RNAS Glencruitten - Relocating Lenabo

[Regularity]

White paint posed a risk of being sighted by a passing zeppelin.

As camouflage they have had to paint the coal black instead......

 

Hence, Humbrol 85.

[Caley Jim]

White paint posed a risk of being sighted by a passing zeppelin.

As camouflage they have had to paint the coal black instead...... 

Could Zeppelins have made it that far north?  I know a couple got as far as Edinburgh, but IIRC they had to do a quick turn around and head back home before they ran out of fuel.

 

Jim

[Argos]

Hi Jim,

 

The base at Longside (Lenabo) had a scare when a zeppelin was reported heading toward them.

It was actually lost having bombed Edinburgh but it created a scare that the airship bases were being targeted to cripple the anti-submarine effort.

 

The coastal bases had already been subjected to bombardment by U-boats surfacing nearby, thus future bases were moved in land.

 

As a result of the Lenabo zeppelin  a couple of fighter aircraft were deployed to the airship bases to provide defensive cover in the event of an attack.

 

The paranoia at the time surrounding the zeppelin raids should not be underestimated.

 

In actuality the zeppelin raids were ineffectual. More zeppelin crew were killed in the raids than civilians in the bombing raids and a vast amount of resource was diverted into the zeppelins' manufacture and maintenance, not to mention the hanger sheds.

The raids also helped galvanise support for the war amongst the British public and there was a dramatic increase in recruitment for the armed services following the initial zeppelin raids, sufficient to delay the introduction of conscription.

[Argos]

Actually thinking about it some more, I have a recollection the Lenabo zeppelin had suffered engine failure after bombing Edinburgh and was drifting on the prevailing wind northward whilst the crew worked on repairing the engines.

 

I'd have to go back and check the literature.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Argos

[Northroader]

The Germans had a Zeppelin base at Tondern, very close to the German Danish border and close to the North Sea Coast. Going due west from there, it’s roughly level with Middlesbrough. If Tondern Zeppelins could reach London, striking an arc shows they could also get to Edinburgh, and the coastal strip Aberdeen to Peterhead.

One of the happier adventures in an otherwise very depressing WW1, was the Tondern Raid in the summer of 1918. A ship converted to be a prototype aircraft carrier, HMS Furious, got close to the Danish Coast, and launched some Sopwith Camels equipped with bombs. These managed to find the base, and bombed the sheds, destroying two Zeppelins and a balloon. One aircraft was missing and due to poor visibility other planes couldn’t find the ships, landing on the Danish Coast. The British consul was then engaged in cloak and dagger activities to get the pilots out before they were interned. By Jove, makes one proud to be British, don’t you know!

[Caley Jim]

Thanks for the clarification Angus. I had a memory that the Edinburgh raid was at about the limit of their range.

 

Jim

[Tom Burnham]

Hi Jim,

 

...

In actuality the zeppelin raids were ineffectual. More zeppelin crew were killed in the raids than civilians in the bombing raids and a vast amount of resource was diverted into the zeppelins' manufacture and maintenance, not to mention the hanger sheds.

The raids also helped galvanise support for the war amongst the British public and there was a dramatic increase in recruitment for the armed services following the initial zeppelin raids, sufficient to delay the introduction of conscription.

I seem to recall reading that the British Admiralty found that building an airship hanger used nearly as much steel as a cruiser (although to be fair probably not such specialised grades).

[Argos]

Hi Tom,

 

Indeed, though this was for the large rigid airship shed rather than the smaller dirigible sheds.

 

The rigid airships provided a dubious return on the investment with limited wartime use.

You get the feeling the only reason we developed them was because the enemy had them.

As I referred to before there was a degree of paranoia around the zeppelins.

 

Theories abounded that they were sat in the clouds spying (nonsense of course, if you are in a cloud you can't see the ground!).

There was even a theory that a zeppelin had acted as spotter at the battle of Jutland and had enabled the German fleet to escape.

 

It was later found that, although a zeppelin was in the area, it was returning from a raid on and nothing to do with the battle.

Nonetheless this led to a scramble to build a series of rigid airships to support the fleet.

