The photo of the early scouts appears in Profile 139. Jack Bruce’s caption reads as follows:
“1246….is fitted with Ranken dart containers, of which the starboard one can be seen at the lower right-hand corner of the Union flag….”
This is contradicted by Harry Woodman in the photo posted earlier.
Perhaps the attack is best summed up by Jack Bruce in Flight of 3/10/1958 – (Bristol Scout pt 2).
When news was received that an attack was expected on August 2, Vindex put out from Harwich. A Zeppelin was sighted, and just before 7 p.m. Fit. Lt. C. T. Freeman took off from Vindex in a Bristol Scout. Whilst seeking his quarry, he saw two other Zeppelins, one ten miles and the other twenty miles away. He flew towards the nearer, succeeded in getting into position 500ft above the airship, and emptied a container of Ranken darts on to it. The darts missed. Freeman again attacked, dropping half a container of darts, which were successfully avoided by the Zeppelin. Although under fire from a machine-gun on top of the airship, Freeman made a third attack with his remaining Ranken darts. At least one of the missiles struck the Zeppelin, which emitted a puff of smoke, dropped 3,000ft, but failed to catch fire. It made off eastwards, and Freeman set course for Vindex. The Bristol’s engine refused to pick up, and Freeman was obliged to come down on the sea near the North Hinder light vessel. His Scout was fitted with air-bags, which kept it afloat, but the weight of the engine gradually pulled the nose down, and Freeman was fortunate to be rescued by a Belgian ship. It is believed that he was flying a Scout D, the development of which will be discussed later, and that his enforced descent was caused by loss of fuel. The Ranken dart was briefly described in Part IV of the history of the Sopwith Tabloid, Schneider and Baby (Flight, November 29, 1957, p. 845). The darts were stowed in canisters which held 24 and could be released three at a time. Those R.N.A.S. Bristol Scouts which were armed with Ranken darts had two canisters mounted directly under the pilot’s seat. Freeman’s experience did nothing to promote confidence in the effectiveness of the Ranken dart as an anti-airship weapon. The immediate consequence of his action was that all the aircraft carried by H.M.S. Vindex were forthwith fitted with machine guns. Of greater significance, however, was Freeman’s proof of the potential usefulness of the carrier-borne aeroplane as an anti Zeppelin weapon. It would not be too much to say that his abortive combat sealed the fates of the Zeppelins L.23 and L.53, shot down on August 21, 1917, and August 11, 1918, respectively, by aeroplanes which took off from seaborne platforms.