support it. The German navy was a powerful and
splendid growth, fostered by the Government. But it was a forced growth,
and the failure of the German operations at sea, regarded broadly, must
be credited not to the British navy, but to the whole body of British
seamen, naval and civilian. The British navy was at its appointed
stations; the temper of a seafaring people, self-reliant, resourceful,
and indomitable, was everywhere, and shone like a phosphorescence over
thousands of unregarded acts of sacrifice.

The private enterprises of officers and men in the navy are limited by
the conditions of the service, but such opportunities as could be found
or made were not neglected. While the _Mayfly_ was building at
Barrow-in-Furness Commander Oliver Swann purchased an Avro aeroplane and
with the help of subscriptions from other officers and officers' wives
made many experiments with a view to adapting it for work over the
water. He tried different types of floats on the machine, and at last,
on the 18th of November 1911, he succeeded in getting off the water for
a very short flight. He was the first in England to achieve this feat,
and from that time forward the development of seaplanes progressed
rapidly. A full account of these experiments was sent by Captain Sueter
to Lord Rayleigh's Advisory Committee, and thereafter a valuable series
of researches was conducted at the National Physical Laboratory by Mr.
G. S. Baker and others. One result of these researches was the
development of a boat-shaped type of float, with flared bows, in
addition to the toboggan shape.

Experiment was active also at Eastchurch. During the summer of 1911 the
four naval officers whom Mr. Cockburn had taught to fly continued to
make practice flights on the two machines supplied by Mr. McClean. In
October Lieutenant Samson succeeded in persuading the Admiralty to buy
the two aeroplanes and to send to Eastchurch twelve naval ratings, as
the basis of a naval flying school. The experiments of this little band
of pioneers were all directed to adapting the aeroplane to naval work.
Lieutenant Longmore and Mr. Oswald Short designed and tested airbags, by
the aid of which a machine successfully alighted on the water.
Lieutenant Samson designed and got leave to build in Chatham Dockyard a
platform with a double trackway for starting aeroplanes from the decks
of ships. The idea at this time was that the machine should start from
the ship and by the aid of t