. Old Milford railway station. Stand's Head, Barrow-in-Furness town. Stevenston railway station, Greenock Pier, so much of Loch Long as lies north of a line drawn due east from Knap Point. Carrickfergos railway station, Grey Point, Spike Island, Haulbowline Dockyard.

 

I have tried to tidy up the transcription but probably still some errors

 

At the same time there are reports of the RN buying Parseval airships from Germany!

[MikeMeech]

2 hours ago, mbriscoe said:

I came across a page in a newspaper of 6th March 1913 that had a series of announcements of the Air Navigation Acts, seems to be in every newspaper around that time.

 

The list of prohibited place is interesting, also the places that are not listed.

 

From the British Newspaper Archive

 

 

 

 

I have tried to tidy up the transcription but probably still some errors

 

At the same time there are reports of the RN buying Parseval airships from Germany!

Hi

With the increasing use of aircraft it did become an increasing concern that aeroplanes would be flying over 'prohibited areas' hence the 'Navigation Acts'.  Trials were also undertaken to establish the 'best' means of warning aircraft away from these areas and from at least February 1913 there is a fair bit of correspondence in the National Archives.  Many of the devices tried out were different types of rocket, eg. 'signal rockets, red' and 'rockets, light and sound, 1 lb' No. 3 Squadron RFC being involved in these trials on 7 March 1913.  Various other devices were also tried out but I don't think any one device was suitable for all conditions, then the war started.

 

Mike 

[mbriscoe]

1 hour ago, MikeMeech said:

Hi

With the increasing use of aircraft it did become an increasing concern that aeroplanes would be flying over 'prohibited areas' hence the 'Navigation Acts'.  Trials were also undertaken to establish the 'best' means of warning aircraft away from these areas and from at least February 1913 there is a fair bit of correspondence in the National Archives.  Many of the devices tried out were different types of rocket, eg. 'signal rockets, red' and 'rockets, light and sound, 1 lb' No. 3 Squadron RFC being involved in these trials on 7 March 1913.  Various other devices were also tried out but I don't think any one device was suitable for all conditions, then the war started.

 

Mike 

 

It was mainly airships that they seemed to be worried about, fixed wing aircraft would still not have enough range at that time.

 

It is an odd mixture of sites, I wondered if they sent out a memo to all establishment, police stations etc and some were less bothered than others.  One I noticed was Thurso town, the only possible secrecy that I can think needed is the trains taking people to Scapa Flow.  Of course putting a place on the list would draw attention to it.

 

There is a mention of a map to be released later but not seen that in the papers.

 

 

[healdav]

42 minutes ago, mbriscoe said:

 

It was mainly airships that they seemed to be worried about, fixed wing aircraft would still not have enough range at that time.

 

IOne I noticed was Thurso town, the only possible secrecy that I can think needed is the trains taking people to Scapa Flow.  Of course putting a place on the list would draw attention to it.

 

 

 

 

Also, many coal trains. For some reason no railway was ever built up to the northern coast, so coal had to be transhipped at Thurso on to road transport and then taken to the nearest port (nme escapes me - Scrabster?) and sent on by shi. Although, naturally, much would have gone direct by sea.

[mbriscoe]

1 hour ago, healdav said:

Also, many coal trains. For some reason no railway was ever built up to the northern coast, so coal had to be transhipped at Thurso on to road transport and then taken to the nearest port (nme escapes me - Scrabster?) and sent on by shi. Although, naturally, much would have gone direct by sea.

 

Could be.

 

There would have been no demand for a railway North of Thurso.  I would think people and goods going to Orkney would quite likely have sailed from Aberdeen until that became too dangerous with the war.

 

I tried to paste some newspaper clippings but did not work.  There was discussion on extending the line in the 19th Century and again in 1920

Edited 20 August , 2017 by mbriscoe

[MikeMeech]

9 hours ago, mbriscoe said:

I came across a page in a newspaper of 6th March 1913 that had a series of announcements of the Air Navigation Acts, seems to be in every newspaper around that time.

 

The list of prohibited place is interesting, also the places that are not listed.

 

From the British Newspaper Archive

 

 

 

 

I have tried to tidy up the transcription but probably still some errors

 

At the same time there are reports of the RN buying Parseval airships from Germany!

Hi

 

For interest I have attached part of my notes for a PowerPoint presentation I gave in 2014 which included the signalling experiments undertaken in relation to this Act of Parliament.

Mike

 

[mbriscoe]

There was one news report in that period about a fishing boat that was struck by a low flying airship!   They did not seem to identify whose it was but seems likely it was German.  Must look up the story again.