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Bombers ol
WbrldWbrl
Nowhere is the teclnologrical impetus provided by war more
evidentthanin aviation. Atthe start of WorldWar I, afucraft
Iooked asif aboy couldtie some stringto them andflythemin
a breeze, but in fow short years the fighting aeroplane was
appearing in such diverse forms as the single-seat ground
attack fighter and the multi-engined., long-range heavy
bomher.
The use ofthe aeroplane to dehver flre and explosive against an enemy
on the ground was inevitable from the moment the Wright brothers first
achieved controlled flighi in 1903. What remained in doubt was the
degree and accuracy with whrch rt could be delivered, At the beginning
of World War I in the West aerial bombs were confined to nothing
bigger than hand grenades as the Russians, who alone possessed large
aircraft, started liftlng bombs of more than about 68kg (150 lb) and
quickly went on to produce weapons of twice that size weapons that
were obviously able to cause as much damage as a large artillery shell,
but capable of delivery over a much greater range,
The regular use of the large high explosive bomb in the West came
about through the Germans employment of airships, whose raids on
British and French towns and cities were sanctioned by the Kaiser only
in return for assurances by the Imperial Navai Staff that miiitary targets
alone would be hit. inevrtably, in the absence of any bomb-aiming
equipment, civilian casualties resulted so that any such assurances
became purely academic, Wrthrn two years bombs of 300 kg (661 1b)
were landing amonQr the humble homes of the British and French capit-
a1s and elsewhere, Thus arrived total war.
Gradually, however, the value of the airship (progressively shown to
be increasingly vulnerable to attack by frghters firing incendiary
ammunition) was seen to be of lrttle milrtary significance while at the
same time it squandered manufacturing and operating manpower so
that, after 1916 lt began to take second place to the aeroplane as a
Typical of the first-generation bombers evolved during the early years of war,
the Voisin Type VIII and IX two-seat bombers formed the backbone of the
Frenchnight bombing force. Maximum bombloadwas 300 kg(660 lb).
bomber, Apart from the Russians, both the Germans and Brrtrsh (as well
as the French and ltalians to a lesser extent) pursued the development of
large bombers, although only the former, wrth therr huge Rjesen (giants)
managed to get a truly heavy bomber (able to hft a 1000-kq/2,205-Ib
bomb) into operational service during the war. Yet it was the Brrtrsh who
flrst created a strategic bomber force, the Independent Force under
Malor General Sir Hugh Trenchard, an element of the RAF that was to
dominate Brrtrsh Arr Staff philosophies for 50 years,
At the other end ol the scale much smaller bomb-carrying aircraft
were increasingly used over the front lines rn France, Italy, Macedonia
and the Mrddle East agarnst such targets as would otherwise be shelled
by arti]]ery, One olthe lessons learned was that dropping bombs accur-
ately on anything but sizeable, stationary targets was extremely difficult,
especially if the target was shooting back, Towards the end of the war,
therefore, as the fightrng on the various fronts became more fluid and the
soldiers left the sanctuary of their trenches, the machine-gun became
the favoured weapon of the ground support aeroplane
Air Force had had more than 400 Handley Page
By the end of the war, the Royal
0/400 bombers delivered, with raids of up to 40 aircraft at a time being made
on industrial centres inGermany. The O/400 also carried the750-kg(1,650-lb)
bomb, the largest such weapon used by British forces at that time.
ffiil 8"oror,i Ca.3, 4 & s
The prototype Caproni Ca 30 which
first flew rn October 1914 was a three-
engined bomber with a central crew
nacelle and twin booms to carry a tri-
ple-ruddered tail unit. The powerpiant
comprised a central engine mounted
at the rear ofthe nacelle (a 100-hp/75-
kW Gnome driving a pusher prop-
eller) plus two wing-mounted BO-hp
(60-kWl Gnomes each drrving a -rac-
tor propeller. The deflnitive model
was put into production as the Ca.3,
and the initial order was for L2 aircraft,
although a further 150 were manufac-
tured subsequently
In l9l8 there appeared the Caproni
Ca.4, a larqe triplane bomber with the
same three-engined nacelle and twin-
boom layout of the Ca,3, All but the flrst
three production Ca.4s incorporated a
streamlined nacelle, with a gunner's
cockpit in the nose and the early Ca 41
examples were powered by 300-hp
(224-kW) Fiat A. 12 or Isotta-Fraschini
V,5 engines Twenty-three aircraft
were fltted with 400-hp (298-kW)
Liberty engrines as the Ca 42 and sx
were supplied to the Royal Naval Air
Service
The Caproni Ca.S was developed to
supersede the Ca 3, The prototype
was flown rn 1917 and 659 production
examples were built between l9l7
and 1921, powered by 250-hp (186-
kW) Fiat A I2 or Isotta-Fraschim en-
sines, or by the 350-hp (261-kW)
Liberty The type was also selected for
manufacture in the United States.
However, when the Armistice ended
World War I production plans for
1,500 aircraft were cancelled after just
ThisCaproniCa 3l was operated by EscadrilleCEP I15, Aeronautique
Militaire (French air force) out of Plateau de Malzeville in 1916. More than 700
Ca 3 I s were built in three main variants.
three had been completed. Neverthe-
less, the US Army Air Corps' Northern
Bombing Group used the Ca.5 over the
Western Front as did the Italians and
the French,
Specification
Ca.S (Ca 44)
Type: heavy bomber
Powerpiant: three 250-hp (186-kW)
Fiat A, 12 piston engdnes
Performance: maximum speed
150 knth (93 mph); service ceilingr
4600 m (15,090 ft); range 600 km (373
miles)
Weights: empty 3300 kg (7 275 lb)r
maximum take-off5300 kg ( I 1,684 lb)
Dimensions:span 23,40 m (76 ft
9,25 in); length 12 60 m (41 ft 4.25 in);
height 4 48m(14 tt B33rn) winqarea
150.00 m'(1,614.64 sq ft) The Caproni Ca 4l was essentially similar to the Ca 40, but hadno nose
Armament: two I 7-mm (0.303-in) landingwheels and had a tandem seating arrangement for thetwo pilots.The
Reveili machrne-guns plusa unusual bomb arrangement on tft e sides of fhe bottom wing nacelle is well
bombload of 900 kq (1,984 ]b) displayed, as is the considerable size.

ffi Sii.otrr.y early aircraft

Following his first unsuccessful experi- The Sikorsky IIya Muromets, seen in
ments with rotary-wing aircraft rn 1909 l914, was afar cry from the Bl6riots,
i0, the Russian Igor Sikorsky concen- Farmans, Taubes and BEs thatwent
trated upon design and development towar ayear later in the West. The
of fixed-wing aircraft. His Sikorsky S- 1 aircraftwas without parallel at the
to S-5 were lrttle more than ex- time, and the first production model
perimental types, but with the S-2 bi proved capable of flying I 6 people.
plane he achreved a flrst 12-second
hop in 1910 Growinq experience and
capabrhty garned him an appointment during the war period rncluded the
in 1912 as a designer and chief en- 5-16 a conventional tlvo-seat recon-
gineer of the Russo-Baltic Wagron naissance biplane whrch powered by
Works (RBVZ) and he at once became an BO-hp (60-kW) Gnome rotary en-
involved rn desiqn and constructron of gine could be operated on wheel or Specification Weights: empty 3600 kq (7,936 lb);
the worid's first four-engrned aircraft, ski landing gear The S-20 which en- Sikorky Ilya Muromets B maximum take-off 4850 kg ( 10,692 lb)
named officially Russkii Vitiaz (Russian tered servrce in L9 17 was a single-seat Type: heavy bomber Dimensions: span 34,5 m ( 1 13 ft
knight), This formed a basis for de- scout powered by a 110-hp (82 kW) Le Powerplant:four I50-hp (I I2-kW) 2,25 in); lenglh 19.0 m (62 ft 4 in); wing
velopment ol the Ilya Muromets series Rh6ne rotary; it was Sikorsky s last de- SaLmson piston enqines area 150 0 m'z(1,614,6 sq ft)
offour-engine healry bombers used by sign in Russra, for with advent of the Performance: maximum speed Armament: typically 10 16-kg (36Jb)
the Imperial Russian army during revolution in 1917 he emiqrated to the 100 hx/h (62 mph); service ceihng not bombs plus a variable defensive
World War I The first of between 70 I]SA known range 420 km (260 miles) armament
and B0 of these alrcraft was flown for
the first time rn January 1914, and on 12
February 1914 the type established a
world herght-with-payload record,
carrying 16 persons to an altitude of
2000 m (6,562 ft). Few ofthese produc-
lron aircrait were -denrrcal improve-
menr and development being con-
tinuous, and shortaqre ofengTines meant
they were flown with a variety of
powerplant whrch. rn sorne cases rn-
volved a mrx of engines on one aircraft
Other desLgns to enter production
Over B0 I lya Muromets were built,
used aErarhsl German targets on the
Eastern Front. They first saw action
on the night of 15 February 19 15, and
were able to operate with relative
impunity (although with limited
accuracy).

2642
Growrd &grmek &s? &WW& Bombers of Worid War I

The massivesfrides taken by aviation in the four years of

WorldWar I were nowhere more eloquently demanstrated.
than in the titanic battles of l9I 8. Tactical air power, a f lasf
makinga significant contribution to the struggle, had matured
into an indisBensible tool for the prosecution of rnodern war.

The use of alrcraft to attack targets {troops, trunsport and artillery batteries) in
the front line increased steadilV from the occasional opportunist forays of 1 91 5
to ihe f ull-scale offensiye actrons by swarms of aircraft towardd the end of the
war. Moreover as eerly as 1916 aircraft, whrch today would be classified as
tactical suppori aircraft, were being conceived to attack battlefield largets,
atlthough by and large these were 'general-purpose' aircraft capable of dropprng
light bombs on targets of opportunity while they went about other duties, such
as gun.nery observation and reconnaissanie. lt was not until 1918 that the
'trench fiqhter' (a dedicated gun-armed ground-attack f ighter) came to be recog-
nized as a weapon in its own right.
lronically one.of the best of Allied aircraft in the lactrcal support category was
brought inlo.service as elarly as January 1917, was extremely popular with its
crews, and continued to q jve excellent servlce rlght up to the Armistice, yet thts The AEG DJ 1 was e srngrJe-se at atmoured graund attack fighter roughly
aeroplane, the Armstrong Whitworth F.K.B (the 'BiS Ack') never attracted the eq uiv ale nt to the,Sopwif,h Sa/am an d e r. F ir s t f.ly ing in S e p te m b e r J g J 8, its
fame of other World War.l aircraft. Despite its size the BiqAck was simple to f1y, fuseiagre was skinnedwith aluminium andithad a 195-hp engine;the
manoeuvrable. stronq and capable of withstanding a great deal of damage from armistice intervened betare it could be developed further.
ground small arms fire. By early 1918 the manufacturers were producing the
type at the rate of four every day. men miraculously survrved, Hammond, one of whose leqs had 10 be ampuia.:l
To illustrale the type of work underiaken by the 'Big Acks' in 1918, as well as receiving a bar to his MC, and Nlcleod the VC.
the hazards faced, it is worth recordinq that two of the most outstanding awards The other award of the VC to a Big Ack pilot was made to Captain F.M. F ;ii':::
of the Victoria Cross were made to pilots of this type. A No. 2 Squadron F.K.8, of No. B Squadron who, with Lieutenant J.A.G. Hasla.m, on 10 August 19 i I r,:
flown bV the 1B-Vear-old Lieutenant Alan McLeod with Lieutenant A.W. Ham- just dropped his 5'1-kg ('1 2-lb) bombs on a German gun posrtion when ne ,...,.
.1

mond, MC, as his observer, was returning from a bomblng attack on enemy
forces during the great German offensive of March 1918 when it was atlacked
by Fokker Dr I triplane, This was shot down by l-1ammond. but almost rm-
mediately seven more Fokkers set on.the Big Ack. Mcleod shot down one of
these with his front gun and Hammond two others, aithough both British crew
members were wounded, the laiter six times. The rear cockpit floor fell out and
the fuel tank was hit and set on fire. Despite beinq wounded live more trmes,
Mcleod climbed out on to the port wrng and with one hand gripping the burning
control column manaqed to crashland the blazing ajrcraft in no-man's land,
Hammond continuing to fire his Lewis gun until the crash knocked him uncon-
scious. German aircraft then started to bomb the wreck, again wounding
Mcleod, as British troops began dragqing the arrmen lowards their lines. Both
attacked by srx enemy scouts while still flying very low over the trencl.e. -'= -
first burst of fire almosi severed West's left leg and wounded h rn in tne r l- - -,
yet, faint from loss of blood and hal{-dead from pain, he managed to h.r.:-:
F,K.B level while Haslam drove off their attackers. West succeedec :n ta::.---
safely in the British lines but ref used to be tal<en to hospital unt I he hai c ..:- =
f gtaj]e! !'eport of German
gun dispositions to the tank commander r+' ii. ,. - : --
No. B Squadron was working.
TheJunkersCLII was an enlargedversian of theJ 7 whiih also formed the
basis for the D I manoplane fighter.TheJunkers series of dedjcated grou:ti.
attaekaircraft,tittedwitharmourprotection{orenErines, crewandfueltanks.
could have been the Sturmaviks of the Great War.

