The War in the Air, vol. 1

26 August 1914

Battle of Le Cateau (1914)

CHAPTER VI. The War : The Royal Flying Corps

The Prussian doctrine of war. The Serajevo murders. Austria and Serbia. Germany refuses mediation and makes war on Russia and France. Great Britain declares war, August 4, 1914. The cause of civilization. The German plan of campaign. The British army in France. Mobilization of Royal Flying Corps. The Aircraft Park. The squadrons. List of officers of the four squadrons. The machines. Amiens. Maubeuge. Flying Corps fired on by British troops. Union Jack markings. The German wheel through Belgium. French strategy. The retreat from Mons. First aerial reconnaissances. The reconnaissances of August 22. Sergeant-Major Jillings wounded in the air. Lieu- tenants Waterfall and Bayly brought down. Aerial recon- naissance on its trial. Early mistakes. List of places occupied by H.Q., R.F.C., during retreat. German movements observed. A typical air report. The western wind. The finding of Sir Douglas Haig. Help to General Smith-Dorrien at Le Cateau. The detection of enveloping movements. The British army escapes from von Kluck. Von Kluck wheels towards the Oise. His change of direction observed from the air. One of the reports. British retreat continues. The Sixth French Army on the Ourcq. Summary of British aerial work during the retreat. Alarms. Experiences of pilots. High spirits. Early bomb-dropping. First German machine seen by British at Maubeuge. Fighting in the air. German machines brought down. The battle of the Marne. Machines assigned to corps commands, September 6.

VON KLUCK'S ADVANCE 307

The whole body of information which on any one day was obtained from the reconnaissances of the Royal Flying Corps could be set out in detail only by quoting all the reports in full. That would be too cumbrous a method of writing history. The reports contain much that is comparatively insignificant. But the reader of this book may desire to know exactly what an air report is like, and his curiosity shall be gratified. Here is the report, of no special tactical significance, but full of incident, of a long air reconnaissance made by Lieutenant G. F. Pretyman and Major L. B. Boyd- Moss in a machine of No. 3 Squadron, on the day of the battle of Le Cateau :

FROM MONS TO YPRES

On this same day — the day of the battle of Le Cateau — the First Army Corps under Sir Douglas Haig was delayed, and failed to reach its appointed position in touch with the Second Army Corps. Lieutenant A. E. Borton and Lieutenant F. G. Small were dispatched from headquarters in a

FROM MONS TO YPRES

Von Kluck's advance after the battle of Le Cateau was directed to the south-west. Speaking of the

10–13 March 1915

Battle of Neuve Chapelle

CREATION OF WINGS 435

No. 4 Squadron and the wireless unit (afterwards No. 9 Squadron) were kept under the direct control of the Royal Flying Corps headquarters. Shortly before the battle of Neuve-Chapelle the Third Wing was formed under Lieutenant-Colonel H. R. M. Brooke-Popham, and No. 9 Squadron was dispersed amongst the other squadrons. What had been the Military Wing at Farnborough was now decentralized into two separate commands — the Administrative Wing and the Fourth Wing — each controlled directly by the War Office. The Administrative Wing, with headquarters at Farnborough, consisting of Nos. I and 2 Reserve Aeroplane Squadrons, the Depot, the Aircraft Park, and the Record Office, was placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel E. B. Ashmore, who was transferred from the staff of the General

22 April – 25 May 1915

Second Battle of Ypres

CHAPTER VI. The War : The Royal Flying Corps

wireless message. The clock code. Popularity of wireless. Photography. The dropping of darts. German ' Archies '. The race for the sea. British army moves north ; Flying Corps shifted to St. Omer. No. 6 Squadron arrives. Strategic recon- naissance. Long-distance flights. The battle of Ypres. Union Jack marking abolished. Photography and wireless. Earlier methods of ranging. Their inferiority. Fighting quality of British aeroplanes ; German prisoners' evidence. The losses of Ypres. Withdrawal of German troops observed from the air. Sympathy of Flying Corps for the infantry. The German officer and his pilot.

