#royalnavy — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #royalnavy, aggregated by home.social.
-
HMS Queen Elizabeth starts nato training deployment
Photo: Royal Navy HMS Queen Elizabeth has sailed from Portsmouth for a three month deployment in UK and…
#NATO #OTAN #Europe #Europa #EU #News #aircraftcarrier #AlliedReactionForce #DavidPetraeus #defenceinvestmentplan #HMSQueenElizabeth #nato #RoyalNavy
https://www.europesays.com/nato/13333/ -
Hundreds of protesters march in Portsmouth after small boat of migrants rescued
-
Hundreds of protesters march in Portsmouth after small boat of migrants rescued
-
Hundreds of protesters march in Portsmouth after small boat of migrants rescued
-
Hundreds of protesters march in Portsmouth after small boat of migrants rescued
-
On 12 July a Submarine the Royal Navy Sold to Canada for £1 Fired the Torpedo That Sank a Decommissioned US Navy Cruiser
On 12 July 2026, in water nearly three miles deep, more than fifty nautical miles north of Kauai,…
#Canada #ColdWar #nato #navy #RoyalNavy #Submarine #Submarines #USNavy #Victoria-Class
https://www.europesays.com/canada/196649/ -
La Royal Navy pourrait finalement garder ses destroyers de Type 45 plus longtemps que prévu
-
This month's Journey Plotter update:
New is the 1916-1919 #WW1 journey of HMS Whitby Abbey; Mediterranean.The journey of USS Concord (PG-3) was amended with the years 1899-1900; Asiatic Station.
Her journey now covers 1897 to 1900 and 1907 to 1909.And USS Yorktown (PG-1) was amended with the years 1912-1913; North, Central and South American waters.
Her journey now covers 1889 to 1913, though there are some gaps when she was decommissioned. -
Royal Navy spent three days tracking Russian vessels in UK waters
By Geraldine McKelvieThree vessels and a helicopter deployed to monitor four ships travelling through the North Sea to the Channel
#Military #RoyalNavy #Russia #UKsecurityandcounterterrorism #Europe #UKnews #Worldnews #TheGuardian #GeraldineMcKelvie
-
Royal Navy spent three days tracking Russian vessels in UK waters https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/29/royal-navy-tracking-russian-vessels-uk-waters-channel-north-sea #Military #RoyalNavy #Russia #UkSecurityAndCounterterrorism #Europe #UkNews #WorldNews
-
Des considérations juridiques compliquent la protection de l’espace aérien irlandais par les forces françaises et britanniques
-
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC19100402.2.101.8&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------
Today I learned about the red thread of the Royal Navy.
Did this security measure come to an end with the onset of the First World War?
#TIL #RedThread #ScarletThread #RoyalNavy #Rope #Security #Antitheft
-
The Royal Navy bought twenty new sea drones from a UK company called Kraken. They're flash units with autonomous capability and are designed to work in swarms.
https://krakentechnology.com/platforms/k3-scout
However the K3 drones failed a routine cyber-vulnerability assessment when it was discovered that their cameras were pinging a Chinese IP address. The UK has a policy banning Chinese tech from military equipment.
Whoops!
-
Cyber vulnerability sweep picks up #RoyalNavy #drones sending data to #China
-
The 1916-1919 journey of HMS Whitby Abbey is made available in Journey Plotter.
It was transcribed by Brian, who wanted to find out more about his grandfather, who sailed on board Whitby Abbey during that period.Thank you for sharing Brian. 👍
-
Navy says it is spending 25% more time monitoring Russian vessels around UK waters
By Nadeem Badshah and PA MediaWarning of increased activity as patrols spent 21 days in July shadowing Moscow’s ships in Dover Strait and North Sea
#RoyalNavy #UKnews #Military #Russia #Europe #TheGuardian #NadeemBadshah #PAMedia
-
Navy says it is spending 25% more time monitoring Russian vessels around UK waters https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/08/navy-says-it-is-spending-25-more-time-monitoring-russian-vessels-around-uk-waters #RoyalNavy #UkNews #Military #Russia #Europe
-
The British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm's fighter / dive bomber the Blackburn Skua from the early years of the Second World War. https://www.destinationsjourney.com/historical-military-photographs/blackburn-skua/ #BlackburnSkua #Skua #divebomber #fighter #FleetAirArm #RoyalNavy #Aviation #aeroplane #airplane #fighterplane #WorldWarTwo
-
La défense britannique investit près de 160 millions d’euros pour l’entretien des torpilles Spearfish et Sting Ray
-
Reform UK has proposed using the navy to stop small boat crossings. Is their plan feasible?