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 Ground Anack in 1918
Above: The SopwithSalamander was the British answer to the hazards of
flying and tighting over the machine-gun laden battlefields of I g l8. Heavily
armed ancl armoured. itwas the c/assjcBrjtrsft 'Trench Fighter
lndeed the work being done at this time by No. B Squadron foreshadowed the
cab rank tactics by Hawker Typhoons and Supermarihe Spitf ires during the last
two years of World War 11. In 1 9 B the squadron was attached to the Tank Corps,
1 During the last great German 'push'of March l g j B t6ere were ho fewer tn.-
the observers' cockpits often being occupied bytank crew members as the RAF
observers travelled in the tanks; early experiments using rudimentary radio
telephone for communication soon gave place to wireless telegraphy, but
techniques were still be;ng evolved at ihe time of the Armistice. Another use of
L.K.8s, t^'s r rre o \o. 35 Squao-on. ,nvotvec tnp oropp ng
o+ 18.kg ,40
lbr
phosphorus bombs to generate smoke screens. Durinq the attack bV the British
Xlll Corps west of Sera-in on B October '1918 a two-hou"r screen was maintained
by telays of aircraft to conceal the build-up of the attacking forces. F.K.8s were
also used to excellent effect in Macedonra, the aircraft {including some D.H.gs)
of No 47 Squadron dropping 2210k9 (5.000 lb) of bombs odthe retreating
tsulgarlan army in the Kosturino Pass on 21 September 19j8. On the same dav
BrisLol F.2B F.g^1ers o' No. I Austral ar Squaoron took very heavy toll o, Tu.<:s.t
troops retreatlng through a valley tn Palestine.
Similar German development
German grggnd-supporl a rcraft followed much the same development pat-
tern as that of Eritish and French aircraft, although iheir use of bombs tended to
give way to guns and grenades. Among the Sircraft which commanded the
greatest respect among Allied scout pilots were the Halberstadt CL lland CL lll,
the former being used in close co ordinatron w rh advancing infantryformations
during the battles on the Western Front f rom the late sumrie r ol 1g1j onwards.
So successful were these atr support operations during the German counterof-
fensive of 30 NoVember in the Battle of Cambrai {hat a iubsequent Brltish court
of inquiry stated that German aircraft f yrng below 3O m (100 ft) and firing their
machine-guns lnto the front,line trenches had had a devastatino effect on the
rorale o'rne oe'eroe's, who seemed unaole lo "r;r bacl, witn Lh6 small arms at
-eir disposal ln the Cerman al Lac(s o.t rre Somre br dges of Sepremoer 1 91 7
rhe r,albersradts had causeo wdespread panic on tnJ o'olnd, -sry o'lhe
troops leaping off the bridge parapets to escape the deluge of fire from above.
2644
Above: A Liberty-engined D.H.9A is typicat of the much-improved aircraft that
were to see sewice againstGerman airfields inthe lastmonths of thewar. The
'Nine-Ack' alsowent into IJS servicewith the Marine Corps Northern Bombing
Group in theweeks before theArmistice.
Below: By 1918,with one of themajor fasks assigned to air power being the
suppor-t af groun4 forces, many aircraft found ihemselvei trench-boribing
and column-s tnfing. T he S opw ith S nip e, an im p roved ve r s ion of the C am6j.
was typical of the scouts co-opted into the task.
:jl{,
Fl::l$*
esn
t L:'
For such attacks the CL Il carried trays of grenades alonq the outside of .-.
fuselage, ihe, weapons-being lobbed bverboard at targets"of opportunrty.
38 Schlachtstaffeln (battle squadrons). most of which flew Halberstadr C! .
and CL lVs. These were also employed in an offensve role, flying in groups :-
about si,x to strafe enemy trenches and artlllery so as to keep opplsirig trooc-.
heads down at the moment of attack bV the German jnfantrv. Until"the fi;.
rnonihs of the war, however, the Germans raO" nlrcn g;;r1;; ;; oi air.,.:,
n ach ne gJns l.an rhe A l'es Wre^ wariare became s6 m-ch n ore tiutc
those l -a. mo.tns as t1e g.eat bred(rhrorgh was ach eved aro rhe Ge'-
armies forsook the shelteiof their trenche"s to begin their headlong retrea.
British and French scouts {the Sopwith Camels andsnrpes, the RAF"S.E.bA:
the Spads and the Nieuports) dropped down to low level to deliver their o,...1
deiuge o -ac^ ne.g-n l,re on r^e l^ororected colune ns o, troops a^d ho...:.
d'aV!. r'arSpo-1. Ar coroals o\e- l-e .ouleo Cerman a-mieS we.e Commo
place ano cas-a L.es or borr s oes we-e ^edvv oul. as Gern an and Atl eo p ir---
w9,fe to discover, air cornbat at iow level was exceedrngly dangerous anc
difficult, and it was the Allied superiolty of numbers that fiially ov"erwhelme:
the German air force. indeed aircraft like ihe Halberstadts, excellbnt thouch the,,
were in support of an infantry altack, were far less effective when foiced tc
de'e^d rremselyes aga'.s. ,he A I eo sco.tts. \eve.t-e,ess I was in 1p€, 6f lor.
s.ve tactCs'orn^g1lq flovrt ov LnoSq -aoe-SlaolS Laar t^e SeedS O Blrzl.ec
were sown: the tlght inteqration of air and qround forces to achteve break'-
tl^rorgr or the oarrlef ero. When, 15 years aler a rew Cermar air .orce wa
born Lhe .ulln a"p : o..rory'u-cl or wouio bo Io sJoport ihe Gerrran al n^\ o.
thp q'o-^d.
Bii contra.r tne B. tsn, wno we-e ^drd at wo-< ol rhe e"d o, tne wo
develop ng tre t-erc^'ighter, SJC.l aS lne Soow rh Sa amanoe' (w th a batte'}
ot lo-ward-fir;ng g;ns) and Bl-raro, dropoed rne enL re concepto{ h gh-pertorm-
ance close-support aircraJt and reverted to the liqht bombrer. Just 2iyears later
the wreckage of scores of Fairey Battles in Belgian and French fie{ds lent stark
testrmony to folly of such a foolish policy.
 Bregruet 14
The Breguet 14 two-seat tractor bi-
plane began life on the drawingt
boards at the company's Velizy-Villa-
coublay works in the summer of 1916. It
remained in production from March
1917 to 1928, and was not withdrawn
from service with France's A6ronauti-
que Militaire until 1932,
Although rather ugly, the Bre. 14 was
rmmensely practical and tough, Its
angular fabric-covered wings and
fuselage were of duralumin, steel and
wooden construction, wtth arlerons on
both upper and lower wings. Sturdy
cross-axle landinq gear was fitted and
the Renault engine, which had a rec-
tangn-llar frontal radrator, performed
we11,
The Bre. I4 A.2 reconnaissance ver-
sion was equipped wrth camera. wl.re-
less transmitter and racks for four liqht
bombs. It was the first version to make
its mark, beqinning to replace the
obsolescent Sopwith 1Z2-Strutter dur-
ing the summer of 19i7. The type was
issued to a number of well-known re-
connaissance escadrilles, rncluding
the 1le, 35e and 227e, as well as many
escadrdes attached to heavy artillery
regdments of the French army, Bre.14
8.2 bombe's made many impresstve
formation daylight raids deep behind
the German lines, When the Novem-
ber 1918 armisttce brought hostilities
to an end, Breqnret 14 B 2s equipped
the 15 escadrrJies of the le briqade de
Bombardement, while Bre 14 A,2s
were flying wilh l2 day-reconnarss-
ance escadrr7es and the 19 escadr/Jes
of the Aviatron des Corps d'Arm6es,
The five independent army divisions
each had a Bre,14 A,2 escadrille. A
total of 27 Bre.I4 A.2 escadril/es was
attached to heavy artrllery regiments.
Other wartime verisons of the type
included the Bre.14 B.I sinqle-seat
(2,271Ib): maximum take-off 1565 kg Seen in the colours ofthe I 5e
(3,4s0 rb) E scadrille, 5 e Groupe, 33e Regiment
Dimensions: span, upper (original A6rian d' O b s ew ation of the F rench
ailerons) 14.36 m (47 ft 1,25 in) or air torce in the years after the end of
(balanced ailerons) 14.86 m (48 ft 9 in), thewar, this Bre.l4AZ is typical of
Iower (onginalailerons) 12.40 m (40 ft one of the mostfamous French
bomber, which did not go into large- B in) or (balanced ailerons) 13,66 m aircraft of all time, serving in a
scale production, and the Bre.l45 (44 ft9,75 in); lenqthB.BT m(29 ft multitude of roles until I 932.
ambuiance. A Bregn-ret 14 had been lrlq in); hershl 3.30 m (10 ft J0 in), wing
used experimentally for rapid evacua- area (origina) ailerons) 47,50 m/
tion of casualties from just behind the t5l 1.30 sq ft) or (balanced ailerons
front line in 1917, In 19iB four Bre.I4S 49.20 mz i529 60 sq ft) Flown in the summer of 19lB, the
ambulances, each carrying two Armament: one fixed 7,7 mm (0,303-in) Bregruet 17 was anexcellent
stretcher cases, operated on the Aisne Vickers machine-gun on port side of development of the Bre.l4 airframe,
front. fuselagre and twin 7,7-mm (0,303-in) being more compact and with an
The Breguet 14 served with 14 Lewis machine-gnrns on ring mounting uprated engine. The gunner had two
escadrilles in Greece, Serbia and the in observer's cockpit, plus bombload conventionally-mounted Lewis guns,
Middle East at the end of 1918, but it up to 40 kq (BB lb) and one beneath his cockpit.
was in the French overseas empire
that it was to achieve qreat distinctron
over more than a decade in the period
behveen the two world wars, The ver-
sion utilized in the more far-flunq col-
onies was the Bregnret 14 TOE (Th6atre
des Operations Ext6rieures),
Specification
Bregnret 14 A.2
Type: two seat reconnarssance atrcraft
Powerplant: one 300-hp (224-kW)
Renault 1 2Fe Lnh ne ptston engrne
Performance: maximum speed
184 km/h (114 mph); sewice ceiitngt
6000 m (19,690 ft); endurance 3 hoLus
Weights: emptyequipped 1030 kq

>K il,oyat Aircraft Factory F.E.2 r

The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 rep-

resented an initial solution to the prob-
lem of providing effective forward-
flring capability before the introduc-
tion of interrupter gear. It had a two-
seat fuselage nacelle in which the
powerplant was mounted at the rear to
dnve a pusher propeller. The pilot had
the rear position and the forward cock-
pit was occupied by the observer/qnrn-
ner, Initial versron was the F.E.2a, po-
wered by a 100-hp (75-kW) Green en-
gine, but disappointing performance
resulted in the 120-hp (89-kW) Beard-
more engrne berng installed rn the
F.E.2b, whrch was enlerrng servrce ir
small numbers towards the end of
l9]5. Two F,E.2c aircraft were pro-
duced by the Factory, these havinqr the
pilot seated forward and observer to Abov e : A R oyal Aircr aft F actory
the rear for a night flying role, The F.E.2b of N o. 2 2 S qn, Royal F lying
designation F.E.2d applied :o a versron Corps, based in France in I 9 I 7.
wlth similar airframe, but a 250-hp Operating from a number of airfields
(lB6-kW) Rolls-Royce engdne, this pro- in the army co-operation role, the
vided considerably improved per squadron tookpart in themajor
formance, offensives of the spring of thatyear
In operatronal service the F.E 2b, before converting to F.28 fighters.
workmg in collaboration with the Airco
(de Havilland) D,H,Z, gradually res-
tricted the menace of the Fokker
monoplane. but was in rurn lo meet lts
match when confronted by the more This is thought to be an F.E.2b of No.
advanced Albatros and Halberstadt 25 Sqn preparing for a night raid in
scouts that began to equip the German 1916, a rolewhich became ever more
air sewice in late 1916, However, the important to an aircraftvulnerable to
suitability of the F,E,Zb for night flying each new generation of fighting
meant that it was to be deployed for scoufs.
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 (continued)

night bombrng operations in Europe
and for home defence against dirigi-
bles and Gotha bombers remarn.ng
occupied in these roies until the final
year of World War L Production of
F E.za/F,E,zb aircraft totalled 1,939,
and althougrh there is no accurate re-
cord of the number of F. E.2d aircraft, it
is beheved that about 250 were burlt.
Specification
RAFF.E.2b
Type: two-seat fighter
Powerplant: one 120-hp (89-kW)
Beardmore inirne piston engine
Performance: maximum speed
129 km/h (80 mph) at sea level; service
ceiling 2745 m (9,000 ft); endurance 3
hours
Weights: empty904 kg (1,993 lb);
maximumtake-off 1347 kq (2,970 lb)
Dimensions: span 14.55 m (47 ft 9 in);
lengrh 9.83 m 132 ft 3 rn): height 3 85 m
(12 ft7.5 in), wing area 45.89 m'
(494,0 sq ft)
Armament: rnitially a sinqle 7. 7-mm
(0.303-in) Lewis gmn, but later a second
Lewis gun was addedt in a bomber
role a maximum of 159 kg (350 lb) of
bombs could be carried rn various
combrnations
Introduced in late 1915 todealwith
the'F okker S courge', the F.E. 2 (in
collaboration with the D.H. 2)
gradually gained an ascendancy, but
soon became vulnerable to the
Albatros and Halberstadtof 1916. It
ended thewar as a night bomber.

