April 12th 1916
There was one airman lost today:
Air Mechanic 1st Class George Saunders H.M.S. 'City of Oxford' he was just 22 years of age. Husband of Lily May Saunders of 24 Cromwell Road, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea. He is buried at SOUTHEND-ON-SEA (SUTTON ROAD) CEMETERY in Essex
These two cuttings from the Dover Express tell the sad story... We regret to record the death of 1st Class Air Mechanic George Saunders, son of Mr. J. B. Saunders, of 254, London Road, Dover. The deceased underwent an operation at the Royal Marine Hospital, Deal, but succumbed on Wednesday to pneumonia. The funeral will take place at St. Mary's Cemetery on Saturday afternoon. FUNERAL. AIR MECHANIC G. SAUNDERS. The funeral took place on Saturday, at St. Mary's Cemetery, with both naval and military honours, of 1st Class Air Mechanic George Saunders, R.N.A.S., third son of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Saunders, of 284, London Road, Dover, who died from pneumonia following an operation at the Marine Infirmary Deal on April 12th. The burial service was conducted by the Rev. S. Richards. The remains were borne by six of his comrades. There were also present men of the deceased's old Corps, the Cinque Ports (Fortress) R.E. (T.), including Captain Mowll.
There were three claimed aerial victories on this day - both from the Austro Hungarian Air Service, including one whose plane is something of a collectors item amongst many of us....
Opening his account with a double claim whilst flying an Albatross B.1 is one Hauptmann Godwin Brumowski...
A gifted pilot, Brumowski was the Austro-Hungarian Empire's highest scoring ace. When war was declared, he was serving as an officer in an artillery regiment. After distinguishing himself in combat on the Russian front, he transferred to the air service in July 1915. Posted to Flik 1, he frequently flew missions as Otto Jindra's observer before becoming a pilot on 3 July 1916. In November 1916, Brumowski joined Flik 12 on the Italian front. Scoring five victories in less than two months, he was one of the few Austro-Hungarian pilots to receive the Gold Medal for Bravery. In March 1917, after studying German fighter tactics with Jasta 24 on the Western Front, he assumed command of Flik 41J, the first true Austro-Hungarian fighter squadron. Though he continued to favor the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I, Brumowski began flying the Albatros D.III in the summer of 1917, scoring his first victory with this aircraft on 17 August. By October 1917, his Albatros had been painted red, and when airborne, his squadron was easily identified by the macabre insignia Brumowski designed: a white skull on a black background. Having been recognized as an extraordinary leader, he was given command of all Austro-Hungarian fighter squadrons of the Isonzo on 11 October 1918.
After the war, Brumowski tried his hand at farming on his mother-in-law's estate in Transylvania. When that venture failed, he moved to Vienna where he operated a flying school until he was fatally injured in a plane crash in 1936 at the Schiphol airport near Amsterdam.
More on Brumowksi
On 26 July 1889, Godwin von Brumowski was born into a military family in Wadowice, Galicia, in Poland. He attended the Technical Military Academy in Vienna and graduated as a lieutenant commissioned into the 29th Field Artillery Regiment on 18 August 1910. He was serving in the 6th Artillery Division and had just turned 25 years of age when war was declared against Serbia on 28 July 1914. He served on the Eastern front against Russia, winning both a Bronze and Silver Military Medal for Bravery before transferring to air service in der kaiserliche und königliche Luftfahrtruppen (the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops).
He was posted to Fliegerkompagnie 1 (Flik 1) at Czernowitz, commanded by Hauptmann Otto Jindra, in July 1915; von Brumowski was thus initially assigned as an aerial observer on the Russian Front. His flight log describes him as 1.77 meters (5 feet 10 inches) tall, with blue eyes and light blond hair. On 12 April 1916 Jindra and von Brumowski crewed one of the seven Austro-Hungarian planes that participated in bombing a military review attended by Czar Nicholas II. In the process, they shot down two of the seven Russian Morane-Saulnier Parasol two-seaters that attempted to drive them off.