By Rajeev Syal and Dan SabbaghNigel Farage said his party would send the military to the Channel to intercept and return dinghies carrying migrants to France
#ReformUK #Immigrationandasylum #Politics #UKnews #RoyalNavy #TheGuardian #RajeevSyal #DanSabbagh
-
#Farage...
we will bring out the #RoyalNavy... ffs...
#RuleBritannia... Lets hope that man NEVER gains any kind of power ...
-
'Nigel Farage's lunatic plan to use Royal Navy for intercepting small boats won't work'
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farage-royal-navy-boats-37508712
-
Former navy officer criticises Reform plan to use military to stop small boats https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/aug/03/former-navy-criticises-reform-plan-military-stop-small-boats #ReformUk #NigelFarage #ImmigrationAndAsylum #RoyalNavy #Military #Politics #UkNews
-
Former navy officer criticises Reform plan to use military to stop small boats
By Kevin RawlinsonRetired commander says policy lacks substance as party accused of trying to distract from Nigel Farage’s scandals
#ReformUK #NigelFarage #Immigrationandasylum #RoyalNavy #Military #Politics #UKnews #TheGuardian #KevinRawlinson
-
Criticism of Reform UK’s pledge to use Navy to stop small boats – politics live https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/aug/03/reform-immigration-small-boats-nigel-farage-restore-clacton-latest-news-updates #Politics #ReformUk #ImmigrationAndAsylum #RoyalNavy #Military #UkNews
-
Criticism of Reform UK’s pledge to use Navy to stop small boats – politics live
By Yohannes LoweLabour say plan is a ‘desperate attempt to distract from sleaze’ while a retired commander says it ‘lacks substance’
#Politics #ReformUK #Immigrationandasylum #RoyalNavy #Military #UKnews #TheGuardian #YohannesLowe
-
The #RoyalNavy has short take-off/vertical landing version called the #SeaHarrier, which is a less bulbous nose.
-
A few weeks ago, we visited the #FleetAirArmMuseum as it used to be called, which is in #Yeovilton. The #FleetAirArm is that part of the #RoyalNavy associated with #Aviation, mainly helicopters but also fixed-wing #Aeroplanes. Its official title now is Royal Navy Museum, Naval Aviation. There’s lots of hardware and #Engineering to be seen there and I recommend you go there but it’s a little out of the way and probably not as renowned as other #Museums.
[Note: long thread to follow!]
-
Londres débloque près de 10 milliards d’euros de plus pour ses futurs sous-marins nucléaires lanceurs d’engins
-
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Moscow Oblast industrial plant struck by Ukrainian drones, blackout in occupied Crimea . . . . . Ukraine's military intelligence names Russian unit behind deadly jet-powered drone strike on Chernihiv supermarket . . . . . Attacks on Ukrainians in Poland are rising. Disinformation fuels the flames . . . . . The international community should provide more support for Ukraine's cultural sector . . . . . and morehttps://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/07/tuesday-july-28-2026/
-
La Royal Navy confirme le retrait anticipé de trois navires, dont deux frégates
-
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Russia's largest oil refinery in flames as Ukraine strikes Omsk, 2,500 km away from border . . . . . The peace in Ukraine that worries NATO . . . . . 'We have nothing to use:' Kyiv currently defenseless against Russia's ballistic missiles . . . . . “We pay taxes in Russia that helps war" — Oreo-maker's confession demands action on Russia remains . . . . . and morehttps://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/07/tuesday-july-7-2026/
-
Photo of the Day 5th July 2026.
On This Day 5th July 2018. Schipol Sunday 5th July 2026.https://mancavgeek.co.uk/2026/07/05/photo-of-the-day-5th-july-2026/
-
Manchester Monday 29th June 2026.
https://mancavgeek.co.uk/2026/06/29/manchester-monday-29th-june-2026/
-
La frégate russe Amiral Grigorovitch est accusée d’avoir tiré des coups de semonce vers un yacht près de l’île de Wight
-
Un hélicoptère Merlin de la Royal Navy s’est écrasé dans le sud-est de l’Angleterre
-
Le porte-avions HMS Prince of Wales est contraint de rester en Norvège pour effectuer des réparations
-
Une vedette de la Guardia civil espagnole s’est approchée à vive allure d’un sous-marin britannique à Gibraltar
-
Royal Navy : Déjà lancées, les deux premières frégate de Type 31 seront modifiées pour un coût de 160 millions d’euros
-
À la suite du groupe aéronaval français, le destroyer britannique HMS Dragon se rapproche du détroit d’Ormuz
-
Manchester Monday 16th February 2026.
