The War in the Air 1914-18

• Reconnaissance


  Gaining intelligence by surveying territory held by the enemy
• Traditionally, intelligence about an enemy army was gained by scouts and spies
• Since ancient times, armies had used horsemen riding ahead of the main force to report on geography and enemy activity
• Three main aspects of reconnaissance

  • Reconnaissance - surveying territory
  • Observation - accurate recording of what was surveyed
  • Communication - relaying that accurate information as quickly as possible
• Balloons


  Armies used manned balloons as aerial "high points" for observing the enemy
• Airships


  Invented in the 1850s, seemed a more viable proposition for commercial flight than the aeroplane
• The Royal Navy used airships before WW1, for reconnaissance and anti-submarine patrols
• Observation balloons


  Tethered by a very long cable to the ground, observers could ascend as high as 4,000 feet and see up to 15 miles
• Observation balloons were usually defended by anti-aircraft guns, and balloons were hard to shoot down
• Incendiary ammunition was developed which did hurt balloons and airships because they would catch fire
• By the end of 1916, German soldiers thought the British enjoyed a balloon superiority of 15:1, and complained that British balloon observers could pick out individual soldiers/machine guns and direct artillery to them
• Four RFC squadrons - 2, 3, 4 and 5 - were sent to France


  Mid-August 1914
• RFC was to support the army by "scouting and artillery spotting"
• Gilbert Mapplebeck and Philip Joubert de la Ferte flew the first RFC reconnaissance mission


  19th August 1914
• Captain Mapplebeck got lost, and had to land near Cambrai to ask directions
• Scout planes


  Early military aircraft were called scouts
• 22nd August 1914, an Avro 504 scout of No. 5 Squadron was shot down over Belgium by German rifle fire, which was the first RFC aircraft lost to enemy action
• Challenges in accurate identification of soldiers and trenches, frequent errors in reporting enemy activities
• In 1914, two aircraft of No. 3 Squadron RFC flying near Mons were shot down by British troops
• Ground crews painted Union jacks on the bottom of British aircraft
• Radio technology


  Introduction of radio technology in 1914, used for air-to-air signals and reconnaissance
• RFC's experimental wireless flight was operational in France from September 1914, and in December 1914, No. 9 Squadron was formed to develop radio communication
• German soldiers who saw the radio antennas dangling from British planes were apprehensive
• Artillery spotting


  Aircraft played a key role, pilots located targets, observed shell falls, and corrected artillery aim
• The RFC ground operators had a crucial yet thankless job, huddled in dugouts, defended by artillery and bombarded by the enemy
• Air photography


  Helped the army map-makers on the ground to make more detailed maps of the trenches and the battle fronts
• By mid-1915, the British army had detailed 1:10,000 scale maps from air reconnaissance
• By 1916, better cameras sped up the process, 10 Squadron could deliver prints to army HQ in France within 30 minutes of reconnaissance plane landing
• In 1916, the RFC took more than 19,000 aerial photographs and produced 430,000 prints over the Somme battlefield
• By 1918, planes were taking photos from 15,000 feet, too high for anti-aircraft fire
• Around 3,000 photo interpreters analysed millions of photos, one third of allied air sorties over the WF were reconnaissance missions
• Camouflage and deception


  Introduction of camouflage to disguise ground activities, specialised units and tactics to deceive enemy reconnaissance
• Armed reconnaissance and air superiority

  Evolution of aircraft from unarmed to armed reconnaissance, struggle for air superiority led to the development of fighter aircraft
• At the start of the war, aircraft had no guns, a reconnaissance pilot might wave in friendly fashion if he found an enemy pilot
• August 25 1914, during the Battle of Mons in Belgium, three unarmed RFC planes forced down a German two-seater, one RFC aircraft landed, and the two-man crew chased the Germans into a wood and set fire to the enemy aircraft
• Fighter aircraft development


  Early fighters lacked guns, reconnaissance planes carried machine guns, fighter escorts provided protection for vulnerable reconnaissance planes
• Role of air reconnaissance in battles

  Air reconnaissance became vital for intelligence gathering, contributed to battles through photographic observation, artillery spotting, communication, and close support, struggle for air superiority drove advancements in fighter aircraft and tactics
• The RFC was established in 1912, as part of the army, the Navy had RNAS
• The BEF took 4 RFC squadrons to war in 1914 with the role of reconnaissance
• RNAS were used as home defence, the threat was from German airships, RNAS coastal patrols scouted for the navy and attacked airship bases