SPECIAL AAAVVVIIIAAATTTIIIOOONNN AAARRRCCCHHHIIIVVVEEE AAAAAAAAAeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrroooooooooppppppppplllllllllaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnneeeeeeeeesssssssss ooooooooofffffffff World War I The air battles and the bombers Rare photographic images plus cutaway drawings and colour profi les m o c y. hl t n o m e n a pl o r e a w. £7.95 w w The First World War Aviation Historical Society Cross & Cockade International Registered Charity No 1117741 44 years ago, as an informal group of WWI aviation enthusiasts, we began to publish research, discoveries, photographs and queries on every aspect of WWI aviation history. Now there seems to be more material than ever to record. Today, we have contributions worldwide, illustrated with dozens of rare and interesting original photographs, often supported by colour profiles and scale drawings, plus an ongoing alphabetical Gazetteer of UK Flying Sites 1912-1920 accompanied by reproductions of contemporary OS maps showing all currently known aviation-related sites of the period. A4 size, 84pp per issue, online annual subscription still only GBP 20 + p&p As a reader or a contributor, why not join us? or send £1p&p for a sample Journal All back issues are still available, either in print or as digital downloads from our website www.crossandcockade.com PayPal or Credit cards accepted via website at current exchange rates or contact Roger Tisdale, [email protected] 11 Francis Drive, Westward Ho! Bideford, EX39 1XE UK The Society also publishes individual detailed aircraft monographs and an extremely popular A4 colour calendar 13 pages, GBP 10 + p&p 180 pages Download only, GBP 17 200 pages, GBP 25 + p&p 176 pages, GBP 25 + p&p All include Type histories, scale drawings, Service units, full serials list CCI 10/13 INTRODUCTION 3 I N THE SPACE OF JUST OVER TEN YEARS, from the fi rst heavier Production of these early aircraft introduced a huge range of new than air powered fl ight by the Wright Brothers, the aircraft found manufacturers, some of whom would become well known pioneers itself entering into the war to end all wars. There is little wonder, of aviation development in their own right after the war. The relative considering how new the concept of powered aircraft was, that the simplicity of aircraft during this period meant that large amounts of fl ying-machine as a military weapon was not taken particularly seriously unskilled and semi-skilled labour could be employed by companies, by commanders outside of aviation in August 1914. who in peacetime, were more likely to have plied their trade by selling During the early stages of the confl ict the usefulness of the aircraft furniture, musical instruments or components for the motoring industry. was recognised as a reconnaissance machine and artillery spotter, both Little training was needed and generally a single pattern aircraft was of which were particularly dangerous roles. At the beginning air forces supplied to each sub-contractor, who re-drew a set of plans and then set on all sides were small with machines being counted in the tens and low about building the required number to meet the contract. hundreds, but by 1918 all could call upon thousands of aircraft capable of This issue in the Aeroplane Collector’s Archive series covers a wide range of performing a variety of roles. aeroplanes, which refl ect how rapidly the development of the fi ghting aircraft The pressure of being at war accelerated the pace of development progressed from 1914 to 1918.The broad range selected here include many dramatically, engines more than doubled in horsepower, structures iconic machines such as the Avro 504, Fokker Eindecker, Sopwith Triplane, doubled in strength and weapons either increased in calibre or were Sopwith Camel, Fokker Dr.1 Triplane and RAF SE.5A and some lesser known more eff ectively employed. Bomb loads rose from a few pounds to types built by Caproni, Morane-Saulnier, Voisin and Pfalz. thousands of pounds while overall performance and manoeuvrability Martyn Chorlton, eevvoollvveedd ttoo pprroodduuccee fifi gghhttiinngg mmaacchhiinneess tthhaatt wweerree mmoorree cchhaalllleennggiinngg aanndd fearsome to the enemy. Editor Only built in small numbers the Sopwith Triplane was one of the most influential fighters to appear during the First World War. The small fighter dominated the air