Some small mention must be made of seaplane activities, which, round
the European coasts involved in the War, never ceased. The submarine
campaign found in the spotting seaplane its greatest deterrent, and it
is old news now how even the deeply submerged submarines were easily
picked out for destruction from a height and the news wirelessed from
seaplane to destroyer, while in more than one place the seaplane
itself finished the task by bomb dropping. It was a seaplane that gave
Admiral Beatty the news that the whole German Fleet was out before
the Jutland Battle, news which led to a change of plans that very
nearly brought about the destruction of Germany’s naval power. For the
most part, the seaplanes of the War period were heavier than the land
machines and, in the opinion of the land pilots, were slow and clumsy
things to fly. This was inevitable, for their work demanded more solid
building and greater reliability. To put the matter into Hibernian
phrase, a forced landing at sea is a much more serious matter than on
the ground. Thus there was need for greater engine power, bigger
wing-spread to support the floats, and fuel tanks of greater capacity.
The flying boats of the later War period carried considerable crews,
were heavily armed, capable of withstanding very heavy weather, and
carried good loads of bombs on long cruises. Their work was not all
essentially seaplane work, for the R.N.A.S. was as well known as hated
over the German airship sheds in Belgium and along the Flanders coast.
As regards other theatres of War, they rendered valuable service from
the Dardanelles to the Rufiji River, at this latter place forming a
principal factor in the destruction of the cruiser _Königsberg_. Their
spotting work at the Dardanelles for the battleships was responsible
for direct hits from 15 in. guns on invisible targets at ranges of over
12,000 yards. Seaplane pilots were bombing specialists, including among
their targets army headquarters, ammunition dumps, railway stations,
submarines and their bases, docks, shipping in German harbours, and the
German Fleet at Wilhelmshaven. Dunkirk, a British seaplane base, was a
sharp thorn in the German side.
Turning from consideration of the various services to the exploits of
the men composing them, it is difficult to particularise. A certain
inevitable prejudice even at this length of time leads one to discount
the valour of pilots in the German Air Service, but the names of
Boelcke, von Richthofen, and Immelmann recur as proof of the courage
that was not wanting in the enemy ranks, while, however much we may
decry the Gotha raids over the English coast and on London, there is
no doubt that the men who undertook these raids were not deficient in
the form of bravery that is of more value than the unthinking valour
of a minute which, observed from the right quarter, wins a military
decoration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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