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Wulstan Joseph Tempest | |
---|---|
Born | Ackworth, Yorkshire, England | 22 January 1891
Died | 1966 (aged 74–75) |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service | British Army Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1914–1919 |
Rank | Major |
Unit | King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry No. 39 Squadron RFC |
Commands | No. 100 Squadron RFC/RAF No. 36 Squadron RAF No. 101 Squadron RAF |
Battles / wars | World War I • Western Front |
Awards | Distinguished Service Order Military Cross |
Major Wulstan Joseph Tempest, DSO , MC (22 January 1891 – 1966) [1] was a British First World War pilot with the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force. He was celebrated for shooting down a Zeppelin R Class airship over Potters Bar in October 1916. [2]
Wulstan Tempest was born in Ackworth, Yorkshire, in 1891. He was the ninth child, and the sixth son, of Wilfrid Francis Tempest, a member of the notable recusant Tempest family, and his second wife Florence Helen O'Rourke (Wilfrid had a total of 15 children from two marriages). He was a descendant of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, the great-grandson of King Edward III. [3] [4] [5] His father was a wealthy landowner and justice of the peace, serving as Chairman of the West Riding Bench for the Pontefract Division. [6]
Tempest was educated at Stonyhurst College, [7] where he won distinction in mathematics, then spent three years [6] training for the merchant service at HMS Worcester. [8] He worked as a mining engineer, and spent a few months as a sugar farmer in South Africa, [6] before moving to Canada in 1911 with his brother Edmund to farm in Perdue, Saskatchewan, but they returned to England to enlist [7] in October 1914. [6] [9]
Tempest was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, with seniority from 30 November 1914. [10] His battalion was sent to France in May 1915, [6] where he saw action during the Second Battle of Ypres in April, [9] which marked the first large-scale use by the Germans of chlorine gas on the Western Front. [11] Suffering from the effects of gassing Tempest was invalided home to recuperate. He returned to his battalion in July, but was then transferred to a garrison battalion based at Newcastle. In early 1916 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps to train as a pilot, receiving his Royal Aero Club Aviators Certificate in April, [9] and on 17 June he was appointed a flying officer in the RFC, and transferred to the General List. [12]
Tempest was posted to No. 39 (Home Defence) Squadron. This unit was based at RFC North Weald in Essex, and flew a mixture of B.E.2 and B.E.12 aircraft. It was specifically formed to defend London from German air raids, and had several successes. On 2/3 September 1916, Lieutenant Leefe Robinson destroyed SL.11 , becoming the first British pilot to bring down a German airship, and winning the Victoria Cross. On 23/24 September Second Lieutenant Frederick Sowrey destroyed Zeppelin L.32, which crashed in flames at Billericay, and Second Lieutenant Alfred Brandon damaged Zeppelin L.33 sufficiently for her crew to make a forced landing at Little Wigborough, and set her on fire. [13]
At 23:45 on 1 October 1916, Tempest was on patrol about 15,000 ft (4,600 m) over South-West London flying B.E.2c night fighter, serial number "4557", having taken off from North Weald around 22:00. Meanwhile, Zeppelin L.31 , commanded by Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy had flown across the North Sea, and crossed the English coast at Lowestoft, but was unable to penetrate London's defences, coming under heavy anti-aircraft fire. L.31 dropped most of her bombs over Cheshunt, but was then captured by searchlights. Tempest spotted the airship 15 miles (24 km) in the distance and immediately set a course to intercept her. As he approached his fuel tank pressure pump failed, and he was forced to use the hand pump to keep his engine operating. He eventually closed with the airship, running the gauntlet of anti-aircraft fire. Approaching from the bows he fired a burst into her, then dived underneath firing another burst, seeing his incendiary bullets ripping through the airship's fabric skin, before turning to make another pass from the tail. He momentarily saw a red glow illuminate the Zeppelin from within "like an enormous Chinese lantern" before flames erupted from the bows. Tempest span away to avoid being hit by flames and debris as the airship plunged to the ground, crashing at Potters Bar. [13] [14] [15] Exhausted by his exertions and the bitter cold Tempest crashed his aircraft on landing, cracking his skull against the butt of his machine gun. [15] The next day he travelled to Potters Bar to survey the wreck of L.31, but the area was cordoned off by the Army, and he was obliged to pay a shilling to see the wreckage from an adjoining farm. [14]