There were also a series of experiments towing dirigibles behind warships (which worked well until, predictably, there was a storm.....) and even practice landings on of the first rudimentary aircraft carriers.

Although with the hassle of deflating and inflating the gasbag for storage it is difficult to see the benefit.

 

By the end of the war the large North Sea Class dirigibles were capable of long endurance flights of over 2 days.

I do wonder why we insisted on developing the rigid technology.

[Scottish Modeller]

Hi all,

 

One of the military modellers I know has just about finished this for show at Scale Scotland this year....

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10213465220246419&set=gm.2322213761392281&type=3

 

Interesting!

 

Thanks

Phil H

[Argos]

It's a nice model there Phil, and would be about 4' long if modelled to 2mm scale!

 

This proves the point I made earlier, one of the 23 class (three produced 23, 24 & 25) ordered in 1915 to have a maximum speed of 55 Mph and a lift of 8 tons.

They failed to meet both these criteria although only by 1 Mph in the case of top speed, lift, even after post -production modification only reached 6.5 tons (from 6 tons).

Endurance was 18 hours at maximum speed and 50 hours at 38 MPH, so worse than the NS class of dirigibles (which produced 3.8 tons of lift in a quarter of the size with no expensive aluminium structure).

 

She finished acceptance trials in December 1917, made her last flight in May 1918, and never did anything other than limited patrol work.

She only completed 165 hours flying in total.

 

Perhaps she should have been painted white? She was certainly elephantine in proportions!

[Argos]

Sorry Phil,

 

I've just realised the model you linked to is R34 not 24, I was viewing on my phone earlier, probably need an eye test!

 

R34 is a different beastie altogether, produced in 1919 obviously never served in the war.

She did make the first British East-West aerial crossing of the Atlantic.

 

By comparison to the 23 series she produced a lift of 26 tons with a top speed of over 60Mph.

The Atlantic crossing was done in 108 hours so clearly a step change in endurance.

 

She was destroyed in 1921 having had to make an emergency return to base in bad weather was then substantially damaged as it was too windy to get her into the protective shed.  

She was broken up for scrap afterwards.

Edited January 21, 2019 by Argos

[Argos]

For a while now I've been aware that the kick back siding at the front of the layout needs some context.

 

It is to be the site of the hydrogen plant, but all that is currently there is a rectangular patch of mud, so not very convincing.

 

I did work through various scenarios of what to build.

I've only been able to find a couple of photos of the small silicol plants, and these have been fairly uninteresting corrugated sheds.

It doesn't really shout "gas plant" at you.

Most of the airship bases had gas holders, but these tended to be quite large and wouldn't fit the modelled site.

What many of the bases also had were a series of 8,000 cubic feet cylindrical tanks all lined in a row.

 

Looking to get a head start I bought a Walther's  Central Gas Supply kit which contains a couple of tanks, assorted buildings and pipework etc.

 

I've only been able to find three photos of the tanks, sadly all subject to copyright so I can't reproduce them here.

From the photos it has been impossible to size the tanks as there is no conveniently stood human or other object of known dimension.   

As far as I can tell they are between 4 and 7 feet in diameter.

The Walther's tanks scale at 9 feet so a bit oversize but I'm happy to live with the compromise.

 

The two tanks fit the site nicely, although will need reducing in length by about a third to meet the proportions of the real tanks.

The real tanks also had some very hefty vintage/steampunky rivets on the ends and sides that I will replicate with some Archers 7mm scale rivets.

 

 

I'll also need to fit some flanges to the pipework to give a more retro feel.

 

With a few more details added the siding will now have a purpose.

 

[Edwardian]

For a while now I've been aware that the kick back siding at the front of the layout needs some context.

 

It is to be the site of the hydrogen plant, but all that is currently there is a rectangular patch of mud, so not very convincing.

 

I did work through various scenarios of what to build.

I've only been able to find a couple of photos of the small silicol plants, and these have been fairly uninteresting corrugated sheds.

It doesn't really shout "gas plant" at you.

Most of the airship bases had gas holders, but these tended to be quite large and wouldn't fit the modelled site.

What many of the bases also had were a series of 8,000 cubic feet cylindrical tanks all lined in a row.