On 3 July 1916 von Brumowski became a pilot with Flik 1, despite the defective vision in his right eye that he corrected with a monocle. In November, he transferred to Flik 12 on the Italian Front. He helped down an Italian Caproni bomber on 3 December. On 2 January he became an ace when he was victorious over an Italian Farman two-seater while piloting a Hansa-Brandenburg C.I. It is notable that von Brumowski became an ace while still flying two-seater craft basically unsuited for air-to-air combat. The next month, when Flik 41J was established on the Italian Front as Austro-Hungary’s first dedicated fighter squadron, von Brumowski was chosen to command it. He spent nine days in March flying four sorties with the Germans of Jagdstaffel 24 to learn German fighter tactics, before assuming his command. While here he met the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen; von Brumowski would later copy the baron's aircraft paint scheme for his own plane. Brumowski continued amassing victories through May, ending the month with a total of eight. By now, he was flying a single-seat fighter, the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I. Although better suited for air-to-air combat than the C.1, it still suffered three major disadvantages: the pilot's vision was partially obstructed; the single machine gun was not synchronized to fire through the propeller arc,and it was a difficult craft to fly because it was easy to spin[8] at any altitude. Aiming and firing a gun mounted above and ahead of the pilot was more difficult than simply aiming the airplane at the enemy and firing a synchronized gun.
As was customary with Austro-Hungarian units, Flik 41j had an assortment of aircraft types available. In June 1917 von Brumowski flew an Aviatik D.I with no combat success. The Austro-Hungarian Fliks were also hampered by a doctrine that tied them to escort of reconnaissance aircraft instead of freeing them to rove and hunt in the German fashion. In July 1917 Flik 41J lost eleven of the D.I fighters in accidents; the Hansa-Brandenburg's nickname became "the flying coffin". In August 1917 von Brumowski scored a remarkable streak of victories, being credited with 12 confirmed and 6 unconfirmed kills between the 10 and 28 August. Two of these victories, on the 19th and 20th, were the result of a partial transition to a newer fighter plane, a German Albatros D.III with twin synchronized guns. On the 20th he scored once with the Albatros and twice with the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I. By the end of August the transition was complete; he would use the Albatross to score the rest of his victories. On 9 October 1917 he shot down and burned an observation balloon for his 22nd victory; it was the first of five balloons he would down. His Albatros that day was painted all red, in emulation of von Richthofen, with the addition of mustard colored skulls on either side of the fuselage. This paint scheme would become characteristic of his aircraft until war’s end. On 1 February 1918 von Brumowski became involved in a fight with eight enemy fighters. Some of the 26 bullets striking his Albatros ignited the fuel tank built into the upper wing. He managed to land at his home field without serious injury, becoming a rare survivor of an in-craft fire. The fire ate the fabric off the upper wing and the inboard portions of the lower one, leaving only the scorched bare spars and struts of the wing roots.
Three days later, while flying another Albatros he fought eight English fighters and took multiple machine gun hits. With his wings breaking up he still managed to land, though the Albatros flipped over and was totally destroyed. Brumowski fought on until 23 June 1918, when he was ordered on extended leave. His last successful fight was on 19 June; he scored his 35th victory and suffered 37 hits in his plane. He had flown 439 combat sorties, but his combat career was ended. Also on 23 June he was invited by Generaloberst (Colonel-General) Ferdinand to make the customary mandatory application for Austria-Hungary's highest decoration, the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. Brumowski's reply: "If I have earned this award through my service, then it should be cause enough for the Commander in Chief to present it to me. It is not my duty to ask or demand it." Austria-Hungary's leading fighter ace never received his nation's highest award. On 11 October even though he was still only a Hauptmann (Captain), he was named to command all Austro-Hungarian fighter squadrons on the Isonzo Front. World War I ended a month later.
The remaining victory was claimed by Hauptmann Otto Jindra - his sixth victory...
On a day we lost 278 men...
