Raid on Cuxhaven

TheRaid on Cuxhaven(German:Weihnachtsangriff,Christmas Raid) was a British ship-basedair-raidon theImperial German NavyatCuxhavenmounted on Christmas Day, 1914.

Aircraft of theRoyal Naval Air Servicewere carried to within striking distance byseaplane tendersof theRoyal Navy,supported by both surface ships and submarines. The aircraft flew over the Cuxhaven area and dropped their bombs, causing damage to shore installations.

It was described at the time as an "air reconnaissance of theHeligoland Bight,including Cuxhaven,HeligolandandWilhelmshaven... by naval seaplanes "during which" the opportunity was taken of attacking with bombs points of military importance "in northernImperial Germany.^[1]

Planning

TheZeppelinsheds at theNordholz Airbasenear Cuxhaven were out of range of UK-based aircraft, so a plan was developed for the seaplane tendersHMSEngadine,(Squadron-commander Cecil Malone,who was also air commander for the raid)Riviera(Lieutenant E. D. M. Robertson) andEmpress(LieutenantFrederick Bowhill), supported by theHarwich Force,a group ofcruisers,destroyersandsubmarinescommanded byCommodore Reginald Tyrwhitt,to launch three seaplanes each from their station nearHelgolandin theGerman Bight.The objective was to reconnoitre military installations in the area and if possible, bomb the Zeppelin sheds at Cuxhaven.Lieutenant Erskine Childers RNVR,the yachtsman and author ofRiddle of the Sands,who had sailed the area before the war, provided the navigational briefing and accompaniedFlight Commander Cecil Kilneras navigator and observer.^[2]^[3]

Raid

On Christmas Day, 1914, the first combined sea and air strike was executed by the Royal Navy, aimed at locating and if possible bombing the dirigible sheds housing German Zeppelins, to forestall attacks by the airships on Britain. The air temperature was just above 0 °C and of the nine seaplanes lowered to the water, only seven (threeShort Improved Type 74"Folders",twoShort Type 81Folders and twoShort Type 135Folders, all carrying three 20 lb (9.1 kg) bombs) were able to start their engines and take off. Those unable to take part, a Short Type 81 (serial no.122) and a Short "Improved Type 74" (serial no.812), were winched back on board.^{[note 1]}

Fog, low cloud and anti-aircraft fire prevented the raid from being a complete success, although several sites were attacked. Nevertheless, the raid demonstrated the feasibility of attack by ship-borne aircraft and showed the strategic importance of this new weapon. According to a telegram dated 7 January 1915, held in the "Churchill Archives Centre", atChurchill College,Cambridge,the "Admiralty Chief Censor intercepted message from Hartvig, Kjobenhaven to the Daily Mail, reporting that the British aerial raid on Cuxhaven [Germany] had forced the German Admiralty to remove the greater part of theHigh Seas Fleetfrom Cuxhaven to various places on theKiel Canal."^[5]

The crews of all seven aircraft survived the raid, having been airborne for over three hours.^[6]Three aircraft, a Short 'Improved Type 74' (RNAS serial no.811,flown by Flt. Lt.Charles Edmonds),^[7]a Short Admiralty Type 81 (RNAS serial no.119,Flt. Cdr. R. P. Ross), and a Short Admiralty Type 135 (RNAS serial no.136,Flt. Cdr. C. F. Kilner withLt. Erskine Childersas his observer), regained their tenders and were recovered; three others (one "Admiralty Type 81", RNAS serial no.120,Flt. Lt. A. J. Miley, and two Short 'Improved Type 74' folders, RNAS serial nos.814(Flt. Sub-Lt. V. Gaskell-Blackburn) and815(Flt. Cdr. D. A. Oliver)) landed off the East Friesian island ofNorderneyand their crews were taken on board the submarineE11,under the command ofLieutenant-Commander Martin Nasmith(the aircraft being scuttled to prevent them from falling into enemy hands);^[8]the seventh aircraft, a Short Admiralty Type 135 (RNAS serial no.135) piloted by Flt. Lt.Francis E.T. Hewlett,suffered engine problems and was seen to ditch into the sea some 8 miles (13 km) off Helgoland. Hewlett was posted as missing,^[9]but he was found by the Dutch trawlerMarta van Hattem,which took him on board and returned him to the port ofIJmuidenin the Netherlands, where he disembarked on 2 January 1915^[10]whence he made his way back to Britain.