Two weeks later, on 13 October Tempest was made a companion of the Distinguished Service Order, "...in recognition of conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in connection with the destruction of an Enemy Airship." [16]
His portrait appears on a postcard, titled Three Zepp. Wreckers (William Leefe Robinson; Wulstan Joseph Tempest; Frederick Sowrey), in a portrait photograph for the Rotary Photographic Co. Ltd., taken in late 1916. [17]
On 25 January 1917 Tempest was mentioned in despatches "...for distinguished services rendered in connection with the War". [18]
In February 1917 he was transferred to the newly formed No. 100 Squadron RFC, a bomber squadron flying a mixture of F.E.2b and B.E.2e aircraft, [19] and on 1 March he was promoted to lieutenant. [20] The squadron soon crossed to France, flying its first mission on the night of 5/6 April, attacking Douai aerodrome. That summer the squadron saw action during the battles of Vimy Ridge, Arras, Messines, and third Ypres, gaining a reputation for energy and efficiency, [19] while on 27 June Tempest was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain. [21]
On 18 October Tempest was awarded the Military Cross. [22] His citation, gazetted on 5 March 1918, read:
The same month his squadron become part of the Independent Air Force, and was relocated to Ochey aerodrome to fly strategic bombing missions over Germany, attacking munitions factories in the Rhine towns. [19] On 15 December 1917 Tempest was appointed squadron commander with the temporary rank of major, [24] taking command of his squadron. [19] In March 1918, during the German spring offensive, No. 100 Squadron was temporarily moved to an aerodrome near Rheims, flying tactical missions against German lines of communication, before returning to Ochey and the Independent Air Force. In June, Tempest handed over command of No. 100 Squadron to Major C. Gordon Burge. [19]
In July 1918 Tempest took command of No. 36 Squadron, a training unit flying the Sopwith Pup and Bristol F.2 fighters, based at RAF Usworth near Sunderland. [25] From January 1919 until March 1919 he commanded No. 101 Squadron, a night bomber unit flying the F.E.2b, based in France and Belgium. [26] He was transferred to the RAF unemployed list on 1 August 1919. [27]
Of his brothers, Major Wilfred Norman Tempest, 2nd Battalion (attached 9th Battalion), King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was killed in action on 26 September 1916, and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. [28] Flight Lieutenant Edmund Roger Tempest, also served in the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry before transferring to the RFC, and was credited with 17 aircraft shot down while serving in No. 64 Squadron. He was killed in a flying accident in 1921. [29]
In May 1919 Tempest became engaged to Camille Millicent Best, of Brussels, [30] but eventually married Ethel Fernandes on 5 April 1923 at All Saints' Church, Ennismore Gardens, London. [31]
Tempest died in 1966, and is commemorated in the names of two streets in Potters Bar near Oakmere Park, "Tempest Avenue" and "Wulstan Park", close to where the L.31 crashed. [32]
On 1 October 2016 the 100th anniversary of the shooting down of L.31 was marked by a memorial service with a fly-past by a replica B.E.2c aircraft, and wreaths were laid by the Mayor of Hertsmere and the German Air Attaché in memory of the nineteen German crewmen who were killed. [33] [34]
Air Marshal Robert Leckie, was an air officer in the Royal Air Force and later in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and served as Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1944 to 1947. He initially served in the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War, where he became known as one of "the Zeppelin killers from Canada", after shooting down two airships. During the inter-war period he served as a Royal Air Force squadron and station commander, eventually becoming the RAF's Director of Training in 1935, and was Air Officer Commanding RAF Mediterranean from 1938 until after the beginning of the Second World War. In 1940 he returned to Canada where he was primarily responsible for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, transferring to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1916:
Number 39 Squadron is an inactive squadron of the Royal Air Force. It last operated the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper from Creech AFB, Nevada, between January 2007 and July 2022. It had previously operated the English Electric Canberra PR.7, PR.9 and T.4 from RAF Marham, Norfolk, as No. 39 Squadron between July 1992 and July 2006.
