The Royal Naval Air Service in the First World War: Aircraft and Events as Recorded in Official Documents

By Philip Jarrett

This book makes five original documents relating to the work of Britain's Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) during the First World War readily available to students and historians. To enhance visual interest a large collection of photographs, many hitherto unpublished, has been added. Some of these relate directly to the aircraft and events mentioned in the documents, but others show developments before and after the periods covered. The five documents concerned are the Diary of Important Operations, Flanders, 1916; Disposition of Aircraft, 24 February, 1917; Royal Naval Air Service Communiques Nos 1 to 14; Truing-up of Aeroplanes: Issued by the Air Department on 1 September 1916; and The Grain drawings, a unique set of sketches and drawings made by a draughtsman at the RNAS seaplane repair station at Port Victoria, Isle of Grain, in Kent during the Great War.All of these documents offer an array of fascinating insight into Royal Naval Air Service practices during the Great War. Much of the content on display has never been printed before. This unique treasure trove of visual reference is sure to appeal to all serious First World War historians, students and enthusiasts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781473874992

Book preview

Introduction

This book is based on several original documents relating to the work of Britain’s Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) during the First World War. The aim is not to analyse their content or present a coherent account of the RNAS; the latter has already been done by Brad King in his book Royal Naval Air Service 1912–1918 (Hikoki, 1997). It is simply to make these rare documents readily available to students and historians. To complement them and add some visual interest, a large collection of photographs, many hitherto unpublished, have been added. Whilst some of these relate directly to the aircraft and events mentioned in the documents, many are included to show developments before and after the periods covered.

THE DOCUMENTS

Diary of Important Operations, Flanders, 1916

Ibought this large ring binder and its contents many years ago, and it has sat on the shelf ever since. Covering the period from 29 June to 9 September 1916, it comprises reports of a number of reconnaissance and bombing operations, and includes a number of photographs and maps of the targets. Although it is neither comprehensive nor complete in its coverage, and lacks the detail sought by many modern historians, it is valuable as a primary source.

0001

COMBINED FRENCH AND ENGLISH OPERATION NO1.

Destruction of BATTERY TIRPITZ – 4, 12″ guns.

0002/3/4

SECRET OPERATION ORDER, No. 7.

On the occasion of the big Naval Gun and the two French Guns opening fire, it is of the utmost importance that the enemy are unable to locate its position by aircraft or to spot their artillery on to the position.

With this object in view, a constant patrol will be maintained on the areas shewn in the attached map. Two machines should, if possible, be always maintained in each Sector, and if this is found impossible, assistance should be asked for from Headquarters.

The Spotting Machines together with their attendant Fighters, will be quite separate to the Patrol, but, in the event of the former being attacked in force, they will be in a position to fall back on the Patrol line for support.

Commanding Officers of Wings may make their own arrangements for carrying this out, but should bring me their proposals at 6pm on Friday next.

The length of each Sector is about 8 miles, and the two Machines should patrol this length.

If an enemy machine is seen, it is to be immediately attacked, but should not be pursued unless inside the Sector or if approaching X Position.

It is difficult to lay down the heights at which the patrol will be maintained owing to the various types of machines used, and also the varying efficiency of the enemy anti-aircraft guns. If necessary to go to 14,000 feet, or over, a good look out should be kept for enemy machines breaking through underneath.

In the event of a forced landing, machines should endeavour to reach FURNES Aerodrome, but in any case they should report themselves to Headquarters by telephone, who will inform their Unit.

Great secrecy should be observed until the day of operations, but, on the commencement, Officers and Men should be impressed with the importance of maintaining a continuous patrol and hence of maintaining as many machines as possible in flying condition.

Pilots should be impressed with the necessity of attacking every German machine seen, but that the chief object of the Patrol is to prevent the enemy locating the gun, and hence that the machines should NOT be pursued over their own lines. After chasing the enemy off the machines should return at once to their Sector.

One Flight of Baby Nieuports will be held in reserve but will occasionally fly round the Patrol.

When the operations have commenced, the telephone service to H.Q., and La Panne should be restricted entirely to messages regarding the operations. All other important communications, should be sent by Despatch Rider.