>K iiandley Pase 0/100 and 0/400

To meet an Admiralty speciflcation of
December 1914 lor a large twin-en-
gine patroi bomber, Handley Paqre iost
little time in desigrnrnqr an aircraft to
meet ihis requirement and when the
Handley Paqe O/I00 prototype was
completed, it was the largest aero-
plane that had been built in the UK.
The 0/100 was powered by two 266-
hp (198-kW) Rolls-Royce Eaqle II en-
gtnes, in armoured nacelles, mounted
between the wings just outboard of the
luselage. Accommodalron was ln d
griazed cockpit enclosure, the floor and
sides of the cockpit being protected O/ 100 no. 1463 was landed by its RNAS crew on the firstgood field they saw
by armour plate. Flown for the flrst after breaking cloud on their flight to France on I J anuary I g I 7 ; it was I 3 miles
time on l7 December 1915, the 0/100 inside enemy territory, near Laon. Among the German evaluation pilots was
was found to be rnadequate in per- M anfre d von R ich thofe n.
formance and the second prototype
had a revised open cockpit for a ctew
of two (with provision for a gunners
positron forward), the cockpit armour
plating and most ofthat incorporated rn
the engrne nacelles was deleted, and
new radlators were rntroduced ior the
water-cooled engines
Formation of the first 'Handley Page
Squadron', as it was then known, be-
gran rn Augrut 1916 and this unit became
operational in France in late October
or early November; its flrst recorded
bombinq attack was made on the niqht
of 16/17 March i9 17 against an enemy-
heid railway junction At the time the RAF was formed, the RFC's standard heavy bomber was the
Production deliveries of the 0/400 0/400, an aircraftfromNo.20T Sqn atLigescoutt, Fnnce, in 19tB being shown
began rn early l9lB this belng an im- here. This was the first British squadron used solely for long-range night
proved version of the 0/100 which drf bombing, and the fi$t tooperateHandley Pagebombers.
fered primarily by having more
powerful Rol1s-Royce tagle engines. a was also at about this same time that Specification maxlmum take-off6350 kq (14,000 lb)
revised fuel system and radiators, and these aircraft began to deploy 748-kg Handley Page 0/400 Dirnensions: span 30.48 m (100 ft 0 in):
the introduction of a compressed-air (1,650-lb) bombs the heavrest used by Type: heavy bomber length 19.16 m (62 ft 10 25 in); height -
engdne starting system. Although pro- British sewices during Worid War I Powerplant:two 360 hp (268-kW) 6.71m(22 ft 0 in); wingarea 153, l0 m'
duction of O/100s totalled oniy 46 air- More than 400 O/400s were deli- Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII 12-cylinder (1,648 0 sq ft)
craft, substantial numbers of O/400s vered for sewrce with the RAF before Vee prston engines Armament:up to five 7,7-mm (0,303-in
became operational before the end of the Armistice of November 1918. The Performance: maximum speed Lewrs qn-rn on pivoted mounts, plus a
the war and, for example on the niqht type remained in service in reduced 156 km/h (97 mph); service ceilingr maximum bombload of 907 kg
of l4l15 September 1918 a force of 40 numbers until late 1919, when it was 2590 m (B 500 ft); endurance B hours (2,000lb)
O/400s attacked targets in the Saar. It replaced by the Vickers Vimy Weights: empty 3719 ks (8,200 lb);

The large fuel capacity of the Handley Page 0/400 made it a suitable aircraft to The 0/400 replaced the O/ I00 in production early in 19I B, being powered by a
blaze the trail for the Empire flying routes to come. This aircraftwas used by pair of 350-hp (261 -kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle engines and having improved fuel
Borton, Salmond andSmith to survey the airmailroutefromEgypt tolndia, systems and radiators. Maximum bombload was of the order of 907 kg
andis seen in Delhi on I 2 December I I I B. ( 2,000 lb), and the heaviest bomb carried was of 7 5 0 kg ( 1,650 1b).

tr4t)
ffi fiandley Pase Vil500 Bombers of World War I
Designed and developed to make it
possible for the RAF to mount attacks
on German targets from bases in the
UK, the Handley Page V/1500 must be
regarded as the flrst practical strategdc
bomber. Largrer in size than the O/100s
and O/400s that had preceded it, the
V/1500 was powered by four Rolls-
Royce engines, these mounted in tan-
dem pairs between the wings, out-
board ofthe fuselage, but was in other
respects similar rn overall configmra-
tion lo the earlier bombers.
The prototype, assembled by Hand-
ley Page from components manufac-
tured by Harland and Wolfl was flown
for the first time durrng May 1918, This
differed primarily from production air-
cra{t by having a single larqe cooling
radiator to serve all four enqines, the
standard installation becoming one
hexagronal radiator forward of each
pair of engines. This larger aircraft
provided accommodation for a crew of arcraft flew via Rome, Malta, Cairo, Specification The Handley Page Vl 1500 was ta
five to seven. and Baghdad to Karachr, which it HandleyPageV/1500 late for World War I and ta
large for
When the armistice was signed only reached on 30December, Thrs aircraft Type: longr-range healry bomber the peacetime Royal Air Force, but
three V/1500s were ready for oper- was used rn May 1919 to make a bomb Powerplant: four 375-hp (280-kW) had thewar lasted until 1919 its 2lAG
ational use, these standinq by with No, attack on Kabul during the problems in Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII 12-cylinder Ign ( I ,300-mile) range and massive
166 Squadron at Bircham Newton, Nor- Afghanlstan. Another V/1500 was ship- Vee piston engines (for the time) bombloadwould have
folk, where they had been frustrated ped to Newfoundland with the object Performance: maximum speed made a sigmificant contribution.
by bad weather from attacking targets of making a first west-east flight over 159 kr/h (99 mph) at l9B0 m (6,500 ft);
in Germany. The type saw only limited the North Atlantic, but this project was sewice ceiling 3355 m ( I 1,000 ft); (23 ft O rn); wing area?7}.7O mz
post-war service with the RAF, gEa- abandoned when Alcock and Brown range 2092 km ( 1,300 miles) (3,000.0 sq ft)
dually being replaced by the Vickers achreved the first crossing in a Vickers Weights: empty 7983 kg (17,600 1b); Armament:single or twin 7.7-mm
Vimy. One was used to record the first Vimy. The post-1924 desiqination was maximumtake-off 13608 kq (30,000 lb) (0,303-in) Lewis quns in nose, dorsa-
through flrght from Enqland to India: H,P,I5, Dimensions: span 38.40 m (126 ft 01n); ventral and tail posiiions, plus up :o
takinq off on 13 December 1918, the lenqth 19,51 m(64 ft0 in); heisht7,0l m 3402 ks (7,500 ]b) ofbombs

ffi [i"t"r, F.B.zlVimy

The Vickers F.B.27 Vimy bomber pro-
totype was flown for the first time on 30
November l9l7; like the de Havilland
D,H.10 Amrens and Handley Page V/
1500, it was designed to provide the
RAF with a strategic bomber that
could attack lndustrial targets in Ger-
many, Although token numbers of
each had arnved in France or were
wlth British squadrons before the
Armistice of 1l November l9l8, none
ot them saw operational servtce in
World War L The F.B.27A Vimy Mk II
was ordered into large-scale produc-
tion, but contract cancellations at the Seventy-five Vickers F.B.M k 27A Vimys were ordered from Westland at Y&viI.
war's end llmited the total built to about but only 25 were completed, the second aircraft being depicted here. Itwas
230. It was not until July 1919 that the planned to use American Liberty engines, but standard Rolls-Royce Eagle
Vimy was in full RAF service, equtp- VI I I s were eventu al ly fi tted.
prng flrst No. 58 Squadron in Egypt,
then other squadrons in the Middle land-Australia flight by Ross and Keith Iraq from 1921. Serving with Nos 45 Powerplant: two 360-hp (268-k\&l
East and rn the UK, It remained in flrst- Smith and their crew; and the attemp- and 70 Squadrons at Hinaidi, they not Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII Vee pL-t::-
line service until replaced by the Vick- ted first England-South Africa fliqrht by only carried out their basic tasks, but engmes
ers Virginia during 1924-5. Pierre van Ryneveld and Christopher were used as air ambulances and play- Performance: maximum speei
The Vimy is, of course, remem- Q, Brand, of which the flnal leg, Bula- ed a significant role in establishing the 166 krri/h (103 mph) at sea level
bered in aviation history for its wayo to Cape Town, was completed in Cairo-Baghdad airmail route, service ceiling 2135 m (7,000 ft)
pioneeringr flights, including the first a D,H,9, maximum range 1448 lan (900 rnl-;-
nonstop west-east crossingT of the Final derivative of the Vimy was the Specification Weights: empty 3222 kg (7, 104 )b',
North Atlantic by John Alcock and Vickers Vernon bomber/transport VickersVimyMkII maximumtake-off4937 kg (10.884 L.
Arthur Whrtten Browni the first Eng- used by the RAF during its policing of Type: healry bomber Dimensions: span 20.75 m (68 t 1 r.
lenqlh 13.27 m (43 ft 6.5 in); hergi::
4,76 m ( 15 ft 7,5 in); wrnq area
122,44 m'z (1,318,0 sq f0
Armament: one 7, 7-mm (0. 303-r,r)
lrelt'rs machine-gnrn on a ScarffI::g
mouriting rn both nose and mrd
positions, plus up to II23 kq (2 I ..' :
ofbombs on external racks