[…]https://mancavgeek.co.uk/2026/02/16/manchester-monday-16th-february-2026/
-
Manchester Monday 12th January 2026.
[…]https://mancavgeek.co.uk/2026/01/12/manchester-monday-12th-january-2026/
-
The Blackburn B-54 was a prototype carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare aircraft of the immediate post-Second World War era developed for the #RoyalNavy’s #FleetAirArm (#FAA). The B-54 had a piston engine while the B-88 had a gas turbine driving large contra-rotating propellers. The program was cancelled in favour of the Fairey Gannet aircraft. Two prototypes were built WB781 and WB788. https://www.destinationsjourney.com/historical-military-photographs/blackburn-b-54/ #aviation #aeroplane #airplane #aircraft #BlackburnB54 #Blackburn
-
Blackburn B-54
The Blackburn B-54 was a prototype carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare aircraft of the immediate post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm (FAA). The program was cancelled in favour of the Fairey Gannet aircraft https://www.destinationsjourney.com/historical-military-photographs/blackburn-b-54/ #BlackburnB54 #aeroplane #airplane #aircraft #aviation #RoyalNavy #FleetAirArm #FAA #aerialwarfare #military #AntiSubmarineWafare #military #militaryaviation -
Nach wochenlanger Pflege wurden sechs unterkühlt an britischen Stränden angespülte Unechte #Karettschildkröten von der britischen Marine in der Nähe der #Azoren in die Freiheit entlassen. Die vom #Aussterben bedrohten Tiere waren geschwächt und dehydriert, nachdem sie vermutlich von der #AtlantikStrömung bis nach #Großbritannien getragen wurden. Dank der Unterstützung durch #Aquarien und die #RoyalNavy konnten sie nun in wärmere Gewässer zurückkehren.
-
Fairey Firefly Mk I (TT.I) Seen here in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovliton, the Firefly was the last time the Royal Navy shoehorned a navigator into one of their carrier fighters! Theythought that the pilot needed a navigator to stop him getting lost at sea! Needless to say, this increased the size and weight of the aircraft, and reduced performance. Despite being powered by a Rolls-Griffon IIB engine of 1,735hp, the Firefly I could only manage 319 mph - this was 5 mph slower than a Merlin-powered Hawker Hurricane Mk I of 1940! This Firefly was sold to Svensk Flygtjänst AB of Sweden after conversion to a target tug, eventually being restored as an aircraft which took part on attacks on the Japanese Home Islands in 1945. #FaireyFirefly #FleetAirArm #RN #RoyalNavy #Pacific #Japan #HomeIslands #WW2 #history #photography #museum #aviation #avgeek #targettug #Sweden #yeovilton #FleetAirArmMuseum #navalaviation #fighter #aircraft #rollsroyce #rrgriffon
-
Supermarine Walrus I, Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton. The Walrus was designed to be an aircraft that could be catapulted from capital ships of the Royal Navy, but ended up being a most useful amphibian. As well as spotting naval gunfire, the Walrus provided excellent air/sea rescue service around the coast of Britain and in other areas. Some were supplied to the Republic of Ireland, and this preserved example is one of these. #amphibian #WW2 #royalnavy #aircraft #capitalship #navalhistory #navalaviation #naval #avgeek #FleetAirArm #FleetAirArmMuseum #yeovilton #supermarine #walrus #aviation #aviationgeek
-
The Great Storm of 1901: the thread about the tragic loss of the cutter “Active”
On the 12th November 1901 a terrible storm formed over the North Sea and battered the East Coast of Scotland. The Firth of Forth felt its full fury and by the following morning twenty men would lie dead in the cold waters of Wardie Bay, when the Royal Navy cutter Active was driven ashore and wrecked against the Granton Breakwater.
Headline from the Edinburgh Evening News, 13th November 1901.The Active was a 135 ton sailing yawl, built in Kent in 1867. For 20 years she had been stationed in the Forth as tender to the navy’s guardship at South Queensferry, the old battleship HMS Anson. She had recently returned south from secondment to the Revenue Service as a fisheries cutter off of the Shetland Islands. Her captain was Lt. Charles Culley RN, a pious and temperate man who was a “good husband, a good father and a real Christian” in the words of his widow. Culley had started out life as a pit boy in Somerset but had turned to Methodism and joined the Navy. He was therefore somewhat unusual in being a Bluejacket, having come up through the ranks and had recently learned that he was being advanced in the service and would be receiving command of a steam gunboat.
