Neville Usborne

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Neville Florian Usborne (27 February 1883 – 21 February 1916) was a British naval officer who helped develop airships before World War I and later worked on early ideas for flying from airships.

Usborne was born in Queenstown, Ireland, the son of a former naval officer. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1897 and proved his abilities in exams and prizes during his early years. He served on several ships and began work in the submarine service before moving into airship projects.

In 1909 he went to Barrow-in-Furness to supervise the construction of Britain’s first rigid airship, H.M.A. No. 1, built by Vickers. He contributed to its design and was chosen to captain the airship when it was finished, but the airship broke its back and never flew. The project was abandoned, though Usborne continued to work with airships and later earned a flying certificate in 1913.

In 1913 he commanded H.M.A. No. 3, an Astra-Torres airship, and even carried Winston Churchill as a passenger. He was promoted through the ranks and, in 1915, helped develop a method to suspend a small airplane under an airship so it could reach high altitude and patrol for Zeppelins. The plan was tested in early 1916.

The full trial took place on 21 February 1916 when the airship-plane lifted off from Kingsnorth with Usborne and Squadron Commander de Courcy Ireland aboard. A sudden loss of pressure caused the envelope to buckle and the suspension cables to fail. The airplane detached but could not be controlled, and the craft began to fall. Ireland was killed during the fall, and Usborne stayed with the airplane until it crashed in the Strood goods yard near Strood, Kent. Usborne died in the crash at the age of 32. He is buried at Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent. He had married Betty Hamilton in 1914.

In his memory, the Royal Aeronautical Society established the Usborne Memorial Prize for contributions to its publications.