A century ago a British warship underwent a conversion that climaxed in a history-making raid that changed the face of naval warfare forever charts the story of the seven aviators who launched the First-ever strike from an aircraft carrier in a daring attack on the German Zeppelin base at Tondern in the summer of 1918.
It was hardly the most auspicious of beginnings for a mission destined to revolutionise naval warfare and change the course of history. Barely an hour into the trailblazing sortie across the North Sea, the ragged formation of biplanes was in serious trouble. Blown off course by high winds and already reduced by mechanical trouble to just three aircraft, they were now struggling to stay together. For some unaccountable reason two of the machines appeared to be labouring and unable to keep pace with the leader’s distinctive blue and white chequernosed aircraft. Little wonder then that Captain Bernard Smart was worried.
As commander of the second flight of bomb-laden Sopwith 2F1 Camels tasked with closing the German Zeppelin base at Tondern, he knew timing was everything for such a small force flying at the limits of their endurance. “Every minute[’s] delay meant more warning…” he wrote, …