The Vickers F.8.27 Vimy was

designed to provide a heavy bomber
for the RFC, but only a single Vimy
MklV had reachedFrance by
October I 9 I 8. I t went on to prove a
mainstay of theRA.F's bombing
s quadrons, and Alcock and Br own
flew one across the Atlantic.
 NI|Z
UI Z '-\
Armstro
- ng Whitworth F.K.8
As a replacement for the B.L 2c,
Koolhoven designed the Armstrong
Whitworth F.K.8, an aircraft of
altogether more sturdy appearance,
with a considerabiy larger fuselage to
cope wrth the specialisr equrpmenr re-
quired for the type's army co-opera-
tron role. Produced at the same time as
the Royal Aircraft Factorys R.E.B,
which was intended for the same task,
the F,K.B was generally considerably
superror, but no doubt polrtics were
responsible for the much larger orders
for the government-establishment
machine.
Pirst flown in May 1916, the F.K.B
was sent to the Central Fiying School at
Upavon for testing where, although its
handling was satisfactory, it fell some-
what short of the specified perform-
ance. Nevertheless, substantial orders
were placed Armstronq Whrtworth
recerved contracts begrnning in Au-
gust 1916 for more than 700 while
another 950 were built by Angus San-
derson in Newcastle Production at the
Armstrong Whitworth factory was be-
ffi Rir"o D.H.4, 9 and 9A
A major reason for the Allied vrctory in
the air war against Germany was that
the Allies managed to develop more
and more powerful aero-engines
while the German arrcraft had to make
do with a limited variety of weaker
powerpiants it was an enqiine, the su-
perlative Rolls-Royce Eagle which
endowed an otherwise conventronal
two-seater called the Airco D.H.4 with
a performance on a par wrth enemy
scouts The prototype D.H 4 had flown
in Augmst i916 wrth a different power-
plant but delays in placrngTthrs unit into
production led to early models car-
rying a 250-hp (186-kW) Rolls-Royce
enginet this was later developed into
the mishty 375-hp (280-kW) Eaqie VII
'r,rhrch enabled the D H.4 to top 225 ktn/
h (140 mph) in level flight and to climb
io LB30 m (6 000 ft) rn under 5 minutes
The D H,4 was flrst dehvered to No
55 Squadron, RFC, in early 1917 and
eventually equrpped nine RAF and 13
American squadrons by the Armistice
it also serued wrth the RNAS. General-
ly armed with a Vickers machine-gun
tr-ng lorward and one .somelines
:wo) Lewis guns in the observer s posi-
,ion, the D.H.4 could carry up to 209 kg
i460 lb) of bombs on underwrng racks.
Machines built by Westland lor the
RNAS carried twin Vickers gTuns and
.he observer's Lewis on a prllar mount-
-ng. Two D.H.4s were modifred as
,trshrp inlerceplors each sporlng d
r ti-lb quick-flrer mounted to flre near-
ly vertrcally upwards, they anticipated
scme of the nighlflghters of World
War II but never saw achon
The only flaw rn the desiqn of the
D H.4 was the distance separatrnq prlot
and observer, which rendered com-
munication almost rmpossrble.
Although the layout qave the pilot good
downward visibrlity and the observer
a good field of frre the lack of com-
municatron was a serious drawback in
air-to-arr combat The D.H.9 rectrfled
:ais. placing the crew close together in
a newly designed fuselage marned to
:1e same wings and tail as the D.H.4.
lesrgned as a long-range bomber rn
ld-1917 the D.H.9 was heralded as
an outstanding alrcraft but when the
:rachrne appeared on the Western
::/o
frI'
AnArmstrongWhitworthF.K.S, one of arun of 200 aircraftorderedfrom
4nErus Sanders on & C o, N ewcas tle upon Tyne, in a conttact of 5 J uly t I I 8.
Sandersons nze re the largest builder of the type. Two 'Big Ack' (is lhe type was
known) pilots were recipients of theVictoriaCross.
tween B0 and 100 F.K Bs per month by Specification Weiqhts: empty869 kg(l,9LO lb);
the end of i9l7and this continued until Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 maximum take-off 1275 kg (2,8 i I lb)
July i9lB, when the company received Type: two-seat general-purpose Dimensions: span 13.26 m (43 ft 6 in);
contracts for Brrstol Fiqhter production arrcraft length 9,58 m (3 I ft 5 in); heisht 3 33 m
and handed over F.K B responsibrlity Powerplant: one 160-hp (1 19-kW) (10 ft 11 in); wrngarea 50. 17 mz
to Sanderson. Beardmore rnline piston engrne (540 sq ft)
The F,K,B served wrth several Performance: maximum speed Armament: one frxed 7, 7-mm (0, 303-in)
squadrons in France, the first to be- 153 km/h (95 mph) at sea level; climb synchronzed Vickers machrne-gn-rn
come fully equipped being No. 35 to i9B0 m (6,500 ft) in 19 minutes; and one trarnable 7.7-mm (0,303 in)
while other squadrons served ovet- senrice ceiling 3960 m (13,000 ft); Lewis machine-gmn in the rear cockpi:
endurance 3 hours
Front in the spring of 19 iB its perform-
ance fell far short of expectations. Its
BHP Puma engine gave endiess trou-
ble and there were not enough Rolls-
Royce Eaqles to equip the armada of
D.H.9s raprdly being assembled,
Westland came to the rescue having
manufactured larqe numbers of D.H 4s
and D H.9s, they redesigned the air-
craft to accept the American Irrberty
engine The result was the D.H.9A
which was a massive improvement
and is rightly regarded a one of the
best strateQdc bombers of the 'Great
War. Unlike most of its contempor-
aries, the D H,9A continued in produc-
tion after the war and served with dis-
tinction in lraq and on the troubled Because of the fuel tank between pilot and observer, the D.H.4 was nicknamed
North West Jrontrer ol Ind-a. the'Flaming Coffin' by its crews. Nonetheless, it was built in extremely large
numbers, its considerable virtues outweighing that major fault.
Specification
AircoD.H.4
Type: two-seat day bomber
Powerplant: one 375-hp (280-kW)
Rolls-Royce Eag.Le VII rnhne prston
englne
Performance: maximum level speed
230 km/h (143 mph); climb to lB30 m
(6,000 ft) in 4 mrnutes 50 seconds;
service cerlinq 6705 m (22,000 ft);
endurance 3 hours 45 minutes
Weights:empty 1OB3 kg (2 387 lb);
maximum take-off 1575 kg (3,472 lb)
Dimensions:span1292 m(42 ft4 5 in);
lenqth 9.35 m (30 ft B in); heiqht 3 35 m
( I I ft O in) wing area 40.32 m2
/424 A .^ frl
Armament: one (RFC) or two (RNAS)
fixed forward-firing 7, 7-mm (0.303 in)
Vickers machine-gnrns and one or two
7,7 mm (0,303 in) Lewis quns in aft
cockpit, plus up to 209 kq (460 ib) of
bombs on underfuselage/wrng racks;
American-built DH-4s had two 7 62-
mm (0 3-1n) Ma"lin 1o rwa rd-hnng
machine-gmns, but otherwise were as
British production
The D.H.9A served for many years
with the RAF, but unlike its
predecessor was only used in small
numbers by the US Army.ltwas used
in the 37-hour endurance record set
on 27/28 August I 923 by the
Americans S mith and Richter.
Airco D.H.4 qnd D.Hg in Action
Geoffrey de Havilland always had aflair for producing aircraft that fitted the billfor
a specific requirement. In 1916, withWorldWar I in progress, therewas a need for
an advanced bombing and reconnaissance aircraftwhichwouldgive theRFC a
'strategic' bombing capability, being able to hit German targets far beyond the
trenches. The aircraft that more than met this need was the D .H .4.

When Geoffrey de Havilland's D.H,4 first
reached Royal Flying Corps squadrons early in
1917 it was greeted with enthusiasm as posses-
sing a performance adequate to outdistance
then-current German scouts such as the Albat-
ros and Fokker D ill, as well as being able to
outmanoeuvre (in experienced hands) all such
aircraft, As such it earned lastrng fame as the
first successful high-performance day bomber.
Early arrcraft were powered by 250-hp (186-
kW) Rolls-Royce engines and these accompa-
nled No, 55 Squadron to France early in March
1917, followed by No, 57 Squadron in May and
by No, 25 Squadron two months later. The first-
named unlt drd not enter combat immediately,
being ordered to hold its D,H.4s in reserve so
as to achieve the greatest possible surprise in
the Battle of Arras which opened on 6 Aprr1. On
that day and on several subsequent occasions
No. 55 Squadron attacked Valenciennes rail
way station as an important German com-
munications centre. Early in May the targets
shifted to the rail junctions at Brebieres and
Bussigny, where a small number of casualties
was suffered irom ground fire,
During the Battle of Ypres of May 1917 No. 55
Squadron was joined by the D,H,4s of No, 57,
the llght bombers berng able to operate out of
reach of German opposition above 4875 m
(16 000 ft), In October that year, by whrch trme
No, 18 Squadron had become the RFC's fourth
D.H,4 squadron in France, No, 55 was with-
drawn from the front io become one of the first
three units comprising the RFC's 4lst Wrng
(the others berng No, lO0 Squadron with RAF
F,E.2b pushers and No. 16 (Nava1) Squadron
with Handley Page O/100s), The 4lst Wing,
later renamed the VIII Brrgade, ultimately be-
came the Independent Force of the RAF on 6
June I9lB, and as such the main lnstrument of
strategic bombrngr by the Allies.
Between October 1917 and the end of the
war a year later, No. 55 flew repeated bombing
raids over western Germany in daylight, the
nature of the raids becoming increasingly of a
strategic type. Some 94 such attacks were
made against munitlons factories and other
targets in Cologne, Darmstadt, Diiren, Frank-
furt, Kaiserslautern, Mannheim, Metz-Sablon
and Saarbrucken, some of these objectives in-
volving flve and a half hour flights which
allowed no margin for air combat, These raids
cost No, 55 Squadron a total of 69 D.H,4s.
Durrng the great German offensive of March
1918 the prlots of the 9th Wrng (Nos 25 and 27
Squadrons) were ordered to adopt low-flyrng
attacks (desplte all nsks and bad weather) in
harassing enemy troops, Such attacks were
accompanied by fairly heavy losses, and at the
end of the month the squadrons were allowed
to resume operations at higher altitude,
RNAS service
At much the same trme as the RFC began
flylng the D,H.4 over the Western Front in the
spring of 1917, the Royal Naval Air Service also
started introducing the aircraft for all manner of
duties in addrtion to day bombing over German
ports. No, 2 (Naval) Squadron (later to become
No, 202 Squadron after amalgamatlon of the
RNAS into the new RAF) was the first to receive
the aircraft and was tasked with reconnaiss
ance of the Zeebrugge area in preparation for
the famous raid by the Royal Naqr on 22123
April 1918 CaptainK.G, Boydof No,2lTSquad-
ron sank the German submarine UB 12 with
two direct hrts with l04-kq (2301b) bombs,
A handful of D.H,4s was sent to the Middle
The D.H.4 was a revelation to the pilots of the Roya)
Flying Corps, giving bomberpilots an advantage
in performance over the German scouts thathad
wrought havoc among the pusher squadrons in
1916.
East, but rather larger numbers serveci -,';-:
RNAS units in the Aegean, Tbro D,H.4s, -r;:r-::
were sent to strengthen 'C' Sguadron c: i:--
bros, carried out a number of bombrng a:a::€
on the Sofia-Constaniinople railway in Nc;e:--
ber i917, TWo months later naval D.H.4 oc=-
bers carried out a series of attacks on &e Ge:-
man battle-cruiser Goeben aground in the \a:-
rows near the Dardanelles until she rn'as -,';-:--
drawn from danger; thereafter ihe D.H.4s 1e-
cially modified to provide an endurance ::
seven hours'flying time, were used to keep
=:-
eye on the warship as she lay at anchor :e-
Constantinople, At least one of the pN-l< r'--
craft, based at Mudros on the island of Ler:::s
was detached to the Greek airfield of Arie:-
koj to join the Armstrong Whitworth F.K3s :i
No. 17 Squadron RAF in bombing attacks ::-
the retreating Bulgars in September 19-8 :,
Italy the D,H.4s of Nos 224,226 and227 Sci;a:-
rons (based at Adrano, Otranto and Tara:::'
carried out bombing raids on the subna-r-:=
bases at Cattaro and Durazzo,
The US 1 l th Aero Squadron (Day Bombardnent)
pose with their US-built, Liberty-engined D H.4s at
their base atMaulan. By the autumnof 1918 theIIS
Army had significant force in Eurcpe , but the only
native-built aircraft used were the British-
designedD.H.4.
Airco D.H.4 and D.H.9 in Action

a---

t
r,i \,

tr
 Bombers of World War I

.\t
,:.'r.l $

...t. $il

Without doubt the best Airco D .H .4s were those

powered by the 375-hp (280-kW) Eaghe WII, but
this engine was costly and in short supply (and,
because of its bigger propeller, needed longer
landing gears). Many other engines were
theretore fitted, most of the ear&er machines
hauing the RAF.3a, a water-cooledV- I 2 of only
200 hp ( 1 49 1<W) produced by the Royal Aircraft
Factory. A77 12 was one oI the RAF-engined
machines, built by Airco in summer I I I7 and
delivered toNo. l8 SqnRFC, whichwithNo.4g Sqn
used the RAF-engined version exclusively, from
June 1917. The frontal radiator tapered sltgh-f,.
ftom top to bottom (the reverse of the BHP versions
and had a single exhaust stack. At first the
valuable D.H.4s were kept above 457 2 m
( I 5 ,000 ft) , but during the crucial days of March
1 9 I 8 No. I 8 Sqn was ordered over the front at low
level to harass the advancing enemy ttoops.

