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Aviation History
1924
1924 - 0392.PDF
JUNE 19, 1924 selves. It is not possible here to refer to more than a very few points that emerge, and we therefore con fine ourselves to calling particular attention to uses to which aircraft were put, and in which they did excellent service. It may be stated at once that those sceptics who, when it was first proposed to hand over the control of Iraq to the R.A.F., expressed doubt as to the feasibility of using the air service for such purpose, will find their reply in Sir John Sal- mond's despatches, and one particular passage is so very illuminating that it cannot be over-emphasised. This passage runs as follows : " Indeed, had it not been for this power of rapid intercommunication which I possessed in aircraft and R.A.F. wireless in this country of great distances and crude means of communication, I should have hesitated to undertake this operation at all." In this connection, it is of interest to find that Sir John promises a separate report on the normal work of air co-operation by reconnaissance, photography and sketching which was carried out daily. Sir John points out that in no previous '' small war '' has the commander been so closely in touch with his columns, and at the same time with the general situa tion throughout the country. He points out that on March 12 he was able to examine personally the situa tion on all sectors, travelling altogether something like 550 miles by air. It is obvious that in no other way could this have been accomplished, and such advantage can scarcely be overestimated. Although many days' rain had rendered the ground boggy. Sir John was able to land by aeroplane at Rowanduz two days after the column had entered it. While the two columns were on the march, Sir John states, and all other means of communication with them were impracticable, messages dropped and picked up by aircraft kept the column commanders in close personal touch with one another and with -Sir John Salmond. This method of communication was found in practice to be superior in rapidity even to the wireless tele graph. The despatches amply show that the use of aircraft was not by any means confined to the rapid transport of messages. The earlier part of the despatch indicates that aircraft were employed with excellent effect for bombing Sulaimanieh. On another occasion, while the column was marching through difficult country, mobility was greatly increased by using aircraft for scouting along the route, thus avoiding the necessity for picketing the surrounding heights. Yet another, and very important, use of aircraft was the carrying of supplies. Sir John states that in one day more than four tons of barley, a day's ration for the column, were dropped by Vickers " Vernons," while boots and socks, the wear and tear on which was prodigious, were supplied to the columns by air. A striking example of the value of aircraft for ambulance duties is provided in the despatches by the statement that some 200 dysentery cases were evacu ated by " Vernons " to Baghdad, a distance of some thing like 200 miles. These cases, the despatch points out, must otherwise have been transported by donkeys, and the journey would have occupied about six days, while the suffering would have been intense. Beyond our extracts elsewhere, space does not allow of more than this most sketchy reference to a few of the uses to which aircraft were put with great success, and we would again urge all interested in this fascinating subject to obtain the Supplement to the London Gazette containing the full despatches of Sir John Salmond. The Supplement was published on June 11, and can be obtained from H.M. Stationery Office, Kingsway, London, W.C.2. The price is sixpence net. E H H HI HONOURS KURDISTAN OPERATIONS Rewards for Service in the Field THE following rewards for services in the field in connection with operations in Kurdistan, 1923, are announced in a supplement to the London Gazette issued on June 11. They are to be dated June 3, 1924 :— Meritorious Service Medal S/6449014 Pte. A. H. G. Denny, R.A.S.C. (now No. 338127 R.A.F.) (Devonport). The King has approved of the following rewards for dis tinguished service rendered during the operations in Kurdistan between February 15 and June 19, 1923 :— Distinguished Service Order, Sqdn.-Ldr. E. R. Manning, M.C. Distinguished Flying Cross Flight-Lieut. E. G. Hilton, A.F.C. ; Flight-Lieut. T. A. Langford-Sainsbury, A.F.C. ; Flying Officer H. S. Broughall, M.C. ; Flying Officer D. F. Anderson ; Flying Officer A. T. K. Shipwright; Flying Officer H. R. McL. Reid. Distinguished Flying Medal 313701 Cpl. (A/Sgt.) C. J. Dix ; 81637 Cpl. S. E. Wells 326984 L.A.C. P. M. French ; 240769 L.A.C. F. Holmes' 157539 L.A.C. F. P. J. McGevor ; 326719 A.C.I C. E. Edwards^ Meritorious Service Medal 23 S.M.I J. Wilkinson ; 755 F/Sgt. W. G. Bates ; 201227 F/Sgt. R. L. Bell; 1905 F/Sgt. W. D. Fotheringham ; 206123 F/Sgt. S. W. Thomas ; 313303 F/Sgt. J. R. Woollard ; 14035 Sgt. F. H. Catton ; 6475 Sgt. S. Hamblin. Mentioned in Dispatches The names of the following have been brought to notice for distinguished service rendered during the operations in Kurdistan, February 15 to June 19, 1923, bv Air Marshal Sir John Maitland Salmond, K.C.B., C.M.G., C.V.O., D.S.O., Commanding British Forces in Iraq, in the dispatch see page 393) dated June 21, 1923 :— Commands and Staff.—Wing-Comdr. C. R. S. Bradley, O.B.E., R.A.F. ; T/Capt. (T/Lieut.-Col.) E. Dwyer, C.B.E., M.C., Gen. List (Q.M. and Capt. in Armv) ; Capt. W. A. Lovat-Fraser, 4/8th Punjab R., LA. ; Sqdn.-Ldr. R. H. Peck, O.B.E., R.A.F ; Sqdn.-Ldr. R. W. Thomas,- O.B.E., R.A.F. ; Col. (T/Col.-Comdt.) B. Vincent, C.B., C.M.G. Royal Air Force Flight-Lieut. W. F. Anderson, D.S.O., D.F.C. ; Flying Offr. M. H. Aten, D.F.C. ; Flying Offr. C. C. Bazell ; Flight-Lieut. Hon. R. A. Cochrane, A.F.C. ; Sqdn.-Ldr. A. Coningham, D.S.O., M.C., D.F.C. ; Flight-Lieut. A. Ferris ; Flight-Lieut G. E. Gibbs, M.C. ; Flying Offr. F. J. Knowler ; Flying Offr. F. W. Long ; Flight-Lieut. A. F. Somerset-Leeke ; Flight- Lieut. L. H. Vernon ; Flying Offr. J. C. Walker ; Sqdn.-Ldr. R. P. Willock ; Flight-Lieut. H. E. F. Wyncoll, O.B.E.. M.C. , 327220 L.A.C. C. A. Baxter; 340613 L.A.C. R. J. Baxter: 343771 Cpl. J. W. Biller; 326044 A.C.2 A. J. Blomfieid , 1917 F/Sgt. A. J. Locke; 341399 L.A.C. E. A. Machin 314933 Sgt. W. J. Mullard ; 331936 Cpl. C. F. Piggott ; 149381 L.A.C. (A/Cpl.) B. Reeve ; 1573 F/Sgt. A. E. Smith ; 347281 Cpl. W. T. Stacey. 392
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