The Battle of Imbros. HMS Ark Royal & HMS Manxman took part in the final seaplane carrier mission in Mediterranean, which took place in early 1918. On 20 January, HMS Ark Royal and the converted ferry HMS Manxman (carrying Sopwith Pup fighters) dispatched their aircraft to attack the Turkish Battle Cruiser Yavuz (formerly the German SMS Goeben - the ship that had brought Turkey into the war on the side of the Central Powers). When the Yavuz ran aground on a sandbar at Nagara Point near the Dardanelles, during a sortie into the Mediterranean having hit a mine earlier, several attempts were made to destroy or damage the ship by gunfire and with aircraft. There was no serviceable Allied submarine available at the time. 12 × aircraft took part (one shot down & one damaged) with 8 × Short 184/Sopwith Baby floatplanes from Ark Royal scoring several hits from multiple bombing missions on the Battle Cruiser, but the small 65 lb and 112 lb bombs were insufficient to cause significant damage. Additional Allied aircraft flew in support of the bombing missions from Mudros Airfield (on Lemnos) 'F' & 'G' & 'Z' (Greek) Squadrons of the 2nd Wing were stationed there at the time. Reconnaissance aircraft (DH9s) flew from from Imbros. Turkey provided air cover with 10 × (German-manufactured) aircraft of its own (3 × shot down by a Greek pilot in a Sopwith Camel). More detail is available at Wikipedia |
Details
Archives
July 2024
AuthorHaving wargamed since the age of 11 years old I think that I am hooked on this fantastic hobby!
|