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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0642.PDF
FLIGHT, JUNE 26, 1931 THE BLACKBURN "• IRIS" : THIS FLYING BOAT OF ALL-METAL CONSTRUCTION. IS THE MOST POWERFUL MACHINE OF ITS TYPE IN USE AT PRESENT. (FLIGHT PIWUJ. •-.••-. : Boelckc and Richthofen Naturally, the German high command was much exer- cised by the complete failure of its aircraft, and new schemes were considered for breaking the British air supremacy. Two new German fighters were available, the " Albatros " and the " Halberstadt," both very fast and good fighting aeroplanes. But it was realised that good machines needed pilots trained on a system, and that had hitherto been lacking in the German air service. A young Saxon pilot, Oswald Boelcke, who had made a name as a fighter pilot, was commissioned to raise and train a squad- ron of fighters. Boelcke's squadron, known as Jagdstaffel 2, was formed at the end of August, 1916. It was equipped with the Albatros type D, which had two fixed machine guns firing through the propeller, and this innovation, in addition to its fine flying qualities, made it the most formidable fighter aeroplane of the day. There were heroes on the British side also during the Somme fighting. Capt. Albert Ball, V.C., in a Nieuport scout, was the greatest individual fighter of the day. He preferred to fly alone, but would unhesitatingly attack large formations of Germans, almost invariably with success. Then a Flight-Sergt.-Pilot of No. 29 Squadron, J. T. B. McCudden, flying a D.H.2, began to make a name for himself as a great air fighter. Later he won the V.C., received a commission, and reached the rank of Major. Occasionally the champions of both sides met face to face in what was really Homeric combat. On Novem- ber 23, 1916, between Bapaume and Albert, von Rich. thofen met Major Lanoe Hawker, V.C., the CO. of No. 24 Squadron. Richtofen said that his Albatros had a slightly better climb than the D.H.2, and this enabled him to get above Hawker and drive him down. Once thtr Prussian had got the advantage of height, the result was certain. Hawker tried to get back to the lines by flying low and zig-zagging, but Richthofen followed and shot him through the head. For some months the Albatros and the Halberstadt had the best of matters in the air, though the R.F.C, never admitted that it was beaten. Our fighters would always give battle to the German lighters, and our bombers and reconnaissance machines regularly crossed the lines to do their work for the service of the Army. Meantime our designers in England were constantly at work searching for a design of fighter which would be superior to the machines of the Germans. In May, 1916, the Sopwith " one-and-a-half-strutter " began to appear in France. It was a two-seater fighter with a 110-h.p. Clerget rotary engine, and had a forward gun which fired through the propeller by means of interrupter gear. This type was first served out to a flight of No. 70 Squadron, and later was widely used. At first it was extremely welcome, but it outlived its usefulness at the front, and before it was finally discarded our pilots had come to regard it as so much cold meat for the German fighters. During 1916 the Sopwith " Pup," a single-seater biplane with 80-h.p. Le Rhone engine, also began to appear at the front. It was a beautiful little machine to fly, and even when it was surpassed by later types, it was always beloved of our pilots. It held its own very successfully against the Germans, but it did not appear in numbers until 1917. Another successful Sopwith model was the Triplane, which was used chiefly by squadrons of the R.N.A.S., who came to France to help the hard-pressed R.F.C. The Battles of Arras, 1917 The Battles of Arras opened in April, 1917. Great efforts had been made r.o .iicrease the numbers of the •I\.F.C, and when the British attack opened, we were actually stronger in number of aeroplanes than the Germans. This was partly counteracted by the superiority of the German fighter aeroplanes. Our machines were shot down in great numbers. The Germans, however, preferred to fight on their own side of the lines, while we were equally deter- mined to cross the lines. This added to the number ot our casualties, especially in prisoners, but it also meant that our Army was getting better service from its air arm than the German Army got from theirs. We had tried to spring some sort of surprise upon the Germans in the opening stages of this battle by keeping -4 IN THEIR ELEMENT : 1 . THE WESTLAND "WAPITI " IS USED AS A GENERAL PURPOSE, DAY BOMBER AND ARMY CO-OPERATION MACHINE. 2, THE BRISTOL "BULLDOG" IS THE STANDARD SINGLE- SEATER FIGHTER OF THE R.A.F. 3. THE BOULTON AND PAUL " SIDESTRAND " IS THE ONLY TWIN- ENGINED DAY BOMBER TYPE IN USE. 4, THE FAIREY III F IS USED AS A GENERAL PURPOSE MACHINE. AND AS THE STANDARD FLEET SPOTTER. 5. THE ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH "ATLAS IS THE STANDARD ARMY CO-OPERATION MACHINE IN THIS COUNTRY. (FLIGHT Photos.) 596 ..;• '•. : ..-.-•• ••:•;„•••• -2
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