They normally managed to avoid interception by British aircraft by flying at high altitude, but on three occasions between May 1917 and May 1918 flying boats surprised Zeppelins low over the Dutch and German coast and shot them down. Zeppelins also flew over the North sea on reconnaissance patrols and en route to attack targets on the British mainland. Great Yarmouth and Killingholme were also major flying boat bases from which convoy escort, naval reconnaissance, anti-Zeppelin and anti-seaplane patrols were flown. Flying boats from Felixstowe systematically patrolled an octagonal grid known as the Spider Web, which covered 4,000 square miles of sea centred on the North Hinder Light Vessel mid way between the Suffolk coast and the Hook of Holland. Six U-Boats were claimed to have been sunk as a result, though post-war research using German records has been unable to confirm any of these claims.įelixstowe was one of the most important east coast flying boat stations as it was directly opposite the U-Boat bases on the other side of the North Sea. In 1917 flying boats carried out 23 attacks on U-Boats and at least another 18 in 1918. During the 10 hours it took a U-Boat to complete its 100 mile voyage across the North Sea it was most vulnerable to attack and it was here that the flying boats searched for them. This enabled them to conserve the power in their batteries for use when submerged. When submerged U-Boats were almost impossible to spot even from the air, but between their bases on the Belgian coast and their patrol areas in British coastal waters they tried to remain surfaced as much as possible. ![]() Their key role was to detect and attack German U-Boats, which in April 1917 were sinking 28,000 tons of British merchant shipping per day. 2A Felixstowe in November 1917 and together these two aircraft became the mainstay of the RNAS and RAF North Sea flying boat squadrons. ![]() The H.12s were joined by the more seaworthy British designed F. This was was the American-built H.12 Large America, which carried enough fuel for a patrol lasting 6 hours and had a formidable armament of two 230lb bombs and four machine guns. However, it was not until 1917 that the first really effective flying boat entered RNAS service in significant numbers. On the outbreak of the First World War the Royal Naval Air Service quickly realised the importance of flying boats for use in the maritime reconnaissance role. An Enduring Relationship : A History of Friendship between the Royal Air Force and the Royal Air Force of Oman.Sir Alan Cobham A Life of a Pioneering Aviator.Never Forgotten: The RAF in the Far East.New exhibition: Falklands Conflict to today.RAF Museum Midlands Development Programme.The First World War in the Air 1914-1918.RAF Stories: The First 100 Years 1918-2018.
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