2651

The D,H,4 was the only Brrtish aircraft
selected for production in the USA to see com-
bat service in France with the American Ex,
peditionary forces; indeed by the end of the
war more than twice the number of Brrtrsh-butlt
aircraft had been produced rn the USA, Po-
wered mostly by Lrberty engines, the Amer-
ican D.H.4s equrpped a total of 13 operational
squadrons, of which five were bomber units,
Among the most famous bombing operations of
ihe last year of the war was the great attack by
200 bombers, commanded by William Mitcheli
and accompanied by 150 escorting scouts, on
the German army as it attempted to concen
trate for a counterattack against the Allied
olfensive in the Argonne-Meuse area, Indeed
:he effectiveness of this raid was to colour
Mitchell's views on the use of bombers and was
to have a profound influence on the future poli-
cies of the US Army Air Corps.
By the end of the war D,H,4s had equipped
25 squadrons of the RFC, RNAS and RAF; a
small number of the aircraft operated wrth the
Brrtrsh forces sent to Archangel 1n May 1918,
'ruhlle others were sent later to Baku in Azerbar
Jan to support British naval forces in the Cas-
ptan Sea, taking part in bombrnq attacks on the
Bolshevik-held port of Astrakhan at the mouth
cf the Volga
The D.H.9 and'Nine-Ack'
Because the D,H,9A survived in service so
nuch longer than the D H 4 tt gained lasting
-ame, yet during the war enjoyed a far less
aistingurshed career than the earlier aero-
plane, berng summed up by the squadrons as a
I H 4 whrch has been officrally interfered wtth
:: suit it for mass production', Indeed, except
,';nen powered by the 430-hp (32l-kW) Lion
=rEine, its performance was markedly inferior.
The raison d'etre of the D,H,9 was to increase
-:e RFC's bombrng potential, On 2l
June 1917
:-= War Office decrded to increase the num-
-:r olsquadrons from 108 to 200, the majority of
j-e new units berng bomber squadrons in-
tended to be equipped with the D,H,9, whlch
was expected to possess a greater range than
the D,H,4, thereby extending the area of the
RFC's bombing operations, In the final out-
come the D.H,9 was no better than the D,H,4 in
the matter of range, and could seldom carry as
much bombload; only when the improved
D H 9A appeared in service in the last three
months of lhe war was any improvement appa-
rent, The principal weakness of the D,H,9 was
its BHP engine, the offlcially-favoured power-
plant which happened not to lend ttself to mass
productron and gave constant trouble in ser-
The flrst aircralt to reach France equrpped
Nos 98, 206 and 21 I Squadrons ofthe new RAF
in April 1918, some of these D.H.9s participat
ing in the Battle of the Lys that month, and
dropping more than 600 5]-kq (1]'2-1b) bombs
in the front-line areas. As with the D,H,4,
however, it was wlth the Independent Force
that the D,H,9 saw most seffice, equipping Nos
99 and 104 Squadrons, Between June and
November 1918 these two squadrons flew a
totai of 83 rards, A measure of the problems
being encountered may be judged by the fact
that during these attacks no fewer than 123
aircraft had to return early with enqine trouble,
Moreover, whrle the D.H.4s were able to hold
their own in the face of German scouts, the
D.H,9 was exceedingly vulnerabie, a fact that
was quickly exploited by the defending scouts.
On 3l July I2 D.H.9s of No. 99 Squadron set out
to bomb Mainz, Three soon returned with en-
gine trouble, another was shot down by scouts
over Saaralbe and three more near Saarbruck-
en; the survivors dropped their bombs on that
town and turned for home, but three more
were shot down before the leader, Captain
A,H, Tayior, and one other survivor landed at
their base at Azelot, In an even worse debacle,
29 D. H,9s of Nos, 27 and 98 squadrons took off to
bomb the railway junction at Aulnoye on
October, but no fewer than 15 turned backwith
The D.H.9 (seen here at Eastchurch in 191g) shoutd
have been an improvementon theD.H.4, and
indeed in terms of design itwas. However,
powerplantproblems gave the new model a
performance that was distinctly inferior to that of
itspredecessor.
I
A Westland-built D.H.4, probably
serving with No. 5 (Naval) Squadron,
Royal N aval Air S ervice, in the s pring
of 19I B. After the formation of the
RoyalAir Force on I April 1918, this
was renumbered N o. 205 S quadron,
RoyalAirForce
engine trouble, with the result that the reduced
formation had to abandon its raid,
Frustrated by such raid failures it was not
surprising that Trenchard acrimoniously de-
manded the immediate introduction of the Lib-
ery-powered D H 9A (the 'Nine-Ack') whrch
had been undergoing leisurely development
since late in 1917, although the first American
engines did not arrive in the UK until the sprinq
of 1918, No, I l0 Squadron wrth D,H,9As jorned
the Independent Force at the end of August,
but flew only five bombrng raids before the
end of the war; in the last two months of opera-
trons the squadron iost 45 arrcraft, and only two
of its attacks were deemed successful to anv
extent, Both the D,H,9 and 9A fared rather betl
ter in the eastern Mediterranean and in Paies-
tine, although their operations were generalty
on a smaller scale than even those of the D,H,4.
The lessons of the bombing operations by
relatlvely small aircraft in dayhght, such as the
D,H.4 and 9, were there for the learning, The
Americans usually employed much larger
formatrons, oiten with accompanying flghter
escort; occasionally losses were suffered, but
seldom such as to reduce the effectiveness of
the raids by a srgnificant degree, Despite the
relatrvely hght bomb loads carried, damage
was inflicted out of all proportlon when com-
pared with that by the small formations of Brrt-
ish aircraft whose squadrons were frequently
all but overwhelmed by opposing fiqhting
scouts, Yet it took the RAF 22 more years to
learn the folly of commrtting small formations ol
unescorted bombers to daylight raids in the
likely presence of fighter opposition,
1 r
r8
h:.';
#
@ Pilot Press Limited
:ll:
 D.H.9 no. D2854 served with No. 22 l
Sqn during the Allied intervention in
Russia after the wan Seen as it
appeared inJanuary 19J,9 at
Petrovsk, itwas later handed to the
White Russians when the RAF
withdrew in August of that year.

Sewice in the MiddleEast saw the

use of aluminium dopeon the main
airframe, this No. 45 S qn D.H.9 A also
sporting the red trim of 'A' Flight and
the winged camel badge signifying
the squadron's long association with
the Middle East. This aircraft was
based atHeliopolis in 1928 for patrol
duties in Egypt and Palestine. Note
the auxiliary radiator under the nose
for desert use.

67 Outboard interplane s:--::

3T Maln f ueltanl. mountrng
32 Starboard ma nfuelt.nk
capacity 50 lmp gal (227
lltres)
33 Portmalnfueltank,
capacltyS0 mpga
litres)
34 Vickers0.303 in (7.7-mm)
machlne gun
35 Pllot's gunsight
36 Centre section rear struts
37 lnboard lnterplane struts
38 Stream ined f ying wlres
39 Tralllng edge cut-out
40 Frontspar
41 Wing rib construction
42 Compression ribs
43 Wlng internalw re bracing
44 Leadlng edge ribs
45 Port navigation liqht
68 Reconnaissance ce-a-:
mounting
69 Fuselageupper ong.-:-
70 Pl)ryood rear decking
7'l Portlowerwing eac -:
edge
72 Diagara wire braci-_l
73 Squadron Leade: s
pen nant
74 Ai eron connectinc a:: :
75 Ruddercables
76 Tailplane brac ng n ':
1227 77 Fin constructlon
7B Rudderhornbaiaice
79 Ruddercontro hcr-
B0 Sternpost
B1 Rudderconstructlc^
82 Tai navigation ig.:
83 Pontallpane
84 Port e evator
Bb E evatorcontro l'c-^:
86 Tailp ane incidence ::-:-:
screw jack
87 Ventra fa ring
BB Tallpanetrlmcac:s
89 Steel tai skld shoe

90 Tai skid
91 E astlc
absorb€
92 Fuse age
bracing
93 Bottom
94 Pon win
12 400-hp (298-kW) tiberty 89 95 Rearfus
T 2-cylinderVee engine 96 Botiom
13 Exhaustplpe 46 Roundedwingtip 97 E evatcr
14 Enginecowllng ouvres 47 Portupperalleron 98 Deeose
15 Starboardupperwing 48 Alleron control horns fuseLagr
lead ng edge 49 Alleron cable 99 Sparew
T 6 Wing panelfabric covering 50 Rearspar 100 Boticf;
T 7 Starboard lnterplane struts 51 Traillng edge ribs attac.r
T8 Frontfuseageframe 52 Rearstrut T01 Underc
construction b3 Windscreen 02 Fuse ac:
'l

l9 Ashenginebearer 54 nstrument pane T03 Turc

20 Tropical radiator 55 Machine-gun ammunition 144 Px'-z -.'.-=.
21 Waterplpe boxes
22 Engjnebayfireproof 56 Pi ot's contro co umn T06 :!-:.: .::r:::
de Havilland D.H.9A cutaway bulkhead 57 Eng nethrottlecontro s T07 Sc ::'::::
23 Oi tank 5B Rudder pedal bar 1Ct ,.-..
drawing key 24 Oi flercap
25 Centre section fronTstftrts
59 Tai plane trlm wheel
60 Pi ot's seat
TC9 ::::::r:i
a::: -: _:
:: _

1 Two-bladedfixedpltch 6 Cooling intake 26 Diagonalwlre braclng 61 Cockpltcoaming 1 lC S:a'!:.-: -: -, -::

wooden propeller 7 Radiator 27 FueLvent 62 Observels control co umn 111 utca'aa-- a. -'-:-' :----:
2 Stafterattachmentdog B Radiator mountlng 28 Gravity fueL tank, capacity B 63 Observer'sseat ^^ ----- -: -
3 Propel er hub fixinq bo ts I Draincock lmp ga (36 I tres) 64 Scarff elevatlng gear 1'|3 S:a-:::-:,1 -l ::-:
-::<s

