Will O'Brien Posted 20 December , 2003 Share Posted 20 December , 2003 I understand (although not 100% sure) that HMS Ark Royal was the first ship to be converted into an Aircraft Carrier during the Great War.......................I'm having difficulty getting my head around the concept that you could convert one type of ship into another type, particularly something so specialised as an Aircraft Carrier. Does anyone know what type of ship HMS Ark Royal was before it was converted & how long this conversion process took? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horace Bachelor Posted 21 December , 2003 Share Posted 21 December , 2003 HMS Ark Royal was the first purpose built carrier with a flight deck. She was purchased by the admiralty in May 1914, having been laid down as a collier, then put through a complete redesign. She could carry 7 planes which obviously had to be craned aboard after landing in the sea. I presume they employed trolleys under the floats to enable them to take off from the flight deck. She was renamed Pegasus and served as a fighter catapult ship during the Second World War. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 21 December , 2003 Share Posted 21 December , 2003 Will, Here is a little more info on ARK ROYAL - from "British Warships" Dittmar/Colledge - The first ship completed as a seaplane carrier was the converted oiler purchased on the stocks in May 1914 & later named Ark Royal. She ws launched on 5 Sep 1914, so presumably took approx 4 months to complete conversion. She served in the Med during WWI ( 1915-18) & rec'd the battle honour "Dardanelles 1915". Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted 21 December , 2003 Share Posted 21 December , 2003 And here is the modern one on her return from the Gulf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 21 December , 2003 Share Posted 21 December , 2003 Will, As Bryan has already pointed out, it would probably be more helpful if the 1914 'Ark Royal' was described as a "seaplane carrier" rather than as an aircraft carrier. Her aircraft landed on the water and were then winched on board - She was not a "flat-top." I understand that HMS Argus, which was completed in October 1918, was the world's first aircraft carrier capable of retrieving her aircraft on board while underway. The pic below of the seaplane carrier HMS Ark Royal is taken from Osprey's Campaign Series 'Gallipoli 1915' by Philip J. Haythornthwaite, 1991 Regards Michael D.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horace Bachelor Posted 21 December , 2003 Share Posted 21 December , 2003 Although Argus was indeed the first flush-decked carrier, HMS Furious, in her first rebuilt form with after flight deck, pre-dated Argus by several months as the first carrier capable of landing as well as launching aircraft. It was on this vessel, in her original configuration, that Squadron Commander Dunning lost his life in 1917 attempting to land on the flying off deck following two previously successful attempts. She wasn't successful in her rebuilt form, due to the shortness of the landing deck and turbulence caused by the superstructure making successful landings difficult. Cheers Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salientpoints Posted 21 December , 2003 Share Posted 21 December , 2003 On 19th January 1912 Lieutenant Charles Samson flew a Shorts S27 biplane off a platform constructed on the stationary battleship H.M.S Africa. Four months later Samson flew a plane of a moving ship, Hibernia, during the Royal Fleet Review at Weymouth. Before the development of aircraft carriers came the development of seaplane tenders which is essentially what you have above (prior to argus). These vessels were able to transport Seaplanes and then lower them into water where they could take off and when they returned they could be hoisted back onboard the ship. The first such vessel converted for this role was the cruiser Hermes and after the start of the First World War more ships were taken up form trade and converted into this role. The most successful was the Ark Royal. In 1915 she participated in the Gallipoli campaign. It was during the First World War that the light battlecruiser Furious was converted into an aircraft carrier with a small forward takeoff deck. It was on Furious that the first ever successful deck landing occurred when Squadron Commander EH Dunning landed his Sopworth Pup on August 2nd 1917. Dunning was determined to repeat this achievement two days later but it ended in tragedy: the tire on Dunning’s aircraft burst and the Sopworth went over side of the carrier, drowning Dunning. This disaster proved that for safe and successful landings to occur a deck free of obstructions was needed. Hence the Italian liner Conte Rosso was bought and converted into a ‘flat top’ aircraft carrier named Argus while Furious underwent another modification- this time with a full-length flight deck. Below HMS Argus - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 21 December , 2003 Share Posted 21 December , 2003 Rich & Salient Thanks for the reminders of the pioneering flights of Sqdn Cdr. E. H. Dunning. Brad King's history of the 'RNAS 1912-18' has the following pic of Dunning's second successful landing, for which King suggests a date 5 days after the first on 2 Aug '17. King also mentions that Dunning changed aircraft for the failed third attempt, but he does not mention to which type. To complete our illustrations of the development of the early carrier I will att another pic from King's book, showing the 1918 HMS Argus regards Michael D.