Today’s losses include:
A Brigadier General
A battalion commander
A man whose son was killed last year on Gallipoli
A Baronet
Multiple sons of members of the clergy (again)
Today’s highlighted casualties include:
Brigadier General Frederick Aubrey Hoghton (commanding 17th Brigade, 6th Indian Division) dies of food poisoning during the siege of Kut el Amara at age 52. He is the son of the Reverend E Houghton Vicar of Woodhouse Eaves.
Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Francis Ferguson-Davie CIE DSO (commanding 51st Sikhs Field Force) is killed in Mesopotamia at age 48. He is the 5th Baronet and his son was killed in May 1915 on Gallipoli.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Norrington Packard DSO (46th Brigade Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 46. Major Nevill Swire Mann (North Lancashire Regiment) is killed in action in Mesopotamia. His two brothers were both killed in action on Gallipoli on 10th August 1915.
Private William Christopher Kewley (Nova Scotia Regiment) is killed at age 23. He is the son of the Reverend William Kewley Vicar of Millom.
The Western Front
Tunstill's men: On another wet day conditions were similar to the previous day; quiet in the morning but the Germans use of rifle grenades increased during the afternoon, without causing any further casualties. Pte. Sargent Ellis (14509) died in the care of 69th Field Ambulance and was buried at Hersin Communal Cemetery Extension. He had most likely been one of the men wounded the previous day in the premature explosion of a British rifle grenade.
Flanders: German attack on British trenches on Ypres*-Pilkem road.
Southern Fronts
Trentino, west of lake Garda: Italian 5th Division attacks towards Mt Fuma in Adamello Range at over 10,000ft in a blizzard, gains objective on April 17 after Alpini battalion storms Alba*-Poson di Genova ridge.
Middle East
During operations Subadar Sundar Singh (36th Sikhs) is severely wounded while leading two sections forward under heavy rifle and machine gun fire in Mesopotamia. Although in great pain from a shattered thigh he continues to encourage and hold together his remaining men, who have been severely tried by heavy losses and are still subjected to a heavy fire.
Turkey: Stotzingen’s German 8-man mission reaches Damascus.
Mesopotamia: British 3rd Division gains c.1 mile on south bank for 400 casualties, floods affect both sides on north bank.
East Persia: General Dyer‘s 200 men defeat 2,000 Sarhad tribesmen and secure submission (until April 30).
African Fronts
South Algeria: 500 French soldiers retake Djanet border post but Senussi escape (until April 16).
Sea War
Mediterranean: Allied navies under Admiral Gueydon (including 6 French destroyers, 24 Royal Navy drifters) convoy 125,000 Serb troops from Corfu to Salonika (until May 31).
Three ships are reported lost on this day:
Orlock Head United Kingdom World War I: The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 65 nautical miles (120 km) south east of Barcelona, Spain (40°40′N 2°32′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Prøven Denmark World War I: The schooner was sunk in the North Sea 22 nautical miles (41 km) north of the Smith's Knoll Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Vega France World War I: The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 80 nautical miles (150 km) east of Barcelona (40°42′N 2°09′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) Her 33 crew were rescued by Jaime II ( Spain).
HM seaplane carrier Campania returned to Scapa from Liverpool fitted with "flying off" deck and experimental kite-balloon.
HMS Campania was a seaplane tender and aircraft carrier, converted from an elderly ocean liner by the Royal Navy early in the First World War. After her conversion was completed in mid-1915 the ship spent her time conducting trials and exercises with the Grand Fleet. These revealed the need for a longer flight deck to allow larger aircraft to take off, and she was modified accordingly. Campania missed the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, but made a number of patrols with elements of the Grand Fleet. She never saw combat and was soon relegated to a training role because of her elderly machinery. In November 1918 Campania was anchored with the capital ships of the Grand Fleet when a sudden storm caused her anchors to drag. She hit several of the ships and the collisions punctured her hull; she slowly sank, with no loss of life.
