British Military Aviation in 1914 - Part 3

Part 2

October
The first British aerial propaganda raid is undertaken by Lieutenant Colonel Swinton. The leaflets were printed by the Continental Daily Mail in Paris and attempted to convince the German soldier that he was facing imminent defeat.

October
The German cruiser Königsberg is sighted in the Rufiji Delta in German East Africa. A Militaryian Curtiss flying boat was requisitioned by the Admiralty and deployed from South Africa to the area to locate the cruiser; this was replaced by a Royal Naval Air Service seaplane unit from February 1915. However, effective action against the ship proved impossible until July 1915.

October
The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) begins to employ maps with a 'gridded' reference system, using letters and numbers, allowing accurate communication from aircraft to artillery of enemy positions pinpointed to within a few yards. Previous maps had no common grid. Shortly afterwards a 'clock code' was introduced, allowing rapid corrections of the fall of artillery rounds by aircraft.

8 October
The first successful British air attack on Germany takes place, when two Sopwith Tabloids of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) attack Zeppelin airship sheds at Dusseldorf and Cologne. Squadron Commander D.A. Spenser-Grey failed to locate the sheds and bombed Cologne railway station as an alternative. Flight Lieutenant R.G. Marix bombed the Zeppelin shed at Dusseldorf, destroying both the shed and Zeppelin L9.

26 October
The Royal Flying Corps suffers its first fatalities due to 'friendly fire'. Lieutenant C.G. Hosking and Captain T. Crean of No.4 Squadron were killed when their Royal Aircraft Factory BE2 was shot down by British ground fire over Poperinghe.

31 October
Russia declares war on Turkey.

4 November
A Royal Flying Corps (RFC) detachment, drawn from officers of the Indian Central Flying School, and equipped with three Maurice Farman aircraft, leaves the United Kingdom en route to Egypt to support Indian Army units guarding the Suez Canal. The detachment arrived at Alexandria on 17 November. On arrival in Egypt, the detachment acquired a further 2 Henri Farman aircraft from Heliopolis and two Maurice Farmans, together with a Royal Aircraft Factory BE2, from India. The detachment was based at Ismailia.

5 November
Britain & Turkey are in state of war.

22 November
The first enemy aircraft is shot down by a British aircraft. Lieutenants L.A. Strange and F.G. Small in an Avro biplane of No.5 Squadron engaged a German Albatros. The Avro was fitted with a machine gun in spite of orders for Strange to desist from machinegun experiments. Two drums were emptied into the enemy aircraft, which made a forced landing behind Allied lines near Neuve-Église. The two German crew members were uninjured and were captured by the British aviators who landed nearby. The Albatros had been hit 20 times by the British fire.

29 November
The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) is re-organised into wings, effectively decentralising the Service. Wings were henceforth to be attached to Army Corps. The Military Wing was abolished and the Farnborough Squadrons, Depot, Aircraft Park and Record Office were regrouped as the Administrative Wing, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel E.B. Ashmore.

December
The first British fighter aircraft, the Vickers EB5 Gunbus, enters service with the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).

21 December
Field Marshal Lord Kitchener decrees that expansion plans to increase the Royal Flying Corps to 30 squadrons are too modest and doubles the planned strength to 60 squadrons.

11 December
The British roundel is adopted for aircraft identification.

21 December
The first confirmed attempt to attack the United Kingdom by air takes place. A Friedrichshafen FF29 floatplane of the German Navy's See Flieger Abteilung 1 (Seaplane Unit No.1) dropped two bombs on Dover Harbour, both of which fell into the sea.

24 December
The first successful bombing attack on a target in the United Kingdom takes place. Following an attempted attack on 21 December, a second Friedrichshafen FF29 floatplane of See Flieger Abteilung 1 (Seaplane Unit No.1) dropped a single 22 pound bomb, which blew a crater 10 feet wide and 4 feet deep in the garden of a Dover resident. There were no casualties. Although two British aircraft were scrambled in response to the attack, the aircraft was not intercepted.

25 December
The first enemy aircraft is intercepted over the United Kingdom. During an attempted attack on the London dock area, a Friedrichshafen FF29 floatplane of See Flieger Abteilung 1 (Seaplane Unit No.1) was intercepted over Erith by a Royal Flying Corps Vickers Gunbus based at Joyce Green. During the subsequent pursuit, the FF29 released 2 bombs, which landed in a field near Cliffe railway station. The Gunbus crew broke off their attack when the aircraft's solitary Vickers-Maxim machine gun jammed and although damaged, the FF29 succeeded in returning to base.

Part 2