Stuart D Culley
Flight Sub-Lieutenant Stuart D Culley was born in Nebraska in 1895 of a Canadian mother and an English father. He joined the Canadian military in Ottawa, Canada and was posted as a pilot in the RNAF. In April of 1918 all British flying forces were combined into the RAF.
HMS Redoubt was allocated to the trial and, on 1 August 1918, a Canadian pilot, Lieutenant S.D. Culley, successfully took off in a Sopwith Camel from a lighter, named H5, towed behind the destroyer. The trial was swiftly followed by the first operation. After an abort on 5 August due to poor weather, the first operation started five days later. On 11 August Redoubt, towing H5, was sailing as part of the Harwich Force on a sweep of Heligoland Bight when Zeppelin LZ 100 was spotted. Culley took off and shot the airship down. When he returned, the pilot stood on the destroyer's aft gun platform as Redoubt stood and the entire Force passed by in salute.
Ascended to a height of 19,000 feet, at which altitude he attacked an enemy airship, and brought it down in flames completely destroyed. This was a most difficult undertaking involving great personal risk, and the highest praise is due to Lieutenant Culley for the gallantry and skill he displayed. [4]
He was appointed to a permanent commission in the RAF, 1 August 1919 in rank of Flying Officer. On 1 January 1924, was again promoted Flight Lieutenant. To RAF Depot on transfer to Home Establishment, 10 January 1924. Records show that in 14 March 1933, S/L S.D. Culley, DSO, was posted to command No.39 (Bomber) Squadron, Risalpur.
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874 and developed in detail in 1893. They were patented in Germany in 1895 and in the United States in 1899. After the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the word zeppelin came to be commonly used to refer to all rigid airships. Zeppelins were first flown commercially in 1910 by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), the world's first airline in revenue service. By mid-1914, DELAG had carried over 10,000 fare-paying passengers on over 1,500 flights. During World War I, the German military made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers and as scouts, resulting in over 500 deaths in bombing raids in Britain.
Air Marshal Robert Leckie, was an air officer in the Royal Air Force and the 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 Commonwealth Air Training Plan, transferring to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1915:
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1916:
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1918:
Peter Strasser was chief commander of German Imperial Navy Zeppelins during World War I, the main force operating bombing campaigns from 1915 to 1917. He was killed when flying the German Empire's last airship raid over the United Kingdom.
A parasite aircraft is a component of a composite aircraft which is carried aloft and air launched by a larger carrier aircraft or mother ship to support the primary mission of the carrier. The carrier craft may or may not be able to later recover the parasite during flight.
Air Commodore Charles Rumney Samson, was a British naval aviation pioneer. He was one of the first four officers selected for pilot training by the Royal Navy and was the first person to fly an aircraft from a moving ship. He also commanded the first British armoured vehicles used in combat. Transferring to the Royal Air Force on its creation in 1918, Samson held command of several groups in the immediate post-war period and the 1920s.
The Tondern raid or Operation F.7, was a British bombing raid mounted by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force against the Imperial German Navy airship base at Tønder, Denmark, then a part of Germany. The airships were used for the strategic bombing of Britain. It was the first attack in history by aircraft from an aircraft carrier. On 19 July 1918, seven Sopwith Camels took off from the converted battlecruiser HMS Furious. For the loss of one man and several aircraft, the British destroyed Zeppelins L 54, L 60 and a captive balloon.
Lieutenant Colonel John Cyril Porte, was a British flying boat pioneer associated with the First World War Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe.
Zeppelin LZ 104 and nicknamed Das Afrika-Schiff, was a World War I German dirigible. It is famous for having attempted a long-distance resupply mission to the beleaguered garrison of Germany's East Africa colony.
The LZ 61 was a World War I German Navy airship, allocated the tactical numbering 'L 21'. It carried out a total of ten raids on England, and 17 reconnaissance missions.
The Imperial German Army Zeppelin LZ 43 was a P-class World War I zeppelin. While taking part in a bombing raid of the United Kingdom the Airship was hit by AA fire and it crashed outside of Ostend, Belgium on 10 August 1915. While being towed into the harbour, it burst into fire.
Major Wulstan Joseph Tempest, 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.
Zeppelin LZ 66, Imperial German Navy serial L 23, took part in 51 reconnaissance missions during World War I and on 21 August 1917 it was shot down by Second Lt Bernard A. Smart, flying a Sopwith Pup.
The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 112, given the tactical number L 70, was an x-class / L70-class World War I zeppelin of the Imperial German Navy.
Zeppelin LZ 102 was an airship of the German Imperial Navy. It was planned that it would attempt a mission to Africa but it was destroyed and its sister ship LZ 104, nicknamed Das Afrika-Schiff, made a famous attempt at a long-distance resupply mission to the beleaguered garrison of Germany's East Africa colony.
Zeppelin LZ 95 was a U-class zeppelin of the Imperial German Military.
LZ 74 was an R Class super-zeppelin belonging to the Imperial German Navy.
HMS Redoubt was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. The R class was an improvement of the preceding M-class, primarily through having geared steam turbines which offered greater efficiency and range. Launched on 28 October 1916, the ship joined the Harwich Force, operating as part of a destroyer flotilla undertaking convoy escort and anti-submarine operations in the North Sea. During 1918, Redoubt took part in an experiment to launch fighter aircraft from a lighter towed beyond a destroyer. The first flight took place on 1 August and the first successful operation ten days later when the Sopwith Camel flew by Lieutenant S.D. Culley took off and destroyed the German airship LZ 100. After the war, the vessel was transferred to the Home Fleet but was sold on 13 July 1926 to be broken up, part of a large scale disposal of older destroyers by the Navy.
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