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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0823.PDF
FLIGHT, JULY 31, 1931 •A. The Observer Corps was continually on, -V from 6 p.m. on the 21st to 4 a.m. on ; v 22, 1931. The accuracy of their reportsv. i- of a high standard, and showed a con- - jcrable improvement on those made in the: r vious year. \os. 7, 8 and 9 were interim reports and .re covered by No. 10. (10)Summary of Operations from 6 p.m., July 22. to 9 a.m., July 23, 1931.— 1. Fine weatherpr-vailed throughout, and visibility was good, but small patches of low, driftingclouds crossed the operational area. First Phase—6 p.m. to 9.30 p.m., July 22.2. No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron crossed the coast near SHOREHAM at about 6 p.m.,their objective being BECKTON PETROL DUMP. They reached the vicinity of theirtarget without interception, but being unable to find the target, they dropped 2 tons ofbombs on the Llocks nearby. On the return journey they were attacked by No. Ill(Fighter) Squadron. Four fighters and five bombers were destroyed. 3. No. 602 Auxiliary Air Force Squadroncame up the Thames Estuary at about 6 p.m. and made for the Aircraft Depot atK1DBR00KE. They were not intercepted, and dropped 1 ton of bombs with goodeffect. Immediately afterwards they were attacked by fighters of No. 17 Squadron,the engagement lasting 5 minutes. Four bombers and two fighters were shot down. 4. No. 207 (Bomber) Squadron flew inover CHELMSFORD at about 6 p.m., their objective being the WEST INDIA DOCKS,which they reached without interception. One ton of bombs was dropped withaccuracy, but on the return journey they were attacked over SHELHAVEN by No.Ill (Fighter) Squadron, and one bomber was destroved. 5. No. 33 (Bomber) Squadron came in by way of LITTLEHAMPTONat 6.30 p.m., and made for the " ASSOCIATED AIRCRAFT WORKS " at WORMWOOD SCRUBBS. When in the neighbourhood of PETWORTHit passed 10,000 ft. above the interceptor fighter squadron from TANGMERE, which failed to see or intercept them. They were heavily attacked overtheir target by single-seater and two-seater fighters of No. 23 Squadron. A running fight ensued, which lasted for 15 minutes. Four fighters andfive bombers were destroyed, and the raiders flew wide of their target. 6. No. 35 (Bomber) Squadron also attacked the WEST INDIA DOCKS,approaching from the CHELMSFORD direction. They were intercepted on their inward journey by No. Ill (Fighter) Squadron at ROMFORD.The Umpire adjudged four bombers and three fighters to have been shot down. The remaining bombers were again attacked over the objective bythe interceptor fighters of No. 43 Squadron. One fighter and three bombers were destroyed in this engagement. Half a ton of high explosive and \ cwt.of incendiary bombs were dropped on the DOCKS, but the remaining two bombers were again engaged near CHELMSFORD by six fighters of No. 29Squadron, and both were shot down. One fighter was forced to land. 7. No. 604 Auxiliary Air Force Squadron attacked the Headquarters of theREDLAND Government at " The Duke of York's " Headquarters. They crossed the coast over BEXHILL at about 7 p.m. and dropped 1 ton ofbombs from a height of 16,000 ft. They were not intercepted on the way in or out, but their bombing was inaccurate.Second phase—9.30 p.m., July 22 to 4 a.m., July 23. 8. Seven night bombers of No. 58 Squadron crossed the coast in succession,between LITTLESTONE and BEACHY HEAD, from 22.15 hours to 23.15 hours, to attack the AIRCRAFT DEPOT, KIDBROOKE. Fiv- of theseaircraft were intercepted on the inward journey by Nos. 3 and 32 Squadrons, and three were destroyed before reaching their objective. The oth,r fourbombers reached the target, but all the bombing was inaccurate. One aircraft was attacked again on the outward journey by a fighter of N«.. 3Squadron. The weight of bombs dropped was 3£ tons of high explosive, and 4 cwt. of incendiary. In all, three bombers and three fighters were shotdown. 9. From 22.15 hours onwards, seven bombers of No. 99 Squadron crossedthe coast between ORFORDNESS and FOULNESS POINT, their objective being the WEST INDIA DOCKS. Five of these were intercepted by patrolsof Nos. 54 and 56 (Fighter) Squadrons ; one bomber was destroyed on the inward journey, and two or the way out. Three fighters were also shotdown. Three bombers reached the target and did accurate bombing. The total weight of bombs dropped was 2i tons of high explosive and 6 cwt. ofincendiary. 10. No. 9 (Bomber) Squadron made individual raids on the " AssociatedAircraft Works" at WORMWOOD SCRUBBS. They crossed the coast near OVTNGDEAN and carried out their attacks between 00.50 hours and02.30 hours. Of the seven raiders, four failed to reach the objective, and were shot down by the fighters of Nos. 32 and 3 Squadrons, the lattersquadron also losing one aircraft. The other three bombers reached the objective and bombed it accurately. One of these was attacked on its wayout, but was not brought down. The weight of bombs dropped was 2 tons. H. Eight night bombers of No. 10 Squadron set out to cross the coast nearHASTINGS, their objective being WORMWOOD SCRUBBS. They crossed th<; coast singly from 23.30 hours onwards ; one was compelled to returnpn account of weather, and one on account of engine trouble. Of the remain- >n<< six, four were intercepted on the inward journey by patrols of Nos. 32 and 3(lighter) Squadrons, and one fighter and one bomber were shot