Austrian "Eagle" Class Gunships

The "Eagle" Class Gunships of the Royal Austrian Mechanised Military were feared symbols of Hapsburg power in the middle of the 19th Century. All this was to change, of course, with the shattering defeat of Austrian forces at the hands of the Prussians in the short but intense conflict of 1866.

The irony is that Prussia and Austria had been allies only seven years before, in the war with the small kingdoms of Holsten and Pilzner over the disputed Duchy of Budvar. The powerful Prussian ground forces, lacking any effective air power, relied almost exclusively on the Austrian Gunships to provide bombing support and aerial defence. Despite this successful military partnership, relationships soon soured with increasing (and undoubtedly justified) Austrian suspicion of Prussian territorial ambitions in Southern and Eastern Europe.

The war of 1866 saw Austrian Gunships in action once more, this time against the very forces they had protected previously. However, their ability to project Hapsburg power was severely curtailed by the newly-formed Prussian Valkyrie Squadrons, seeing action for the first time. With their aerial attacks blunted, the commanders of the Royal Austrian Mechanised Military saw their ground troops struggle with archaic equipment against the more advanced Prussian war machine.

Forced into a humiliating surrender, the Hapsburg rulers never forgave their former ally and simmering Austrian resentment persisted until the turn of the century when the two nations were compelled to join forces once more in unlikely alliance against the Empire.

More photographic images of the "Eagle" Class in flight can be viewed here.

The Airship 'Enterprise'

This famous craft was, without a doubt, the most well-known flying machine of its time. The illustrated accounts of the explorations of the Enterprise and her three-man crew were to enthrall readers around the world. The immortal lines which prefaced the serialised tales in The Strand magazine have become almost as famous as the ship itself...

"These are the voyages of the airship 'Enterprise'. Its five-year mission; to seek out lost worlds and lost civilisations, to boldly go where no man has gone before..."

For four and a half years, readers would wait impatiently for the monthly extracts from the journal of charismatic ship's captain Tiberius J. Kirk. The intrepid explorers' discovery of ancient ruins and artifacts across initially Southern America, and then the uncharted hinterlands of Asia, was to provide the backbone to a thrilling collection of stories.

The last communication from the Enterprise was to arrive in London in June 1862 - only three months before the ship was due to reach the end of her five-year mission. No-one can be sure exactly what happened to Kirk and his crewmates; Professor Bonaparte McCoy and engineer Mister Scott. However, rumours persist that the Enterprise fell victim to some sinister Manchurian plot. Perhaps one day, a new generation of explorers will find the wreckage of the Enterprise deep in some steaming Asian jungle, and the mystery will finally be explained.

A collection of illustrations of the Enterprise are published here with the kind permission of the proprieters of The Strand magazine.

Manchurian Sky Pirates

The defeat of the Imperial Expeditionary Force by Manchurian forces in 1842 during the so-called "Opium War" was to bolster the popularity of the Manchu ruling dynasty and strengthen their grip on territories across the Far East. Manchuria became the dominant power in the region, regularly thwarting attempts by both Russia and Nippon to increase their spheres of influence.

Through a mixture of trade domination and military success, Manchurian territory was to grow inland, with the tribal kingdoms of Mongolia and the weak city states of the Chin all gradually falling under Manchurian rule. This expansion to the foothills of the Himalayas was to see Manchurian interests collide once more with those of the Empire in the closing years of the century.

Imperial shipping in the skies above Nepal and Uttar Pradesh were to increasingly become the prey of Sky Pirates operating from camps across the high mountains. In an ironic echo of the English Privateers of the Caribbean in previous centuries, Manchurian authorities denied any knowledge of the activities of these raiders, although it was clear to all that the Pirates would be unable to operate without official sanction.

The Empire could not stand idly by whilst one of its key trade routes was interrupted in this way. Large airyards were built in Faizabad, and the Imperial fleet in the skies over the subcontinent was to eventually make up a full third of all Royal Aeronautic Corps vessels.

The Sky Pirate menace was broadly contained but proved impossible to eradicate completely and isolated attacks remained a constant irritation to colonial authorities.

Further photographic images of this Manchurian craft may be viewed here.