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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0675.PDF
JUNE 26, 1914. day to indulge in various games—tennis, cricket, football, &c.—and to prepare for the sports that were held on Saturday last and in which several officers competed. The general arrangement of the Camp may be seen on reference to one of the accompanying photographs, which was taken on Friday last from an aeroplane at a height of 2,000 ft. In the lower middle portion of the picture are the permanent quarters of the officers of Nos. 3 and 4 Squadrons—one-storey buildings arranged around an open square, the men's quarters being immediately beyond them in the photograph ; while the bell tents seen directly in front of these two sets of buildings are the temporary quarters of the officers and of the men, respectively, of the visiting squadrons. The permanent aeroplane sheds, which are fitted with a system of hot water heating, are shown at the top middle portion of the photograph; while the temporary tents, which are of the Piggott, Hervieu, and Factory types—the last-mentiomd being exceptionally substantial in constiuction, and capable of l>cing greatly improved without much trouble—are seen arranged in a long line between the aeroplane sheds and the men's quarters of Nos. 3 and 4 Squadrons. The fine Piggott marquee at the extreme end of the line, which shelters the whole of the B.E&. of No. 2 Squadron, is extremely large and lofty, and is well lighted with the side curtains drawn, so that work may be carried on under the most adverse weather conditions. The other tents contain one machine apiece, and are much more portable and more readily erected. The question of the time taken in the erection of the»e tents, however, depends largely upon the previous experience of the erectors, as, for example, the last tent was erected in about one-fifth of the time that it took to set up the first aeroplane tent. In this particular branch of work much useful information has been obtained thai should prove of service on future occasions. It is interesting to learn that one man sleeps in each of the smaller aeroplane sheds and two men in the large Piggott tent. At the back of the permanent aeroplane sheds of Nos. 3 and 4 Squadrons are the repair shops—fitters, carpenters, blacksmiths, &c. —fully equipped with the plant required for dealing with any such work as may be rightly considered as coming under the heading of repairs—stores, transport and repair wagons, a meteorological office, and a photographic room, for the use of these two squadrons, the shops and other buildings for each being quite separate. Tents have been erected to " house" the staff and equipment necessary for the remaining squadrons. Sortie of these are located in the vicinity of the foregoing, but the majority are placed behind the temporary aeroplane sheds, between them and the road, where there is also the wireless station of the Head quarters Flight, the permanent wireless station being situated at some distance in front of the officers' quarters. It was very satisfactory, to note the matter-of-fact way in which work was proceeding—thi men going about their duties as though they were in their permanent buildings. Here were mechanics and smiths engaged on various repairs ; there, men and boys were busy stitching wing and body coverings, whilst further on a flight-sergeant was lecturing on the mechanism of the Gnome engine, and a wireless operator was receiving a message from an aeroplane miles away. In front of the permanent shed is a wide asphalte road which is used in starting and handling machines during wet and bad weather. Here also a flagstaff has been erected upon which the flags and streamers arc hoisted for indicating—according to the colour and position of the flag or streamer—that flying is in progress, the direction of the wind and the direction in which a pilot should rise and land. From the road at the back of the aeroplane sheds the ground slopes down wards towards the north, and at the foot of the incline a portion of the Kite Section with horses is quartered, another portion with balloons being at present at Lark Hill, a few miles away. In every respect the Camp is complete, and one realises after making a tour of the sheds that all which is essential for efficiency has been brought together, while that which can be dispensed with has been left behind. /Reconnaissance.—From the fact that it is (he class of work in which aeroplanes will be principally engaged in actual warfare, reconnaissance has constituted the major portion of the work upon which the machines have l>een engaged since the formation of the camp. These reconnaissances have been almost entirely carried out in the morning as part of a regular scheme of training with a prearranged object in view, as the afternoons, with the exception of Wednesday and Saturday afternoons which are half-holidays, have been in the main devoted to the performance of committee work and the attendance at the lectures delivered by various members of the corps, which are referred to later. Itut when the period of training is passed and an officer has become a skilled pilot, flying merely for the sake of flying and piling up the mileage flown has, comparatively speaking, little educational value, so that very few pilots now go up without some definite reason for so doing, and there is a general tendency to discourage 675 D 2
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