6 October 1913

On October 6, 1913, the Royal Navy completed a series of tests involving about 30 flights of a Short Folder seaplane, and a René Caudron amphibian from the protected cruiser HMS Hermes. On at least two occasions the aircraft took off while the Hermes was underway. These experiments greatly influenced the Royal Navy’s approach to deploying aircraft at sea and laid the foundation for the fleet’s aviation operations during World War I.