The Royal Navy purchased Campania from the shipbreakers on 27 November 1914 for £32,500, initially for conversion to an armed merchant cruiser equipped with eight quick-firing 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns. The ship was converted by Cammell Laird to an aircraft carrier instead and the two forward 4.7-inch guns were deleted in favour of a 160-foot (48.8 m) flying-off deck. Two derricks were fitted on each side to transfer seaplanes between the water and the two holds. The amidships hold had the capacity for seven large seaplanes. The forward hold, underneath the flight deck, could fit four small seaplanes, but the flight deck had to be lifted off the hold to access the airplanes. HMS Campania was commissioned on 17 April 1915. The first takeoff from the flight deck did not occur until 6 August 1915 when a Sopwith Schneider floatplane, mounted on a wheeled trolley, used 130 feet (39.6 m) of the flight deck while the ship was steaming into the wind at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). The Sopwith aircraft was the lightest and highest-powered aircraft in service with the Royal Naval Air Service, and the close call in a favourable wind demonstrated that heavier aircraft could not be launched from the flight deck.
By October 1915 Campania had exercised with the Grand Fleet seven times, but had only flown off aircraft three times as the North Sea was often too rough for her seaplanes to use. Her captain recommended that the flying-off deck be lengthened and given a steeper slope to allow gravity to boost the aircraft's acceleration and the ship was accordingly modified at Cammell Laird between November 1915 and early April 1916. The forward funnel was split into two funnels and the flight deck was extended between them and over the bridge to a length of 245 feet (74.7 m), so that aircraft from both holds could use the flight deck. A canvas windscreen was provided to allow the aircraft to unfold their wings out of the wind, and a kite balloon and all of its supporting equipment were added in the aft hold. Campania now carried seven Short Type 184 torpedo bombers and three or four smaller fighters or scouts; a Type 184 made its first takeoff from the flight deck on 3 June 1916, also using a wheeled trolley. This success prompted the Admiralty to order the world's first aircraft designed for carrier operations, the Fairey Campania. The ship received the first of these aircraft in late 1917 where they joined smaller Sopwith 1½ Strutter scouts. At various times Campania also carried the Sopwith Baby and Sopwith Pup. Campania failed to receive the signal to deploy when the Grand Fleet departed Scapa Flow on 30 May 1916 en route to the Battle of Jutland, but she sailed two hours and fifteen minutes later. Even though she was slowly overtaking the fleet early in the morning of 31 May, she was ordered to return to Scapa Flow as she lacked an escort and German submarines had been reported in the area. The ship participated in some anti-submarine and anti-Zeppelin patrols, but she was later declared unfit for fleet duty because of her defective machinery and became a seaplane training and balloon depot ship. In April 1918 Campania, along with the Grand Fleet, was transferred from Scapa Flow to Rosyth.
On the morning of 5 November 1918, Campania was lying at anchor off Burntisland in the Firth of Forth. A sudden Force 10 squall caused the ship to drag anchor. She collided first with the bow of the nearby battleship Royal Oak, and then scraped along the side of the battlecruiser Glorious. Campania's hull was breached by the initial collision with Royal Oak, flooding her engine room and shutting off all main electrical power. The ship then started to settle by the stern, and sank some five hours after breaking free. The ship's crew were all rescued by neighbouring vessels. A Naval Board of Inquiry into the incident held Campania's watch officer largely responsible for her loss, citing specifically the failure to drop a second anchor once the ship started to drift.
The wreck of HMS Campania was designated in 2001 under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 as a site of historic importance, making it an offence to dive it without a licence. The remains of the four Campania aircraft and seven 1½ Strutters that she had on board when she sank are still entombed in her wreck.
Air War
Britain – Lord Montagu warns in speech at Birmingham: ‘There is no part of industrial England to which a Zeppelin cannot fly and rain destruction’. He demands end to ‘inters*ervice and inter-departmental jealousies’ and a Ministry of Aviation to galvanize aircraft production as Ministry of Munitions has transformed shell and gun deliveries.
Neutrals
Mexico: Carranza troops attack US cavalry entering Parral, 400 miles south of frontier. Carranza demands US pull-out.
Politics etc.
A long shadow is cast over Ireland with the arrival of 'Sir' Roger Casemont just ahead of Easter....
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