during early 1917 to such an extent the Germans became obsessed with replicating the triplane and as a result the Fokker Dr.I Triplane appeared a few months later. Aviation Archive Aeroplanes of World War I Editor Martyn Chorlton (cid:127) Production manager Rebecca Gibbs (cid:127) Proof reading Claire Chorlton (cid:127) Scanning assistant Michael Hutchings (cid:127) Design Paul Sander (cid:127) Aircraft Profi les Ronny Bar Published by Kelsey Publishing Group, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG. Telephone 01959 541444 Fax 01959 541400 www.kelsey.co.uk Printed by William Gibbons & Sons Ltd., Willenhall, West Midlands. © 2013 all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with prior permission in writing from the publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. ISBN 978-1-907426-63-6 AAeerrooppllaanneess ooff WWoorrlldd WWaarr II 6 The development of the fi ghting aeroplane during the First World War 14 RAF BE series 16 Avro 504 family 14 21 Fokker Eindecker 26 Voisin 44 28 Morane-Saulnier Type N 30 AEG Type G 32 Caproni Ca.3 36 Caudron G.3 3388 NNiieeuuppoorrtt 1111 BBéébbéé oorr SSccoouutt 41 RAF F.E.2 series 38 44 Sopwith Triplane 50 Albatros D.V  54 54 Fokker Dr.I Triplane 58 Pfalz D.III 61 Bristol F.2b Fighter 66 Bristol M.1 Monoplane 68 FBA Type H Flying-boat 70 Sopwith Camel 86 74 Gotha G.IV 76 SPAD S.XIII 81 RAF SE.5a 86 Hanriot HD.1 88 Fokker D.VII 92 Ansaldo S.V.A.5 Primo 94 The Lewis machine-gun 96 Air cooled and water-cooled 6 The development of aerial warfare and the fi ghting aeroplane during the First World War Ancillary weapons At the beginning of the First World War, military aircraft, with the odd exception, were viewed by the world’s armies and navies as little more than ancillary weapons. This remained the case in Britain until the formation of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in April 1918. Prior to this, aircraft were either tasked with naval support operations or army co-operation and even at the very end of the First World War, these types of ‘support’ sorties were being fl own at a rate of approximately 19 to 1 (the ‘1’ representing a operation actually tasked by the RAF). So, understandably, the armies and navies across the globe viewed aviation in nothing more than a support role and this would remain the attitude long into the inter-war period. Prior to the fi rst sustained powered fl ight by a heavier than air aircraft in 1903, the military had been experimenting with balloons. A long time had already passed since Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent le Vieux d’Arlandes carried out the fi rst manned free balloon fl ight on November 21, 1783 in a Montgolfi er balloon. In France, the potential of the balloon for aerial observation was recognised and the French Aerostatic Corps was formed to operate one example during the Battle of Fleurus in 1794. Another balloon was successfully employed during the Siege of Mainz but Napoleon disbanded the corps in 1799. Balloons continued to have their uses during the 19th Century. Once again in France, several were used during the Siege of Paris in 1870, carrying messages and people in and out of the city. However, like Napoleon before them, military leaders saw no potential in ‘fl ying machines’, even when the fi rst dirigibles began to arrive in the shape of the Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs’ machine named La France. It was the Italians who were the fi rst to fully embrace the concept of military aviation when they formed an Army Aeronautical Section in 1884. This unit operated several balloons for reconnaissance duties during the Eritrean War between 1887 and 1888. Italy was also the fi rst The Dutch aviation pioneer Anton Herman Gerard ‘Anthony’ Fokker pictured in front of one of his to use aviation in conjunction with the army creations, the Fokker Eindecker. Not a great aircraft in its own right, the secret of the machine’s during manoeuvres in Libya during 1911; fi ve success was the capability of the machine-gun to fi re directly through the blades of the propeller, aircraft and two small airships took part in the enabling the pilot to literally point the Eindecker at the enemy. successful exercise. Later in the year, on October 23, war broke out between Italy and Turkey. The the idea of a metal bird being operated by the targets, a tactic which continued throughout the confl ict gave the ‘Commander of the Air Fleet’ enemy looking down onto their positions and remainder of the war that ended in October 1912. of the Royal Italian Army air detachment, Capt even more concerned when bombs began to The two airships that were involved in the confl ict Piazza, the opportunity to carry out the world’s fall on November 1. Lt Cavotti in an Etrich Taube were also used to good eff ect, a method of attack fi rst ‘wartime’ fl ight. Apparently the Turkish (Dove) dropped four bombs which were Swedish- that would be embraced during the forthcoming troops were unsurprisingly perplexed about made 4.4lb modifi ed grenades on enemy First World War with terrifying eff ect. BOY’S TOYS TO WEAPONS OF WAR 7 ▼ One of the lynchpins in early fl ying training, in Britain at least, was the Bristol Boxkite, the fi rst massed-produced British aircraft. A heavily-braced, multi-bay pusher machine, the Boxkite was powered by a 50hp Gnôme rotary engine. ▲ First fl own in 1910, the Etrich Taube was a good example of an early and very stable reconnaissance aircraft which was very popular with German pilots. One of these pioneering machines became the fi rst aircraft to drop an aerial bomb on November 1, 1911 when Italian, Giulio Gavotti, attacked Ain Zara oasis in Libya. Power limitations become a crucial factor if a potential military use military potential of aircraft was being realised, During the period from the Wright Brothers’ epic was to be found. Structurally, early fl ying machines summarised by Italian staff offi cer Giulio Douhets’ fl ight in 1903 and leading up to the First World War, were made from primitive materials which lacked prophetic comment, “the sky is about to become the development of the aircraft was limited by the strength and it was not uncommon for aircraft to another battlefi eld no less important than the power to weight ratio of the engine. This lack of break up in the air when manoeuvres were carried battlefi eld on land and sea….In order to conquer the power aff ected the size of the payload which would out too quickly or violently. However, by 1909, the air, it is necessary to deprive the enemy of all means 8 ▲ A typical ‘Pusher’ biplane of no particular design, this example resembles a Vickers FB.5 ‘Gunbus’. The gunner/observer sat in the front with the pilot behind. Power was provided by a six-cylinder engine, driving a ‘pusher’ propeller direct. ▼ The internal construction of a typical ‘Pusher’ biplane with all major parts indicated. The ‘nacelle’ is shown as if the near side had been cut away to show the seating and control arrangement inside. The ‘stream-line’ struts are interplane struts shaped to a more or less correct stream-line. BOY’S TOYS TO WEAPONS OF WAR 9 The SPAD A.2 was one of the more novel solutions to the fi ring through the propeller conundrum which was more successfully overcome, in the short term, by the ‘pusher’ arrangement. The designer, Louis Bechereau’s solution was to mount a streamlined nacelle in front of the aircraft’s propeller. While the gunner had an exceptional fi eld of view and fi re, the pilot’s forward vision was restricted, and there was also the risk to the gunner from the rotating propeller. ooff flfl yyiinngg,, bbyy ssttrriikkiinngg aatt hhiimm iinn tthhee aaiirr,, aatt hhiiss bbaasseess ooff pilot seated in an exposed position on the lower ooppeerraattiioonn,, oorr aatt hhiiss pprroodduuccttiioonn cceennttrreess.. WWee hhaadd bbeetttteerr mainplane. Many pilots learned to fl y on the ggeett aaccccuussttoommeedd ttoo tthhiiss iiddeeaa,, aanndd pprreeppaarree oouurrsseellvveess..”” Boxkite which had a top speed of just 40mph and IInn BBrriittaaiinn,, aa ssiimmiillaarr pprreeddiiccttiioonn wwaass mmaaddee bbyy was relatively easy to fl y. No thought what so ever CCaapptt BBeerrttrraamm DDiicckkssoonn iinn 11991100,, wwhhoo ssuubbmmiitttteedd was given to weaponry at this stage, as the British hhiiss tthhoouugghhttss ttoo tthhee TTeecchhnniiccaall SSuubb--CCoommmmiitttteeee ffoorr path for military aviation was clearly defi ned as IImmppeerriiaall DDeeffeennccee aabboouutt hhooww tthhee uussee ooff aaiirrccrraafftt iinn reconnaissance and nothing else. aa mmiilliittaarryy ccaappaacciittyy wwaass eesssseennttiiaall aanndd tthhaatt aaeerriiaall The jury was still out amongst senior military ccoommbbaatt sshhoouulldd ppllaayy aa kkeeyy rroollee iinn ffuuttuurree ccoonnflfl iiccttss.. staff about the role that aircraft should play right BBeerrttrraamm bbeeccaammee tthhee fifi rrsstt BBrriittiisshh mmiilliittaarryy ooffiffi cceerr ttoo up to the beginning of the First World War. In flfl yy tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg yyeeaarr aanndd tthhee fifi rrsstt ttoo ccaarrrryy oouutt aann Germany, a large amount of time and money aaiirrbboorrnnee rreeccoonnnnaaiissssaannccee ooppeerraattiioonn iinn ccoonnjjuunnccttiioonn had already been invested in the Zeppelin wwiitthh tthhee aarrmmyy.. 