 

Looking to get a head start I bought a Walther's  Central Gas Supply kit which contains a couple of tanks, assorted buildings and pipework etc.

 

I've only been able to find three photos of the tanks, sadly all subject to copyright so I can't reproduce them here.

From the photos it has been impossible to size the tanks as there is no conveniently stood human or other object of known dimension.   

As far as I can tell they are between 4 and 7 feet in diameter.

The Walther's tanks scale at 9 feet so a bit oversize but I'm happy to live with the compromise.

 

The two tanks fit the site nicely, although will need reducing in length by about a third to meet the proportions of the real tanks.

The real tanks also had some very hefty vintage/steampunky rivets on the ends and sides that I will replicate with some Archers 7mm scale rivets.

 

Gas tank mock up.jpg

 

I'll also need to fit some flanges to the pipework to give a more retro feel.

 

With a few more details added the siding will now have a purpose.

 

Interesting, and nice to see the hangar taking shape

[Argos]

Thanks James,

 

I've been procrastinating over the hanger for quite a while now.

The front face is very plain. The only relief being the Windows, as a result these need to be accurately cut.

 

The corrugated sheet I am using is 1mm thick and four separate sheets make up the front wall.

 

I was coming up with ever more convoluted methods of cutting the windows, using a mill, drilling and filing square...

 

I'm the end I just marked out the back in pencil and cut with a sharp knife and tidied up with a file.

 

I really was overthinking the problem.

I am reasonably happy with the result. The Windows are regular in placement and size with only one needing a bit of remedial work.

 

I'll post some pictures once I've tidied it up a bit.

 

The moral is stopping thinking....start doing!

Edited January 24, 2019 by Argos

[Argos]

Found a link to one of the Gas Cylinder photos I was referring to in my earlier post:-

 

http://www.eastsussexww1.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Gas-plant-and-storage-tubes.jpg

 

 

http://www.eastsussexww1.org.uk/polegate-royal-naval-airship-station-at-lower-willingdon/

Edited January 24, 2019 by Argos

[Edwardian]

Found a link to one of the Gas Cylinder photos I was referring to in my earlier post:-

 

http://www.eastsussexww1.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Gas-plant-and-storage-tubes.jpg

 

 

http://www.eastsussexww1.org.uk/polegate-royal-naval-airship-station-at-lower-willingdon/

 

Those are great pictures.  See what you mean about the rivets.  A great shot of the camouflage.  Of course the chap at the end is clearly affecting innocent nonchalance, having just driven his garden fork through a gas pipe.  

[Argos]

Which will be fine until he takes nonchalant to far and lights a ciggie....

[Argos]

A bit more work on the gas tanks done, I've shorten them to a more appropriate sized (proportioned from photos I have of the whole tank).

The quick blast of primer was to reveal any lines left to be filled, all now finished since the photo.

 

 

I've also been working on the hanger, progress halted due to running of corrugated sheet.

I'm sure I've some more stashed somewhere. No doubt I'll find it after I buy some replacement sheets from Eileen's at the Stafford Exhibition next weekend.

 

It's starting to come together, I'm still trying to work out if the sheds had guttering when built.

It is difficult to tell from the photos.

Given the catchment area of the rooves quite a flow would come off, I wouldn't like to get caught underneath!

 

 

 

[Argos]

The Hydrogen tank area is starting to take shape now.

 

The gauges and some  of the rivets have been added to the tanks, a pile of smaller cylinders has been created, these are being filled to supply a out-station associated with the base.

I've also bought some plastercast barrels and sacks, these are a bit rough but after some clearing up and careful painting I'm hoping they will pass muster.

 

 

Whilst at the Stafford show I also purchased some ready made trees to compliment a couple I had cobbled together.

 

 

I was dubious but I wish I had bought another half dozen or so to fill out the corner a bit more.

 

[Edwardian]

Looking good, but I hope there'll be a strict no smoking rule around that siding!

[Argos]

No need for a rule, you only get to break it once!

 

In all seriousness there seem to have been very few accidents involving hydrogen.

The gas is so light in comparison to air it rises quickly and disperses so little chance of ignition.