MACHINE BROUGHT DOWN 303

though confident of its own ability, was a new and untried arm. In the early reports there are occasional inaccuracies. Some of the early observers, among those who were hastily enrolled to bring newly formed squadrons up to strength, had not much military knowledge, and were not practised in reading the appearances of things seen from the air. At the time of the battles of Ypres, 1914, observers of No. 6 Squadron, which had prepared itself in hot haste for foreign service, mistook long patches of tar on macada- mized roads for troops on the move, and the shadows cast by the gravestones in a churchyard for a military bivouac. Mistakes like these, though they were not very many, naturally made commanding officers shy of trusting implicitly to reports from the air. Yet the early reports of the first four squadrons did show without any possibility of mistake how formidable the German movements were.

THE MOVE NORTH 345

northwards from La Bassee. The actual line was fixed by a series of fierce engagements culminating in the battles of Ypres, 1914.

UNION JACK MARKING 349

Commanding officers sometimes complained that our machines were little in evidence. The aeroplane observers, operating over enemy territory, reported to their own command, and their reports, forwarded to the proper quarters, took effect in the orders issued by Headquarters, so that crucial improvements were sometimes made in our dispositions, by information obtained from the air, though the infantry had seen no machine in the air above them. The use of machines for more local needs, such as artillery ranging, hastened the recognition of the services rendered by the Flying Corps, and brought it into closer touch with the other arms. Photographic cameras and fittings were still very imperfect, and photography from the air was not much practised, but sketch-maps of enemy trenches and gun-pits, as located by air reconnaissances, were issued by Headquarters during the battle of Ypres. Good work was done in directing the fire of the artillery, and the few wireless machines were much in demand. A telegram sent on the 28th of October from Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien to the Royal Flying Corps headquarters runs : ' Can you send us a second 6 machine, with wireless installation, for use to- ' morrow? The aeroplane now working without

16 April – 9 May 1917

Second Battle of the Aisne

CHAPTER VI. The War : The Royal Flying Corps

Observation of the battle. Advance of headquarters to Fere-en- Tardenois. General Joffre's thanks to the Flying Corps. Storm of September 12. The battle of the Aisne. Adventure of Lieu- tenants Dawes and Freeman. Position warfare. Artillery obser- vation. Wireless — Lieutenants Lewis and James. An early

JOFFRE'S THANKS 335

had taken place there, and small one-man trenches had to be filled in before any machine could land. On the 9th of September headquarters moved for- ward again to Coulommiers, and on the I 2th to Fere-en-Tardenois, which place became the head- quarters for the battle of the Aisne. Here the squadrons were established at Saponay, some two miles to the north-west. For many long months and years the Flying Corps was not again to be employed in a war of movement against a powerful European army, so that the work they did from the time when they arrived at Maubeuge to the time when they settled at Fere-en-Tardenois has a unique value. The French Commander-in-Chief paid tribute to their skill. His message ran : ' Please express most particularly to 6 Marshal French my thanks for the services rendered ' to us every day by the English Flying Corps. The ' precision, exactitude, and regularity of the news * brought in by them are evidence of their perfect 4 organization and also of the perfect training of pilots ' and observers.'

