ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 152254
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| Date: | Saturday 22 June 1918 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: | North Sea Class Airship |
| Owner/operator: | Royal Naval Air Service |
| Registration: | N.S. 3 |
| MSN: | 3 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | North Sea, near Barnes Lighthouse, off Dunbar, Lothian -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RNAS East Fortune, Lothian |
| RNAS East Fortune, Lothian | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Departed East Fortune to escort a south-bound Scandinavian convoy. She joined the convoy off Aberdeen around 7 pm; however, later that night increasing winds prompted the decision to return to base at full speed, but severe turbulence and loss of gas caused the ship to crash into the sea early on 22 June 1918 with the loss of five lives.
During the last few minutes of NS3’s flight, Davis had attempted to signal the Barnes Lighthouse but had seen no reply. A minute after he had reached the surface, AB Merritt came up in a very exhausted condition. There were no other survivors.
The two engineers were no doubt drowned when the engine car hit the sea, and the Coxswain, one air gunner and one W/T operator probably got entangled in underwater wreckage. We survivors were lucky to find a portion of the envelope flat on the water as it might easily have been rising steeply from the sea, and we could not then have got a hold on the slippery rubber fabric.
The great envelope of NS3 spread out on the surface of the sea and the men clung on as best they could. The stern was still rising above the surface and, acting like a sail, was dragging the whole wreck through the water.
It was a grim dawn with the early light on the grey sea and distant coast. Our little party collected together while the fabric slowly sank. Eventually, a destroyer arrived , took off the survivors and sank the airship by gunfire – a sad end to a good ship and a devoted crew.”
The destroyer was HMS “Moy”. An attempt was made to take the wreck in tow, but after three tow lines had been broken NS3 was fired on and left to sink beneath the waves. Of the surviving crew members, P/O Hodgeson, L/AC Davis and A/B Merritt all returned to active service. Captain Wheelwright was posted to Kingsnorth, where he was engaged in production and experimental test flying, while Percy Maitland was given command of his own North Sea at Longside, N.S.9, completing his war service at Longside in command of N.S.12.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_class_blimp
2. http://www.ns11.org/north-sea-3/
3. http://www.airshipsonline.com/airships/northsea/index.html
4. http://www.kenthistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=18464.0
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Jan-2013 13:35 | harro | Added |
| 11-Feb-2017 21:52 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 20-Mar-2022 06:42 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type] |
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