German reaction

After the raid there was no response by theGerman High Seas Fleet.By contrast, theMarine-FliegerabteilungGerman naval arm was very active. Seaplanes and airships set out to discover the position of the attacking force. One reconnaissance seaplane,Friedrichshafen FF.19No. 85, stayed aloft for five hours 52 minutes, a remarkable achievement for the period. Another seaplane from Heligoland spotted the British but due to not having a wireless transmitter had to return to the island to report. Sighting was also made by the airship L6 but due to a generator failure reporting was not initially made.

The attacking force had been sailing in formation at a speed of 20 kn (23 mph; 37 km/h) but due to boiler difficulties, this speed could not be made by HMSEmpress,which lagged astern of the formation. Consequently, the first combat was against this vessel. TwoFriedrichshafenseaplanes attacked with bombs, and although one small bomb exploded only 20 feet (6.1 m) off the bow, no damage was done to the ship or crew. The ZeppelinL6followed by attacking with both bombs and machine gun fire. The crew ofEmpressattempted to drive the Zeppelin away, initially with rifle fire as their 12-pounder in the stern was blanked by the superstructure. No damage was done to the ship, seaplanes, or airship.

Further attacks on the retiring force were attempted by submarinesU-20,U-22,andU-30but the manoeuvres of the British fleet prevented any success. The British force returned to home waters without loss or damage.

Aftermath

Analysis

The Cuxhaven raid was an imaginative endeavour, showing the willingness amongst naval and military leaders to adopt new technology and foreshadowed the air-sea battles of the future. It was a boost to British morale, and pointed the way to ways in which aircraft could be made more effective.^[11]

The Cuxhaven raid marks the first employment of the seaplanes of the Naval Air Service in an attack on the enemy's harbours from the sea, and, apart altogether from the results achieved, is an occasion of historical moment. Not only so, but for the first time in history a naval attack has been delivered simultaneously above, on, and from below the surface of the water.
— The Editor (Stanley Spooner),Flight,1915^[12]

Decorations

For their part in the Cuxhaven Raid, Kilner and Edmonds were awarded theDistinguished Service Order(DSO);Chief Petty OfficerMechanic James William Bell and Chief Petty Officer Mechanic Gilbert Howard William Budds were awarded theDistinguished Service Medal(DSM).

Notes

^Sources differ as to the identity of at least some of these aircraft; the record of Flt. Lt. Edmonds' career^[4]reports him as flying a Type 74 with RNAS serial number '811'; however Barnes and James (Appendix F, p.527) assigns this serial number to a later type with folding wings, also with a 100 hp Gnome engine, known by the Admiralty as the "Short Improved Type 74" (bearing RNAS serial numbers 811-818), which were all assigned to theEngadine,Riviera,andEmpress.811, 814 and 815 took part in the action. A further "Improved Type 74" bearing the RNAS serial no. 812 was one of those unable to start its engine.