I think I've mentioned before that at Howden steam locos shunted inside the airship shed (remembering there is a live hydrogen feed in the sheds to keep the airships topped up!)

 

Most incidents involving hydrogen seem to be from crew working in the top of the sheds or airships encountering a hydrogen rich atmosphere and passing out due to lack of oxygen.

Obviously being high up the fall could be lethal.

If I remember my confined spaces training (it's been a while....) the body does not detect lack of oxygen rather a build up of carbon dioxide.

This work well in most situations, unless you are breathing in a relatively pure alternative gas, then the carbon dioxide doesn't get chance to build, so you get no warning of your impending collapse.

 

The Zeppelins proved very hard to shoot down in spite of being filled with such an explosive gas.

Initially the intercepting planes struggled to get up to altitude in time to intercept.

The rate of climb of the early war aircraft was so poor that by the time a scrambled plane made up to the Zeppelin's height it long since departed the scene.

During the occasional lucky intercept firing into the gas bag appeared to make no impact on the Zeppelin.

 

Eventually the tactic was developed to shoot low down in the gas bag to hole the hydrogen filled ballonets then wait few minutes for escaped gas to build up and mix with the air in the main gas bag before firing incendiary bullets into the top of the gas bag. 

This ignited the hydrogen and the outer fabric of the Zeppelin then burnt. 

 

I seem tor recall reading that in the Hindenburg disaster it was actually the outer skin burning and not the hydrogen that started the inferno.

 

[ChrisN]

The material they used on the Hindenberg and probably other airships at the time was in fact what is now used as rocket fuel.  That is why it burnt. 

[Argos]

Buoyed by the success of the trees, I ordered a few more online.

 

I've also been doing some work to add some ground cover texture, all in all I'm pleased with the effect.

 

 

I've also been working on the river, an whilst not there yet, it had come on leaps and bounds.

Another couple of layers or water and some weathering to take the gloss of the rocks and I think we're there.

 

 

Finally, at the Stafford show I invested in a couple of laser cut loading docks.

These were meant to be coal stages so were too high, above the bottom of door level on the trucks so need a bit of work to reduce the height and change the size.

 

Following a wood dye wash it starting to look the part, it just needs some steps now.

 

 

It also seems that I've been discounted from the cameo layouts competition as being not far enough advanced for the May exhibition deadline.

In all fairness this is a reasonable call and I am not upset at missing out on the judging cut.

 

My next deadline is the 2mm Scale Association Supermeet in Tutbury on 8th June, where the layout is promised to appear.

I hope to have the scenery and buildings (and airship...) pretty much finished.

Getting some Caley locos done needs to become a priority soon though!

[Argos]

Riveting.....

 

 

................................Done!

 

I still need to give the decals a coat of Micro-sol to bed them down and remove the carrier film.

I'll do this tomorrow once the decals are fully dried.

A coat of primer to seal them will follow in short order.

 

It has been a bit of battle as I am using Micro-mark rivets rather then Archers.

 

The Micro-mark look good value in the fact you get a large sheet for a similar price to a small Archers sheet, I'm afraid you get what you pay for in this instance and Archer's rivets are far superior to apply.

Edited February 12, 2019 by Argos

[CF MRC]

I have only just picked up on this excellent thread, having had longstanding interest in airships.  We have a model of R33 that hangs over CF, as it flew over London a number of times.  It was built by Tom Clark a third of a century ago using styrene sheet and Polyfilla!  The photo shows it in the distance: I really need to get a better shot of it!  

 

The MRC was founded in 1910 and is, for sure, the only model railway club to have had this happen:

‘The meeting was brought (to) an abrupt conclusion at 9.30 by the visit of Zeppelins to the immediate vicinity. ‘

A number of German Naval Zeppelins bombed London on the 13th October, 1915 producing one of the worst airship raids of the war. The most damage was sustained around The Aldwych  & The Strand.

 

I have an incomplete Hippo Models 1:144 resin model of a P class Zeppelin that scales in at 44.5" long.   Unfortunately, it has a flaw in the design, that means that the hull is incorrect at the bottom, which has stopped me from completing it.  If we ever take the layout to Germany again, then I might finish it.

 

Tim