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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 0980.PDF
442 FLIGHT, n April 1952 No. 201 SQUADRON R.A.F. While on his way to Bercham St. Agathe, Warne-ford sighted the L.Z. 37 in the direction of Ostend; he at once gave chase and caught up with it over Bruges. Climbing 150ft above the great envelope, he released his six 20-lb bombs. As the last bomb left its rack, there was a terrific explosion and the airship blew up, turning the Morane over on its back. After regaining control Warneford saw the airship in flames on the ground. At this point he had to force-land, through engine failure, in enemy territory. In 1915 aero-engines were simple, if temperamental, devices and he was able to effect a repair and take off from the field in which he had landed. He finished the operation by making another forced landing in thick fog at Cap Gris Nez. Warneford's companion, Rose, lost his way and turned his Morane upside down in a wheat-field near Cassel. Wilson and Mills, flying Henry Farmans, reached Evere after a 100-mile trip in the dark. Wilson arrived first and, after circling until first light, dropped three 65-lb bombs from 2,000ft. Mills attacked ten minutes later, releasing his 20-pounders from 5,000ft. Suddenly there was a great blaze on the ground as L.Z. 38—the first aircraft ever to raid London—went up in flames. For his share in the night's work Warneford was awarded the Victoria Cross; and for a tribute to this pilot and his machine we may again turn to Sir Arthur Longmore's From Sea to Sky: "Here was a case of a man who knew absolutely no fear, and my problem was to keep him alive as long as possible and use him to do the maximum damage to the Germans. I therefore allotted him a single-seater Morane and gave him a roving commission. This aircraft was one of the first to be fitted with a machine-gun firing directly ahead through the airscrew, the blades of which had steel deflectors fitted to turn aside those bullets (about one out of every ten) which would otherwise have pierced the blades. Roland Garros, a French fighter ace, had some considerable success with a machine so fitted. It was later that the interrupter gear was developed which actually synchronized the firing of the gun to avoid shooting away the blades of the airscrew. "With his Morane, Warneford spent many hours over the front line, attacking German observation aircraft with varying success, and usually came back with a good few bullet holes in his machine, so much so that I managed to get him a second Morane for use when the other was out of action." Warneford was to lose his life a few weeks later while flight-testing another aircraft. In August, 1915, there was a reorganization of the R.N.A.S. and No. 1 Squadron, now renamed No. 1 Wing, returned to Dover. This move, however, proved very much a temporary one, for within a fortnight No. 1 was back at Dunkirk in order to co-operate in the bombardment of Zeebrugge. The unit's share of the operation was to supply an air cover of five aircraft. Having been so successful in destroying craft cruising in one medium, No. 1 then turned its attention to another—the sub marine. On August 26th Sqn. Cdr. Bigsworth, flying a Henry Farman, was on his way to attack a seaplane carrier reported to be off Zeebrugge when he saw a U-boat cruising on the surface. Attacking from 500ft, he released his two 65-lb bombs, the concussion from which threw the Farman out of control. When last seen, the submarine was disappearing tail-first. In these days of radar and of split-second scrambles to 40,000ft it is interesting to recount how such affairs were conducted in early 1916. On the evening of January 31st, information was received of Zeppelins approaching England. Three pilots stood by their aircraft all night, ready to take off if an airship was sighted off Dunkirk. In the morning, at 0605 hr, ten Nieuports left at three-minute intervals to take up positions five miles out to sea, at a height of 10,000ft, to intercept any returning raiders. All the aircraft carried a number of 16-lb bombs With the exception of one, which was armed with Rankin darts. Fuel for two and a half hours was carried, but the patrol was abandoned at 0745. Thick mist made navigation and landing difficult. One pilot landed on the sea and was picked up 20 miles north-east of Dieppe; another made a cross-wind landing on the sands and capsized in the process. Five others managed to get down on the beaches safely and flew home later, after the mist had cleared. In March, 1916, came another reorganization. No. 1 Wing was grouped into flights; Nos. 1 and 2 Flights becoming "A" Squadron, which eventually was renamed No. 1 (Naval) Squadron. No. 1 Flight had two-seater Nieuports for reconnaissance work and No. 2 Flight single-seater Nieuports for fighting and anti-Zeppelin duties. A bombing flight, which had on charge seven twin-engined Caudrons, was also temporarily manned and maintained by No. 1. In these days of efficient photographic reconnaissance and integration of European air forces it is interesting to hark back to 1916 and see how such things were done then. At 0645 hr on April 19th, Fit. Sub-Lt. Norton, with Sub-Lt. Furniss as observer, set out with special instructions to locate and sketch Houttave airfield. This was accomplished successfully and the airfield bombed before dawn the next morning by a combined force of eight British, ten French and eleven Belgian aircraft, escorted by four British Nieuports, nine French and five Belgian fighters. No. I'S share in the attack was performed by five Caudrons. Recorded history makes it difficult to decide exactly when or where the first enemy aircraft fell to No. I'S guns. F L. Ferrand flying an F.B.A. flying-boat is credited with a German Albatross on November 28th, 1915, and Fit. Sub-Lt. Graham shot a seaplane down in December, 1915. It is not clear, however, whether No. 1 was ever equipped with any F.B.A. flying-boats, or if Graham was actually with No. 1, or only operating with an associate unit. On February 29th, 1916, Sub-Lt. Simms was undoubtedly successful. On patrol in his Nieuport scout he chased a German aircraft over Dixmude and shot it down in flames in front of the Belgian-held trenches. The same pilot shot down a two-seater seaplane near Zeebrugge in April of the same year, but he himself was lost on a fighting patrol in May. During the early summer of 1916 the German air force was making continuous attacks on the town of Dunkirk, and it was arranged that protective patrols should be shared between No. 1 Wing and a French squadron, stationed at Furnes. Hardly had this arrangement come into being when the French unit was called away to the defence of Verdun and "A," or No. 1, Squadron took up its quarters at Furnes. By careful integration of the fighting patrols of the R.N.A.S. the Germans were denied access to Dunkirk. It was in June, 1916, too, that the unit received its first Sopwith Triplane. This fighter, with its no h.p. Clerget rotary engine, was the best ever—up to then. The squadron was so pleased with its new toy that it was sent up on an interception within a quarter of an hour of arrival. The squadron diary, records its ability to reach 12,000ft in 13 minutes. Other figures for the Triplane are : maximum speed 116 m.p.h.; service ceiling 20,500ft; gross weight 1,415 lb; disposable load 238 lb. The start of the Battle of the Somme in July, 1916, brought a marked decrease in enemy air activity in the coast areas. The R.F.C. was fighting so hard for air supremacy on the Somme that the Germans had to concentrate all their strength for that battle. Every effort was made to stir them into activity in the Dunkirk sector, but it was October before any increased resistance was noticeable. By that time the Somme battle had died down. On the 20th four air combats took place, in one of which F/L. Leather shot down a twin-engined seaplane off Ostend. The same day F/L. Norton, with the aid of Le Prieur rockets, destroyed Sub.-Lt. R. A. J. Warneford, who won the squadron's first Victoria Cross. Sub.-Lts. Mulock and Beard, in their Nieuports, about to take off to attack the Zeppelin airship sheds at Evere, near Brussels, in 1915. The six 20 lb bombs can be seen stowed below the fuselage.
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