v
4 Radiatorshutters 1 0 Starboard wlng tlp skid 29 Wlnd driven f ue pumps 65 Gun e evating gear
5 Fll ercap 1'1 Aircraft plcketing cable 30 Fuelfi lercap 66 Observer's Lewls gun f-i! -a,';a-a: .;::-::
 GERMANY
AEGCandJseries
From 1914, AEG supplied the German
air sewice with a number of unarmed
reconnaissance arrcraft known as the B
series and little real development was
necessary for the evolution ofthe AEG
C I that was introduced in March 1915.
it carried a 150-hp ( I 12-kW) Benz Bz,lll
inline engine, and a machine-gmn for
the observer on a flexible mount in the
aft cockpit, With the emphasis changr-
ing gradually from a stable reconnalss-
ance platform towards a more man-
oeuvrable aircraft that could evade
enemy scouts and flght back, the C II of
October 1915 was a rehned version of
theCL
The most extensively constructed
member of the C series was the C IV,
its development spurred by the Ger-
man arr service's qrowing apprecra-
tion of the importance of aerral recon-
naissance, A little larger than the C II, it
introduced the more powerful Mer-
cedes D.llI engrne, a fixed forward-
firing machine-gmn for the pilot, and a
three-position variable-incidence tail-
plane that was adjustable on the
ground. Production fign-rres for the IV
are estimated at 400.
In 1916 the German air service intro-
duced lirfanferre-Flieger units (infan-
try contact patrol units), which would
now be regarded as close support or
gzound attack squadrons, Proving to
be valuable when used on a small
Halberstadt C and CL series
Based on the Halberstadt B II two-sea-
ter and developed similarly as a re-
connarssance aircraft, the Halberstadt
C I retained the earlier aircraft's slab-
sided fuselage, but the crew posrtions
were reversed and the rear (obser-
ver's) position was provided with a
mountinq for a pivoted machine-gnrn.
Towards the end of 1917 the improved
C III appeared, powered by a 200-hp
scale during the Battle ofVerdun, such
units were soon the subject of a high-
priority progrramme of expansion and
equipment. AEG's J I was developed
hurnedly to meet this requirement,
The J I was virtually a C IV provided
with a 200-hp (149-kW) Benz Bz,lV en-
gine, plus 390 kq (860 lb) of armour
plate to protect the crew and power-
plant. TVro LMG 08/15 machine-gnrns
were mounted in the floor of the aft
cockpit, pointing downward and for-
ward at an anqle of about 45', so that
they could be used for straflnq enemy
(149'kW) Benz Bz,lV engine.
The most proliflc of the Halberstadl
C series was the C V high altitude re-
connaissance aircraft, which
appeared in 1918. A camera mounted
in the rear cockpit could be directed
through a shding hatch rn the floor. De-
veloped to act as escort for the Clype
reconnaissance aircraft, the Halber-
stadt CL II appeared rn 1917 and soon
trenches or columns of rnfantry on the
march, In additron, the observer had a
Parabellum machine-gun on a ring
mountinq, The J II of 1918 was general-
Iy simrlar. More than 600 J VII aircraft
were built,
Specification
AEGCIV
Type: two-seat armed reconnarssance
aircraft
Powerplant: one 160-hp ( I l9-kW)
Mercedes D.III inline piston enorne
entered service with the Schttzstaffeln
(protection flights) of the Imperral Ger-
man Aviation Service. The single
cockpit had tandem accommodation
for pilot and observer, the latter being
provided wlth an elevated gnrn ring
which allowed him to flre his Parabel-
Ium machine-gun both upward and
forward over the upper wing. Trays
were fitted on each side of the fuselage
The AEG C IV was the most widely
produced ofthe AEG C series of two-
seater reconnaissance aircraft, an
estimated 400 machines seeing
service. Larger than the earlier
aircraft, it introduced the Mercedes
DI I I I 1 9-kW ( 1 60-hp) engine and a
fixed forward-firing machine-gun for
thepilot.
Performance: maximum speed
158 kntt (98 mph); sewice ceiling
5000 m (16,405 ft); endurance 4 hours
Weights: empty 800 kg (1,746 lb);
maximum take-off 1 120 kq (2,469 lb)
Dimensions: span 13.45 m (44 ft 1.5 in);
length 7, l5 m (23 ft 5.5 in); heiqht
3 35 m (10 ft I i.75 in); wingarea
39.00 m'z (419.8I sq f0
Armament: one fixed forward-firrng
7.92-mm (0,3 1-in) LMG 0B/15 machine-
gun, and one 7,92-mm (0.31-in)
Parabellum machrne-gn-rn for obsewer
onrinqmounting
for the carriage of small antr-personnel
qEenades, or of four or five 10-kg (22-
Ib) bombs, The CL II soon demons-
trated its value to the German high
commandwhen, on 6 September 1917,
24 a:rcrafl attacked with great effect
British troops crossing the bridqes
over the Somme at Bray and St Christ.
The escort units were then redesig-
nated as Schlachtstaffeln (battle
flights) for close-suppofi duties and
were used extensively during the clos-
ing months of 1917, particularly at the
Battle of Cambrai on 30 November
when the Germans launched a suc-
cessful counter-offensive.
Specification
HdberstadtcLll
Type: two seat ground support aircraft
and escort fiqrhter
Powerplant: one t 60-hp ( I l9-kW)
Mercedes D, I I I 6-cylinder inhne
piston engine
Performance: maximum speed
165 km/h (103 mph) at 5000 m
(16,405 ft); sewice ceiling 5100 m
(16,730 ft); endurance 3 hours
Weights: empty 772 kg (1,701 lb);
maximum take-off I 130 kq (2,493 lb)
Dimensions: span 10,77 m (35 ft 4 in);
lengthT,30 m(23 ft 11.5 in); height
2.75 m (9 ft 0.25 in); wing area-27,50 mz
(296.02 sq ft)
Armament:one or two flxed forward-
firing 7,92-mm (0.31-in) LMG0B/15
machine-gnrns and one pivoted 7 92-
mm (0,31-in) Parabellum machrne-
gun, plus four or flve 10-kg (22-lb)
bombs and grenades
D eveloped to escort reconnajssance
flights, the two-se at H alberstadt C L
III proved an effective bomber and,
carrying racks of light bombs,
played an important partin the
German counter-attack at Cambrai
in 1917.
 lE iT"ttt"-grandenburs C I and Phonix C I
=
l:e of the earliest designs of Ernst
,--:,rkel for the Hansa und Branden-
:-.lgrsche Flugzeug-Werke GmbH,
:,= Hansa-Brandenburg C I was built
.:,: ersively ior Lts era. beiro cor-
: rlcted not only by Brandenburg but
.-:o under iicence by Phonx and Ufagr
-: Austria. A conventional two-bay bi
: -:n€ oL wooo and labrrc const.rLctron,
. had a slender fuselage with the
llwerplant mounted in the nose, pro
'. Ced a combrned open cockpit for the
p-1ot and observer/gunner, and
:rounted a braced tail unit at the rear.
-
andrng gear was of tailskid type.
Entering service in i916, C Is saw
','.rde scale use by the Austrran forces
:rld some examples continued in ser-
-,rce untii the end of World War L In the
icng period of time over which they
-.n/ere operational C Is were seen wLth
powerplants ranging from 160 to
230 hp (119 to 172 kW) and wrth a varr
--ty of armaments. Basically this com-
prised a single machrne-gun on a pr-
','oted mount at the rear of the cockprt,
but later verslons also had a sinqle for-
-,vard-flringr machine-gmn mounted rn
Cifferent positions. Some were used for
liqht bombing missions and were
:quipped to cary up to 100 kq (220 lb)
-.f light fragmentation or incendiary
bombs on racks beneath the fuselage
-.r lower wing
The Austro-Hungarian aircraft
inanufacturer Phonix Flugtzeuqi-Werke
begtan wrth hcence manufacture of
Albatros and Brandenburg aircraft
-.xnrnq to aircraft of its own desigm
The flrst of these was the Phonix C I
,rlo-seat atmed teconnaissance and
;eneral-purpose biplane, which the
lompany deveioped from the Hansa-
Brandenburg C II, which it had built
:der licence. An ugly but practical
.-:craft, the C I had fixed tailskid land-
j-g gear was powered by a Hiero Ln-
.-:e engine and accommodated pilot
iuni."rr early aircraft
-:': -:-:.e-;a tiye Junkers J I metal
n:::;,ane wa s followed by sixJ 2
;,-'::-': :r r' 9 J6; fhr!rs fhe second of
.-n _-: r-:. T hn shee t iron covering
l:*,: : ::ie /ed to the se and later
'i:r:== ::.rgra-ff being dubbed'tin
r :;:r=;= " a:rtough dural sheet was
-- -- --^i.-^^J
Bombers of World War I
A Hansa-Brandenburg C I built bi'
Ph'6nix. with aHiero engine. as it
appeared in Au stro- H ung arian
service in 19 I 8. An ungainly-looling
machine, itwas armedwith the
Au s tr ian S c hw ar z 16 s e m a ch in e- gr'::.
and observer/gunner rn tandem open
cockprts Phdnrx built 110 C Is and
these entered servrce in the spring of
1918, remarning operational until the
end of the war
Specification
Ufag-builtCISrs 169
Type: I wo-saat a rmed reconr a issa nce
aircraft
Powerplant: one 220-hp (164-kW) Benz
Bz IVa 6-cylrnde' rrlrne prsron encine
Performance: maximum speed
L58 km/h (98 mph); service cerlinqr
6000 m (19,685 ft)
Weights: empty 820 kg (1,808 lb);
maximumtake-off I 320 kg (2,910 ]b)
Dimensions:span 12.25 m (40 ft
2,25 in); length B 45 m(27 ft8.75 in);
heiqht 3.33 m (10 ft I iin)
Armament: (standard) one Ernst Heinkel began his career designing biplanes for the Austro-Hungar:a:
Schwarzlose B-mm (0 3 15 in) machine- Empire, and eventually built jets for Hitler. TheHansa-Brandenburg. one o:
gn-rn on prvoted mount ovet rear of his early designs, was manufactured under licence by Phonix and Ufag ::
combined cockpit Austria. It served as a reconnaissance aircraft and Light bomber.
small-arms fire from the qround mak- (134-kW) Mercedes D IIIa enqlne Ab- Powerplant:one 200 hp (-i:-l<.-. :=-:
ing the J I popular with its crews. Pro- out 50 examples of this were built be- Bz.lV G-cylinoer rnhne pr: . - :- : :. _:. - ,
duction totalled 227. lore the arm6lrce. entering service as Performance: m&xrmuJr. i .- j!
Junkers lhen lurned ro a new serres the Junkers CL I and carryingTthe same -:
155 km/h (97 nph): endu:.--..^ .- ' .
of cantrlever low-wing monoplanes, armament as the D L Three examples Weights:empty 1766 k; : ::.
rhe single-sear J 7 ot l9l7 servrng as of a floatplane version of this aircraft maximumLake-off2l7€ k; i . :. :
prototype for the J 9 sinqrle-seat fighter entered service with the German nar,ry Dimensions:span .:.=;'':.
l6.i r-- ',:..i
which, powered by the 185-hp (]38- during 1918 under the designatron lenqh9. l0mr29ir lO. .:.
k\ /) B.M.W engnne and armed with twin Junkers CLS I. 340 m(I I rt I 75 rn) .'..:.; J-:
forward-flring LMG 0B/15 machine- 49 40 m'z ($3,52 sq fi)
guns, was built in small numbers under Armament: two ixed fcr;;a::-=,-- -
the military desiqnation D I Specification ; 92 mm (0.31-j-) LMC : , -- - = : *
The Junkers J I0 was a trffo seat ver- JunkersJ I qrunsandone tratna:l: - :- -:--..
sion of the J 7 powered by a 180-hp Type: two-seat close-support aircraft in) Parabellum machi,: - ;-:-
The Birth of Sfrategic Bornbing
From their introduction into military service, aircraft were used to attack enemy
ground forces as well as to conduct reconnajssance patrols, but by 19 I 5 designers
onboth sideswere planninglarge multi-enginedmachines able to rangefarbeyond
the front line; the strategic bomber was born.
No account of the war's strategic bombtng
efforts by the UK and Germany can begin other
than with brief reference to the origtns of
bombing in the West by lighter-than-air craft,
for therein lay the premeditated drift towards
total war, if not by deliberate assault on the
civihan population then by the knowledge that
no means exrsted to ensure that bombs would
only ever fall on military targrets,
On the outbreak of war the Kaiser, mindful
perhaps of his own family ties with English
royalty, had expressed abhorrence at any ae-
rial bombing that might endanger civilians and
went so far as to withhold approval for air
attacks on targets rn England. The imperial
Naval Staff, however, anxious to demonstrate
the superiorlty of rts arrshrps in attacks on dock-
yard and other naval targets in the Thames
estuary, managed to persuade the Kaiser to
temper hrs ban on such attacks in return for
assurances that such raids would not endanger
the crvilian population nor indeed the British
capital itsell Inevrtably, as the navy's (and soon
alterwards the army's) airship crews roamed
the nrght skies over England searching for
'military'tarQrets, bombs fell on towns (and Lon-
don), and crvihans were killed, The first such
raid occured on the nrght of 19/20 January 19 15
when two Zeppelins dropped bombs on King's
Lynn in Norfolk,
Other raids by arrships followed, but it was
not until the ni qhl ol 21 3 September I 9 I 6 that the
llrst alrshrp was shot down by an aeroplane
over the UK when Lieutenant W. Ireefe Robtn-
son of No. 39 Squadron RFC brought down a
Schutte-Lanz over Hertfordshire (for which he
-uvasawarded the VC) Almost three months
later two more airships were destroyed in a
srngle night over the East Coast, Later that
same day, 28 November i916, a stngle German
aeroplane flew brazenly over central lrondon
and dropped six small bombs in broad dayhghi
and escaped,
Meanwhile Germany, and more particularly
:he German army, had been at work develop-
the aeroplane as a bomb-carrier, at first
=g
:reating several units of Tauben (aircraft with
lcve-shaped wrngs) able to reach just beyond
::e battle front with a few very small bombs,
However, spurred by the achievements of the
big Russian Srkorsky bombers which had been
active in the East, and frustrated by the inability
of the Tauben to reach worthwhile targets in
England, the German aircraft industry set to
work early in i915 to evolve much larger bom-
bers, the G-class, Grosskampfflugzeug or'bal-
tleplane', These aircraft, from AEG, Gotha,
Friedrichshaien and other makers, started
reachlng operational units before the end of
the year but it was not for another year, after the
creation of the Luftstreitkrafte (air force) under
an officer of field rank, General Ernst von
Hoeppner, that plans were hatched for a sus-
tained air attack by aeroplanes on England, By
then improved aircraft, notably the Friedrrchs-
hafen G IIl and Gotha G IV, had flown and the
plans included the formatron of three Kampf- America's leading bombing exponent was
geschwader (bomber wings), of which Kagohl B rig adier - G e ne r al M itchel l, w ho se contr ov er s ia l
3 would be committed to raids on England, and bombing trials during July I 92 I involved sinking
the others against tarQtets in France, the G erman Dreadnougfi t Ostfriesland by aertal
bombing.
Belgianbases
In due course the new bomber wing, com-
prising srx Staffeln and commanded by Haupt
mann Ernst Brandenberg, occupied lts bases
in Belgium. On 25 May l9I7 23 Gotha G IVs set
out to attack London tn dayltght after losing two
aircralt in force landings in Belgium, Crossing
the Essex coast near Burnham-on-Crouch,
Brandenberg found his path to the capital
obscured by cloud so turned south to see if his
crews could find worthwhile targets in Kent,
Eventually the formation arrived over Folke-
stone where the Gothas released nearly five
tons of bombs, killinq 95 and tnjuring 260,
Although the Dover anti-aircraft guns opened
fire with a heavy barrage and about 40 British
alrcraft took off in pursuit, the Gothas escaped,
Despite the best endeavours of the RFC and the
anti- aircraft guns, landing accidents accounted for
the majority of Germanbomberlosses on mosl
raids. This D.H. I 0 shows that the British
encountered similar problems;both sides in fact
fitted nose wheels to some aircraft to prevent them
nosing in.

r -.':o lose two more of their number rn fcrced
: rlngs
-rrs rard provoked an anqry outbursr in tte
: - - sh parliament whlch -r/as still rumbhng on
.-:n on 5 June Brandenberg launched hrs
,=::nd raid this trme klllinq 45 people rn the
.-'.'a1 dockyard at Sheerness, One -week later
,: 13 June 20 Gothas set out for London their
.,-:rnE point the railway termrnus ol Lrverpool
:.:eet. The formation reached the capital
iere it dropped more than four
- :mbs; three bombs actually struck the aiming
, :rnt but another hrt an infants school at Poplar,
, --1tns 16 children In all, this raid killed 162 and
ured 432, the highest toll of any srngle rard on
r: UK durrng the war.
The outcry rn the Brrtrsh parliament now
::ached new heights which quickly provoked
.':tion to strengthen the defences, and resulted
r the formation of a commisslon headed by the
--:uth African, General Jan Smuts io examine
le entire structure of the RFC and RNAS and
lerr abilty to provtde adequate home de-
:nce. The recommendations of thrs commis
jion were far reaching and eventually 1ed to
re amalgamation ol the two services' to form
re Royal Air Force on I April 19lB
In the meantime Kagohl 3 carrred out several
i
:',., .,11:,:;: :: ;l --:-:ffi-t:1:'.,i
.
tlE: )tN,::;.::;)
more attacks on south east England but on a
Cimrnrshing scale as a result ol losses, mainly
from accidents but also to a growing number in
combat Thrs sapping of strength resulted in
the decrsron being taken to switch to night
rardrnq, any pretence at confrning attention to
mllrtary targets havrng long since dissipated
Ironicaily, however, the flrst such raid by only
four Gothas on 3r4 September struck the naval
barracks at Chatham where a srngle 5] kg
tons oi ( I 12 lb) bomb caused the deaths of 13 I sleep-
ing ratings and inlury to 90 others (the highest
toll from any single bomb during the war)
Later the same month the Gothas were
lorned by a new squadron Riesenflugzeugab-
teilung 501 commanded by Hauptmann
Richard von Bentivegni one of trvo such units
now flying the huge R type 'Grant' bombers
Such was the size of these arrcraft (the Zeppe
lin Staaken aeroplanes were powered by four
five or even srx engines) that each could carry
Lhe same bombload as hve Gothas. indeed,
when a second raid reached London on 29i30
September wrlh four Gothas and three Giants,
the Bntish authorrtres estimated that 1B Gothas
hod o ocl,ed he cao ol
]n 1918, however, as the fruits of the RAF
reorganization matured a grolvlnc; loll rruas
::r.rt::. r'i.1,::::,-j;: -r
1. - I -
- . -'i$w
' t'.' ""
Bombers of World V/a: .
taken of the raiders (though nc Ci::-. , : : -
shot do,,vn) and on 19/20 May t:: :: -
flew their last attack agrainst Erg:.--,r ' - .
Gothas and three Giants stragglej -- - - :.-
and Essex, no fewer than sr l: :...
brought down by night flying Sic.--:' .
and RAF S,E 5A fighters (and or: :: : . : :
aswellasthe gundefences O,,.er .:=', .
sporadic raiding by Kagohl 2 F.:.. =- . .
5Ol continued until 30 Octcber -.. -.. : .
attack hit an army supply bas: . - -
The British Independent Force
[he Cermon s-rd-4 ]
reached its cllmax before the =::r - - ,
rhcreafler d^clrnod By c, . r
attempts to undertake bomb.:.: .-= -
rn-med-a e drca o'Lhe W-s ::. -l .
gain impetus only at the end , -
creased progressively righi u. : ..-.- -
war. Another feature of :he :r ..
The Birth of Strategic Bombingr

