Frederick Rutland

{{short description|British WWI naval aviator}} {{Use British English|date=July 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}} {{Infobox military person | name = Frederick Joseph Rutland | image = Lieutenant Rutland of Jutland and Lieutenant Gerald Edward Livock on the HMS ENGADINE, 1916.jpg | caption = Rutland (left) with Lieutenant Gerald Livock on HMS ''Engadine'', 1916 | birth_name = | nickname = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1886|10|21|df=yes}} | birth_place = Weymouth, England, United Kingdom | death_date = {{Death date and age|1949|01|28|1886|10|21|df=yes}}<ref name= "Bradbeer p. ">{{harvnb|Bradbeer|2016|p=}}</ref> | death_place = Beddgelert, Wales, United Kingdom | burial_place = United Kingdom | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = Royal Naval Air Service Royal Air Force | service_years = 1901–1923 | rank = Squadron Leader | commands = | battles = First World War | awards = Distinguished Service Cross & Bar Albert Medal | relations = | signature = }} '''Frederick Joseph Rutland''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|sep=,|DSC1|AM}} (21 October 1886 – 28 January 1949) was a British pioneer of naval aviation. A decorated pilot in the First World War, he earned the nickname "Rutland of Jutland" for his exploits at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.<ref name= "Young p. ">{{harvnb|Young|1963|p=}}</ref> He later worked for the Japanese and was interned by the British authorities during the Second World War.

Rutland killed himself in 1949.<ref name= "Imperial War Museum p. ">{{harvnb|Imperial War Museum|2017|p=}}</ref>

=="Rutland of Jutland"== {{main|Battle of Jutland}} Rutland joined the Royal Navy as a boy seaman in 1901.<ref name= "Imperial War Museum p. ">{{harvnb|Imperial War Museum|2017|p=}}</ref> He was graded as Flight Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in December 1914,<ref name= "The London Gazette 29434 p. 10">{{harvnb|The London Gazette|1915|p=10}}</ref> awarded his aviator's certificate by the Royal Aero Club on 26 January 1915 after training at Eastchurch<ref name= "Flight International p. 93">{{harvnb|Flight International|1915|p=93}}</ref> and promoted to Lieutenant on 7 January 1916.<ref name= "The London Gazette 29434 p. 5">{{harvnb|The London Gazette 29434|1916|p=5}}</ref>

[[File:Short 184 (8359) (6857765499).jpg|thumb|Remnants of Rutland's Short Type 184 at the Fleet Air Arm Museum. While it survived the First World War intact, it was damaged by bombing during the Second World War.]]

At Jutland he served as a pilot on the seaplane tender HMS ''Engadine''. On 30 May 1916, ''Engadine'' carried two Short Type 184 and two Sopwith Baby floatplanes and was attached to the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron. ''Engadine'' accompanied the cruisers when the Battlecruiser Fleet sortied from Rosyth that evening to intercept the German High Seas Fleet. Beatty ordered ''Engadine'' to make a search to the north-northeast. At 15:07 Rutland took off in his Type 184 and his observer, Assistant Paymaster George Stanley Trewin, signalled ''Engadine'' that they had spotted three German cruisers and five destroyers at 15:30.<ref name= "Flight International p. 595">{{harvnb|Flight International|1916|p=595}}</ref> This was the first time that a heavier-than-air aircraft had carried out a reconnaissance of an enemy fleet in action. After a few other spot reports were transmitted, the aircraft's fuel line ruptured around 15:36 and Rutland was forced to put his aircraft down. He was able to repair it and signalled that he was ready to take off again, but he was ordered to taxi to the carrier on the surface. The aircraft reached the ship at 15:47 and it was hoisted aboard by 16:04. ''Engadine'' attempted to relay the spot reports to Beatty's flagship and the flagship of the 5th Battle Squadron, but was unsuccessful.<ref name= "Layman pp. 96–98">{{harvnb|Layman|1989|pp=96–98}}</ref> Rutland was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) "for his gallantry and persistence in flying within close distance of the enemy light cruisers".<ref name= "The London Gazette 29751 p. 4">{{harvnb|The London Gazette 29751|1916|p=4}}</ref> He received a Bar to his DSC in 1917 for "services on patrol duties and submarine searching in home waters".<ref name= "The London Gazette 30316 p. 3">{{harvnb|The London Gazette|1917|p=3}}</ref>

