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Updated: June 5, 2025
Theoretically, machines of the Independent Air Force should not have been utilized for attacking purely military objectives in the Army zone, such as aerodromes, and their co-operation with the Army for this purpose shows that their true rôle was either not appreciated or not favoured by the French and other Commands.
A certain amount of reliance could also be placed on civil machines temporarily borrowed for purely policing measures in uncivilized countries, or for the assistance of Government during civil disturbances; and for such purposes it should not be difficult to devise a scheme, especially when the State exercises a measure of control through the grant of subsidies, for the obligatory enrolment of civil commercial pilots in the reserve, and for periodical refresher courses for pilots, who are not actually in the service of companies, at civil aerodromes.
That night the wires between the squadron headquarters and G. H. Q. hummed with information and inquiry. A hundred aerodromes, from the North Sea to the Vosges, reported laconically that Annie, the vicious sister of Archie, was unknown. Tam lay in his bunk that night devouring the latest of his literary acquisitions. Tam's "bunk" was a ten-by-eight structure lined with varnished pine.
Although we fought no pitched battles, the month included several little excitements of a minor sort, both in trenches and when out at rest. The first of these was the appearance of a Zeppelin over Dranoutre, where we were billeted. Fortunately only one bomb dropped anywhere near us, and this did no damage; the rest were all aimed at Bailleul and its aerodromes.
The first meetings, though they were organised with enthusiasm, ended as a rule with a heavy financial loss; and this fact of course, when it became known, had a discouraging influence on those who might, had these early meetings proved a success, have been willing to finance aerodromes and the building of machines.
Experiments have been carried out on the dispersal of fog, the illumination of aerodromes by fog-piercing lights, and instruments to record the exact position of the aeroplane and its height above the ground, but success has not yet been achieved. Similar to the problems of flying and landing in mist and fog is that of night flying.
Nor did we only manufacture planes and train men for ourselves. "The Government of the United States," says the Air Service Report, "has paid a striking tribute to the British Air Service by adopting our system of training. The first 500 American officer cadets to be trained went through the School of Military Aeronautics at Oxford, afterwards graduating at various aerodromes in England.
These cross the lines, hover among the Archie bursts, and drive back or down all black-crossed strangers within sight. Some of them go farther afield and attack the Boche above his own aerodromes. Such enemy craft as manage to take the air without meeting trouble from the advanced offensive patrols are tackled by the scouts near the lines.
Far different were the aim and scope of the British air offensives into Germany and into country occupied by German troops. Railway junctions, ammunition dumps, enemy billets, submarine bases, aerodromes these were the targets for our airmen, who scored hits by the simple but dangerous plan of flying so low that misses were almost out of the question.
On November 16, 1916, two junctions on the German lines of communication were bombed, and railways and aerodromes were attacked with bombs and machine-gun fire by day and night. German aircraft, which had displayed considerable activity at this period, fought a number of aerial engagements with British flyers with disastrous results to themselves.
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