The Seaplane Experimental Station, formerly RNAS

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northea ...

, was a British aircraft design unit during the early part of the 20th century.

Creation

During June 1912, surveys began for a suitable site for a base for Naval hydro-aeroplanes, with at first Shotley or Mistley on the River Stour. Ultimately Felixstowe was chosen and the formation of the new Naval Air Station, along with another at Great Yarmouth was announced in April 1913, to be developed along the lines of the station already established on the

Isle of Grain Isle of Grain (Old English ''Greon'', meaning gravel) is a village and the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula within the district of Medway in Kent, south-east England. No longer an island and now forming part of the peninsula, the area i ...

. The unit at Felixstowe was commissioned 5 August 1913 on the

River Orwell The River Orwell flows through the county of Suffolk in England from Ipswich to Felixstowe. Above Ipswich, the river is known as the River Gipping, but its name changes to the Orwell at Stoke Bridge, where the river becomes tidal. It broadens in ...

at Landguard under the command of Captain C. E. Risk, RM as Seaplanes, Felixstowe followed by

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

C. E. H. Rathborne, RN in 1914 and

Lieutenant-Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

John Cyril Porte Lieutenant Colonel John Cyril Porte, (26 February 1884 – 22 October 1919) was a British flying boat pioneer associated with the First World War Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe. Early life and career Porte was born on 26 Feb ...

, RN 1915. RNAS Felixstowe was created soon after the outbreak of World War I following the formation of the Royal Naval Air Service 1 July 1914, from the Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). Three large

hangars A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

300 feet long and 200 feet wide, with

slipways A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

were built by

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

engineers

Boulton & Paul Boulton & Paul Ltd was a British general manufacturer from Norwich, England that became involved in aircraft manufacture. Jeld Wen Inc. bought Boulton & Paul (along with another joinery company John Carr) from the Rugby Group plc in 1999 to ...

and

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

paint schemes applied; the base would become the largest operational seaplane station in the United Kingdom.

Operation

As the name implies, the unit designed

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

s and flying boats. These were generally known by the Felixstowe name although, apart from the prototypes, these flying boats were built by aircraft manufacturers such as

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

, Dick, Kerr & Co. and Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company (the latter two forming part of English Electric in 1918–1919). Upon Porte's recommendation, the station was initially equipped with Curtiss flying boats. He improved their hull designs, before developing the Felixstowe flying boats from those experiments. Many Felixstowe boats were built under licence in the USA. The craft were flown on long-range patrols to spot the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

High Seas Fleet The High Seas Fleet (''Hochseeflotte'') was the battle fleet of the German Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet (''Heimatflotte'') was renamed as the High Seas ...

and

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

s, with many based at RNAS Felixstowe. A seaplane carrier, HMS ''Vindex'' based at Felixstowe, planned to operate against the Zeppelins; the aircraft, two

Bristol Scout The Bristol Scout was a single-seat rotary-engined biplane originally designed as a racing aircraft. Like similar fast, light aircraft of the period it was used by the RNAS and the RFC as a " scout", or fast reconnaissance type. It was one o ...

s, took off from a short improvised runway on the forward deck. The station also serviced aircraft of the carriers ''

Engadine Engadine may refer to: Places *Engadin, Engadin(e), a valley region in Switzerland *Engadine, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia *Engadine, Michigan, unincorporated community in Michigan *Engadine (Candler, North Carolina), a building l ...

'' and ''

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

''. On 24 April 1916 trials were run in conjunction with the Submarine Service at Parkeston Quay to test the carriage and launching of 2

Sopwith Schneider The Sopwith Tabloid and Sopwith Schneider (floatplane) were British biplanes, originally designed as sports aircraft and later adapted for military use. They were among the first successful types to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The ...

seaplanes carried on the deck of submarine E22. E22 was sunk the following day off Great Yarmouth by German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

SM ''UB-18''. To begin with the flying boats had little success against U-Boats until the introduction of the "

Spider web A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spi ...

" system of patrolling. The patrols capitalised on the practice of U-Boats signalling by

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

their homing position, which could be picked up by wireless stations at Hunstanton, Lowestoft and

Birchington Birchington-on-Sea is a village in the Thanet district in Kent, England, with a population of 9,961. The village forms part of the civil parish of Birchington. It lies on the coast facing the North Sea, east of the Thames Estuary, between th ...

. The "Spider Web" used the North Hinder Light Vessel, a Dutch maintained

light ship A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, ...