11991111 aallssoo ssaaww tthhee ffoorrmmaattiioonn ooff tthhee which had pushed all thoughts of conventional fifi rrsstt mmiilliittaarryy aaeerriiaall uunniitt wwhheenn tthhee AAiirr BBaattttaalliioonn ooff aircraft into the background. In August 1914, tthhee RRooyyaall EEnnggiinneeeerrss wwaass ffoorrmmeedd,, mmaaddee uupp ooff oonnee Germany possessed 230 aircraft, all of which were ccoommppaannyy ooff aaiirrccrraafftt,, oonnee wwiitthh ssmmaallll aaiirrsshhiippss,, aanndd credited to the army, but at least 50 of them were aannootthheerr wwiitthh bbaalllloooonnss aanndd aa ffoouurrtthh wwiitthh mmaann-- unserviceable while the French were in a similar lliiffttiinngg kkiitteess.. IInn 11991122,, tthhee RRFFCC ((RRooyyaall FFllyyiinngg CCoorrpp)) position, despite a large number of forward wwaass ffoorrmmeedd,, wwiitthh NNaavvaall aanndd MMiilliittaarryy wwiinnggss ttoo ccaatteerr thinking-exercises before the war which heavily ffoorr tthhee nnuummbbeerr ooff eenntthhuussiiaassttiicc yyoouunngg ooffiffi cceerrss wwhhoo involved aircraft. In Britain, only a contribution of hhaadd aallrreeaaddyy lleeaarrnneedd ttoo flfl yy aatt tthheeiirr oowwnn eexxppeennssee.. 30 aircraft, belonging to three squadrons, were TThhee CCFFSS ((CCeennttrraall FFllyyiinngg SScchhooooll)) wwaass aallssoo ffoorrmmeedd aatt available while the American armed services UUppaavvoonn ttoo ttrraaiinn nneeww rreeccrruuiittss uunnddeerr tthhee ccoommmmaanndd trailed even further behind and by the time their ooff CCaapptt GGooddffrreeyy PPaaiinnee,, RRNN,, hhiiss ddeeppuuttyy aanndd own air service found its feet in 1917, it had to rely cchhiieeff iinnssttrruuccttoorr bbeeiinngg nnoonnee ootthheerr tthhaann MMjjrr HH MM heavily on British and French-built aircraft. TTrreenncchhaarrdd ooff tthhee RRooyyaall SSccoottss FFuussiilliieerrss wwhhoo wwoouulldd On the ground it quickly became apparent ggoo oonn ttoo bbeeccoommee tthhee ‘‘FFaatthheerr ooff tthhee RRAAFF’’.. that the old concept of sending cavalry units out on reconnaissance duties would not work on a TThhee eeaarrllyy mmiilliittaarryy mmaacchhiinneess modern 20th Century battlefi eld but, if the cavalry AA ttyyppiiccaall eeaarrllyy aaiirrccrraafftt aatt tthhee ttiimmee iinn BBrriittaaiinn wwoouulldd could fl y and deliver the information needed by hhaavvee bbeeeenn aa FFaarrmmaann oorr BBrriissttooll BBooxxkkiittee--ttyyppee ooff generals, the aircraft would take over. This indeed mmaacchhiinnee wwiitthh aa ssmmaallll ppuusshheerr eennggiinnee aanndd tthhee turned out to be the case and early doubts about 10 the usefulness of fl ying machines were suddenly The synchronised solution turned on their head, from one of low expectation, The most natural method of fi ring a machine- to unrealistic expectation beyond the capabilities gun from a fi ghter aircraft would be positioning of the early reconnaissance aircraft. the weapon between the pilot and the propeller, enabling the entire machine to be pointed at the Role dictates confi guration enemy. Access to the machine-gun to reload and/ Early military aircraft tended to be of a tractor or clear blockages would also be essential by the design, i.e. the engine was mounted on the front pilot, but this entire set-up has one most obvious of the aircraft and the attached propeller would drawback. The law of averages would see a certain bite into the air and eff ectively pull the aircraft number of the machine-gun rounds fi re through along. The tractor confi guration was ideal for early the blades but an equal number would also strike reconnaissance machines which, at fi rst, required no the propeller with potentially catastrophic results. armament but, as the war progressed, encounters The problem of synchronising a machine-gun between opposing aircraft became more frequent was already being tackled before the war by and weapons