British Air Forces 1914 - 1918, Images of War

[Smithy]

As some know one of my interests is in the British air forces in WWI and so I thought I'd start a thread of images of the men, uniforms, flying kit and machines from the Great War. With regards to WWI my main interest is in the RFC, RAF and AFC but I invite anyone with images of the RNAS to add to the thread to build a small, but hopefully interesting and enjoyable, documentation of these men and their equipment from the first war.

I have a lot of images, especially of men from scout squadrons of the RFC and RAF on the Western Front but they will need to be scanned so this thread will no doubt be a constant work in progress.

But let's get the ball rolling...

Here's probably one of my favourite squadron portraits from any war, 2 Sqn, Australian Flying Corps at Savy, France on the 25th March 1918. Three pilots are wearing the very first generation Sidcot suits including 2 Sqn's leading ace Francis Ryan Smith (2nd from right in the front row). It's also a wonderful image as there's several chaps in the front row wearing Boots, Knee, Temporary 1914 pattern flying boots, the precursor and immediate ancestor to the iconic 1936 Pattern flying boot.

 

[Micawber]

Excellent. Looking forward to following this thread.

 

[Smithy]

Thanks Steve. I've got a lot of photos but hopefully others will add and post what they have as well. I also personally find flying kit from WWI far more fascinating than WWII due to the sheer amount of diversity through private purchase. It's also interesting to see the transition from the mostly purely private purchase anything goes approach at the beginning of the air war to the first attempts at flying kit standardisation which the War Office brought in in 1918.

 

[Bombing IP]

Thanks Smithy for this venture into WW1 the war to end all wars . Notice the dirt the guys are on and how clean the shoes are of the chaps sitting in the front row as I am sure many were in the picture .

BIP

 

[Smithy]

I'll have to drag out the war diary and my notes but the photos (there's a series of them) were made either prior to or after a patrol was made. The chaps with dress shoes, riding boots like the CO Major Sheldon are not on flying duties. The fellows in flying boots are on duty or have returned from a patrol.

 

[Micawber]

Thanks Smithy for this venture into WW1 the war to end all wars . Notice the dirt the guys are on and how clean the shoes are of the chaps sitting in the front row as I am sure many were in the picture .

BIP

Perhaps the spit and polish is care of the elbow grease from their batmen.

 

[Bombing IP]

Did the Australians have Bat Men .

BIP

 

[Smithy]

Sure did, the same as the RFC/RAF. In fact they functioned and were organised the same as a RAF unit.

 

[Obscurator]

My grandfather was an RFC pilot in the latter stages of the War. I have his flying log book, his joining papers ( including a letter postponing his joining the training establishment by a few days due to an outbreak of measles there), photos, and demob papers.

For a long time his "maternity" uniform jacket hung in his wardrobe, until the moths had it. All I have now is the full set of brass RFC buttons off it.

A lot of the later paperwork has "RFC" crossed out, overstamped or otherwise altered to "Royal Air Force".

I'll dig some of this out and post pictures of anything interesting.

 

[Smithy]

Please do as it would be wonderful to see it.

 

[ausreenactor]

Spiffing!

 

[Smithy]

Here's an interesting one and also one of historical significance. This photo of 22 Sqn was taken on the 1st April 1918, the day that the Royal Air Force came into existence. These are pilots and observers of 22 and there are no fewer than 9 aces in the photograph. From a flying kit perspective you can see a mix of the older full length, private purchase flying coats and the newly issued Sidcots paired with "fug" boots - Brisfits were draughty machines so hence the preponderance of them instead of 1914 pattern flying boots as seen with the SE5a pilots above. All of the goggles are Triplex versions.

 

[B-Man2]

This is a great thread . The photos are pretty cool.
Nice job Tim!

 

[Smithy]

Thanks Burt!

 

[johnwayne]

Such evocative pics - if only we could do a Peter Jackson on them and make them come to life a la 'They shall not grow old'!

 

[Smithy]

Such evocative pics - if only we could do a Peter Jackson on them and make them come to life a la 'They shall not grow old'!

Have a look at this footage of the AFC which is excellent. I find the two fellows larking about at 02:57 especially poignant as you can see they are just very young men. Sorry I couldn't embed the film but here's the link:

https://aso.gov.au/titles/historical/australian-flying-corps-france/clip1/#


And I've also posted this in the Film section here but it bears repeating here. Sir PJ's film that he made for the AWM in Canberra. It's probably the best and most realistic film depiction of WWI aerial warfare to date. Simple awesome and makes you wonder how incredible a feature film with a big studio budget would be made by him.

 

[Smithy]

I know I've only posted squadron snaps so far but I make no apologies for this next one as it is another of my favourite images. This time 85 Sqn at St Omer on the 21st April 1918 with their squadron mascots. By this stage of the war SE pilots nearly only flew in Sidcots, probably due to the fact that they were usually flying higher (and therefore at colder altitudes) than scout squadrons with other types. BTW this photo often gets confused with a similar photo of 1 Sqn at Clairmarais South from July, a small version I have pinched off the internet and posted below. I'll scan and post a larger version tomorrow.

85 Sqn at St Omer on the 21st April 1918

1 Sqn at Clairmarais South on the 3rd July 1918

 

[Smithy]

Now at first glance this next photo might not look terribly special but in a way it is and in another way it demonstrates an interesting point.

In a few threads here I've mentioned the Central Power pilots' love of British flying coats and their use of captured examples - which can be seen in a mulitude of photos. But this photo is rather special as to my knowledge it is the only example of a Luftstreitkräfte pilot and a British pilot both wearing British flying coats in the same photo. The photo is from 5th October 1917 showing Oblt Bruno Loerzer, Staffelführer of Jasta 26 on the left who has just shot down Lt Charles Jeffs of 56 Sqn. Jeffs is probably looking a bit cheesed off obviously because he's now a POW but also because several Albatri took some pot shots at him when he was lying dazed on the ground, having been flung from him SE5a. Loerzer as a bit of trivia became a bit of a big wig during WWII commanding II Air Corps of the Luftwaffe and being close chums with Göring.

Loerzer's British flying coat is very possibly a Burberry Burfron, one of the most sought after British flying coats.

 

[Bombing IP]

Hi Smithy the third picture from the top 85 Sqn at St Omer on the 21st April 1918 is censored the tail numbers are all covered up . Probably so the members of the unit can send an official picture home to families . WW2 pictures that my father had were stamped on the back passed for censorship .

BIP

 

[Smithy]

Exactly right. It's been censored. You see it on some WWI photos and most usually towards the end of the war. It's funny because the aircraft serials are blanked out but the squadron identification marking (in 85's case a white hexagon) has been left in the photo.