JOFFRE'S THANKS 335

During the battle of the Aisne, from the I2th to the

LEWIS AND JAMES 339

Squadron had been attached to the army corps direct during the battle of the Marne, but their opportunities had been few. On the Aisne they were first used to observe for the artillery. Two pioneers of wireless telegraphy are associated in work and in memory with these early* attempts at wireless co-operation with the artillery — Lieutenants Lewis and James. Donald Swain Lewis had joined the Royal Engineers in 1904, and, after qualifying as a pilot in May 1912, had trans- ferred to the Royal Flying Corps in December 1913. By example and precept he had done all that he could before the war to adapt wireless telegraphy to the uses of the Flying Corps and to convince others of its necessity. Before the battle of the Aisne ended he had won his victory. He was in the habit of going out alone in a B.E. machine, piloting the machine and operating the wireless at the same time. A brother- officer noted of him in a diary : ' Lewis, R.E., came in ' from spotting with his machine shot full of holes ; I ' believe he likes it ! ' Later on in the war, at home and in the field, he continued his work. In April 1915 he was appointed to command No. 3 Squadron, in succession to Major J. M. Salmond, and did much to maintain and advance the great reputation of that pioneer among squadrons. After a spell at home during the winter of 1915-16, he returned to France in February 1916, to command the Second Wing, co-operating with the Second Army in the Ypres salient. By this time he held the rank of lieutenant- colonel, but he continued to fly over the enemy lines. On the loth of April 1916, flying a Morane parasol, east of Wytschaete, with Captain A. W. Gale, an officer of the Trench Mortars, as passenger, he was brought down by a direct hit from the enemy's anti-aircraft guns. He had been showing Captain Gale some of the objectives on which the trench mortar fire had been directed during the week, and was killed in action

31 July – 10 November 1917

Battle of Passchendaele

CHAPTER VI. The War : The Royal Flying Corps

wireless message. The clock code. Popularity of wireless. Photography. The dropping of darts. German ' Archies '. The race for the sea. British army moves north ; Flying Corps shifted to St. Omer. No. 6 Squadron arrives. Strategic recon- naissance. Long-distance flights. The battle of Ypres. Union Jack marking abolished. Photography and wireless. Earlier methods of ranging. Their inferiority. Fighting quality of British aeroplanes ; German prisoners' evidence. The losses of Ypres. Withdrawal of German troops observed from the air. Sympathy of Flying Corps for the infantry. The German officer and his pilot.

MACHINE BROUGHT DOWN 303

though confident of its own ability, was a new and untried arm. In the early reports there are occasional inaccuracies. Some of the early observers, among those who were hastily enrolled to bring newly formed squadrons up to strength, had not much military knowledge, and were not practised in reading the appearances of things seen from the air. At the time of the battles of Ypres, 1914, observers of No. 6 Squadron, which had prepared itself in hot haste for foreign service, mistook long patches of tar on macada- mized roads for troops on the move, and the shadows cast by the gravestones in a churchyard for a military bivouac. Mistakes like these, though they were not very many, naturally made commanding officers shy of trusting implicitly to reports from the air. Yet the early reports of the first four squadrons did show without any possibility of mistake how formidable the German movements were.

THE MOVE NORTH 345

northwards from La Bassee. The actual line was fixed by a series of fierce engagements culminating in the battles of Ypres, 1914.

UNION JACK MARKING 349

Commanding officers sometimes complained that our machines were little in evidence. The aeroplane observers, operating over enemy territory, reported to their own command, and their reports, forwarded to the proper quarters, took effect in the orders issued by Headquarters, so that crucial improvements were sometimes made in our dispositions, by information obtained from the air, though the infantry had seen no machine in the air above them. The use of machines for more local needs, such as artillery ranging, hastened the recognition of the services rendered by the Flying Corps, and brought it into closer touch with the other arms. Photographic cameras and fittings were still very imperfect, and photography from the air was not much practised, but sketch-maps of enemy trenches and gun-pits, as located by air reconnaissances, were issued by Headquarters during the battle of Ypres. Good work was done in directing the fire of the artillery, and the few wireless machines were much in demand. A telegram sent on the 28th of October from Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien to the Royal Flying Corps headquarters runs : ' Can you send us a second 6 machine, with wireless installation, for use to- ' morrow? The aeroplane now working without

9–29 April 1918

Battle of the Lys (1918)

CHAPTER VI. The War : The Royal Flying Corps

wireless message. The clock code. Popularity of wireless. Photography. The dropping of darts. German ' Archies '. The race for the sea. British army moves north ; Flying Corps shifted to St. Omer. No. 6 Squadron arrives. Strategic recon- naissance. Long-distance flights. The battle of Ypres. Union Jack marking abolished. Photography and wireless. Earlier methods of ranging. Their inferiority. Fighting quality of British aeroplanes ; German prisoners' evidence. The losses of Ypres. Withdrawal of German troops observed from the air. Sympathy of Flying Corps for the infantry. The German officer and his pilot.