HM Revenue Cutter Active, London Illustrated News – Saturday 23rd November 1901During the day on November 12th the temperature plunged and the wind got increasingly strong. Soon it brought heavy squalls of rain and sleet. The waves ran high along the Forth and were “breaking with great violence against the piers and embankments, doing considerable damage“. At the end of the eastern breakwater at Granton the green marker lighthouse and a gangway were carried away. On the quayside, part of the roof of the North British Railway station was blown off. At Trinity Crescent the sea wall was breached and the road was left impassable. On account of the intensity of the storm in the North Sea the east coast fishing fleet returned home early, boats from as far as Dundee and Aberdeen running for the safety of Granton. The Burntisland ferry was stopped, with the William Muir being kept tied up alongside at Granton. At North Queensferry the Norwegian steamer Dronning Gyda of Kristiansund was driven ashore and the Swedish schooner Tura was wrecked on the island of Inchgarvie, her crew of 7 managing to scramble ashore and seek shelter. Many vessels came into Leith Roads to seek shelter; those that could sought refuge in the harbours; those left out in the Forth were seen to be straining at their anchors. Similar stories were repeated all along the east coast of Scotland and England.
“Approaching Storm, Entrance to the Firth of Forth”; Jock Wilson, mid-19th century; Wolverhampton Arts and Heritage via ArtUKThe gale swept across the city early in the afternoon and many a chimney pot came crashing down. A cartload of hay was blown over and several shop windows were blown in. Trees were brought down in the Botanics, at St. Bernard’s Crescent and on Moray Place. At the Usher’s bonded warehouse at St. Leonards the lamplighter, Donald Cormack, lost his life when an external wooden staircase he was climbing collapsed in the wind. At 74 Causewayside, twelve year old Annie Hanlan was killed as she lay in bed when the chimney breast of the tenement collapsed through the roof. A heroic effort on the part of the Sciennes firemen under the command of Lt. Grinton saw her 14 year old sister Mary, who had been sharing the same bed, rescued and taken to the Infirmary suffering from serious injuries. Two others were injured and the tenement was condemned, rendering 12 families homeless.
The maximum average wind speed during the storm would be recorded at 67mph. Beyond the city boundaries nearly all telegraph and telephone cables came down. There was no communication north, only three wires to Glasgow left intact and a single each to Newcastle and Leeds for all southwards communications. A huge backlog of messages piled up in the telegraph offices, unsent. Within the city, the telephone network was “very much out of order“, hampering the emergency response. Out in the Forth, Lt. Culley and the Active had been sent from their mooring at South Queenferry to seek shelter in Leith Roads in the time honoured way, in the lee of the island of Inchkeith. Culley had three anchors put down to secure his charge and during the day it was seen by observers on the shore to be riding out the storm as comfortably as could be expected.
“Inchkeith on the Forth in a Fresh Gale”. Ships have long sought refuge in Leith Roads, sheltering in the lee of the island of Inchkeith from gales coming in off the North Sea. John Gabriel Stedman, 1781. CC-by-NC National Galleries ScotlandAround 3 O’clock in the morning the Active was seen to be dragging her anchors. Her tiller was smashed, and orders were given to bring the spare up from below decks. Her foresail was raised to try and sail out of trouble, but it jammed and had to be hauled back down. Attempts by a Granton-based tug to reach her were futile and what few onlookers were present watched helplessly as she was soon being driven uncontrollably towards the shore. Culley let off his distress rockets to try and summon assistance and mustered the remaining men from their sleep on deck. However, before any attempt to save lives could be made, the little ship was dashed against the breakwater and “smashed to match-wood“. Observers saw her two blue marker lights disappear from view at about 4:15AM. In the last moments before disaster, Culley had ordered his men to climb the rigging in the hope of safety but of the twenty-five souls on board, only three were spared. Such had been the haste of her demise that only three men had managed to put on their cork life jackets and Ordinary Seamen W. Travis, G. Dady (or Peady) and G. Pearce would be the only men who made it off. Two of them were washed completely over the breakwater and into the harbour, being picked up by the steamer Bele who had heard their cries.
