WW1
As the battle for the skies came to World War I, the British Royal Navy soon found itself desperately trying to get rid of its “Zeppelin problem” over the North Sea. The massive German airships had slowly begun to exert command over vitally important sea routes… using their aerial advantage to spy on Royal Navy movements and to even attempt dropping bombs on several British ships. Although slow and cumbersome to maneuver, the Zeppelins could fly above the reach of most ship fire. To effectively strike back, the British Royal Navy realized that their best chance to down the Zeppelins was to hit them before they even took off. The only problem was that Britain had no way of reaching the German Zeppelin base in Tønder, Denmark. And so a most audacious plan was formed… one that had never been attempted before. After a false start with Operation F.6, Britain launched Operation F.7 – the first offensive aircraft carrier strike. The mission called for a group of Sopwith Camel bombers to take off from the battlecruiser HMS Furious, converted to be an aircraft carrier. It would be a historic achievement, and an idea so new that the carrier squadron had no workable way to land…
Credit Dark Skies
