WW1 In The Air: Aerial Reconnaissance Flashcards
What is reconnaissance?
Gaining intelligence by surveying territory held by the enemy
How was reconnaissance traditionally done before aircraft?
By scouts- cavalry who could ride ahead of an army
Spies operating behind enemy lines
The navy used fast ships to locate and shadow an enemy fleet
Why did armies use manned balloons?
On land, a high point made a good observation point, balloons were referred to as aerial ‘high points’
When were balloons used? Give 3 examples
American civil war 1861-65
Franco-Prussian war 1870-71
Used by the British in the Boer war
When did the Germans first acquire a zeppelin?
1906
The Royal Navy used airships before the war. What for?
Reconnaissance and anti-submarine patrols
What was the first reconnaissance airship used by the British and what was the result?
Beta 1 in 1910
They found the kite balloon more useful in the battlefield
Balloons
Used on the western front for artillery spotting and observation
It was tethered to the ground by a large cable
It had a basket beneath where observers could take photographs,check maps, report on artillery accuracy by telephone and identify targets
Could ascend as high as 4000 ft and see up to 15 miles
Defending observation balloons
They were defended by anti-aircraft guns
They weren’t as easy to take down as you would expect (bullets could pass straight though)
This was until incendiary ammunition which would cause aircraft to catch fire
When did the RFC first go the the western front?
Squadrons 2,3,4,5 were sent to France mid august in 1914 to scout and artillery spot for the army
When was the first reconnaissance mission for the RFC?
19th august 1914
Who flew in the first RFC reconnaissance mission?
Gilbert Mapplebeck- who was killed later in an aircraft test in England in 1915, at age 23
Philip Joubert de la Ferte- who survived the war and went on to become an air chief marshal
What was the first RFC plane lost to the enemy?
An Avro 504 scout of the no.5 squadron was shot down over Belgium by german rifle fire on the 22nd august 1914
What were the difficulties with aerial reconnaissance
Pilots couldn’t accurately identify soldiers and trenches below- they all looked the same
This caused frequent errors
Problems with aircraft identification and how they were solved
Soldiers on the ground shot at any aeroplanes
In 1914, 2 aircraft of the No.3. Squadron were shot at by British troops near Mons
This resulted in the British and the french aircraft having coloured ‘roundels’ on the underside of aircraft and Germans had a black cross insignia
The use of radio
It was primitive in 1914, but by 1915, each BEF army corps had an RFC reconnaissance squadron usually had 12 aircraft, with 3 flights, one of which had wireless
Problems with using radio for aerial reconnaissance
Initial airborne radio transmitters were bulky-72 pounds, which took up the second seat on the plane, which made it difficult for pilots
In 1915, the sterling light weight set-20 pounds used
However fliers could only send messages not receive them because the gunner engine was too loud
The ‘zone call’ system
Used from 1915
Pilots sent target information by radio in morsecone to RFC signallers in trenches
Relied on maps with numbered zones and each battery firing into designated map zones
By 1915, there were 300 British aircraft and 550 ground stations using wireless
Problems with wireless aerial
Easily damaged
Hard to repair because of shell fire
First army air cameras
Fredrick laws experimented with aerial photography, his first army cameras were flown in a slow stable BE2 aircraft. They were mounted to the outside of the rear cockpit
Later cameras pointed through a hole in the floor
How were photos taken from planes?
Air cameras used metal or glass plates, until the use of automatic film loaded cameras in 1918
How did aerial photography prove useful? Give an example
At the battle of Nueve Chapelle in March 1915, the No.3. Squadron photographed the german lines, revealing a new trench construction and that ed to significant changes in the British plan of attack
How were aerial photographs assembled?
Mosaic maps
How did camera speed improve by 1916?
In a test in that summer, No.10 squadron delivered photo prints to army HQ in France within 30 minutes of a reconnaissance plane landing
Use of aerial photography at the Somme
RFC took more than 19’000 aerial photography’s and produced 430’000 prints over the Somme battlefield
What did air reconnaissance force ground troops to do?
Compelled ground forces to disguise and use camouflage
Describe the first RFC ‘air victory’
25th August 1914
At the battle of Mons, 3 unarmed RFC planes forced a german 2-seater down, one RFC aircraft landed and the 2 man crew chased the Germans into the wood and set fire to the enemy aircraft