The saving of Ordinary Seaman Travis by the crew of the Bele. Artist’s reconstruction in The Graphic illustrated newspaper, November 28th 1901The third, dressed only in his string vest and life jacket, managed to cling to the breakwater and “through dogged persistence” crawled along it to safety. The other two survivors of the ship’s complement were Quartermaster Walsenham (or Wakenham) and the Second Mate, Boatswain John Donovan, both of whom had been allowed shore leave in Leith the day before and had been unable to rejoin ship on account of the weather.
Headline from the Dundee Evening Telegraph, 13th November 1901. Note that at this time it was thought that 23 lives, not 20, had been lost.With the telephone and telegraph systems being out of order, news had to be carried on foot to the police office at Gayfield Square from where 10 constables and two doctors were dispatched under the command of Superintendent Lamb , Inspector Cruickshanks and Sergeant Ford. By 11AM, only three bodies had been recovered, the vessel having been driven ashore on an ebb tide, which meant that most of the victims’ bodies were carried away from the shore and out into the Forth. The local fishermen, intimately in tune with the currents and habits of the Firth, pronounced that bodies would be carried to the vicinity of Elie.
All morning on the 13th, dense crowds lined the Wardie foreshore to gaze on at the macabre spectacle of wreckage and flotsam being tossed around in the bay and of policemen combing the shore with boathooks looking for survivors (or, more realistically, bodies). Rifles, cutlasses and uniforms were brought up on the slipway at Granton and large quantities of Rum had to be secured by the Customs men before they found their way into jacket pockets. Sergeant Bain of the Police was able to pull ashore the ship’s colours from the breakwater at considerable risk to his life.
Granton Harbour from Wardie in 1900, the year before the loss of the Active. She was driven against the eastern breakwater, on the right of the picture. © Edinburgh City LibrariesOn Thursday 14th, the newspapers reported that the foreshore along the coast was being searched for bodies and that divers had arrived to scour the seabed around the wreckage. The gunboats HMS Redwing and Cockchafer arrived to trawl up and down the Forth. In the aftermath, observers with the benefit of hindsight said that the Active had been anchored too close to the shore and not far enough north to be safely sheltered in the lee of Inchkeith. Some were of the opinion that she should have been brought into the safety of the harbour, however it was noted in the papers that this would have been against Culley’s instructions. Others still wrote to the Scotsman bemoaning the lack of a coastguard watch or lifeboat at Granton, Leith or Newhaven.
The first funerals took place on Saturday 16th, with a cortège leaving the City Mortuary on Infirmary Street with full naval honours on its way to the Admiralty’s plot at Seafield cemetery. The procession was led by the officers and men of HMS Anson and the band of the shore base HMS Caledonia. Thousands turned out to line the streets and pay their respects to seamen John (or Herbert) Walker, R. Pearson and E. Farrow, Carpenter’s Mate H. Williams and Ship’s Boy J. Mulvaney. The same day, a requiem mass was held for James Donovan at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea R.C. Church in Leith. All six were interred side-by-side at Seafield, the men from the Anson firing a salute over the graves. That same day, a remarkable event occurred; a glass bottle was recovered on the shore at Granton, containing a message: “H.M.C. Active, Sinking Fast. From Captain Culley. Good-bye.” Mrs Culley identified the handwriting as that of her late husband.
On Tuesday 26th of November, a further body was recovered from the mud in Granton harbour, Ordinary Seaman James Lyall could only be identified from his names stitched inside his clothing. On the 29th, tugs brought the remains of the Active to a position in Wardie Bay where they could be hauled ashore and broken up. The following day, a benevolent fund was opened for the families of the deceased by Captain William Fisher CB of the Anson and his officers, with the Lifeboat Institution making an opening contribution of £2,000. Lieutenant Culley alone left behind 6 children, the eldest being 17.