The Spotting Machines will be marked with broad vertical bands on the sides of the fuselage, and broad horizontal bands on the top of the fuselage abaft the passenger.

All clocks should be set accurately by No. 1, Wing time, who will give a STOP over the telephone.

No. 1. Wing will give the time signal to X Position, and the W/T. Stations.

0005

SCHEME OF BARRAGE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS OPERATION.

0006

0007

PLAN OF TIRPITZ BATTERY.

Four 12 inch guns.

0008

0009

Flying Map.

0010

0011/0012/0013

ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE.

DAILY SUMMARY.

July 8th. 1916. (Midnight to Midnight.)

RECONNNAISSANCES:-

5.00 a.m. to 6.45 a.m. – Seaplane patrol over Special Area.

5.45 a.m. – One armed trawler 5 miles N.E. of OSTEND, steering towards Harbour.

2.19 p.m. to 4.29 p.m. – Seaplane Patrol. – No hostile vessels or submarines observed.

Coastal Reconnaissances:-

12.15 p.m. – OSTEND. – One dredger between the PIERS. One destroyer moored alongside the QUAY outside the BASSIN DE LEOPOLD. No railway activity.

3.20 p.m. – OSTEND. – One small coasting steamer steering S.W. one mile from Harbour.

One vessel (tank steamer) proceeding E.

Two large barges in the OSTEND Canal.

No railway activity observed.

3.35 p.m. – One small steamer under lee of MOLE and several barges in ZEEBRUGGE Harbour. One large steamer under way.

Five barges at various intervals in the ZEEBRUGGE-BRUGES Canal.

Coast between OSTEND and ZEEBRUGGE clear of shipping.

FIGHTER PATROLS:-

From 2.00 p.m. till 9.00 p.m. 100 Fighter Patrols were carried out in conjunction with the one English and two French guns firing on the Tirpitz Battery.

These patrols successfully prevented hostile machines from:-

(1). Attacking French and English machines spotting for the land guns.

(2). Observing position of land guns.

(3). Attacking Kite Balloons which were also observing.

Seven engagements with hostile machines occurred during the afternoon, one of which appeared to be decisive in our favour.

At 3.05 p.m. a new type of Fokker was observed. Pilot dived down on enemy and fired ¾ of a tray into him, whereupon enemy dived towards OSTEND. Pilot fired a full tray at the Fokker at ranges decreasing from 200 yards to 20 feet, at which the hostile machine was observed to roll right over to the left and fall nose first towards the sea. Pilot flattened out his machine to reload and, on looking again, could see no trace of the enemy machine.

Tracer bullets appeared to enter cockpit of Fokker and pilot is of opinion that the machine was absolutely out of control when last seen.

At 6.05 p.m, the same pilot, when off WESTENDE, at 11,000 feet, encountered a second Fokker monoplane at rather lower altitude. Pilot manoeuvred into position behind enemy and dived 3,000 feet on to him, firing l½ trays at ranges decreasing from 200 to 30 yards. The enemy dived steeply towards OSTEND and was afterwards lost sight of.

At 6.45 p.m. the same pilot again, when 3 miles off MIDDELKERKE, observed an Aviatik coming towards DUNKERQUE at a much lower altitude. Pilot followed him as far as NIEUPORT. Aviatik then turned and pilot dived 6,000 feet and attacked, firing 2 trays at close range. The enemy promptly dived towards MARIAKERKE.

Both these machines were observed to be hit, but the pilot does not think that either were [sic] badly damaged.

5.53 p.m. – Two hostile aeroplanes were observed near WESTENDE. Pilot fired a tray whilst diving from 12,500 to 7,000 feet. Both hostile machines dived towards the shore and kept close under protection of the shore batteries. Pilot, therefore, returned from patrol.

Two other hostile machines were observed patrolling the coast between MIDDELKERKE and OSTEND at very low altitudes.

The WESTENDE A.A. Battery 95.74 showed a certain amount of activity during the afternoon, but as a whole the A.A. guns were not very active, nor was the firing very accurate.

