RNAS Capel (later RAF Folkestone) was a

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

airship station near

Folkestone, Kent Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

History

When Germany declared in February 1915 that it would commence unrestricted submarine warfare the Royal Navy responded with the building of airship stations around the coast. Being close to the Dover Straits the open fields east of

Capel-le-Ferne __NOTOC__ Capel-le-Ferne is a village situated near Folkestone, Kent. Its name derives from the phrase "Chapel in the Ferns". It had a population in 2011 of 1,884. It is perched on top of the White Cliffs of Dover. Its foremost attraction is ...

were seen as ideal location for a base and work began in April 1915. Although not entirely completed, the base was officially opened on 8 May 1915, under the command of Lt. A.D. Cunningham. The first airship for Capel was to have been SS-1 the first of a new sea scout class of non-rigid airships, on delivery to Capel from

RNAS Kingsnorth RNAS Kingsnorth was a First World War Royal Navy air station for airships, initially operating as an experimental and training station, it later moved on to large scale production of airships. It also provided anti-submarine patrols. A number o ...

on 7 May it hit telegraph wires and was destroyed. Despite the accident more sea scouts were soon delivered to Capel.

Airship production

Following the successful repair to SS-10 at Capel production of the airships moved from Kingsnorth to Capel, although by 1916 production had moved again to Vickers at Barrow and RNAS Wormwood Scrubs. The engineering section at Capel went on to design an improved variant of the SS airship which would be known as the SSZ. The SSZ had an improved aluminium covered ash-framed car and was fitted with a 75hp

Rolls-Royce Hawk The Rolls-Royce Hawk was a British aero engine designed by Rolls-Royce in 1915. Derived from one bank of six cylinders of the Rolls-Royce Eagle, it produced 75 horsepower at 1,370 rpm. Power was progressively increased to 91 hp by Februar ...

aero-engine, it was fitted with a envelope and test flown in August 1916. When the Admiralty were informed about the new airship they censured the air station for carrying out unauthorised modifications, but on the other hand ordered the type into production.

Operations

The airships carried out patrols along the English coast, and escorted shipping across the channel as a lookout for submarines. In April 1918, the Royal Air Force was formed and Capel became RAF Folkestone. By then it had three large airship sheds and a grass landing area. On 16 September 1918, while under the command of a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer, SSZ.1 depth-charged and sank submarine UB-103. Two sub-stations were used: at

Godmersham Park Godmersham Park is a Grade I listed house in Godmersham in the English county of Kent. The house is on the edge of the North Downs between Ashford and Canterbury. It has associations with the writer Jane Austen, and is depicted on the new B ...

north of Wye, and

Wittersham Wittersham is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It is part of the Isle of Oxney. History The Domesday Book of 1086 does not mention Wittersham, but it does assign the manor of Palstre to Odo, Bishop of ...

south of

Tenterden Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is not ...

. The sites were used as mooring-out bases where airships could be secured in a sheltered area.

Closure

Following the end of the First World War, the station closed during the summer of 1919. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

Airship production

Operations

Closure

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography