FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1948
1948 - 2184.PDF
75° FLIGHT could not tx the true article—it had to be "an act of God.''Nevertheless, by following the instructions of Capt. Balcombe- Brown, he found that he could start, continue or stop a spin atwill. Capt. Balcombe-Brown was later killed in action. The Squadron continued in the role of reconnaissance, artil-lery observation and army co-operation until January, 1917, .vhen it turned its efforts solely to fighting. Not that No. I'Spilots were new to this sort of work, because they had already . destroyed many enemy aircraft andobservation balloons during the battle of the Somme which raged during thelate summer and autumn of 1916. The next big show was the battle of In early 1915. A Martinsyde SI at BaiUeul. The squadron transport and the lunatic asylum billet ore In tfie background. The two types with which No. I Squadron was equipped when it went into action for the first time. The B.E.8 (Bloater) centre and the famous Avro 504. Both had rotdry engines. COMMANDING OFFICERS (In chronological order) Major E. M. Maitland. Major C. A. M. Lont- croft. Major W. G. H. Salmond. Major P. 6. Joubert d« la Ferte. Major C. F. Pretyman. Major C. C. St. P. da Bombasle. Major A. Barton Adam. Major W. E. Young. S/L. i. B. Graham. S/L. G. G. A. William, S/L. E. O. Grenfell, S/L. E. D. Atkinson. S/L. C. N. Lowe. S/L. Luxmoore. S/L. E. D. Atkinsort. •S/L E. O. Grenfell. S/L. C. B. S. Spademan, S/L. R. W. Chappetl. S/L. C. W. Hill. S/L. F. R. O. Swain. S/L. L A. Bertram. S/L. Halahan. F/L P. R. Walker. S/L. D. A. Pemberton. S/L R. P. Brooker. S/L. J. A. F. Maclachlan. S/L. R. C. Wilkimon. S/L A. Zweifberfh. S/L. J. Checketts. S/L. M. P. Urdncr- Burk*. S/L. O. G. Cox. S/L. R. S. Nash. S/L. H. R. Allen. S/L. C. H. Macfie. S/L. T. R. Burnt. Arras in April, 1917. Major Joubert had relinquished eoin-mand of the unit to Major G. F. Pretyman who, in turn, had handed over to Major Dombasle. At long last the squadronwas equipped with aircraft all of the same type. Still stationed at Bailleul, they had 18 Nieuport Scouts on charge. To openthe battle there was an attempted offensive against the enemy kite balloons. As any 1914-18 war pilot will remember, thesewere very unpleasant targets to attack. The Germans were able to haul them down in an incredibly short space of timeand, of course, had anti-aircraft guns and shells all set for the exact height and distance where the attacking aircraft wouldhave to fly. Then followed a period of most intense air fighting in whichNo. 1 Squadron, together with 49 other squadrons, met and fought the famous Richtofen Circus. With the exception ofthe Battle of Britain and Bomber Command's attack on Ger- many, this was probably the greatest series of air battles whichhave ever taken place. We suffered heavier casualties than the Germans, but the victory was ours and never again beforethe armistice in 1918 did the R.F.C. become so hard pressed. What mattered most was that during the whole battle theinitiative never passed to the enemy. Next followed the battles of Messiues and Ypres, and it wasduring the latter, on the 9th of October, 1917, that the number of squadron successes attained since it became a fighter uniton February 15th. of the same year, totalled 200. On this day (October gth) one patrol of the squadron fought a forma-tion of nine enerny fighters, destroying one and sending one down out of control. Another patrol in conflict with five Ger-man aircraft shot down two in flames and another out of control. The squadron lost one pilot missing and one wounded.With the turn of the year, the squadron was re-equipped with the famous S.E.5A fighter. This was a great improve-ment. Over the Nieuport it had an extra 25 m.p.h. at 6,500ft and could get nearly 3,000ft higher. For comparison withthe squadron's present-day equipment of Gloster Meteor 4s, here are some data ofthe - ^200 h.p. Wolgeley Viper-engined S.E.5A: Speed at 6,500ft, 132 m.p.h.;chml»1je 15,000ft, 22.9 minutes; endur- Seventy Years A ance 2J hours: service ceiling 20,000ft;all-up weight 2,048 lb; cost (airframe) £1,063 ios, (engine) /814. In a final effort, similar in many waysto the battle of the Bulge in the 1939-45 war, the Germans attempted a break-through in March, 1918,and No. I was one of many squadrons ordered to keep up intense low-flying operations to hamper the enemy's attack.Enemy air activity was on a small scale, and ground targets many. Fire from the ground was very intense. On March 27th alone, in company with Nos. 19 and 20Squadrons, No. 1 helped to drop n 1 21-lb bombs on various targets on the hard pressed Third Army's front. To give someidea of the intensity of the fighting, the total number of rounds fired from aircraft against ground targets on March 27th was3*3.345 m addition to 50 tons of bombs. In this connection it should be remembered that the heaviest bomb weighedonly 112 lb and the great majority of them were only 21 lb each. The final months of the 1914-18 war were spent in furtherair fighting, mostly while escorting day bombers over the lines. During its active service in France from March 7th, 1915,to November nth, 1918, No. 1 Squadron sustained the follow- ing casualties: Killed in action, 9; missing (reported or pre-sumed dead), 40; missing (reported prisoners), 37; wounded in action, 29; accidentally killed, 8; accidentally injured, 18. After its long stop at Bailleul the squadron was moved toLe Hameau for a short while before proceeding, at the end of February, 1919, to London Colney in Hertfordshire, incadre form. Disbanded at Uxbridge on January 20th, 1920, it re-formedat Risalpur, India, on the following day. From there, on May 20th, 1920, the squadron moved to Bangalore and a year laterwas posted to Iraq, arriving at Hinaidi via Baghdad. Here the unit stayed until in November, 1926, when it was againdisbanded to be re-formed the next February at Tangmere, in Sussex. As mounts, the re-formed squadron was provided with A. W.Siskin 3As, the first all-metal fighter to go into service in the R.A.F., and No. I'S insignia will be remembered by manywho attended the pre-war R.A.F. pageants and displays,
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