Name NameLieutenant Charley Culley, TrinityChief Quartermaster James Donovan, KingstonPetty Officer 2nd Class Reuben Weller, KentCarpenter’s Mate Harry Williams, PembrokeAble Seaman Richard Pearson, LondonAble Seaman Edward Farrow, LondonAble Seaman George Gregory, LondonAble Seaman Richard Randall, LondonAble Seaman William Thompson, HartlepoolAble Seaman Edward Plumber, LondonAble Seaman William Burton, LondonOrdinary Seaman James LyallOrdinary Seaman Thomas AmosOrdinary Seaman James TempleOrdinary Seaman John (or Herbert) WalkerOrdinary Seaman Arthur PreynnOrdinary Seaman Arthur BanhamOrdinary Seaman William MillingOrdinary Seaman John ButtonsShip’s Boy Joseph MulvaneyOfficers and men lost on the ActiveBodies were slowly recovered in November and by the 20th, seventeen had been recovered. On 27th November, Ordinary Seaman James Lyall was buried at Seafield. A court martial into the disaster was held in distant Chatham on 3rd December. Four of the five survivors (George Pearce was still in hospital recovering) appeared, but were not charged or asked to plead. Captain Fisher of the Anson gave witness, confirming that he had ordered Culley not to risk his ship on any account, and to anchor her in Leith Roads. He did however say that Culley had not done so in the exact position he had been shown on the chart. The survivors stated that the loss of the tiller and jamming of the sails had prevented them for seeking safety, and that the Granton tugs had not approached close enough to offer assistance. The court exonerated the survivors from all blame, but noted – with the benefit of hindsight – that Culley should have “shown better judgement had he either weighed or slipped anchors and run for safety” but that when the disaster was inevitable “he appeared to have maintained discipline and done all possible to save life.” Culley’s body was not recovered until late in January 1902, and he was buried with full naval honours near his men in Seafield Cemetery.
Lt. Charles Culley’s gravestone at Seafield Cemetery. Photo © SelfNote to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.
If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.Explore Threadinburgh by map:
Travelers' Map is loading...
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.
NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret -
A day of firsts; the thread about the start of the air war over Britain above the Firth of Forth
This thread was originally written and published in July 2023.
On September 3rd 1939, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany, drawing the country into what would become the Second World War. This early period of the war is sometimes called the “Phoney War”, on account of the relatively limited military activity between France, Germany and Britain on the Western Front. However on Monday 16th October 1939, the air war over Britain commenced over the Firth of Forth as German bombers made their first air raid on the country of the war and the RAF squadrons defending Edinburgh went immediately to war.
Pilots of 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron in England during the Battle of Britain in 1940, posing for a propaganda photo with a new Spitfire aircraft paid for by public subscriptions in Persia. © IWM HU 88793603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron – an auxiliary squadron defending its home city from RAF Turnhouse – claimed the first German aircraft to be shot down by an RAF fighter over British territory in WW2 on that very day. At about 14:45, Red Section under Flt. Lt. “Patsy” Gifford fatally damaged a Ju-88 bomber near Cockenzie. The German aircraft, from squadron KG30, crashed into the Forth 4 miles offshore. The Cockenzie fishing boat Dayspring, skippered by John Dickson, rescued the crew. They admitted that they were reluctant at first to do so, but they were sailors foremost and overcame their misgivings to help those in peril on the sea.
Flt. Lt. Pat “Patsy” Gifford on landing at Turnhouse after shooting down the Ju-88. His Spitfire was called “Stickleback”. He was back up in the air within minutes after refuelling and reloading.Rear gunner OGefr. Kramer had been killed before the plane crashed and was never found, but pilot OLt. Hans Storp and crewmen Hugo Rohnke and Hans Georg Heilscher were saved and sent to the military hospital at Edinburgh Castle, the first German military prisoners in Britain of WW2. The grateful Storp gave his gold ring to John Dickson in thanks for his life.
Left to Right, Storp, Rohnke, Helischer in Edinburgh Castle.Earlier that morning, at 09:30, the “Chain Home” radar station at Drone Hill in Berwick shire had identified two enemy aircraft approaching over the North Sea. At 10:21, Flt. Lt. George Pinkerton of 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron became the first RAF fighter pilot to attack a German aircraft over Britain when his Spitfire engaged and damaged a He-111 bomber over the Isle of May. This aircraft – one of two from squadron KG26 – had been on a reconnaissance flight to photograph the naval dockyard at Rosyth and was chased east out to sea where it evaded its pursuers, returning safely home. 602 Squadron had been redeployed eastwards to defend Edinburgh and the Forth and had been based out of RAF Drem in East Lothian for just 3 days.
George Pinkerton, later Group Captain, OBE, DFC.A confused game of cat and mouse now commenced between the RAF and Luftwaffe all along the East Coast of Scotland for much of the morning and early afternoon as attempts were made to intercept sporadic German incursions. The radar sets failed to work properly and broke down, phantom raiders were reported by the public and the ground controllers got their calculations back to front and sent the defending fighters in the wrong directions.
