ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 221311
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| Date: | Saturday 21 April 1917 |
| Time: | 08:00 LT |
| Type: | Coastal Class Airship |
| Owner/operator: | Royal Naval Air Service |
| Registration: | C17 |
| MSN: | 17 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | North Sea, East of North Foreland, Isle of Thanet, Kent -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RNAS Pulham. Pulham St. Mary, Norfolk |
| RNAS Pulham. Pulham St. Mary, Norfolk | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
21.4.17: His Majesty's "Coastal" Class airship C17, RNAS Pulham. The C17 was a 'Coastal' Class airship. She was built at Kingsnorth. Trials were held on the 10 Aug 1916, captained by Flt Lt Wheelwright. On 31 Aug 1916 the C.17 was transferred to Pulham from Kingsnorth. On 21 April 1917 she proceeded on patrol, but no contact made with base after 08:00.
Believed written off (destroyed) on the 21 April 1917 when the coastal airship C17, captained by Sub Lieutenant Edward George Oliphant Jackson, drifted off her course in thick cloudy weather and was subsequently shot down in flames over the North Sea, east of the North Foreland, Isle of Thanet, Kent by German Hansa Brandenburg W12 seaplanes. The crew of five were killed:
Flt Sub-Lt Edward George Oliphant Jackson (aged 26) killed
Assistant Paymaster Raymond Alfred Price Walters (aged 32) killed
Chief Petty Officer Mechanic 3rd Class Arthur Chivers (Service Number F/671, aged 25) killed
Leading Mechanic David Farquhar (Service Number F/3707, aged 25) killed
Air Mechanic 2nd Class John Monro (Service Number F/21840, aged 19) killed
It was assumed that the airship had been shot down and some wreckage was discovered on the beach. There were no survivors and the bodies of the crew were never found. Subsequently, German records were found indicating that it had been shot down by Oberflugmeister Karl Meyer of Seeflugstation Flandern 1.
Up until the loss of C.17 the upper Lewis gun was not usually carried. As a result of the loss, instructions were issued that the upper gun was to be manned whenever 'Coastals' were operated out of Pulham over the North Sea. Also, as a result of this loss, patrolling airships were ordered, when out of sight of land, to check their positions by wireless every hour, a proceeding which had the disadvantage that listening enemy stations could pass the information to the German seaplane commanders.
NOTE: The CWGC website erroneously lists the crew as being on board "H.M.Airship C.7" (sic) and not C.17
Sources:
1. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1917.htm
2. https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?257351
3. https://airwar19141918.wordpress.com/2017/05/05/21-april-1917-coastal-c17-shot-down/
4. http://btckstorage.blob.core.windows.net/site14496/Panel/achivers.pdf
5. https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/community/3189
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_class_airship
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/3052959/jackson,-edward-george-oliphant/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/3044462/warlters,-raymond-alfred-price/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/3052361/chivers,-arthur/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/3052617/farquhar,-david/
11. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/3053276/monro,-john/
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Foreland
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Jan-2019 18:39 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 20-Mar-2022 06:45 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator] |
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