The Airco D.H. I 0, Iike the Vic ker s

Vimy and the H andley-P age V I 5 00,
was designed to conduct a strategic
bombing c am p aign ag ains t
G erm any. Only eight of the l, 29 5
ordered had been delivered when
the war ended. Nevertheless, 220
machines were finally produced for
theRAF post-war.

The need to protect bombers from

enemy fighter aircraft soonbecame
pressing, and the French developed
a long-range tighter, the Caudron R
I I , to escort formations of Breguet
l4B2s. This is a machine of Escadrille
C.46 as it appeared between
F ebruary and November I I I 8. I t
carried tive Lewis guns; twin nose
and dorsalmounts, and one firing
downfrom the nose.

force was the scale of participation by the VIII Brigade), and on 6 June il was renamed the ing; nevertheless, on accouni olthe much grea-
Royal Naval Air Service; rndeed from the outset Independent Force of the RAF, commanded ter tonnage of bombs dropped on Germany,
the entire heavy bomber force (composed of by Major General Sir Hugh Trenchard, Be civilian casualties were more than double
Handley Paqe O/lOOs) was naval-crewed, a tween then and the end of the war thls force those suffered in the UK.
predomrnance that only lost its identity when increased to 11 squadrons with a total of about One other weapon was being prepared for
the RNAS and RFC amalgamated to form the 75 D.H,4s, D.H,9s and D.H.9As, some 50 O/400s use over Germany when the Armistice brought
RAF and a squadron (No 45) of Camels. Among the an end to hostilities, This was the very large
The 0/100 stemmed from an informal en- targets attacked durrng the last six months Handley Paqe V/1500, comparable in slze to
quiry addressed by Murray Sueter to (mostly by nrght) were Baden, Bonn, Cologne, the German Giants but a much more formrd-
Frederick Handley Page early in 1915 whether Koblenz, Darmstadt, Diiren, Frankfurt, Heldel- able aeroplane, Conceived wlth the lntention
he could produce 'a bloody paralyser', by im- berg, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, Ludwrg- of bombing Berlin from bases in the UK, this
plication a big aeroplane capable of carrying a shafen, Mainz, Mannheim, Luxembourg, Offen- great aircraft was capable of carrylng a 1497-
large bombload, Already working on such an burg, Saarburg, Saarbrucken, Stuttgart, Wies kg (3 300-1b) bomb, and at the moment the
aircraft that had been loosely deflned by the baden and Zweibrucken, as well as numerous Armrstice came rnto effect on I I November
Admiralty, Handley Page modifled his design airfields and other military targets. The raids 1918 three V/1500s were standing on Bircham
to take more powerful engines, this aircraft, the involved the dropping of about 550 tons of Newton airfield rn Norfolk, ful1y fuelled and
O/100, being flown in December that year, En- bombs (compared with less than a tenth of this bombed-up, awaiting orders to take off for the
tering service wrth the Sth Naval Wing at Dun- flgure dropped rn all the raids on the UK) and a German capital, As rt was, the only such aircraft
kerque the followlng November, the brg bom- total of 352 aircraft was lost includrng 148 ever to drop its bombs in anger did so on the
ber could carry up to sixteen 51-kg (112-1b) D,H 9s and 69 O/400s clty of Kabul during the Afghan War of 1919,
bombs and started daylight operations with Clearly the achievements of the Indepen-
Romanian troops pose beside one of the giant
No, 7 (Naval) Squadron in Aprrl i917 along the dent Force eclipsed those of the reiatively German'R' class bombers captured in Bessarabia.
Belgran coast; soon afterwards the Sth Wlng small number of German bombers, and from Romanian troops had been among the firstvictims
changed its operations to night rardrng of such reports as were produced after the of ground attack aircraft, bomharded with water
.argets immedrately behind the Western Front; Armrstice it is clear that a far higher proportion melons by Bulgarianfliers inthe Balkanwars.In
:urther south the 3rd Wlng, also equippingwith ol bombs fell on strictly military and strategic five years aircraft had become serious fighting
C'100s, embarked on night raids on German targets than was the case of the German bomb- machines, and weapons much deadlier.
rdustrial centres up to 95 km (60 miles) behtnd
:re front. One aircraft, flown by Fhght-Lieute-
:ant John Alcock (who later achieved fame for
r.s transatlantrc flrght) from Mudros, set out to
i:cmb Constantinople but was forced to ditch in
-ee Sea ol Xeros, the crew berng taken prison-
.T
-'rVhirle
46 O/100s were produced, Handley
laEe developed an improved version, the O/
=--l this aircraft achieved considerable pro-
i:::ion with about 400 completed by Handley
?a3e and a further 107 in the USA before the
cf the war, Meanwhile
=:l.ssemble the RFC had begun
._ a bombing force in France com-
!
: -sedof No, 55 Squadron'sAirco D.H,4, No. 100
S;-*adron's F,E,2b and the Naval'A' Squadron's
I -li aircrafi. Commanded by Lieutenant-
l,-:rel Cyril Newall, the 4lst Wing was
:r-:-ed on il October 1917 to continue the
:-:::cing of German industrial targets started
:-; -:e F.NAS' 3rd Winq, Belore the month was
- -. .:e D.H.4s and O/100s had raided the Bur-
:-::- -,',-crks near Saarbriicken and the F,E,2b
:-lll1:- ilaO
.-:::a:- rad OOmOeq ratlwavs neal
bombed rallWays
ratlways near iarKen-
Falken-
::: ?-alding by these squadrons continued
----r:
-l: -re winter, and on 1I February
---r: -::: Februarv 1918 the
:r:: r,as raised to brigade status (becoming
 AEG G series
- --e rntroduction of bomber squadrons
, :he Westem Front in World War I
. :s nol long delayed Oermany rnrt
:.i "'-
Kampfstaffel (battle squadron) un-
-.s in early 1915 The arrcraft that
=qurpped them were used primarLly
=< multi-grun flghters but the potential
:: tactical and strateEdc bombing was
scon apprecrated, It was ln 1915 that
-:e flrst of AEG's twin-engined bom-
:ers appeared. The brplane AEG G I
powered by two 100-hp (75 kW) Mer
ledes D I engines, These powerplants
.vere hardly adequate to confer spark- AnAEG G IVofBogohl4, Staffel l9 atBazuel, in I9lS.lntroduced at the end..:
L-ng performance on what was little had the same powerplants as theGothas and Friedericfis.ha:'e:.s
1916, the G IV
rnore than an enlarqed C IV: one that but had neither their payload nor their range, yet the aircraft continued :r,
,vas 75 per cent heavrer and yet had production andwas still in servicewhen the Armistice came.
cnly about 24 per cent more power.
Perhaps it was not surprising that only Weights: empty 2400 kg (5,291 lb);
a single example was built. maximum take-off3630 kg (8,003 lb)
The G II, flrst seen in mid-19i5 was Dimensions:span 18,40 m (60 ft 4.5 rn);
siightly larger but had two t 50-hp ( I 12- lensth 9 70 m (31 ft 9.75 in); heiqht
kW) Benz Bz.lll engines. Only about 15 3.90 m (12 ft 9.5 rn); wing area 67.00 mz
cf these G IIs were burlt before the G (72 1.2 I sq ft)
ill was introduced and this also was Armament: two 7 92-mm (0,31-in)
produced in only limited numbers Pa rabellum machine-guns. one on nnq
It was not until the end of 1916 that mountrngrin forward cockpit and one
the G IV began to enter service. Like on rail mounting in aft cockpit
rts predecessors it had a basic steel-
tube structure and fabric covering. All Right: At a time when other German
cockpits were interconnected, enabl- twin- e ngine d m achine s f avo u r e d
rnqt crew members to change positions pusher arrangement, AEG installed
in flight if circumstances so dictated. ifs engnnes as fra ctor units on all its
The G IV was hampered by a range twin-engined aircraft. F ive hundred
that was very hmited when the aircraft and forty-two G types were
was carrying a crew of three and a produced andwere used for short-
maximum bombload of 400 kg (BB2 lb) rangemissions.
AEGs G sedes production totalled
almost 550 aircraft, of which about 500
were G IVs. rr any of rhen remairrng rn
servrce until the end of the year.
Variants, built in only very small num-
bers, included the G IVb with an rn-
creased span three-bay winc;: thc G
IVK with a Becker cannon of 20-mm
calibre instailed rn the nose,

Specification
AEGGIV
Type: biplane bomber/
reconnaissance aircraft
Powerplant: two 260,hp (i94-kW)
Mercedes D IVa inline pnton engines
Performance: maximum level speed
165 krn/h (103 mph); service ceilrngr
4500 m (14,765 ft); maximum
endurance 5 hours

TheAEGG II appearedinJuly 1915

and paved thewayfor theG IV. Only
about I 5 wete manufactured, but
several did see active service with
the Kampfgeschwader over lhe
Western Front.lt could carry 200-kg
(441-lb) of bombs and mounted two
or thr ee m ac hine-gruns.

Gotha G II, G III, G IV and G V

During 1917 and l91B Britrsh people
generally, and those who lived in Lon-
don particularly came to dread arr _*
-:tacks by the Gothas', a name which Fq
.-:ey applied rndiscrrmrnately to all
3erman bombers making day or night
:ards Development by Gotha of arr-

---=t
:raft rn this class had started dunng
-: I5 ano rhe first ol rhese twin-engrne
::mbers were the Gotha G II and G III
-, 1916 Built in only small numbers
:ey were grenerally similar differing
,:Jy rn internal detail, but early experi- The 194-kW (260-hp) Mercedes engines of the Gotha C :','.:.,'.=-. j :
::.--e oI lhese a]rcrail operarLng in England at 4500 m ( I 5,000 ft), ne ar the ceilings of the at - - : e ;. :.i ?=' :
::ope brought development during intercept them, and also gave the Gothas a respecfaiie ::= :-':-:^gg: =
l]:
,l-5 of the lonqer-range G IV Of steps taken to c oun ter th em he lp e d le a d t o th e u ntfi c a i c : :-' :: s -:j I :: :
'?d ,^/ooo and sreel construcrron RNAS on All Fool's Day, I I I B.
Gotha G II, G III, G IV and G V (continued)

The Gotha G VII was developed

during 19 I 8 as a long-range photo-
r econnaiss ance aircraft, deleting the
nose armamentfor extra speed. The
wings were slightly swept to
compensate for the stunted nose,

with pl1'wood and fabric covering the

G IV was of three-bay biplane con-
figmratron wrth a basrcally square-sec-
tron fuselage braced tail unit and tatl-
sk'd landing gear rncorporarirg -win-
wheel marn unrls fhe twrn-^ngrne
powerplant, comprrsing two Mer-
cedes D IVa inlines strut-mounted be-
tween the wingrs, directly above the
marn landrng gear, was arranged to
dnve pusher propellers, a large cut-
out being provided in the trailing edge
of the upper wing to give the neces-
sary propeller clearance The G IV the danger of nosing-over durrngr nigrht Powerplant: two 260-hp (194-kW) Dimensions: span 23.70 m (77 ft 9in);
was followed by an improved G V that operation. Mercedes D IVa 6-cylinder rnline lensth 11,86 m (38 ft 1i in); heisht
was basrcally the same, but introduced A number of Gotha G serres aircraft piston engines 4 30 m ( 14 ft 1 25 in); wlns area
rmproved equipment and a number of followed the G V, mostly built in ones Performance: maximum speed Bg 50 m'z(963.40 sq f0
refinements, including cleaner more or twos, 140 km/h (87 mph); service ceihng Armament: two 7,92-mm (0,31-in)
streamlined engine nacelles, The G 6500 m (21,325 ft); ranse 500 km (31 I Parabellum machine-guns on pivoted
Vb was a denvatle with a pair of au- Specification miles) mounts ir nose and dorsa.lposrtrons
xrliary wheels mounted forward of GothaGV Weights:empty 2740 kq (6,041 tb); and a bombload of 300 to 500 kg (661 to
each main landing qear unit to reduce Type: three-seat Iong-range bomber maximum take-off 3975 kq (8,763 lb) 1, 102 lb) according to rangTe of mission

