The British phantom airship scares, 1909-1913
You are currently browsing the archive for the Auditory category.
An airship was seen by a postman, a government official, and a nurse; all the usual elements were present — the brilliant searchlight, the whirring propeller and the ‘clear outline’ of the airship itself. The lights sometimes went out.
The Times, 28 February 1913, p. 5; Manchester Guardian, 1 March 1913, p. 9.
What initially looked like ‘an exceptionally bright star’ at a great height was soon revealed to possess the shape of an airship; ‘the throbbing of a motor and the whirring of a propeller’ was heard. This was observed by residents to circle overhead between 8.15pm and 9pm and disappeared in the direction of Seaforth to the north.
The Times, 27 February 1913, p. 6; Manchester Guardian, 1 March 1913, p. 9.
Lights were seen and an engine heard.
Manchester Guardian, 1 March 1913, p. 9.
Lights were seen and an engine heard.
Manchester Guardian, 1 March 1913, p. 9.
An airship with a bright searchlight was seen at 9.30pm moving in ‘a methodical manner’ to the west by several people, including Edgar Moore; it flew off to the south-west at a high speed. It was too high for its shape to be seen (this is contradicted by one report, which also says that the engine was heard).
The Times, 26 February 1913, p. 8; Manchester Guardian, 26 February 1913, p. 6, 27 February 1913, p. 7, 1 March 1913, p. 9; Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12; Standard, 26 February 1913, p. 7.
An airship with searchlight was seen between 7.40pm and 10pm, and its engine heard.
Manchester Guardian, 27 February 1913, p. 7, 1 March 1913, p. 9; Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12; Daily Herald, 26 February 1913, p. 3.
At 8pm, a fruit and potato merchant named Creasor saw and heard the airship, with a powerful searchlight, at Riccall, three miles north of Selby. A grocer named George Daniels and others in his house heard an aircraft between 9pm and 10pm; upon going outside they saw a bright light fast approaching, and they could see the long cigar shape of the envelope. It carried a searchlight and a rear light, and headed towards Market Weighton. Several other people on the outskirts of Riccall also saw it.
Standard, 24 February 1913, p. 9, 26 February 1913, p. 7.
Lights seen at night and engine sounds heard at about 8.30pm, no further details.
The Times, 27 February 1913, p. 6; Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12; Globe, 26 February 1913, p. 2.
Captain Lionel Lindsay, Chief Constable of Glamorganshire, and a bystander saw an object overhead through the fog at about 4.45pm, heading towards Swansea and leaving behind a dense trail of smoke. It was judged to be both larger and faster than the Willows airship, although its shape was indistinct. At 6pm, Stephen Morgan also saw ‘something resembling an airship’ with a light heading west, and trailing smoke. Further witnesses emerged to verify the story, adding that after leaving Cardiff it altered course from west to north-west, and that it travelled quickly and carried a light – in fact it was so fast that by the time ‘one observer ran to a telephone the airship had almost disappeared’. Another report noted that the sounds of its propellers had been heard in several districts of South Wales at night. One man, E. Morgan, thought it was oval-shaped.
The Times, 21 January 1913, p. 10, 22 January 1913, p. 19; Standard, 21 January 1913, p. 9, 22 January 1913, p. 9; Globe, 21 January 1913, p. 6, 22 January 1913, p. 5; Norfolk News, 25 January 1913, p. 10; Daily Herald, 22 January 1913, p. 7; Manchester Guardian, 23 January 1913, p. 12.
Between midnight and 1am, an airship or aeroplane was heard overhead by several residents, including Herbert A. Pertwee (partner of the witness in 1913-05). It passed very quickly and then returned three or four minutes later.
Globe, 22 January 1913, p. 5; Norfolk News, 25 January 1913, p. 10.
Between 2am and 3am, Walter Hack heard engine sounds overhead.
Norfolk News, 25 January 1913, p. 10.
At about 5am, town employee John Hobbs saw an aircraft carrying a light (which, it was thought, made it more likely to be an airship than an aeroplane), coming in from over the sea. It was moving very fast in a north-easterly direction, with strong winds coming from the west. He first heard the throb of its engines, which was also heard by police constable Pierce and a tradesman named Langley.
