British Air Forces 1914 - 1918, Images of War

[Smithy]

1 Sqn Australian Flying Corps at Mejdel in 1918...

 

[Smithy]

And Lieutenants A.R. Brown and G. Finlay of 1 Sqn, AFC in their Biff...

 

[Greg Gale]

I love the Biff...such a weird construction. I may be mistaken, but they wanted to install the top plane as close to the fuselage as possible so that the pilot has better visibility, but that put it too close to the lower plane. If these are too close, the increased airflow over the lower plane just kills the efficiency of the top plane, so they had to move them further apart - what did they do? They added those little struts between the lower plane and the fuselage. It was never done later in history which says a lot

 

[Smithy]

I love the Biff too Greg and it is mad how it was conceived but what a stroke of genius. An incredibly capable aircraft.

 

[Smithy]

Cracking photo this one, 54 Sqn fellows in front of one of their Pups, 1917...

 

[Smithy]

And whilst on 54 Sqn, this one's a little bit different, 54's football team. Sports and participation in them was encouraged in the RFC as a foil to combat stress.

(This is in 1918 after they've converted from Pups to Camels)

 

[Smithy]

And a lovely photo of the entire 54 Sqn after the Armistice, some wag has plonked a cap on one of the squadron hounds in the front row...

 

[Smithy]

I love these...

This chap is an American, William Schofield of the USAS, but he's on a Phelon and Moore motorcycle, a 499cc 3.5hp machine made for the Royal Flying Corps...

And an RFC dispatch rider on a Phelon and Moore. Love the fag dangling out of the mouth and especially amusing pay close attention to the type of helmet he has stuck over the front headlamp!

 

[Smithy]

Wonderful photo of Albert Ball.

It's easy to forget that these men fought the first but also the most dangerous air war. These men fought without armour, with no self-sealing fuel tanks, no parachutes, no radios to warn squadron members or be warned.

Incredible bravery.

 

[Smithy]

Had to post this as I just go it.

An original RFC "Old Boys" tie, proper silk. Originals are very, very rare now so thrilled with this. In bloody good condition and was even pressed by the previous owner prior to sending it to me. From a SE5a chap.

There's what appears to be a soup/gravy stain on it which just makes it even better as it means that it's been to the odd do or two

 

[Greg Gale]

Wonderful photo of Albert Ball.

It's easy to forget that these men fought the first but also the most dangerous air war. These men fought without armour, with no self-sealing fuel tanks, no parachutes, no radios to warn squadron members or be warned.

Incredible bravery.

I love those custom 'trophy' nose cones. I eapecially like it on McCudden's SE. The spinner plus the fact that he supercharged his engine, he could fly higher and faster than any of his squadron mates

 

[Smithy]

I love those custom 'trophy' nose cones. I eapecially like it on McCudden's SE. The spinner plus the fact that he supercharged his engine, he could fly higher and faster than any of his squadron mates

Mac reckoned that spinner from the LVG gave his SE an extra 3mph.

BTW have you got Alex's bio of Mac ("The Happy Warrior") which came out a few years back? It's absolutely tremendous and a must-read if you haven't already.

 

[Greg Gale]

I wasn’t aware that it even existed. I’ll definitely check it out thanks! I’ve only read Mac’s own book ‘Flying Fury’

 

[Smithy]

I wasn’t aware that it even existed. I’ll definitely check it out thanks! I’ve only read Mac’s own book ‘Flying Fury’

"Flying Fury" is brilliant Greg, one of the best.

I just know that you would love "The Happy Warrior", it's a sensational book.

 

[ES335]

I love those custom 'trophy' nose cones. I eapecially like it on McCudden's SE. The spinner plus the fact that he supercharged his engine, he could fly higher and faster than any of his squadron mates

Nothing like a blower to liven things up. Amazing technology for the time.

 

[Smithy]

Brilliant photo of a 32 Sqn SE. Wartime censor has been at work too...

 

[Lorenzo_l]

SE-5. What a beautiful aircraft. These posts as well as Tim's suggestions for books about WWI in the air have got me very tempted to delve into the subject. Too engrossed with WWII pilots' books now though...

 

[Smithy]

SE-5. What a beautiful aircraft. These posts as well as Tim's suggestions for books about WWI in the air have got me very tempted to delve into the subject. Too engrossed with WWII pilots' books now though...

No reason you can't be interested, read about and have a passion for both WWI and WWII aviation Lorenzo.

I absolutely love both. Liking one doesn't bar having an equal liking in the other.

Reminds me of something my granny said to me..."girls get bored very quickly with boys who only have one passion so don't be one of those boring, only like one thing chaps."

 

[Lorenzo_l]

No reason you can't be interested, read about and have a passion for both WWI and WWII aviation Lorenzo.

I absolutely love both. Liking one doesn't bar having an equal liking in the other.

Reminds me of something my granny said to me..."girls get bored very quickly with boys who only have one passion so don't be one of those boring, only like one thing chaps."

There is no reason I should not look into or be interested in the subject, I agree, it's just that with so much literature on WWII, I just so happened to have simply neglected this pioneering age of air warfare which, as this thread confirms, seems to be every bit as interesting as WWII in that regard. Time to put a remedy to that situation! From the books thread in this forum, I have picked up a good few suggestions on where to start reading on the subject, mostly by Tim. Cecil Lewis's "Sagittarius rising" gets lots of praise from members of this forum, as do Arthur Gould Lee's "Open cockpit" and "No parachute" as well as Mc Scotch's "Combat Pilot". I guess that's as good a place as any to get started, right?

 

[Smithy]

There is no reason I should not look into or be interested in the subject, I agree, it's just that with so much literature on WWII, I just so happened to have simply neglected this pioneering age of air warfare which, as this thread confirms, seems to be every bit as interesting as WWII in that regard. Time to put a remedy to that situation! From the books thread on this forum, I have picked up a good few suggestions on where to start reading on the subject, mostly by Tim. Cecil Lewis's "Sagittarius rising" gets lots of praise from members of this forum, as do Arthur Gould Lee's "Open cockpit" and "No parachute" as well as Mc Scotch's "Combat Pilot". I guess that's as good a place as any to get started, right?

"Sagittarius Rising" and both of Lee's book are a great place to start Lorenzo.

I'd add V.M. Yeates' "Winged Victory" and almost suggest it as the first to read. It is probably the most brutally honest. It is effectively Yeates' experiences as a Sopwith Camel pilot which he wrote as a novel so he could write with absolute honesty. It's utterly incredible with some of the best combat descriptions I've read, in parts it's unbelievably intense. It was so well regarded that at the start of WWII copies were trading hands for £5 (an astronomical figure at the time) among RAF pilots because it was considered the closest depiction to what air warfare was actually like in a book.