55 miles from Felixstowe and the

Hook of Holland Hook of Holland ( nl, Hoek van Holland, ) is a town in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; ''hoek'' means "corner" and was the word in use before the word ''kaap'' – "cape", from Portuguese ''cabo'' – became Dutch. The English t ...

as a centre point. An

octagonal In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, w ...

figure was drawn with eight arms radiating out from a distance of 30 miles from the centre. A set of circumvential lines then joined the radial arms at 10, 20 and 30 miles making eight sectors, each sector divided into three sections. As the patrolling flying boat flew up and down each sector line, the area was surveyed twice on any patrol and two sectors of the web could be patrolled in under five hours. A flying boat would take off from Felixstowe and head for the North Hinder Light Vessel then fly along a sector line, determined by previous instructions gained from wireless plots, and then along the patrol lines of the sector. "Web" patrols commenced 13 April 1917. To increase the range of the aircraft, experiments were carried out in the launch and retrieval of flying boats and bi-planes from specially designed lighters towed behind destroyers of the

Harwich Force The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war. History After the outbreak of the First World War, a ...

. On the formation of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

1 April 1918, the unit was renamed the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe and disbanded in June 1919.

Successor

The base and its facilities were later used by the

Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) was a British military research and test organisation. It was originally formed as the Marine Aircraft Experimental Station in October 1918 at RAF Isle of Grain, a former Royal Naval Air Serv ...

from 1 April 1924 until the Second World War. It was also used as a base by the

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flyin ...

team, the High Speed Flight.

RAF Felixstowe Royal Air Force Felixstowe, or more simply RAF Felixstowe, is a former Royal Air Force station located northeast of Harwich, Essex, England and southeast of Ipswich, Suffolk. History Felixstowe was commissioned 5 August 1913 under the comm ...

closed 21 June 1962.

Designs

Felixstowe Porte Baby The Felixstowe Porte Baby (also known as the Porte F.B.2) was a British reconnaissance flying boat of the First World War, first flying in 1915. Design and development The Porte Baby was designed by John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air statio ...

Felixstowe F.1 The Felixstowe F.1 was a British experimental flying boat designed and developed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe based on the Curtiss H-4 with a new hull. Its design led to a range of successful ...

* Felixstowe F.2 *

Felixstowe F.3 The Felixstowe F.3 was a British First World War flying boat, successor to the Felixstowe F.2 designed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe. Design and development In February 1917, the first pro ...

* Felixstowe F.5 *

Felixstowe F5L The twin-engine F5L was one of the Felixstowe F series of flying boats developed by John Cyril Porte at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe, England, during the First World War for production in America. A civilian version of the air ...

Felixstowe Fury The Felixstowe F.4 Fury ( serial ''N123''), also known as the Porte Super-Baby, was a large British, five-engined triplane flying-boat designed by John Cyril Porte at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe, inspired by the Wanamaker Tr ...

Station commanders

*Captain C. E. Risk, RM 1913–1914 *Lieutenant C. E. H. Rathborne, RN 1914–1915 *Commander J. C. Porte, RN 1915–1918 *Wing Commander C. E. Risk, RAF 1918–1919 *Wing Commander I. T. Courtney, RAF 1919–1922 *Flying Officer F. Wilton, RAF 1922–1924 *Wing Commander C. E. H. Rathborne, RAF 1924–1925 *Wing Commander R. B. Maycock, RAF 1925–1928 *Group Captain G. R. Bromet, RAF 1928–1931 *Group Captain A. J. Milley, RAF 1931–1936 *Group Captain E. J. P. Burling, RAF 1936–1939 *Wing Commander D. G. Fleming, RAF 1939–1940 *Wing Commander W. B. Hellard, RAF 1940–1942 *Wing Commander N. Keeble, RAF 1942–1943 *Wing Commander L. G. Martin, RAF 1943–1945 *Group Captain W. G. Abrams, RAF 1945–1946 *Group Captain W. P. Welch, RAF 1946–1948 *Group Captain C. A. Watt, RAF 1948–1949 *Wing Commander D. H. Thomas, RAF 1949–1951 *Wing Commander C. V. Winn, RAF 1951–1953 *Wing Commander J. A. Chorlton, RAF 1953–1954 *Wing Commander W. O. Jones, RAF 1954–1956 *Wing Commander R. P. Burton, RAF 1956–1957 *Wing Commander J. T. O'Sullivan, RAF 1957–1960 *Wing Commander C. F. Price, RAF 1960–1961 *Wing Commander C. H. Baker, RAF 1961–1962

References

External links

*
Sons of Our Empire
Film of the Royal Naval Air Service at Felixstowe, about August 1916.
Seaplanes
Film including the launch of Felixstowe flying boats at the Seaplane Experimental Station, 12 November 1918.
Felixstowe, Suffolk: Pioneering Sea Plane Base
Audio recording. {{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom 1915 establishments in England 1919 disestablishments in England Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom Royal Naval Air Stations in England Military research establishments of the United Kingdom Military history of Suffolk Seaplane bases in England Airports in the East of England Felixstowe