MACHINE BROUGHT DOWN 303

though confident of its own ability, was a new and untried arm. In the early reports there are occasional inaccuracies. Some of the early observers, among those who were hastily enrolled to bring newly formed squadrons up to strength, had not much military knowledge, and were not practised in reading the appearances of things seen from the air. At the time of the battles of Ypres, 1914, observers of No. 6 Squadron, which had prepared itself in hot haste for foreign service, mistook long patches of tar on macada- mized roads for troops on the move, and the shadows cast by the gravestones in a churchyard for a military bivouac. Mistakes like these, though they were not very many, naturally made commanding officers shy of trusting implicitly to reports from the air. Yet the early reports of the first four squadrons did show without any possibility of mistake how formidable the German movements were.

THE MOVE NORTH 345

northwards from La Bassee. The actual line was fixed by a series of fierce engagements culminating in the battles of Ypres, 1914.

UNION JACK MARKING 349

Commanding officers sometimes complained that our machines were little in evidence. The aeroplane observers, operating over enemy territory, reported to their own command, and their reports, forwarded to the proper quarters, took effect in the orders issued by Headquarters, so that crucial improvements were sometimes made in our dispositions, by information obtained from the air, though the infantry had seen no machine in the air above them. The use of machines for more local needs, such as artillery ranging, hastened the recognition of the services rendered by the Flying Corps, and brought it into closer touch with the other arms. Photographic cameras and fittings were still very imperfect, and photography from the air was not much practised, but sketch-maps of enemy trenches and gun-pits, as located by air reconnaissances, were issued by Headquarters during the battle of Ypres. Good work was done in directing the fire of the artillery, and the few wireless machines were much in demand. A telegram sent on the 28th of October from Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien to the Royal Flying Corps headquarters runs : ' Can you send us a second 6 machine, with wireless installation, for use to- ' morrow? The aeroplane now working without

27 May – 6 June 1918

Third Battle of the Aisne

CHAPTER VI. The War : The Royal Flying Corps

Observation of the battle. Advance of headquarters to Fere-en- Tardenois. General Joffre's thanks to the Flying Corps. Storm of September 12. The battle of the Aisne. Adventure of Lieu- tenants Dawes and Freeman. Position warfare. Artillery obser- vation. Wireless — Lieutenants Lewis and James. An early

JOFFRE'S THANKS 335

had taken place there, and small one-man trenches had to be filled in before any machine could land. On the 9th of September headquarters moved for- ward again to Coulommiers, and on the I 2th to Fere-en-Tardenois, which place became the head- quarters for the battle of the Aisne. Here the squadrons were established at Saponay, some two miles to the north-west. For many long months and years the Flying Corps was not again to be employed in a war of movement against a powerful European army, so that the work they did from the time when they arrived at Maubeuge to the time when they settled at Fere-en-Tardenois has a unique value. The French Commander-in-Chief paid tribute to their skill. His message ran : ' Please express most particularly to 6 Marshal French my thanks for the services rendered ' to us every day by the English Flying Corps. The ' precision, exactitude, and regularity of the news * brought in by them are evidence of their perfect 4 organization and also of the perfect training of pilots ' and observers.'

