1917 artillery spotting aircraft RFC

[Guest BenC]

Hi All

Reason I asked the question was because I have recently purchased a medal pair with a description that the airman 2AM qualified as a Wireless Operator and served with 8 Sqn, 186 Brig RFA, 9th Div Artillery, 3 Sqn, 35 Sqn and 5 Sqn on Artillery spotting duty

Please keep the thoughts and comments coming

T

Hi Tamos123,

just saw this post - my grandfather was an RE8 pilot on 5 squadron in 1918 and he told me he used to contact the artillery using morse. First he had to wind out 250 feet of wire antenna. The gunner had a lot to worry about elsewhere. Do you have the flier's name? - I'm accumulating info on 5 squadron and might have something on him.

ben

[essdee]

I came across an instruction sheet the other day in an Artillery Commanders diary regarding radio and ground strip signals and thought you flyboy types might find it useful. Morse signal sheet to follow.

Stuart

[essdee]

Communications from aircraft

[essdee]

Aircraft comms pt 2

[Adrian Roberts]

Essdee

Thanks - this is interesting. Information on the routine but dangerous work of the artillery spotters is more difficult to come by than on fighter tactics.

Questions:

Would the aircrew have had to memorise these codes or could they carry copies to refer to? If the latter, would it have been a problem if they were captured?

There is mention of communication with ships; "CR" is "I cannot read your searchlight". So did ships signal with their searchlight, or did they lay strips on the deck?

Adrian

[Starlight]

Hi,

If there's one thing that's consistent with the role of the observer in the Corps squadrons, it is that it was not consistent, and this was not soley due to the changes of position (from front to rear cockpit) when the RE8s took over from the BE2s. Though trying to keep a very loing story short, here are a few more observations:

1. Until 1917 there was no standard set of codes used by all of the Corps squadrons. For example, here are the codes used by Number 6 squadron in 1916 - quite different to the ones already posted earlier. This is another reason why it was good to have a properly trained wireless operator posted to the squadron but permanently attached to a battery.

2. Observers were able to fly in the aircraft as well as the wireless set in BE2s at the end of 1915 when a lighter 20lb Stirling set was developed.

3. Though in mid 1915 it was recognised that one of the observer's roles was to "send and receive by wireless at the rate of 6 words a minute with 98% accuracy", it was not until the Autumn of 1916 that the "Wireless and Observers' School" was set up at Brooklands where observers were properly trained in wireless telegraphy amongst other things. Corps observers received slightly different training to Army observers. Up until that time any training in morse (as well as for the other observer duties like machine gunning, camera operation etc) was far less formal, was often carried out 'on the job' and the quality varied from squadron to squadron. However, the training requirement for the sending of morse as part of the observers course never matched up to the speed and accuracy in the training of wireless operators, who had to be able to receive and send 20 words a minute before they were accepted. By October 1917, with the rapid increase in the number of squadrons, observer training became even more extensive, with the "Wireless and Observers' School" becoming the "Artillery and Infantry Co-operation School" and the "Wireless Operator's School" becoming the "No 1 (T) Wireless School".

4. Even when the RE8 replaced the BE2 (by mid 1917) the observer was not always taken. For long distance bombing with heavy bombs (112lb) the observer had to be left behind and the pilot had to perform all of the flying and non flying duties.

5. In BE2s observers normally operated the hand held cameras and pilots the fixed cameras. However, even on the RE8s when the observers role had expanded, he was not always the person who operated the camera. The camera mounting frame was often fitted alongside the pilot's cockpit. Semi automatic cameras appeared in 1917 and these could be mounted internally and operated by either of the crew.

6. Many observers (including those who were on attachment from the Army) went on to become pilots.

Regards

Steve

[ChrisM]

I have four or five manuscript pages of training notes by a student pilot at 14TS Catterick in April 1917. These cover "Artillery Observation" and "The Conducting of a Shoot" and contain several dozen code letters for communication in both directions as well as some rudimentary information about procedures. (The codes, where relevant, tie in closely with those posted by Steve but seem to vary somewhat from those in the official documents posted by Stuart).

This information may well be common knowledge but if it is of any interest to anyone I'll gladly post it here.

Chris

[nicburch]

What methods were used by pilots to pinpoint forward enemy positions to direct infantry assault or artillery.How far behind the lines were the airfields?

Nick

[truthergw]

What methods were used by pilots to pinpoint forward enemy positions to direct infantry assault or artillery.How far behind the lines were the airfields?

Nick

Various ideas tried out including klaxons, flares and wing waggling but wireless was installed in aircraft fairly early on. I have read of aircraft landing and the pilot talking to a battery commander. Airfields were far enough away to be safe from artillery fire.

[Andrew Smith]

What methods were used by pilots to pinpoint forward enemy positions to direct infantry assault or artillery.How far behind the lines were the airfields?

Nick

There is a wonderful book called "Until a Dead Horse Kicks You" a biography of Alec Griffiths and his service with the AFC as a wireless operator seconded to the allied batteries. It discribes quite vividly his experiences and near missed.

Publish by Kangaroo Press ISBN 0-7318-1015-5

Andrew.

[Mike4rest]

There is a wonderful book called "Until a Dead Horse Kicks You" a biography of Alec Griffiths and his service with the AFC as a wireless operator seconded to the allied batteries. It discribes quite vividly his experiences and near missed.

Publish by Kangaroo Press ISBN 0-7318-1015-5

Andrew.

In the Meuse Argonne in 1918 A battalion of the US 77th Infantry Division led by a Major Wittlesey advanced

beyond other units that got pinned down by German Fire. In a seige lasting 4 or five days the Battalion held out. Toward the end the Battalion came under fire from US Artillery. A carrier pigeon was sent by Wittlesey and after being wounded still made it to American positions and the fire mission was called off.

The battalion was relieved and Wittlesey won the Medal of Honor for what became known as the "Lost Battalion"!

Carrier pigeon was one way they communicated.