down. *i>ur aircraft reached the objective and bombed accurately. The fifth failedif locate the target. The total weight of bombs dropped was two tons of nth explosive and 4 cwt. of incendiary. Third Phase—4 a.m. to 9 a.m., July 23.12. No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron crossed the coast near SELSEY BILL at at'Ut 6 a.m., their objective being the WEST INDIA-DOCKS. They Wf 'v lntercePted on their way in over HORSHAM by one interceptor fighter oi No. 43 Squadron, and over KENLEY by six single-seater fighters andJ'-'twihseater fighters of No. 23 Squadron, who sustained their attack until "it bomber* were over their objective. In these combats three fighters of "A RAID IN OUR SECTOR": Pilots of No. 23 (F.) Squadron mount,on receipt of orders from Fighting Area Headquarters. (FLIGHT Photo.) - ;e" on the return journey. Weight of bombs dropped—1 ton. 13. No. 33 (Bomber) Squadron, also crossed the coast near SELSEY BILLat about 6 a.m. to bomb the WEST INDIA DOCKS. They reached their objective, and bombed the target from 1,520 ft. The accuracy of thebombing could not be assessed owing to a thin layer of cloud hiding the aircraft. The raid was not intercepted on either the inward or outwardflights. Weight of bombs dropped, 2 tons. 14. No. 207 (Bomber) Squadron followed by No. 35 (Bomber) Squadronapproached London up the THAMES at about 6.30 a.m. They were attacked by three fighters of No. 25 Squadron. Both squadrons were also attacked byNo. Ill (Fighter) Squadron between HORNCHURCH and DAGENHAM. Five bombers and five fighters were shot down. The remaining bombersreached their objective, the WEST INDIA DOCKS, where No. 207 Squadron dropped their bombs with fair accuracy, while No. 35 Squadron missed thetarget. On the outward journey, No. 207 Squadron was attacked, at about 7 a.m. over HORNCHURCH, "by nine fighters of No. 29 Squadron, twobombers being shot down. Three-quarters of a ton of high-explosive bombs were dropped, and 5 cwt. of incendiary. 15. No. 602 and 604 Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons crossed the coastnear BRIGHTON at about 8 a.m., flying north. They were attacked in the neighbourhood of KENLEY by six single-seater and three two-seaterfighters of No. 23 Squadron. A running fight occurred until the bombers reached their objective, the WEST INDIA DOCKS. In this engagementthe casualties were two single-seater and two-seater fighters, and four bombers. No. 602 Squadron was again attacked on its outward journey near CHATHAMby five interceptor fighters of No. 43 Squadron. One bomber and two interceptor fighters were shot down. • A further attack was made on theremaining bombers by three fighters of No. 25 Squadron, but no casualties resulted. One and a-half tons of high explosive were dropped on the targetwith fair accuracy. 16. Kedland, Bombers.—Counter-bombing raids by REDLAND were againmade during the period under review. No. 26 Squadron supplied two flights of three aircraft to represent day raids returning. One flight flew fromMANSTON to DUNMOW, representing a raid returning to BICESTER, and the other from LYMPNE to ALTON, representing a returning raidthrough the observer area to NETHERAVON. No. 463 Flight flew a course from TANGMERE to ANDOVER to represent a day raid returningto NETHERAVON. By night No. 502 Squadron represented an outgoing raid from BIRCHAM NEWTON by flying a course from SUDBURY toMANSTON. No. 503 Squadron provided three night bombers, and repre- sented two outgoing raids from WORTHY DOWN via HOVE or WORTH-ING. Final Summary.17. In exercises such as these it is not possible to assess the effect of fights at the time they take place, and so prevent raids which might have beendriven off from reaching their objectives. Nor would it be desirable to do this, even if possible, since such action would deprive the bombing formationsfrom gaining experience of bombing targets at the end of long nights. Further, it is not possible to say whether or no the effect of the fightswould cause the bombing pilots to abandon their tasks. Consequently, it must not be assumed that all the bombers which do in fact reach their targetwould have done so in reality. Finally, it is to be remembered that the A.A. Artillery has not taken partin this exercise, and so the effect of their fire had not been considered. < 18. During the period of the exercise—6 p.m., July 20, to 9 a.m., July 23,24 raids by day bombers penetrated the London defences ; some of these were made by two squadrons in company. Twenty of these raids wereintercepted on the way in or out. Sixty-eight raids by single night bombers also penetrated the defencesin the London area during the same period. Of these, 39 were intercepted by the fighters of the defences.A total of 54 tons of high-explosive botnbs and 1^ tons of incendiary bombs were dropped.In all 84 BLUELAND bombers and 69 REDLAND fighters were destroyed in air combat.Due to the continued fair weather during the first three days of the exer- cises, sufficient information was obtained to assess the operational efficiencyof the Units taking part, and the A.O.C.-in-C. accordingly concluded the operations at 09.00 hours on July 23, 1931.The greatest credit is due to the Observer Corps, to the Territorial Army Units, Auxiliary Air Force and Cadre Squadrons for their efficiency andenthusiasm, which contributed in a large degree to the success of the exercises, 769
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