[[File:Rutland-yarmouth.jpg|thumb|Rutland's Sopwith Pup takes off from a platform on the forward gun turret of HMS ''Yarmouth'', June 1917]]

During the Battle of Jutland, the armoured cruiser HMS ''Warrior'' had been crippled by numerous hits by German battleships. At 19:45 ''Engadine'' attempted to take her in tow, but the jammed rudder prevented that until it was trained amidships. Early the following morning ''Warrior''{{'}}s progressive flooding had worsened and she was sinking. The captain ordered his ship abandoned after ''Engadine'' came alongside to take the crew off at 08:00. About 675 officers and men successfully made it to the much smaller ''Engadine''. Among these were about 30 seriously wounded men who were transferred across in their stretchers; one man fell from his stretcher between the ships, but, against orders, Rutland dived overboard with a bowline to rescue him. For his bravery he was awarded the Albert Medal in Gold.<ref name= "The London Gazette 29703 p. 10">{{harvnb|The London Gazette 29703|1916|p=10}}</ref> Rutland's Short Type 184, aircraft number 8359, was presented to the Imperial War Museum in 1917, where it was damaged in a German air raid in 1940. The unrestored forward section of the fuselage is currently on loan from IWM to Fleet Air Arm Museum where it is on display to the public.<ref name= "Fleet Air Arm Museum p. ">{{harvnb|Fleet Air Arm Museum|2017|p=}}</ref>

On 28 June 1917, Rutland, by now a Flight Commander, took off in a Sopwith Pup from a flying-off platform mounted on the roof of one of the gun turrets of the light cruiser HMS ''Yarmouth'', the first such successful launch of an aircraft in history.<ref name= "Sturtivant p. 215">{{harvnb|Sturtivant|1990|p=215}}</ref> He did more experiments on the battlecruiser HMS ''Repulse''. It was the first capital ship fitted with a flying-off platform when an experimental one was fitted on 'B' turret in the autumn of 1917. On 1 October 1917, Rutland, now a Squadron Leader, took off in a Sopwith Pup. Another platform was built on 'Y' turret and Rutland successfully took off from it on 8 October 1917.<ref name= "Raven-Roberts p. 51">{{harvnb|Raven|Roberts|1976|p=51}}</ref>

Rutland transferred to the Royal Air Force when it was formed in April 1918. He was appointed to command the RAF unit on the carrier HMS ''Eagle'' in September 1921. He resigned his commission in 1923.<ref name= "The London Gazette 32863 p. 7">{{harvnb|The London Gazette|1923|p=7}}</ref>

==Post-First World War and espionage== Material released by The National Archives on 10 November 2000 revealed that Rutland had come to the notice of MI5 in 1922 when he decided to resign from the RAF. The agency received what it called "reliable information" from a "very delicate source" that the Japanese had secret talks with Rutland. MI5 noted that Rutland possessed "unique knowledge of aircraft carriers and deck landings."

In 1924, Rutland was divorced on the ground of adultery. He had been named as a co-respondent in a divorce case in 1923.

After he left the RAF, Rutland moved to Japan where he was employed helping the Imperial Japanese Navy learn about naval aviation. In 1928, he moved back to the UK. A representative of the Japanese Navy met Rutland in London and recruited him to be an agent in Los Angeles.<ref name="Drabkin Hart 2021 pp. 31–56">{{cite journal | last1=Drabkin | first1=Ron | last2=Hart | first2=Bradley W. | title=Agent Shinkawa Revisited: The Japanese Navy's Establishment of the Rutland Intelligence Network in Southern California | journal=International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=35 | issue=1 | date=2021-04-09 | issn=0885-0607 | doi=10.1080/08850607.2020.1871252 | pages=31–56| doi-access=free }}</ref> Rutland started a cover business in Los Angeles and another in Honolulu.<ref name= "The Daily Telegraph p. ">{{harvnb|The Daily Telegraph|2000|p=}}</ref> Later intercepts of Japanese communications showed that Tokyo had paid Rutland to set up a "small agency in Hawaii". He had subsequently provided technical details which helped the Japanese design aircraft carriers,<ref name= "Everest-Phillips pp. 258-285 ">{{harvnb|Everest-Phillips|2006|pp=258–285 }}</ref> in the years before the attack on Pearl Harbor.<ref name= "Norton-Taylor p. ">{{harvnb|Norton-Taylor|2000|p=}}</ref> This was discovered when Japan's cyphers were broken.<ref name= "Smith pp. 32-33">{{harvnb|Smith|2001|pp=32–33}}</ref>

