F. S. Bell F. S. Bell Captain Frederick Secker Bell CB (17 August 1897 – 23 November 1973) of the Royal Navy was the commander of during the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939. He was educated at Matfield Grange, a prep school in Kent, and then at the Royal Naval Colleges of Osborne and Dartmouth. He served afloat in the battleship at the Battle of Jutland, as First Lieutenant of the destroyer in the Reserve Fleet at Devonport, 1923–25, and as executive officer of from 1935–38 and was promoted captain on 31 December 1938. He took command of in August
Short S.27 of the floats: the aircraft was returned to Eastchurch by road. Two examples fitted with dual controls, S.43 and S.44, were supplied to the newly established Central Flying School at RAF Upavon in July 1912, where they were still in service in late 1914. Airframe number S.38 was an Improved S.27, used by the RNAS. On 9 July 1912, it was damaged while being hoisted aboard "HMS London". It was returned to Shorts, and rebuilt with extensive modifications. The modified aircraft became the basis of a new type, the Short S.38. Shorts airframe number S.39 was given to an experimental