Reginald Alexander John Warneford, VC, also known as Rex Warneford, was a British aviator and Royal Naval Air Service officer who received the Victoria Cross for air-bombing a Zeppelin during the First World War. It was the first victory of a heavier-than-air aircraft over a lighter-than-air dirigible.
Royal Air Force Hornchurch, or more simply RAF Hornchurch, is a former Royal Air Force sector station in the parish of Hornchurch, Essex, located to the southeast of Romford. The airfield was known as Sutton's Farm during the First World War, when it occupied 90 acres (360,000 m2) of the farm of the same name. It was used for the protection of London, being 14 miles (22.5 km) east north-east of Charing Cross.
William Leefe Robinson VC was the first British pilot to shoot down a German airship over Britain during the First World War. For this, he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was the first person to be awarded the VC for action in the UK.
Major Sir Egbert "Bertie" Cadbury was a British businessman, a member of the Cadbury family, who as a First World War pilot shot down two Zeppelins over the North Sea: L.21 on 28 November 1916, and L.70 on 6 August 1918: the latter while flying a De Havilland DH.4 with Robert Leckie as observer/gunner.
A German air campaign of the First World War was carried out against Britain. After several attacks by seaplanes, the main campaign began in January 1915 with airships. Until the Armistice the Marine-Fliegerabteilung and Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches mounted over fifty bombing raids. The raids were generally referred to in Britain as Zeppelin raids but Schütte-Lanz airships were also used.
Flight Lieutenant James Anderson Slater was a British First World War flying ace, credited with 24 aerial victories. He served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an instructor after the war until killed in a flying accident.
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Flight Lieutenant Edmund Roger Tempest was a British First World War flying ace credited with 17 aerial victories.
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Group Captain Frederick Sowrey, was a British aviator, military officer, and a flying ace of the First World War credited with thirteen aerial victories. He was most noted for his first victory, when he shot down Zeppelin L32 during its bombing raid on England. Having risen rapidly in rank during the war, he remained in service until 1940.
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Major Frank Widenham Goodden was a pioneering British aviator who served as chief test pilot for the Royal Aircraft Factory during the First World War.
Alfred de Bathe (Bath) Brandon was a New Zealand lawyer and military aviator who served in the First World War, and was credited with the destruction of two Zeppelin airships.
Air Vice Marshal Reginald Leonard George Marix, was a British aviator, originally with the Royal Naval Air Service, who later reached air officer rank in the Royal Air Force. He is credited with being the first pilot to destroy a Zeppelin, when in October 1914 he bombed the airship sheds at Düsseldorf. A flying accident in 1916 ended his flying career, but he remained in the Royal Air Force, serving in various staff positions, and during the Second World War commanded two reconnaissance groups, and from 1943 to 1945 the group responsible for ferrying aircraft from North America to Europe.
LZ 72 was an R Class super-zeppelin belonging to the Imperial German Navy. It was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy, an experienced commander, and took part in several raids over London during World War I. It also participated in a reconnaissance role during the Sunderland raid of 19 August 1916. Its last flight was launched late at night on 1 October 1916. Several miles north of London, it was caught in searchlights and anti-aircraft fire. During this engagement, 2nd Lt. Wulstan J. Tempest was on patrol and spotted the zeppelin. He proceeded to engage the airship with incendiary rounds, causing the ship to burst into flames and crash in a field near Potter's Bar. The entire crew died, and were originally buried there but were reinterred at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery in the 1960s. After this disastrous crash, the Imperial German Navy began reducing the number of zeppelin raids.