The Times, 6 January 1913, p. 6; Standard, 21 January 1913, p. 9, 22 January 1913, p. 9.
Date uncertain: mid-November. F. W. Boulton and his wife heard a ‘loud whirring, humming noise’ overhead, which gradually receded.
Norfolk News, 25 January 1913, p. 10.
At 6.50pm an ‘unknown aircraft’ was heard by many people over this naval port town, including Lieutenant Fitzmaurice RN, Miss Walker, Mr H. R. Hounsell and Albert Wells. Some also saw a bright light, possibly red, as well a long dark shape. The light was seen westwards out to sea, but seemed to be travelling east ‘fairly fast’.
PRO AIR 1/2456; The Times, 19 November 1912, p. 12; The Times, 22 November 1912, p. 8; The Times, 28 November 1912, p. 10; Manchester Guardian, 19 November 1912, p. 6.
The engine sounds heard in 1912-03 were also heard at the naval airfield at Eastchurch, where they were assumed by some to be from an airship. Flares were lit assist it in landing, but it did not do so.
PRO AIR 1/2456.
Strong lights were seen between 11.30pm and midnight, and a ‘whizzing’ sound was also heard.
Globe, 20 May 1909, p. 7.
At 11.30pm, Mrs. Turner saw lights and heard propellers while coming home from the theatre, as did a young man and a young woman. The street was lit up as if it was day. The object flew very low and approached from the north-north-east, but was not seen itself, only a ‘bright star of light’ at the front and a searchlight at the rear.
Globe, 20 May 1909, p. 7; Norfolk News, 22 May 1909, p. 13.
At about 11pm, a travelling Punch and Judy showman named C. Lethbridge encountered an airship on the ground, about 45 feet in length, on the summit of Caerphilly Mountain, just to the north of Cardiff. He also claimed to have met its crew, two young men in heavy fur coats who ‘jabbered furiously to each other in a strange language — Welsh, or something else. Certainly not English’. The airship rose into the air, the men jumped into a carriage suspended underneath, ‘two lights like electric lamps’ switched on, and it flew towards Cardiff. There was a whirring sound which came from a fan at the back of the carriage. The next day, Lethbridge accompanied a journalist to the landing site where the ground appeared disturbed; a collection of strange objects was found, including a kind of plug with a label in French (including the ominous word obus, “shrapnel”), paper scraps on the letterhead of a firm of London stockbrokers, and a number of newspaper clippings concerning ‘airships or the German army’. Also found were fragments of notes ‘bearing a mass of figures and letters of the alphabet formed in a style distinctly different to that of the average English hand’.
Manchester Guardian, 20 May 1909, p. 7; Standard, 20 May 1909, p. 10; Globe, 20 May 1909, p. 7.
A solicitor’s clerk named Edwards who had missed the last train and was walking home from Sheringham to Lowestoft spied an airship just after midnight over North Walsham; he initially saw two or three lights a short distance above the ground, but only paid close attention after hearing a ‘peculiar noise’ and then saw a ‘glaring light’. He was able to observe ‘a dark object ascending’ which headed in the direction of Yarmouth or Lowestoft.
Norfolk News, 22 May 1909, p. 13.
At about 1.30am, a Mrs. Wigg was awakened by the sound of an engine outside; looking out her window she saw a dark, bottle-shaped airship as well as its pilot, flying southwest. In the same house, Mr, T. Plowman was dazzled by a brilliant light at this time, while a number of other people also saw a bright light.
Norfolk News, 22 May 1909, p. 13.
Date uncertain: before 14 May 1909. Aeronautical expert Patrick Alexander ‘heard at night sounds apparently of an airship in motion’.
Standard, 14 May 1909, p. 9.
Date uncertain. The brother-in-law (possibly named Strange) of ‘prominent Peterborough tradesman’ Herbert Neaverson was so impressed by the airship he saw that he travelled to London to inform the War Office. He saw a light coming from towards the sea in the early hours of the morning. He could not see the shape of the airship but he could hear the engine and a ‘swishing’ noise.
Norfolk News, 15 May 1909, p. 15; Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.
