Cockshot Point
COCKSHOT POINT: Civil water aerodrome
Pleasure flights: Avro Transport Co, Lakes Motor and Seaplane Co
Location: Just SW of Bowness-on-Windermere, on the E side of Lake Windermere, at about the midpoint of the lake
Period of operation: 1912 to 1919 only?
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
Note: The fourth and seventh items above were published in Flight magazine. The fourth item on the 11th September 1919, and the seventh item on the 25th September 1919.
Note: This article was obtained from Waterbird.org The local area view is from my Google Earth
© derived database.
NOTES: On the evening, 29th March 1912, a gale blew up lifting and destroying the hangar at COCKSHOT POINT, and their ‘Waterbird’ aircraft was destroyed. Some say the ‘Waterbird’ was the first seaplane to fly in the UK, this flight taking place on the 25th November 1911. This now seems certainly disproved, see HILL of OAKS.
AB INITIO TRAINING
Starting in 1915 The Northern Aircraft Co were undertaking ab initio training for the RNAS here. By October 1915 nineteen pupils were engaged. The Admiralty closed the civilian operation down in 1916 and it took over. See HILL of OAKS for further details
JOY RIDES
Commencing in July 1919 the Avro Transport Co operation employed two Avro 504K/L seaplanes, G-EADJ and G-EADK but the operation only lasted one season, being wound up in October 1919. The Lakes Motor and Seaplane Co started up the next year according to some records. The similarly named Lakes Flying Company was formed in 1911 and taken over by The Northern Aircraft Company in January 1915.
This picture was published in Flight magazine on the 25th September 1919. Although captioned as 'BOWNESS' it was most certainly COCKSHOT POINT. Another point of interest is that the civilian register commenced with G-EAAA in May 1919. G-EADJ, Avro 504L, (ex H2581), was registered 05.06.19.
G-EADK, (ex H2582), also an Avro 504L, was registered 02.08.19. And yet, as this picture clearly shows, both machines were still wearing their military serials. Clearly A V Roe & Co were not taking the civil register seriously. Both of these aircraft were modified Avro 504Ks.
A BONUS PICTURE
Later, Mike Holder discovered this intriguing picture. Note the Avro logo on the rudder. Built probably in 1913 it was impressed at the start of WW1, but, having no military potential it was sold to the Northern Aircraft Co based here. A large number of RNAS pilots were trained on this aeroplane until it capsized in 1916.
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