One Fighter Patrol had the misfortune to fall into the sea, but both pilot and observer were picked up.

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.

Successful spotting for the operations in hand was carried out from 2.00 p.m. till 8.00 p.m. by four machines, which relieved each other at intervals throughout this time.

Machines flew at heights between 11,000 and 16,000 feet.

The visibility was, at first, bad, but later it was very good, deteriorating again later in the evening.

At 4.50 p.m. a spotting observer reported that it was thought that the second gun from OSTEND in the Tirpitz Battery was apparently out of action, as the cupola had disappeared.

Spotting operations were not interfered with by hostile aircraft owing to the efficient protection afforded them by our machines.

Considering the exposed position of our machines, very little A.A. firing was experienced.

NO.11 KITE BALLOON SECTION:-

One ascent was made from 2.10 p.m. to 8.10 p.m.

Height 1,400 to 1,700 feet.

Visibility very poor.

The target was only visible occasionally, owing to mist and smoke screens used by the land batteries. It is thought probable that the enemy used smoke screens to hide the target, as big smoke clouds were frequently seen in the vicinity of the target. Owing to this only four out of the 2l shots from the English Battery and three out of the 70 from the French Batteries were observed.

The Tirpitz Battery replied with 21 shots, all of which fell where the smoke screen had been started.

During the afternoon the hostile battery 86.52 was observed in action seven times and battery 95.74 was in action at 3.58 p.m.

Hostile Kite Balloon at LEFFINGHE (close to Battery Tirpitz) was observed in the air during the afternoon.

NO.9 KITE BALLOON SECTION:-

H.M. Barge Arctic left the Harbour in the early morning and arrived at her appointed position later. Two ascents were made as follows:-

(1). At 1.40 p.m. – Duration 2 h. 10 m.

(2). At 4.11 p.m. – Duration 1 h. 35 m.

Owing to the bad visibility no record of shots by the land batteries could be made, as for the most part, the shore was only visible at intervals.

[Signed]

Acting Captain.

Belonging to No.9 Kite Balloon Section, RNAS, H.M. Barge Arctic is seen here with its observation balloon inflated ready for ascent. The second view shows the vessel’s hold, with a few gas cylinders against the cabins at the far end. (Bruce/Leslie)

0014

No.1

TIRPITZ BATTERY.

Belgian Photograph.

Date:- July 9th. 1916

Time:- 12.30 p.m.

0015

0016

No.la.

TIRPITZ BATTERY Enlargement of Photograph No.l.

0017

0018/19/20/21

ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE.

DAILY SUMMARY.

July 9th (Midnight to Midnight.)

RECONNAISSANCES:-

During the Photographic Reconnaissance at 3.50 p.m., the following observations were made:-

One large steamer in OUTER Harbour alongside Jetty.

One Kite Balloon over MIDDELKERKE.

Five hostile seaplanes observed in formation between OSTEND and NIEUPORT one mile from the coast at a height of about 2,000 feet.

During the remainder of the day, practically no shipping activity was observed in OSTEND Harbour.

5.51 p.m. – Three vessels, apparently destroyers, manoeuvring quickly off OSTEND.

PHOTOGRAPHIC RECONNAISSANCE:-

10.30 a.m. – A Photographic Reconnaissance was carried out over BATTERY HAMILTON at 13,000 feet. Very heavy A.A. fire was experienced, especially from the BAESLER BATTERY. The machine was hit in five places, but neither pilot nor observer were [sic] touched.

3.50 p.m. – A second Photographic Reconnaissance carried out over BATTERY HAMILTON. Five plates were exposed and three very successful results wore obtained. Heavy A.A. fire was again experienced and the machine was hit twice in the Wings. Fortunately the pilot and observer sustained no injuries.

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY:-

W/T spotting for the English gun continuing the same operations as on the previous day.

Six machines carried out spotting for the British gun in rotation and continuously from 10.50 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. and with almost complete immunity from attack by hostile aircraft; and, considering the exposed position of these machines, an extraordinarily small amount of A.A. fire was experienced.

The visibility during the morning was better than on the previous morning and excellent during the afternoon and evening.