were taken aloft including revolvers, experts working in France, Germany, Russia and rifl es and even hand grenades. The chances of Britain. All of the designs worked to a degree, but actually hitting an opponent with any of these were generally unreliable, resulting in ricochets weapons were obviously slim but a fl exibly and shot-up propellers. Choosing the right mounted or fi xed machine-gun would potentially weapon to synchronise was the next challenge, bring any aircraft down during this period. not all machine-guns fi red at exactly the same Early tractor aircraft had two options for mounting rate or consistently, the British Lewis gun being a a machine-gun; these were either in a second cockpit good example. The Lewis had an open-bolt fi ring which was operated by an observer/gunner or on cycle which made it very diffi cult to predict exactly top of the wing fi ring outside the arc of the propeller. when the next round would be fi red. The British The former was used for defending the aircraft. Until Vickers and the German LMG 08 Spandau and a solution was found as to how to fi re a machine- LMG 14 Parabellum (all Maxim recoil-operated gun through a propeller, a range of designs and machine-guns) used a closed-bolt fi ring cycle alternatives would be produced to give an aircraft which basically meant that the round was already a decent and controlled arc of forward-fi re. Britain in the breech at the beginning of the cycle, so the led the way beginning with Vickers who had been fi nal stage was when the bullet was fi red, which looking at a pusher design where the pilot and/or could be accurately predicted every time. a gunner would have a 180° completely clear arc of The French were determined to synchronise fi re from 1912. The general layout of a pusher was their own Hotchkiss machine-gun which was not a small nacelle containing the crew to which the the most reliable of weapons for such a delicate engine was mounted at the rear and the mainplanes purpose. Morane-Saulnier led the way in France were attached. The paraphernalia of the tailplane and in the event of the Hotchkiss miss-fi ring, large was supported by booms and strengthened with metal wedges or defl ector blades held in place by struts and rigging, none of which contributed to the tie-bars extending from the propeller hub, were aircraft’s performance. Pusher fi ghters were always placed behind each blade. This confi guration was a short-term solution to the problem of eff ective tested by Roland Garros in a Morane-Saulnier Type forward fi re but the Vickers F.B.5 ‘Gunbus’ and the RAF L in April 1915 and not long after was successfully (Royal Aircraft Factory) F.E.2b and subsequent sub- tested in action. In reality, the system was no variants were retained in the front-line until 1917. more reliable than running the gauntlet with Early aircraft such as the Bristol Scout had a an unsynchronised weapon and Garros and his single Lewis machine-gun mounted on top of aircraft were destined to fall into enemy hands. the wing from 1915 but the early cumbersome The capture of Garros and his aircraft by the mounts caused a great deal of drag and were Germans high-lighted to the enemy how close they not particularly secure. Problems arose when were to producing a practical and reliable system the ammunition drum or belt, depending on the and with great haste the Morane-Saulnier was weapon, needed changing but a solution was delivered to Fokker. Anthony Fokker was ordered produced in the shape of the Foster mounting. to copy the French system but instead chose to This mounting allowed the weapon to be slid completely re-design the synchronisation method along a rail down towards the pilot, making and produced one of his own. The result was a dealing with jams and reloading much easier and war-changing moment; the Germans immediately when drawn down could also be fi red at an angle. gained the upper hand in the air thanks to the Victoria Cross winner Capt Lanoe Hawker, found Fokker Eindecker. A series of fi ghters followed, a solution by mounting a Lewis machine-gun in all of which were fi tted with the very latest front of his cockpit, which was angled so that it synchronisation gear enabling the aircraft’s Spandau would fi re over the propeller and outwards at an machine-gun to fi re straight through the propeller angle of 30°. without striking a blade. All of a sudden the early