THE WAR IN THE AIR

GERMAN AIRCRAFT AGAIN CONTROL THE SKIES: AUGUST 1916 SPRING 1917

ALLIED AIR FORCES REGAIN CONTROL: FROM SUMMER 1917

GERMAN STRATEGIC BOMBING CAMPAIGN: MAY 1917

    As noted earlier, the period of Allied superiority that followed the Fokker Scourge (August 1915 to April 1916) – mainly due to the arrival of the French fighter, the Nieuport 11, and the British fighter, Airco DH2 – did not last for long. The appearance in August 1916 of Germany’s Albatros D.I (pictured here), with its superior speed and its twin machine-guns, added further to the large amount of “Fokker Fodder” already lost. The RFC in particular, playing a predominant part (as we have seen), in the Battle of Arras, suffered heavy loses during a period which came to be known among British aircrew as “Bloody April”. With the loss of 245 aircraft and 319 aircrew, this was seen by many as the nadir of the Royal Flying Corps. At this stage, a number of its aircraft was fast becoming obsolete, and the losses sustained meant that many pilots, trained in haste, lacked the skills required. The average life expectancy of a British fighter pilot was then put at 69 flying hours.

     And, for axwhile, matters were made worse by the continued presence of the Red Baron’s “Flying Circus”, now working in “hunting squadrons”. The Fokker had lost something of its former reputation, but it was still a force to be reckoned with. Indeed, it was during April that the German ace, Manfred von Richthofen, shot down a total of 19 British aircraft.

Acknowledgements

Albatros D.I: Amazon.com SE5 Sopwith Camel: toyscentral.eu Spad S.XIII: reddit.com Britsol Fighter: corgi.co.uk Strategic Bombing: youtube.com Gotha: Kentww1.com Part of the Blue Town Heritage Centre Collection 84105 First Blitz: spartacus-educational.com Memorial: commons.wikimedia.org Gotha (left): militaryhistorynow.com Underground: en.wikipedia.org, by British artist Walter Bayes Gotha (right): youtube.com Airo DH4: super-hobby.co.uk Handley Page 0/400: dreamstime.com Royal Air Force: roku.com

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     By the summer of 1917, however, given the next production of tactically advanced fighter aircraft, the tide began to turn in favour of the Allies, and it was to remain so until the end of hostilities. There was a brief period in the Spring of 1918, when an improved version of the Fokker (the D.VII) – ably assisted by the German fighter the Halberstadt CL.II – introduced a new “Fokker Scourge”, but it was short lived and virtually came to an end with the death of its famous leader, the Red Baron, killed in battle on the 21st of April. As far as the British were concerned, two advanced fighters, the SE5 Sopwith Camel (pictured left), and the Bristol Fighter (pictured right), quickly reduced loses and markedly increased the number of enemy fighters being shot down. The Sopwith Camel, a single-seat biplane, had synchronized machine-guns and was capable of carrying four 20lb bombs; and the Bristol Fighter, a two-seat biplane, had two machine-guns, front and rear, and a powerful engine. In the meantime, the French produced the Spad S.XIII, a single-engine biplane, fitted with a pair of forward-mounted Vickers machine-guns, and noted for its high rate of climb (pictured centre). This fighter was employed by both the RFC and the US Army Air Service. Faced with this opposition, during the last year of the war – and longer in some regions – the German airforce could only gain temporary control over small areas of the Western Front.

     Incidentally, Germany’s so-called “Flying Circus, made up of 40 or more ace fighter pilots, destroyed 644 Allied aircraft during the two periods known as “the Fokker Scourge”. ……

     …… The improved version of the Fokker (the D.VII) is generally considered one of the most outstanding fighters of all time. It was so highly thought of, that, as a condition of the Armistice of Compiègne, Germany was required to surrender all of these aircraft to the Allies. …...

     …… The Sopwith Camel was so-named because Thomas Sopwith was the British designer, and a distinct “hump” of protective metal was fitted over the two machine-guns!

THExGERMAN STRATEGIC BOMBING CAMPAIGN: MAY 1917

    It was during the period of “Bloody April” that Germany launched what amounted to the world’s first strategic bombing campaign, the so-called “Gotha Raids”. Working out of bases from German-occupied Belgium, and directed mainly against Britain, it had two major aims. Firstly, the destruction of military targets, such as rail junctions and munitions factories (the material effect), and, secondly – by means of widespread, indiscriminate bombing – the arousal of panic and rebellion among the general population (the moral effect). At a minor level, of course, strategic bombing had been around since the beginning of the war and conducted by all the warring nations. The Royal Naval Air Service, as noted earlier, had bombed Zeppelin bases in December 1914, and, during the opening days of the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans had employed strategic bombing to good effect. Early in August, for example, a Zeppelin had bombed the Belgian centre of Liège (the first instance of an aerial bombing of a city), and, during the First Battle of the Marne, reconnaissance aircraft dropped fifty small bombs on Paris, slightly damaging Notre Dame Cathedral. And, as we have seen, the high-flying Zeppelin raids against England at the beginning of 1915 were clearly strategic in their aim. For a while, England was gripped by “zeppelinitis” but, conducted by lumbering, gas-filled airships, these raids had a limited future in the rapidly developing age of aerial combat. To a large extent, they were abandoned by the end of 1916.

