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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1075.PDF
No. 2 Squadron A B.E.lc of No. 2 Squadron at Hesdigneul airfield in 1916. Note the Bart of No. 2 Squadron's battle area in 1916. It was over this ground ground-type Lewis gun attached to^-tfte rtntre-ieCt/orr Strut. The-t^t/iat the demonstration " shoot " was made for the Duke of Connaught. observer stood up to fire. I (Photographs lent by Major Gould.)* The opposing lines are so close as to appear inextricably mixed. to open up—as he usually did as soon as you turned—but * , * ' ' ' nothing happened. 'B5' was my clock code to the battery —'100 yards over.' I again turned towards the target sending down the 'AAA,' flew on until I got a good view and then sent ' GGG ' whilst looking at the battery. To my consterna- tion there was no flash of the guns. " 'What's up now? ' I muttered, and flew over to the bat- tery, my observer pointing down frantically. The square signal was out, meaning 'Wait,' and to my further consternation I saw the Duke and his staff walk over to the cars and drive bomb Lt. Moor house was badly wounded in the stomach, and his machine damaged; he was also hit in the thigh and hand. Despite these severe wounds he managed to pilot his aircraft back to his own airfield at Merville, a distance of 35 miles— in those days, some 35 or 40 minutes' flying. He landed, and before going to hospital, made out a full report. He died of wounds the next day and the award of the Victoria Cross was made posthumously. Command of the Squadron had passed from Major Dawes to Major T. I. Webb-Bowen. in March, 1915, and on June 2nd of the same year Major J. H. W. Becke took over; he had pre- viously commanded No. 6 Squadron. When the Battle of Loos opened on September 25th, 1915, No. 2 Squadron was stationed at Hesdigneul and had two flights reserved for counter-battery work and one for trench bombard- ment. They co-operated with the artillery over a front of three- and-a-half miles. With increased air activity came the need for specialized Wings and Brigades, and No. 2 Squadron, together with Nos. 3, 10 and 18, became the 1st (Corps) Wing. With Nos. 18 and 27 Squadron, which formed the 10th (Army) Wing, they made up the 1st Brigade, attached to the 1st Army. Command of the unit again changed, Major C. F. de S. Murphy succeeding Major Becke, and in April, 1916, Major R. A. Cooper took over. We are indebted to Major Gould, M.C, who was "C" Flight Commander in No. 2 in 1916, for the following description of away. "I learnt afterwards that the Duke, being an old gunner, had gone right down into the gun-pit to see the first shot fired and then moved off to some vantage-point to watch the shoot generally. How he could have stood the shock of the report from a sixty-pounder at his age—he was not far off seventy— passes my comprehension. " After a shoit pause out came the ' L' again and away we went backwards and forwards, giving the ' Stand by,' ' Fire,' and then the correction by the clock-code system. "The shooting was marvellous, with an O.K. at the third shot, brick dust and clouds of smoke rising into the air. "Eventually 'Archie' joined in, and it was only by quick manoeuvring that we managed to get away without anything more serious that a few jagged holes through the wings and fuselage. As soon as he switched off his Hymn of Hate I made straight for the battery again to give the Royal Salute according to instructions. Down we went in a steep dive, flattening out over the Battery Commander's H.Q. house— on which I left my aerial, havinejfatgotjteri to wind it ,i4 BRISTOL FISHTER fflt 1920 - 1930 UAWKC.ll AUSAX ' 1933 - IU7 A/tUSTRDHC mr - mt HIP IS37 - lilt a '' shoot'' put on as a special demonstration for the Duke of Connaught. The targets, some German batteries concealed among ruined houses, had been agreed upon between Major Gould and the artillery commander. Fighter cover was pro- vided by No. 25 Squadron, flying F.E. 2bs. "On the appointed day and time," relates Major Gould, "we were awaiting the arrival of the Duke at the battery, flying backwards and forwards at a height of about three thousand feet, having called up and received the ground signal 'K.' ('Battery receiving signals but guns not ready to fire.') "The Duke duly arrived with a train of four cars, stopping at the nearest point. He got out and walked up to the battery with several staff officers. I felt a bit squeamish about those four big staff cars, with their high black roofs, being in such a conspicuous position. If Jerry spotted them there would be trouble of a serious nature and we were only about 2,500 yards from the front line. '' I wheeled round over the battery just as the ' L' ground signal ('Ready to engage target') appeared and turned to- wards the target, sending down the ' AAA' (' Stand by '), then flew on until I was well over the four doomed houses. Looking back towards the battery, I now sent down 'GGG' ('Fire'). There was a colossal flash; I counted eight seconds and then saw a tremendous burst about 100 yards over the four houses. Turning round towards the battery again I expected ' Archie' Installing an L.B.-type plate-camera in the fuselage of a No. 2 Squadron A.W. Atlas at Manston in 1930. On the ground can be seen the simple wireless set then in use. It was fixed to a detachable tray and thejghole — set could be removed in a matter of seconds, f^f
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