Tondern Raid

The seven Sopwith Camels on the flight deck of HMS Furious en route to the Tondern raid

Date	19 July 1918
Location	Tønder, Denmark
Result	British victory

Belligerents

United Kingdom

German Empire

Commanders and leaders

R. F. Phillimore

Unknown

Strength

7 aircraft

2 airships
1 captive balloon
Unknown base complement

Casualties and losses

1 drowned
3 interned
1 aircraft damaged
3 aircraft interned
2 aircraft abandoned
1 aircraft lost at sea

4 wounded
2 airships destroyed
1 captive balloon destroyed
2 hangars damaged

First carrier-launched strike

Coordinates: 54°56′N 08°51′E / 54.933°N 8.850°E / 54.933; 8.850

The Tondern raid, officially designated Operation F.7, was a British bombing raid mounted by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force against the Imperial German Navy's airship base at Tønder, Denmark, then a part of Germany. It was the first attack in history made by aircraft flying from a carrier flight deck. On 19 July 1918 seven Sopwith Camels took off from the converted battlecruiser Furious. For the loss of one man, the British destroyed two German zeppelins, L 54 and L 60, and a captive balloon.

In March 1918 the battlecuiser Furious joined the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow, flying the flag of the Rear-Admiral Commanding Aircraft, R. F. Phillimore.

Furious had initially been converted for use as an aircraft carrier during her construction, with a flight deck forward of her main superstructure, and during 1917 had been equipped with the Sopwith Camel 2F.1a navalised variant of the Sopwith Camel. These partially replaced the Sopwith 1½ Strutter. In late 1917 a second flight deck was fitted aft (landing on which proved "almost as hazardous as ditching in the sea.") Until such need arose however, she was dispatched on reconnaissance missions off the Heligoland Bight searching for minefields and looking for evidence of counter-mining by the Germans.

...
Wikipedia