FBI files released in 2017 contain numerous references to Rutland's espionage work for the Japanese Navy, as well as confirmation that he had become a double agent, helping the US Navy. In Rutland's work for the US Navy, he fed information on Japanese plans and attempted to set up a process to alert the US about the timing of the coming Japanese attack.<ref name="Drabkin Hart 2021 pp. 31–56"/>

MI6 discovered that Rutland had come to the attention of the US authorities. He returned to Britain on 5 October 1941 and on 16 December 1941 he was interned under Defence Regulation 18B "by reason of alleged hostile associations".<ref name= "Williams p. ">{{harvnb|Williams|2014|p=}}</ref><ref name= "Lashmar p. ">{{harvnb|Lashmar|2000|p=}}</ref><ref name= "Hansard p. ">{{harvnb|Hansard|1942|p=}}</ref> This internment was a special wartime program where those detained were jailed with no trial. Some of his former Royal Navy colleagues demanded his release, saying there was no proof of his doing anything illegal in Britain, and that both MI5 and the Americans blundered by not having Rutland help them prevent the Japanese attack.<ref>Briton Called Spy for Japan in US,” New York Times, 22 July 1942</ref> Rutland was released from custody in December 1943.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Abramovitch |first=Seth |date=2022-01-06 |title=Beverly Hills Spy: How a WWII-Era James Bond Betrayed the Allies |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/beverly-hills-spy-world-war-ii-pearl-harbor-1235069393/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

Rutland killed himself in 1949.<ref name= "Imperial War Museum p. ">{{harvnb|Imperial War Museum|2017|p=}}</ref>

==Biography== Rutland is the subject of ''Beverly Hills Spy,'' a biography by Ronald Drabkin, published by Harper Collins in February 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor by Ronald Drabkin |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780063310070 |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=www.publishersweekly.com}}</ref>

