World War One Aircraft Carrier Pioneer by Guy Warner

Author:Guy Warner [Warner, Guy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783461301
Publisher: Pen & Sword Aviation

Because of the requirement to be in Newcastle to begin the major programme of work Jack and the rest of the crew of Furious just missed taking part in a sharp naval encounter in the North Sea.

In November 1917 minesweeping in the Heligoland Bight to keep U-boat base approaches free from British mines was the Imperial German Navy’s most important task. The minesweepers had to sweep further and further out to sea until eventually they were operating some 150 miles from home, covered by destroyers and cruisers who themselves, from time to time, needed battleship cover.

An ambitious sortie was planned for 17 November, involving a considerable array of vessels: the 1st Cruiser Squadron, of Courageous (the flagship of Vice Admiral TDW Napier) and Glorious but minus Furious, with four escorting destroyers; the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron, consisting of Cardiff (the flagship of Rear Admiral ES Alexander-Sinclair), Ceres, Calypso and Caradoc, with four destroyers; the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, of Caledon (broad pennant of Commodore WH Cowan), Galatea, Royalist and Inconstant, with two destroyers; and the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron, of Lion (the flagship of Vice Admiral Sir W Pakenham), Princess Royal, Tiger, Repulse and New Zealand, with nine screening destroyers.

The plan was to steam across the North Sea to a position about halfway along the western edge of a large British minefield in the Heligoland Bight and, having reached a rendezvous point, turn north-west and drive before them any German forces they found, either destroying them themselves or forcing them into the path of the 1st Battle Squadron, of six battleships and eleven destroyers, which was lying in wait in cleared water between the eastern edge of a German minefield and the top north-western limit of the British field.

It was an ambitious but practicable scheme and it should have worked, but by that stage of the war the waters of the North Sea and the Heligoland Bight were infested with minefields laid by both sides. Full knowledge, even of the British minefields, was not available to all the British admirals. In fact, only Beatty, the C-in-C, and Pakenham had detailed and up-to-date charts. The others, particularly Napier, knew only of some fields, which would prove to be the cause of a lack of forceful leadership amidst uncertainty.

All of the ships involved in the operation had sailed by the afternoon of 16 November and just before dawn the next day, the leading cruisers were steaming east-north-east at 24 knots towards the mine barrier, Courageous was in the van, ahead of Glorious. The battle cruisers were about ten miles behind. Visibility at first was poor. The Germans were also out in strength, in support of a major minesweeping operation, including the light cruisers, Nurnberg, Konigsberg, Frankfurt and Pillau. Two battleships, Kaiser and Kaiserin, were lurking near Heligoland to give support. The early morning mist dissipated a little as the sun climbed higher and Courageous’ lookouts first sighted the enemy at 7.30. Glorious signalled ‘Enemy in sight bearing due east’ four minutes later.

Courageous

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