E i"pp"rin-staaken R series
World War
Soon after the beginning of
I Count von Zeppehn initrated the de-
velopment of healry bombers which he
could ioresee wouto be of grea- rm-
portance to the natron's war effort. The
desigrn of landplane versions began
under the leadership of Professor
Baumann the frrst of them berng the
Zeppelin-Staaken V.G.O.l which
established a basic layout and srze for
the remainder of these giant arrcraft.
With biplane wings a slab-sided fusel- The remarkable Zeppelin-Staaken'R' series was constructed from scratch,
age and biplane tail unrt, the V.G O I there being no experience to draw upon in the design of such gargantuan
was supported on the ground by flxed bombers. By pioneering design work and trial and error, they evolved into
tailskid type landinq gear, whose marn seven-man bombers able to carry a substantial payload.
unrts had multiple wheels, plus two
more wheels beneath the nose First 260-hp (194-kW) Mercedes D.lVa en- Powerplant: four 245-hp (lB3 kW) Dimensions: span 42,20 m ( i38 ft
ilownon 11 April 1915, the V.G.O.lwas gines; and three Type 830I twin-float Maybach Mb IV or 260-hp (194-kW) 5.5 in); lenqth 22. 10 m (72 ft 6 in);
iound to be underpowered and was seaplanes which had the same power- Mercedes D,IVa lnli ne pLSton engines heiqht 6.30 m (20 ft B in)t wins area
re engined. The production R VI of plant but introduced an entirely new Performance: maxtmum speed 332.00 m'z (3,573.74 sq ft)
which the first was dehvered rn June fuselage, 135 km/h (84 mph); sewice ceiling Armament:four 7.92-mm (0 3l-in)
i9i7 ehminated the powerplant from 4320 m (14, 175 ft); maximum duration Parabellum machine-guns, plus a
-le luselage nose. R VI production Specification l0 hours maxrmum short-range bombload of
ictalled 18, one being built by the com- Zeppelin-StaakenRVI Weights: empty 7921 kg (17,463 lb); 2000 kq (4,409 Ib)
pany and the remainder under sub- Type: seven-crew healry bomber maximum take-off I 1B4B kq (26, 120 lb)
3ontract by Aviatik (sx), Ostdeutsche
ilbatros
-
Werke (four) and Schirtte-
anz (seven), They were followed into
ploductron in 19iB by the similar R XIV
i:iree aircraft) and R XV (three air
:laft) both versions having f,ve
l.I.ybach Mb,lV engines. An adv-
version developed
=:ed four-engrne
:-.-Aviatik, with one 220-hp (164-kW)
l: IVa and one 530-hp (395-kW) Bz VI
:- :ach nacelle, was allocated the de-
:;atron R XVI (AV); three were to
:-r','e been built but only one was com-
;-:-ed
-.'=r
before the end of the war
ants included the single R VII
'.'.:-:l drffered from the R IV by having
lvlercedes D.llis in the nose and
:,'.'-^
--'-: Benz Bz.lVs in the nacelles; the
Tlpe L twrn-float seaplane with four

i-nR IV inflightmade an r'mpressive

spectacle. Early models suffered
:enibly from engines blowing up,
citen during take-oIf or prolonged
:ijnbing, which strained them to the
-:::Lit. The first R IV to be delivered
ie a so,lo attack on London in
:=:ebruary 19 1 8, scoring a direct hit on
i: ?ancras railway station.
Armed Forces of the lfu orld

Finlond
Although theoretcalLy a :te-'.:z :c;nlry, Finland
signed a treaty with the USSR ln 1948 which re
quires herto fight anyaggressorattacking the USSR
across her territory. ln case of this happening the
Soviet Union would provide either direct mllitary
assistance or aid as required by the circumstances
Desplte these treaty Iimitations and the restrictions
they place on its armed forces, Finland has de-
veloped its own arms industry which manufactures
armoured vehjcles, artlllery pieces, mortars and
small arms for the home market and, by certain
expediencies, for the export one as well. However,
major weapon systems have tended to be bought
from the USSR and Sweden for poljtrcal reasons,
with occasional purchases f rom France, the UK and
the USA.

The Army
At the mornent the Finn;sh army co'nprises some
30,900 men of whom 22,30O are short-term con-
scripts. They form the following front-line unlts:

one armoured brigade (of one tank battalion, one
armoured infantry battalion, one f ield artillery
battalion plus supporting units),
six infantry brigades,
seven independent infantry battalions,
one commando tnfantrY blgade,
two field artillery regiments,
two independent f ield artillery battalions,
two coastal artillerY reglments,
two independent coastal artr llery battalions,
one mobile coastal artillery battalion,
The Finnish armed forces use a mix tur e of S c;: e :
Until 1960 the army used mainly ex-German and innish infantr'7
ex-soviet World War ll armoured equipment refur- and indigenous equipment; F
-are
m a inlv a'rme d w ith d er iv ativ e s o f th e S ovie t'Ei
- :'-
bished ln Finland. fhis mat1riel was initially sup- manifactured to high standards at VaLmet'
plemented and then supplanted by more modern ---
Soviet vehrcles. During the late 1960s and early modernization programrTre. At the s:^-='.--=
1970s the inttial deliveries were supplemented by opporlJn tywasta(enro eolace l-i i. =-:--.' -
wheeled APCs used in small numbe's .. = ----
'1
--
other small purchases. On the M BT f ront about 00
T-54 and T-55s were purchased. the former be ng try brigades, and several hundred l::: :=- ;---
relegated to training or havrng thelr turrets taken off and built SISU XA-1 B0 wheeled;',rC: -' = :==-
or static defence roles. ln 1980 a maior re- orderedfordeliveryfrornthen-ld-'3:1. -- -':: -
f

one air-defence regiment (including a SAM equipment programme was started for the Parola In 1980 Finland embarked on a moderntzaxa:.
battalion), Armoured Brigade. The tank component was up- programme for the Parola Armoured Brigace. T:e
five independent air-defence baitalions, graded byan orderin l984tothe USSR for'100of jts meChanized inf antry are re-equipping'ii:;. :- e
two engineer battalions, i-;Z Mgts armed with a 125-mm (4 92-in) main BMP - 1 M I CV iL|u s tr a te d he r e, w h il e th e ar:t' o : : +=
gun BTR-50 APCs are also be ng replaced by the battalion has received l0a T-72s to repiace ::
one signals regiment, and ohsolescent T-54/5s.
one siqnais battallon BMP-1 ordered in 1980 as the first phase of the

::.fa. . *:
.. -;,
 I / il
L/ lt
Armed Forces of the World t/[
i/l
Itl \_-
L
terms of artillery the Finns rely on both indigenous
and foreign-built models, the firm Tampella being
especially prominent with severa.l highly successf ul
designs, Like most Scandinavian countries, Fin-
land's coastlines require great emphasis to be
placed on coastal artillery, and weapons up to 152-
mm (6-in) calibre are founo.
A full list of the equipment used by the army
includes:

Armour: PT-76 light tank; T-54 (training), T-55 and

T-72 (on order) MBTs; and BTR-50P1(50PU, BTR-
60PB/60PU and SISU XA-1 80 APCs;
Artillery: (towed) 76-mm (3-in) M/02,76-mm M/36,
'1
05-mm (4.13-in) Ml41 ,122-mm (4.8-in) M60 and
130-mm (5.12-in) Mr56 [ield guns; 105-rrm M 37
10. 105-mm M61137,'l 50-mm {5.91-in) M/40 and
'1
52-mm (6-in) Ml3B howitzers; and 155-mm (6.1-
in) M/74 gun-howitzer;
(coastal) 1 OO-mm (3.94-in). 1 30-m m and 1 52-mm ;
and
(morta rs) 6O-m m (2.36-i n ), B 1 -m m \3.2-in) ; 1 20-
mm (4.72-in) and l6O-mm (6 3-in);
Air-delence: (towed) 20-mm Flak 38, 23-mmZU-
23, 30-mm, 35-mm GDF-002, 40-mrn L/60 and
L/70 Bofors and 57-mm 5-60;
(self-propelled) ZSU-57-2 ; and
(SAM)SA-3 and SA-7;
Anti-armour: 55-mm M55 rocket-launcher; 75-mm
Miniman LAW; 95-mm (3.74-ln)95 SMbB-61
recoilless rif le; and SS.1 1 , TOW and AT-4'Spigot'
ATGWs;and
Small arms: 9-mm M35 and 7,65-mm Parabellum
pistols; 9-mm M31 SMG; 7.62-mm M62 rifle; and
1.62-mm M62 and 7.62-mm M32 MGs.
To supplement the regular forces there are
700,000 reservists for all the services, and these
would be mobilized to create units of up to brigade
strength for the army within seven Military Areas.
The Navy
The Finnish navy is like the other services in being
limited in size, having only 2,700 men of whom
1.400 are conscripts. A plan to increase its capabili-
ties was announced in 1974 but monetary problerns
had by 1980 severely limited the scope of this prog-
ramme. The main offensive capability is centred on
a small force of missile craft which is being
creased in numbers by the bullding of the 'Helsinki'
..
.$r'
class armed with Swedish RBS15F SSMs. The last
of the Soviet-built 'Riga' class frigates has been
converted to a minelayer, whilst treaty limitations
prevent the acquisition of any submarines. A four-
vessel class of fast attack craft based on the 'Hel-
sinki' design is also being procured to introduce
greater commonality into the fleet. A full listing of
the current and fJture fleet is:
Corvettes: two'Tu runmaa' class ;
Missilecraft: one'lsku' class (trials), four'Tuima'
class, two (+ 1O) 'Helsinki' class;
Fast attack craft: six'Nuoli' class and four
'Helsinki' class (planned) ; squadron perwing. the equipment is relatively soph-
Coastal patrol craft: one plus four building;
Large patrol craft: five;
Large minelayers : three ;
lnshore minesweepers: 1 3;
in- Amphibiouswarfare: 11 coastal transports and 14
LCU s;
Finland's dense forests and multiplicity of lakes
and bogs severely limit theemploymentof
conventional artillery, so Tampella have
produc ed a range of excellent mortars.
lcebreakers: nine plus two building ; and
Miscellaneous: 10.
The Air Force
The Finnish air force has 2,900 men, including
1.300 conscripts, and is tasked'with defending Fin-
nish air space. To do this it is divided into three
I fighter wings, wh:cn are each assigned to an a,r-
defence d strict. Although Lhere is only one f ighrer'
isticated, The airqraft include 27 Soviet-supplied
third-generation MiG-21bis'Fishbed-N' multi-role
airpraft, 12 new-build Swedish Saab J35S Drakens
and six refurbished J35F Drakens. A further 20 or so
J35Ds are to be delivered to equip a fourth squadron
from the mid-1 9B0s if funds permit.
To provide tactical reconnaissance there is a f light
of six first-generation MiG-21 'Fishbed-C' day
fighters, whilst to train fighter pilots in operational
techniques there is an OCU with eight BAe Hawks,
three Saab J35Cs, a few modified J35BSs and up ro
eight MiG 2'1 U/UMs. The fighter squadrons use AA-
2 'Atolls' on the MiGs and a mixture of Rb27 radar-
guided and Rb28 lR-guided Falcon missiles on the
Drakens. For primary and basic training duties there
is a fleet of 30 locally designed and built Valmet
Vinka piston-engined trainers with 15 Fouga Magis-
Ier and 2-l Hawk jet trainers, both licence-built. A
f urther 5 Hawks are due to replace the Magisters in
'1

due course. The transport inventory is minimal, in-

cluding only three Fokker F.27 Friendship Mk .100s
and three multi-role Learjet 35As. Rotary-wing
duties (inc uding SAR missions) are undertaken by
six Mll Mi-B 'Hips'and two Hughes 500s. No expan-
sion in either area is seen in the foreseeable f uture.
To assist the armed forces there is also a Frontier
Guard of 3,500 men in seven battalions and a 600-
man Coastguard. The latter has some 50 patroLcraf:
of various sizes and three Mi-B helicopters.

The Finnish air force flies a combination of

Western and Soviet aircraft; SaabJ3S Drakens
have been produced under licence atValmet,
while others were purchased direct.