602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron mechanics prepare a Spitfire for flight at RAF Drem under the watchful eye of the pilot. Notice the non-regulation mess room chair being used as a stepladder. © IWM HU 106303That afternoon the weather was good – clear skies with only broken cloud. At 14:20, the Royal Observer Corps, trained ground spotters whose job was to identify and report enemy aircraft over land, confirmed the presence of Ju-88 bombers in East Lothian. These were 12 aircraft commanded by Haupt. Helmuth Pohle of squadron KG30 and had been sent on a mission to attack the Royal Navy at Rosyth, based on the reports from the morning reconnaissance flight that George Pinkerton and 602 Squadron had intercepted. Once again, those Spitfires were scrambled to meet the raiders. At 14:27, the anti aircraft battery at Dalmeny reported the bombers flying up the Forth. The attackers had been forbidden to attack the Dockyard itself for fear of civilian casualties, so aimed for the ships anchored in the Firth. While the gunners frantically phoned for permission to open fire, the bombs began to fall.
The German bombs begin to fall over the Forth Bridge from The Illustrated London News, 28th October 1939The first wave of attackers targeted the cruiser HMS Southampton. At 14:35, the 500kg bombs fell around the ship but missed; however two of her boats that had been anchored alongside, including the Admiral’s personal barge, were sunk. At 14:38 – three minutes after the start of the attack – the orders for the defenders to open fire were given and every anti-aircraft gun on land and on ships that could be brought to bare opened up. At the same time, the next wave of attackers, those led by OLt. Hans Storp, arrived. They approached from the south over Threipmuir Reservoir and commenced their bombing run.
Atmospheric but sensationalised reporting of the attack on HMS Southampton (with HMS Edinburgh behind her) from The Illustrated London News, 28th October 1939By now, both 602 (City of Glasgow) and 603 (City of Edinburgh) squadrons were in the air. Yellow Section of 603 attacked Storp and put his port engine out of action. The plane limped towards East Lothian out to sea, in a futile attempt to escape, which was where Red Section under Patsy Gifford brought it down. The victorious 603 were now ordered to return to Turnhouse to re-arm and re-fuel, leaving the defence in the hands of 602 Squadron. Blue Section, under George Pinkerton, spotted the aircraft of Helmuth Pohle over Inverkeithing and gave chase through the broken cloud. Pinkerton and his wing-man Archie McKellar attacked, killing two of the German machine’s crew and incapacitating both its engines. It headed for the sea near Crail and ditched three miles off of Fife Ness. The time was somewhere between 14:45 and 14:55, the Observer Corps putting the crash at the latter time, but McKellar and Pinkerton are credited with gaining the “first kill” before Patsy Gifford in some chronologies.
Archie McKellar, from Cuthbert Orde – Pilots of Fighter Command, book, 1942The events of October 16th had not yet concluded however. About 25 minutes after Pohle’s machine crashed, another Ju-88 bomber appeared over the outer reaches of the Forth. It had escaped interception up to this point as the ground observers had initially thought it to be a friendly Bristol Blenheim (an easy mistake, as the two were somewhat similar and the Ju-88 was a brand new aircraft and almost totally unseen by British eyes this early in the war). It found the destroyer HMS Mohawk off of the fishing village of Elie & Earlsferry and attacked; dropping its bombs and firing its machine guns at the ship.
HMS Mohawk under attack, from The Illustrated London News, 28th October 1939By the time it was chased off by one of 602 Squadron’s Spitfires, 13 men including First Lieutenant E. J. Shea had been killed. Her captain, Commander Richard Jolly, was fatally wounded but refused to abandon his post and brought his ship safely back to Rosyth before dying a few hours later. In total 16 men from the Mohawk would lose their lives that day.
“Commander R. F. Jolly in uniform”, by Hubert Andrew Freeth. © IWM ART LD 157The last of the raiders that day appeared in ones and twos across the Lothians around 16:00 and were chased across the Forth, RAF Turnhouse, Edinburgh, Leith and Portobello by the Spitfires of 603 Squadron, but to no avail. Minor injuries were caused across the city from broken glass as bullets fired in the sky came down to earth and painter Joe McLuskie, working on a house in Abercorn Terrace, Portobello, was hit in the stomach and had to undergo emergency surgery in Leith Hospital. The raid had also claimed its first animal victim of the air war over Britain when Lady, a spaniel belonging to Mrs Mercer of Alma Street in Inverkeithing, was struck by shrapnel from falling “friendly” anti-aircraft shells and had to be put down as a result. The noise of the bombs and guns had panicked the animal and it had run off into the street.
