Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire: Responding to Attack
How Robert Blackburn founded the site at Brough due to a Zeppelin raid in 1915
The BAE Systems site at Brough started life in 1916 as a satellite of The Blackburn Aircraft Company, which was founded by Robert Blackburn in 1910.
On route from his headquarters in Leeds to the East Yorkshire coast in 1915, a Zeppelin raid interrupted his journey and that led him to discover a strip of land beside the Humber perfect for sea-plane manufacture.
Between 1914 and 1918 Blackburn was given the job of manufacturing Sopwith aircraft for the Royal Navy. The first was the Sea baby that was launched down a slipway into the Humber for take-off, the second was the Cuckoo built to carry a Whitehead torpedo.
The war years also allowed Blackburn to manufacture his own original designs for the Admiralty and the Royal Flying Corps including the TB, the twin Blackburn seaplane that dropped steel darts on the enemy and the Kangaroo. The Kangaroo was used for anti-submarine patrols and had success in an attack against a fleet of 12 U-boats.
Location: Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire HU15 1EQ
Image: Sopwith sea baby, courtesy of Bae Systems
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