References

Footnotes

^"No. 29076".The London Gazette(Supplement). 16 February 1915. pp. 1720–1721.
^"Cuxhaven Raid".The Times.London. 19 February 1915. p. 6.
^Boyle, Andrew(1977).The Riddle of Erskine Childers.London: Hutchinson. pp.203–209.ISBN 0-09-128490-2.
^Barrass, M. B."Air Vice Marshal Charles Humphrey Kingsman Edmonds".Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.Retrieved6 May2016.
^"Admiralty telegrams - Home Waters - CHAR 13/60/22".The Churchill Papers.2016. Archived fromthe originalon 22 February 2017.Retrieved6 May2016.
^Kutta, Timothy J. (6 December 2006)."Cuxhaven Raid – Britain's Bold Strike From the Sea".HistoryNet.Retrieved6 May2016.
^Bruce, J. M. (21 December 1956)."The Short Seaplanes: Historic Military Aircraft No. 14 (Part 2)".Flight.70(2500): 966.Retrieved6 May2016.
^Barnes & James (1989),p. 98.
^"A Parisian Citizen's Journal of the 1914 War".greatwardifferent.Archived fromthe originalon June 30, 2007.
^"The Rescue of Flight Commander Hewlett".Flight.VII(315): 24. 8 January 1915.Retrieved6 May2016.
^Halpern (1994),pp. 43–44.
^"Editorial Comment: The Brilliant Feat of the Royal Naval Air Service".Flight.Vol. VII, no. 314. 1 January 1915. p. 2. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-05.Retrieved6 May2016.

Bibliography

Barnes, C. H.; James, D. N. (1989).Shorts Aircraft since 1900.London: Putnam. p. 560.ISBN 0-85177-819-4.
Halpern, Paul (1994).A Naval History of World War I.UCL Press.ISBN 1-85728-295-7.
Layman, R. D. (1985).The Cuxhaven Raid: The World's First Carrier Air Strike.London: Conway. p.160.ISBN 0-85177-327-3.

External links

Media related toCuxhaven Raidat Wikimedia Commons

53°51′40″N08°41′40″E/ 53.86111°N 8.69444°E/53.86111; 8.69444

[5] Sources differ as to the identity of at least some of these aircraft; the record of Flt. Lt. Edmonds' career^[4]reports him as flying a Type 74 with RNAS serial number '811'; however Barnes and James (Appendix F, p.527) assigns this serial number to a later type with folding wings, also with a 100 hp Gnome engine, known by the Admiralty as the "Short Improved Type 74" (bearing RNAS serial numbers 811-818), which were all assigned to theEngadine,Riviera,andEmpress.811, 814 and 815 took part in the action. A further "Improved Type 74" bearing the RNAS serial no. 812 was one of those unable to start its engine.

[1] "No. 29076".The London Gazette(Supplement). 16 February 1915. pp. 1720–1721.

[2] "Cuxhaven Raid".The Times.London. 19 February 1915. p. 6.

[Boyle-3] Boyle, Andrew(1977).The Riddle of Erskine Childers.London: Hutchinson. pp.203–209.ISBN 0-09-128490-2.

[4] Barrass, M. B."Air Vice Marshal Charles Humphrey Kingsman Edmonds".Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.Retrieved6 May2016.

[6] "Admiralty telegrams - Home Waters - CHAR 13/60/22".The Churchill Papers.2016. Archived fromthe originalon 22 February 2017.Retrieved6 May2016.

[7] Kutta, Timothy J. (6 December 2006)."Cuxhaven Raid – Britain's Bold Strike From the Sea".HistoryNet.Retrieved6 May2016.

[Flight_19560801-8] Bruce, J. M. (21 December 1956)."The Short Seaplanes: Historic Military Aircraft No. 14 (Part 2)".Flight.70(2500): 966.Retrieved6 May2016.

[FOOTNOTEBarnesJames198998-9] Barnes & James (1989),p. 98.

[10] "A Parisian Citizen's Journal of the 1914 War".greatwardifferent.Archived fromthe originalon June 30, 2007.

[Flight_19150108-11] "The Rescue of Flight Commander Hewlett".Flight.VII(315): 24. 8 January 1915.Retrieved6 May2016.

[FOOTNOTEHalpern199443–44-12] Halpern (1994),pp. 43–44.

[Flight_19150101-13] "Editorial Comment: The Brilliant Feat of the Royal Naval Air Service".Flight.Vol. VII, no. 314. 1 January 1915. p. 2. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-05.Retrieved6 May2016.

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v t e Aviation in World War I
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