Hampshire

At 8pm (or possibly 9.30pm) an airship carrying a bright light was seen by two police constables, Jenkins and Boyers, and a Royal Marine sergeant, among others. It was observed to hover above the Marine barracks, and arrived from and returned to the north or north-east. The airship’s shape was dimly perceived by the Marine to be a ‘dirigible of considerable size’.

The Times, 26 February 1913, p. 8; Manchester Guardian, 26 February 1913, p. 6, 27 February 1913, p. 7, 1 March 1913, p. 9; Daily Herald, 26 February 1913, p. 3; Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12; Standard, 26 February 1913, p. 7, 27 February 1913, p. 9.

An unknown airship was seen to hover over this naval port town in the afternoon for fifteen minutes. Since it was observed to fly the White Ensign and flew from and to the direction of Aldershot to the north, where the army’s airships were based, it was presumed that the navy had borrowed one for testing purposes, or that it was a previously unknown naval airship. Flight confirmed that it was in fact the army’s Beta II.

The Times, 4 December 1912, p. 6; Manchester Guardian, 4 December 1912, p. 16; Flight, 7 December 1912, p. 1143.