Off of Crail, a fishing boat hauled four ditched German airmen from the sea. Crewmen Kurt Seydel and August Schleicher were already dead, Kurt Naake was mortally wounded and would not survive, leaving pilot Helmuth Pohle – nursing a broken jaw – as the sole survivor. He was sent to the naval hospital in Port Edgar. The bodies of Seydel and Schleicher lay in state at St. Phillip’s Church in Portobello, their coffins draped in Swastika flags, and were buried with military honours observed by a respectful turnout of locals at Portobello Cemetery. The proceedings were led by Henry Steel, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and many men from both 602 and 603 Squadrons were in attendance with the pipe band of 603 providing a musical lament. The pair were re-interred in a German military cemetery in England after the war.
The funeral cortège of Seydel and Schleicher proceeds along Brunstane RoadBoth Patsy Gifford and George Pinkerton would receive the Distinguished Flying Cross award for their efforts that day. Gifford, a reservist who was in peacetime a lawyer and town councillor from Castle Douglas, was sent to command 3 Squadron RAF in November 1939. He was shot down and killed over Belgium in May 1940.
Commemorative plaque dedicated to Pat Douglas in 2010. Photo by Paul Goodwin, from IWM collection 69507Gifford and Pinkerton both have claims to their “first”. However neither claimed either the first British or first RAF aerial victories of the war. On September 26th 1939, Lt. Cdr. Bruce S. McEwen of 803 Squadron Fleet Air Arm and flying from HMS Ark Royal (therefore a Royal Navy aviator and not in the RAF) shot down a German Do-18 flying boat over the North Sea off Norway, the first British aerial victory of the way. The below photo was taken by the destroyer HMS Somali when they rescued its crew.
German Do-18 aircraft as the crew scramble into the liferaft before being rescued by HMS Somali.Another Do-18 would become the first German aircraft brought down by an RAF aircraft flying from the British mainland, was claimed by a Lockheed Hudson patrol aircraft of 224 Squadron Coastal Command out of RAF Leuchars on 8th October. The Hudson, actually a modified American airliner and intended to be a bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, proved to have a surprising capability as a long range fighter in the early part of the war.
A damaged Lockheed Hudson of 224 Squadron on its return to Wick from a sortie over Norway. © IWM CH 46And two weeks after 602 Squadron’s Pinkerton and McKellar brought Helmuth Pohle’s war to a premature end off of Crail, Archie McKellar shot down an He-111 bomber of squadron KG26, flown by Uffz. Kurt Lehmkuhl over East Lothian. This was the first RAF victory that brought down a plane over land, the machine making a crash landing in the Lammermuir hills near Humbie.
Heinkel He-111 of KG26, flown by Lehmkuhl, after it crashed near HumbieHeinkel He-111 of KG26, flown by Lehmkuhl, after it crashed near HumbieAnother He-111 was shot down by 602 Squadron out of RAF Drem on February 9th 1940, with Squadron Leader Douglas Farquar bringing it down in a field just outside North Berwick.
He-111 “1H + EN” crashed in a field outside North BerwickThis was the first chance for British intelligence to get a close up look of such a machine in a flyable condition and it was therefore partially dismantled and towed away for onwards transport to the Boffins down south. The plane was put back together, repaired, and commissioned into the RAF as part of the “Rafwaffe” of captured machines. Here it is seen going down Dirleton Avenue in North Berwick to the bemusement of onlookers.
The North Berwick Heinkel being towed down Dirleton AvenueRemarkably, there’s a colour cine film of it going down Musselburgh High Street, exciting much local interest, on its way to RAF Turnhouse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwhXwLhWDEc
Hans Storp’s Ju-88 would suffer the misfortune of being the first pilot and aircraft to be shot down twice in the war, when in December 1939 a re-enactment of his last flight took place for the propaganda film “Squadron 992“. An RAF Bristol Blenheim (which the observers had confused with the German Ju-88 back in October) stood in for the German machine on this occasion. The Cockenzie fisherman John Dickson, his crew, and their boat the Dayspring reprised their roles from that day and played themselves for the cameras.
The crew of the Dayspring “rescuing” the German airmen. Still from Squadron 992You can watch the film Squadron 992 on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XycuXAtLyo4
Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.
If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.Explore Threadinburgh by map:
Travelers' Map is loading...
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.
NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret