RFC

[Old Tom]

Hello,

I have been reading about the RFC and trying to get an appreciation of its organisation and roles. I gather that, in general, as they were formed and numbers increased squadrons were allotted to armies and corps and that the corps squadrons were mainly concerned with artillery spotting, contact patrols and photography, while the army squadrons were mainly scouts. I assume the bombers were under BEF control. Does anyone know of an available source of organisational detail or if the squadron numbers have any significance in this context?

Old Tom.

[Dolphin]

Tom

In essence there was an RFC Brigade attached to each Army of the BEF: I Brigade with the First Army, II Brigade with the Second Army, etc. Each RFC Brigade comprised:

an Army Wing of about half a dozen squadrons used for aerial fighting (in late 1917-early 1918 they would have been equipped with Bristol Fighters, Camels, Dolphins and SE 5as) and day bombing (DH 4s);

a Corps Wing of about half a dozen squadrons used for artillery observation, contact patrols and reconnaissance (AWFK 8s and RE 8s);

plus a Kite Balloon Wing of about 5 Balloon Companies, and an Aircraft Park (stores depot).

Squadrons from the Corps Wing were generally allocated on the basis of one squadron to an Army Corps, eg in late 1917 in II Brigade, No 10 Sqn worked with XXII Corps, No 21 Sqn with VIII Corps, etc.

In addition to the Wings in the Brigades, there was the 9th (HQ) Wing, which was used for night bombing (FE 2b) and other, a bit more strategic, day bombing and long range reconnaissance (Bristol Fighters and DH 4s).

In 1918, with the creation of the RAF, the former 41st Wing RFC became the Independent Force used for strategic bombing by day (DH 4, DH 9 and DH 9a) and night (HP O/400 and FE 2b). The IF was detached from the BEF and operated from the French sector of the Front, so as to be nearer Germany's industrial areas.

RFC squadron numbers were allocated as units were established, and don't reflect their role.

For details, there's the 6 volumes of The War in the Air by Sir Walter Raleigh and H A Jones or the recent The RFC/RNAS Handbook by Peter Cooksley, ISBN 0 7509 2169 2.

I hope this helps you.

Gareth

[Old Tom]

Hello,

Many thnks, just what I wanted.

Old Tom