    Initially, bombs and grenades were dropped by hand, aimed by eye, and delivered by the use of light reconnaissance aircraft, but by 1917 specialized bomber aircraft had been developed, and these included bombsights and bomb bays. The best amongst these was the German Gotha G.IV, one of the largest bombers to serve on the Western Front. With a wingspan of 70ft, and powered by two powerful 260 horsepower Mercedes engines, it was big enough to carry a bomb load of 1,100 lbs; had a range of 500 miles; and, initially, was capable of flying higher than the fighters of the day.

    Itxwas on the 25th May 1917 that Germany began its bombing attack on Britain. Code named Operation Turk’s Cross, it was the fulfilment of a long-term aim as far as the German military were concerned. Twenty three Gothas were sent on a daylight raid on London, but, due to cloud over the capital, the attack was diverted to the Channel port of Folkestone and the nearby army camp at Shorncliffe. One bomber was shot down, but the raid resulted in over 100 deaths and 200 casualties. There followed a raid on Sheerness in Kent, but the third attack, carried out on the 13th June, was a daylight raid on London. This proved to be the deadliest raid of the war. Over 400 civilians were injured, and among the 162 deaths were 18 children at a primary school in Poplar (Memorial illustrated). Between May and August a further eight raids were carried out. Three were in London and included an attack upon Liverpool Street Station. Fourteen Gothas dropped 72 bombs, and 57 people were killed.

     A large number of fighters was dispatched to intercept the invaders, but they were unable to climb high enough to engage the German bombers .... just like, two years earlier, the aircraft of the day – initially – had not been able to reach the Zeppelins operating high above them. However, from September onwards, given an improvement in anti-aircraft fire, the Germans were obliged to turn to night flying. This made the bombers safer from enemy fire, but it was much more difficult to locate specific targets, and landing became a hazardous task. The last and the largest raid of the war took place on the night of 19th May 1918. A total of 38 Gothas were sent against London, but six were shot down, and one was lost in a landing accident. From then on, these bombers were confined to tactical strikes along the Western Front. During the campaign, they carried out 22 raids on England, and lost 61 of their number.

     Incidentally, along with the bombs went stories that the bombers were dropping quantities of poisoned food. It was an early piece of psychological warfare and it caused some concern.

     The introduction of a more effective air raid warning system, and the provision of shelters (including underground stations in London), dates mainly from this period, though some precautions were taken during the earlier Zeppelin campaign. It is said that by the Autumn of 1917, over 300,000 Londoners were taking shelter in the London tube. Britain was now well in the firing line, and there was a growing belief amongst the public that “the bomber will always get through”. As a result, home defence fighter squadrons were increased in number, barrage balloons employed to defend London and ports, and observation posts were set up in vulnerable areas.

    In addition, to placate public opinion – deeply alarmed at this turn of events – more retaliatory bombing raids were put in motion. British aircraft based in France, like their French counterparts, carried out raids on German-held territory in France and Belgium, together with attacks on strategic targets within Germany itself, mainly in the Rhineland, the Rhur, and around Saarbrüken. These missions were mostly carried out by two relatively new bombers: The Airco DH4, a two-seater biplane bomber, employed by day (illustrated left), and the Handley Page 0/400, a large four engined night bomber that made more than 200 raids on Germany (illustrated right). This aircraft was selected for an attack upon Berlin, but the armistice intervened. In fact, the British dropped a total of 660 tons of bombs on German targets, over twice as much as Germany dropped on England.

     Incidentally, on the 19thxJuly, 1918, (as noted elsewhere), the British mounted a bombing raid on the German naval base at Tondern. Launched from a converted battle cruiser, HMS Furious, it was the first air raid in history to make use of an “aircraft carrier”.

     But thexGerman strategic bombing campaign, begun in May 1917, was not confined to England. In January 1918, attacks were made on Paris. Alongside a bombardment of the capital by day, over the next five months the Germans flew 44 night raids on the city, dropping 55,000 pounds of explosives, killing 241 people and injuring many more. On one occasion – Good Friday on the 29th March – the Church of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais was hit by a shell, killing 91 and injuring 68 members of the congregation.

    The concept of strategic bombing – though it be in its initial stages – was a departure in the use of airpower. This was not assisting ground forces on the battlefield by means of reconnaissance or tactical support. This was air power in its own “battlefield”, be it long-range bombing of the enemy’s homeland, or defending one’s own homeland against such attacks. To meet this growing threat, it could be argued, there was an urgent need for an independent air force that could deal with this growing dimension, but – at the same time – could be called upon to give support to ground forces when required. Given the knowledge that the British Isles was about to lose its age-long feeling of geographic security – a fact that caused widespread anger and alarm among the general public – it is hardly surprising that it was Great Britain that took the first steps towards a sizeable reshuffle in the corridors of power. As we shall see, on the 1st April, 1918 the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service were combined to form the Royal Air Force, under the control of the new Air Ministry. Other countries were to follow suit.

GSB