FIGHTER PATROLS:-

Just over 100 Fighter Patrols were carried out during the operations and successfully prevented the English and French Spotting machines from being harassed by enemy machines and also prevented enemy machines from breaking through the BARRAGE, which was swarmed by a constant patrol.

Numerous engagements took place during the day, three of which appeared to be decisive in our favour.

2.35 p.m. – Pilot encountered a Fokker, which was of a light colour underneath and dark brown on top. Pilot opened fire at a range of 1,000 yards decreasing to about 50 yards. Tracers were seen to hit cowl and fuselage behind pilot, whereupon he nose dived and landed S. of YPRES just over his own lines.

Pilot then returned and continued patrol of his sector.

Fourteen escorts to French Spotting machines were carried out during the day:-

Twenty-four hostile machines were encountered, eleven of which were brought to action, and at least two, both Fokkers, were totally destroyed.

The following are extracts from reports of these combats:-

Encounters with Fokker monoplanes occur frequently in the diary reports. These are Fokker E.IIIs attached to the Fokker Staffel of the IX Army, at Vouziers in 1916. The pilot lying by the wheels of the nearest machine is Lt Kurt Student.

An air-to-air study of a Fokker E.III eindecker over the Western Front

3.10 p.m. – Pilot, when 12,000 feet above MARIAKERKE AERODROME, suddenly observed a FOKKER quite close to him. Both machines quickly manoeuvred for the attacking position. Pilot, however, out-manoeuvred the enemy, forcing him to turn to the right in small circles becoming more and more steep. The Fokker could not keep the steep bank, and breaking away presented a perfect target at point-blank range, and the Nieuport emptied a full tray into him at a distance of a few yards. The Fokker then stalled suddenly and the pilot was clearly seen to fall back, partially out of his seat, and with both hands hanging in the air – obviously having been killed instantly. The Fokker was last seen falling vertically.

On his return journey pilot met a French Maurice-Henri Farman No.2 engaging a large enemy bi-plane, which he also attacked, firing one tray; the result was not observed, but machine dived away apparently in difficulties, and steering an erratic course.

3.00 p.m. – Pilot, when at 10,000 feet, one mile seawards off MIDDELKERKE, encountered a Fokker monoplane slightly lower. Pilot dived to within 50 or 100 feet and fired 20 rounds with one gun which jambed, and then a few rounds with his second gun, which also jambed. The Fokker then fell over and went down vertically spinning, and was without doubt destroyed.

Whilst attending to his guns, pilot observed an enemy bi-plane close to him attacking, and at the same moment he saw bullets striking and holing his top plane. Simultaneously his engine cut-out, and pilot was forced to glide down and land on the beach at NIEUPORT-BAINS, being subjected to heavy A.A., machine-gun and rifle fire. Pilot was forced to abandon his machine, being under shell fire and it was soon entirely destroyed.

This encounter was observed by one of the officers of the Lewin Camp, who considers that the Fokker fell down spinning and uncontrollable.

4.00 p.m. – Another pilot, when at 13,000 feet off MIDDELKERKE, sighted a squadron of five enemy machines working in a V wedge. They appeared to be two Fokkers, one L.V.G. and two Aviatiks. Pilot immediately attacked, single handed, all five machines, whereupon four out of the five turned and dived towards the coast. About 20 rounds were fired into the Fokker monoplane, which was last seen diving steeply towards the sea off OSTEND. Meanwhile the Fokker bi-plane was firing down from above, and the L.V.G. was firing backwards from below, at the Nieuport Scout.

Pilot then turned sharply to the right and found himself close to a large Aviatik with a green-coloured fuselage, into which he fired the remainder of the tray. The Aviatik dived away steeply towards the coast.

The same pilot encountered yet another Aviatik, which was at about 8,000 feet, near MARIAKERKE. Pilot dived at the Aviatik from 12,000 feet, emptying one tray at long range. The enemy promptly descended towards MARIAKERKE.

One pilot, whilst returning from escorting the French Spotting machines experienced a sudden total failure of his engine at 7,000 feet, when off