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 21 December , 2003 Share Posted 21 December , 2003 Sorry Salient How did I not see that you'd got Argus up first? Never mind; yet another view of HMS Argus regards Michael D.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salientpoints Posted 21 December , 2003 Share Posted 21 December , 2003 No matter Michael, yours is truly fetching masquerading as a waterborn zebra... Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horace Bachelor Posted 21 December , 2003 Share Posted 21 December , 2003 Furious never entered service as a large light cruiser. When nearing completion, her design was altered removing the forward 18" mounting and replacing it with an enclosed hangar and flying off deck. She was commissioned in June 1917 as a hybrid design. In November of the same year she was returned to Armstrong Whitworth for the aft gun to be removed and another hangar was built on the quarter deck surmounted by a 300ft landing deck. She was converted for a third time into a flush-decked carrier between 1922-25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will O'Brien Posted 21 December , 2003 Author Share Posted 21 December , 2003 Horace/Bryan/Michael DR..................Thanks very much for all the info on HMS Ark Royal.............& thanks for posting the photo of it Michael...................I didn't realise it was a 'Seaplane' carrier & imagined it to be a flat decked ship. Will (Suitably re-educated on the configuration of HMS Ark Royal ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning30 Posted 14 December , 2006 Share Posted 14 December , 2006 Hello, I'm new to the board but just wanted to note that the plane Dunning used for his third attempt was the Sopwith Pup (N.6452) of W. G. Moore who states that on recovery of the plane, the tyres were intact. The first landing took place on the 2nd August and the third was five days later on the 7th. Regards, Caroline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horatio2 Posted 15 December , 2006 Share Posted 15 December , 2006 AND the world's first aircraft carrier (defined as a water borne craft used to tether, transport or launch and aircraft) was the G W PARKE CURTIS, a coal barge converted during the American Civil War in 1861 for the transport and towing of observation balloons for the Union forces. AND the world's oldest surviving aircraft carrier is a WW1 towed lighter, designed and built as a seaplane/Camel launcher, now being restored at the Fleet Air Arm Museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 15 December , 2006 Share Posted 15 December , 2006 Hello, I'm new to the board but just wanted to note that the plane Dunning used for his third attempt was the Sopwith Pup (N.6452) of W. G. Moore who states that on recovery of the plane, the tyres were intact. The first landing took place on the 2nd August and the third was five days later on the 7th. Regards, Caroline Hi Caroline and welcome to the forum. Can one assume there is a family connection between you and the unfortunate Cdr Dunning? I'm sure some of us would be very interested to learn what more you know about him. cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning30 Posted 16 December , 2006 Share Posted 16 December , 2006 Hi Martin, Yes there is a family connection. I am a 2nd cousin once removed (I think that's correct). I was incredibly proud when I discovered that he was in my family tree. Unfortunately, all I know about him is what I have been able to find out from my research. I paid a visit to FAA Yeovilton recently and saw his service watch which he wore on his final landing attempt, his DSC and the piece of induction pipe that was shot through in the fight for which he was awarded his DSC. It was an incredibly moving visit and has encouraged me to continue researching (much to my husband's despair!!) Caroline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august g blume Posted 16 December , 2006 Share Posted 16 December , 2006 I would highly recommend reading Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, by the late historian and friend R.D. Layman. It was published by Naval Institute Press in July 1989. ISBN - 0870212109. It should be in everyone's library. His "Early Russian Shipboard Aviation" apeared in U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol.XCVII, April 1971, pp.56-63. His "Euxine Wings - Russian Shipboard Aviation in the Black Sea 1913-1917 can be found in Cross & Cockade (US) Vol.15 No.2, 1974. "His "Aviation Vessels of the World 1914-1918," appeared in Cross & Cockade (US) Vol.21 No.2, 1981. All are recommended. Best regards, agblume Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 17 December , 2006 Share Posted 17 December , 2006 The first carrier bourne aircraft to attack Germany were those that raided Cuxhaven in December 1914. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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