==Bibliography== '''Notes''' {{reflist|20em}} '''References''' *{{cite web |last=Bradbeer|first=Thomas|date=May 12, 2016|url = http://www.historynet.com/frederick-rutland-tinker-sailor-aviator-spy.htm|title =Frederick Rutland: Tinker, Sailor, Aviator, Spy|publisher = Weider History Group| access-date = June 28, 2017 }} *{{cite web |last=Hansard|author-link=Hansard|date=22 January 1942|url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1942/jan/22/detainees#S5CV0377P0_19420122_CWA_35|title =HC Deb vol 377 cc439|work = Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)| access-date = June 28, 2017 }} *{{cite news |last=The Daily Telegraph|author-link=The Daily Telegraph|date=10 November 2000|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1373908/Royal-Navy-hero-officer-was-spy-for-Japanese.html|title =Royal Navy hero officer 'was spy for Japanese'|publisher = Telegraph Media Group| access-date = June 28, 2017 }} *{{cite journal |last=Drabkin|first= Ron |date= 9 April 2021|title=Agent Shinkawa Revisited: The Japanese Navy's Establishment of the Rutland Intelligence Network in Southern California|journal= International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence |volume= 35 |pages= 31–56 |doi=10.1080/08850607.2020.1871252 |doi-access= free }} *{{cite journal |last=Everest-Phillips|first= Max |date= 17 July 2006|title=Reassessing pre-war Japanese espionage: The Rutland naval spy case and the Japanese intelligence threat before Pearl Harbor|journal= Intelligence and National Security |volume =21|issue= 2 |pages=258–285 |doi=10.1080/02684520600620732|s2cid= 155070033 }} *{{cite web|last=Fleet Air Arm Museum|author-link=Fleet Air Arm Museum|date=2017|url=http://www.fleetairarm.com/exhibit/short-184-8359/1-29-2.aspx|title=Short 184 (8359)|publisher=Fleet Air Arm Museum|access-date=June 28, 2017|archive-date=2 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402082304/http://www.fleetairarm.com/exhibit/short-184-8359/1-29-2.aspx|url-status=dead}} *{{cite news |title= Aviator's Certificates|last=Flight International|author-link=Flight International |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1915/1915%20-%200093.html |newspaper=Flight International |issn=0015-3710 |date=5 February 1915|access-date= June 28, 2017 }} *{{cite news |title= Aircraft In The Naval Battle|last=Flight International|author-link=Flight International |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1916/1916%20-%200595.html |newspaper=Flight International |issn=0015-3710 |date=13 July 1916|access-date= June 28, 2017 }} *{{cite web|last=Imperial War Museum|author-link=Imperial War Museum|date=2017|url=https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/6895230|title=Lieutenant Frederick Joseph Rutland|publisher=Imperial War Museum|access-date=June 28, 2017|archive-date=11 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611183313/https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/6895230|url-status=dead}} *{{cite news |title= Revealed: The man who started World War Two |last=Lashmar| first=Paul |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/revealed-the-man-who-started-world-war-two-622319.html|newspaper=The Independent |issn=0951-9467 |oclc=185201487 |date=10 November 2000|access-date= June 28, 2017 }} *{{cite book |last=Layman|first=R. D. | title = Before the aircraft carrier: the development of aviation vessels, 1849–1922|year=1989| publisher = Conway Maritime| isbn= 9780851775166 }} - Total pages: 128 *{{cite news |title= London Gazette Issue 29102 |last=The London Gazette|author-link=The London Gazette |newspaper=The London Gazette |publisher=British government |date=16 March 1915}} *{{cite news |title= London Gazette Issue 29434 |last=The London Gazette 29434|author-link=The London Gazette |newspaper=The London Gazette |publisher=British government |date=11 January 1916}} *{{cite news |title=His bravery is reported to have been magnificent|last=The London Gazette 29703|author-link=The London Gazette |url= http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/29703/pages/7914|newspaper=The London Gazette |publisher=British government |date=11 August 1916}} *{{cite news |title= London Gazette Issue 29751 |last=The London Gazette 29751|author-link=The London Gazette |newspaper=The London Gazette |publisher=British government |date=15 September 1916}} *{{cite news |title= London Gazette Issue 30316 |last=The London Gazette|author-link=The London Gazette |newspaper=The London Gazette |publisher=British government |date=28 September 1917}} *{{cite news |title= London Gazette Issue 32863 |last=The London Gazette|author-link=The London Gazette |newspaper=The London Gazette |publisher=British government |date=18 September 1923}} *{{cite news |last=Norton-Taylor|first=Richard |date=10 November 2000|url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/nov/10/richardnortontaylor|title =British flying ace was spy for Japan|newspaper = The Guardian| access-date = June 28, 2017 }} *{{cite book |last1=Raven|first1=Alan |last2=Roberts|first2=John Arthur | title = British battleships of World War Two: the development and technical history of the Royal Navy's battleships and battlecruisers from 1911 to 1946|year=1976| publisher = Naval Institute Press| isbn= 9780870218170 }} - Total pages: 436 *{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Smith (author)|title=The Emperor's Codes: The Breaking of Japan's Secret Ciphers|year=2001|publisher=Arcade Publishing|isbn=9781559705684|url=https://archive.org/details/emperorscodesbre00smit}} - Total pages: 323 *{{cite book|last=Sturtivant|first=Ray|author-link=Ray Sturtivant|title=British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917–1990|year=1990|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=9780870210266|url=https://archive.org/details/britishnavalavia00rays}} - Total pages: 224 *{{cite book |last=Williams |first=Allan | title = Operation Crossbow: The Untold Story of Photographic Intelligence and the Search for Hitler's V Weapons|year=2014| publisher = Random House| isbn= 9780099557333 }} - Total pages: 464 *{{cite book |last=Young|first=Desmond | title = Rutland of Jutland|year=1963| publisher = Cassell|language=en }} - Total pages: 191 {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutland, Frederick}} Category:1886 births Category:1949 suicides Category:1949 deaths Category:British collaborators with the Empire of Japan Category:British military personnel who died by suicide Category:Royal Naval Air Service aviators Category:Royal Air Force squadron leaders Category:Royal Navy officers of World War I Category:Recipients of the Albert Medal (lifesaving) Category:People interned in the Isle of Man during World War II Category:People detained under Defence Regulation 18B Category:Suicides by gas Category:Suicides in the United Kingdom Category:People from Weymouth, Dorset Category:World War II spies for Japan