JOFFRE'S THANKS 335

During the battle of the Aisne, from the I2th to the

LEWIS AND JAMES 339

Squadron had been attached to the army corps direct during the battle of the Marne, but their opportunities had been few. On the Aisne they were first used to observe for the artillery. Two pioneers of wireless telegraphy are associated in work and in memory with these early* attempts at wireless co-operation with the artillery — Lieutenants Lewis and James. Donald Swain Lewis had joined the Royal Engineers in 1904, and, after qualifying as a pilot in May 1912, had trans- ferred to the Royal Flying Corps in December 1913. By example and precept he had done all that he could before the war to adapt wireless telegraphy to the uses of the Flying Corps and to convince others of its necessity. Before the battle of the Aisne ended he had won his victory. He was in the habit of going out alone in a B.E. machine, piloting the machine and operating the wireless at the same time. A brother- officer noted of him in a diary : ' Lewis, R.E., came in ' from spotting with his machine shot full of holes ; I ' believe he likes it ! ' Later on in the war, at home and in the field, he continued his work. In April 1915 he was appointed to command No. 3 Squadron, in succession to Major J. M. Salmond, and did much to maintain and advance the great reputation of that pioneer among squadrons. After a spell at home during the winter of 1915-16, he returned to France in February 1916, to command the Second Wing, co-operating with the Second Army in the Ypres salient. By this time he held the rank of lieutenant- colonel, but he continued to fly over the enemy lines. On the loth of April 1916, flying a Morane parasol, east of Wytschaete, with Captain A. W. Gale, an officer of the Trench Mortars, as passenger, he was brought down by a direct hit from the enemy's anti-aircraft guns. He had been showing Captain Gale some of the objectives on which the trench mortar fire had been directed during the week, and was killed in action

28–31 May 1918

Battle of Cantigny

CHAPTER VI. The War : The Royal Flying Corps

Observation of the battle. Advance of headquarters to Fere-en- Tardenois. General Joffre's thanks to the Flying Corps. Storm of September 12. The battle of the Aisne. Adventure of Lieu- tenants Dawes and Freeman. Position warfare. Artillery obser- vation. Wireless — Lieutenants Lewis and James. An early

JOFFRE'S THANKS 335

had taken place there, and small one-man trenches had to be filled in before any machine could land. On the 9th of September headquarters moved for- ward again to Coulommiers, and on the I 2th to Fere-en-Tardenois, which place became the head- quarters for the battle of the Aisne. Here the squadrons were established at Saponay, some two miles to the north-west. For many long months and years the Flying Corps was not again to be employed in a war of movement against a powerful European army, so that the work they did from the time when they arrived at Maubeuge to the time when they settled at Fere-en-Tardenois has a unique value. The French Commander-in-Chief paid tribute to their skill. His message ran : ' Please express most particularly to 6 Marshal French my thanks for the services rendered ' to us every day by the English Flying Corps. The ' precision, exactitude, and regularity of the news * brought in by them are evidence of their perfect 4 organization and also of the perfect training of pilots ' and observers.'

JOFFRE'S THANKS 335

During the battle of the Aisne, from the I2th to the

LEWIS AND JAMES 339

Squadron had been attached to the army corps direct during the battle of the Marne, but their opportunities had been few. On the Aisne they were first used to observe for the artillery. Two pioneers of wireless telegraphy are associated in work and in memory with these early* attempts at wireless co-operation with the artillery — Lieutenants Lewis and James. Donald Swain Lewis had joined the Royal Engineers in 1904, and, after qualifying as a pilot in May 1912, had trans- ferred to the Royal Flying Corps in December 1913. By example and precept he had done all that he could before the war to adapt wireless telegraphy to the uses of the Flying Corps and to convince others of its necessity. Before the battle of the Aisne ended he had won his victory. He was in the habit of going out alone in a B.E. machine, piloting the machine and operating the wireless at the same time. A brother- officer noted of him in a diary : ' Lewis, R.E., came in ' from spotting with his machine shot full of holes ; I ' believe he likes it ! ' Later on in the war, at home and in the field, he continued his work. In April 1915 he was appointed to command No. 3 Squadron, in succession to Major J. M. Salmond, and did much to maintain and advance the great reputation of that pioneer among squadrons. After a spell at home during the winter of 1915-16, he returned to France in February 1916, to command the Second Wing, co-operating with the Second Army in the Ypres salient. By this time he held the rank of lieutenant- colonel, but he continued to fly over the enemy lines. On the loth of April 1916, flying a Morane parasol, east of Wytschaete, with Captain A. W. Gale, an officer of the Trench Mortars, as passenger, he was brought down by a direct hit from the enemy's anti-aircraft guns. He had been showing Captain Gale some of the objectives on which the trench mortar fire had been directed during the week, and was killed in action