history_of_no.6_squadron_in_wwi

Also hv Mike IIb tm l'A Histor y of No. IO Squadron Royal Naval Air Service in World War I

A HISTORY OF No.6 SQlJADRONROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE

IN WORLD WAR I

Mike Westrop

Schiffer Military HistoryAtg len. PA

\~

A cknowl ed /.:CIII en tsT his book would not have been pos sib le wit hout the support and en co ura gement of my wife andchi ldr en and the enthu siasm and assista nce of many fr iends and co ntac ts around the wor ld . I wouldparti cu larl y like to mention the foll ow ing wh o hav e pro vided he lp and research materi a ls and spurredme on : Les Rogers. Fra nk Chees man. Stuart Lesl ie . Co lin Huston. St ewart Taylor. Justin Young.Rick Duivcn. Greg VanWyngard en . Ton y Me llo r- Ellis. Norman Franks. Johan Ryheul. Errol Mar-tin . Nick Ford cr, Hal Giblin . Trevor Henshaw. Frank Ol yn yk . A ndrew and Donn a Smith. Pete Wood.E rn ie J upe . Mr & M rs W ill ia m Rothe ra . Ton y Tiarks . the many members o f th e forum atwww.thca erodromc .com. Jan Keohane at the Flee t A ir Arm Mu seum, Th e RAeC Trust. the RA F

luseum . the New Zeal and A ir Force Mu seum. T he New Zeal and Navy M useum. The Royal Ne th-erl ands A ir Force History Unit. The John Ox ley Librar y. Corpus Christi Co llege - Oxford . 'o ttinghamHigh Sch ool. and most es pecially the three " M"s. Mark Miller fo r his supe rb co lour a rtwo rk. MikeO ' Connor for his aerodrome layou ts. a nd Mi ck Davis for his scale drawi ngs .

On th e fro nt coverO n the 29 th April 191 7 th ree Nieuports fro m I 0 .6 Squadron's C Flight were j ump ed by tw el veA lbatro s D ill s of Jasta 26 . Flight Co mmande r EW No rto n findin g him sel f un abl e to esca pe .turned and (l ew through the A lbatro s format ion. At c los e ra nge No rto n fired at the Di ll of LtnHer mann Gi iring. shooting away the machine 's rudde r co ntro ls . No rto n wa s cred ited w ith an"out of contro l" c la im and wh ilst Goring may not have cras hed he wa s placed in se rious d iffic ultyha vi ng to put hi s machine do w n ra pid ly w ithout la ter a l contro l. COI'er Artwork hy Mar k Miller

O n the rea r cove rNo .6 Sq uadro n's lon gest se rving o ffice r. Co lin Temple MacL arcn . Mac Laren was a Fligh tCo mma nde r w ith the squadro n from Jan uary to A ug us t 19 17 and afte r a peri od as Com ma nd ingOffice r of the Walmer Defe nce Fli gh t he re turn ed to com ma nd the new ly reformed No .6Squadron in January 191 S. W he n the squad ro n became '0 .206 Sq uadron RA F o n the Ist April19 18. Macl. aren co nti nued to com ma nd the squad ro n wi th the rank o f Major until May 191 9.

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Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10

CO NTENTS

Introduction 6Glossary 9

Expansion of the R AS at Dunkerque IIFormation 15Worki ng for the RFC - 13 Wing, 3 Brigade 36Working for the RFC - 14 Wing, 4 Brigade 44A Demoralising Influence 84The Coast and Ca mels 87Disbandment 11 5A New Role 118Raids Over Belgium 132The Royal Air Force 144

AppendicesAppendix A : Aircra ft Types Used by No.6 Squadron 151Appendix 13: Color Profiles and Squadro n Markings 166Appendix C: Roster Of Pilots 178Appendix f): Roster Of on-fl ying Officers 20 IAppendix E: Part ial Roster of Other Ranks 203Appendix F: Squadron Claims 205App endix G: Casualties, Crashes, and Incidents 206Appendix H: History Of Aircraft Used by No.6 Squadron 209Appendix I: Cross Reference - Aircraft to Pilot 2 14AppendixJ: Cross Reference - Pilot to Allocated Aircraft 2 17Appendix K: The ieuport Sesquiplanes Design Flaw 22 1Appendix L : War Graves and Memoria ls 223

Bibliography 224

INT RO DUCT IO N

This wo rk . the seco nd vo lume in the author' s se ries of

histor ies o f Royal l aval A ir Service squadrons. deals

with No .6 Sq uadron. ntil rece ntly. a rel a tive ly ob -

sc ure squadron that bri e fly served on the Weste rn Fro nt in the

scout role untiI di sb and ed in Aug us t 191 7 and was then re-

formed as a day bomber squadro n in 191 8.

The Naval prese nce at Dunkerqu e d uring the ea rly years

o f World War I has a somewhat co nf using hi story. no t made

any eas ie r to co mprehend by the ambiguou s Flig ht and Squad-

ro n naming conventio ns employed by the Royal Nava l A ir

Se rv ice at dif ferent times. Fortuna te ly. 1'01' the reader and the

author. the history o f No .6 Squad ro n Roya l lava l A ir Ser-

vice . or "Naval 6". correspon ds to the period whe n the R 'AS

adopted the more convent ional squadron-naming regi me n used

by the Royal Fly ing Corps.

No .6 Sq uadron bri efl y came to prominen ce as a scout

squadro n during the spring and sum me r months or 191 7. at a

time or fur iou s expa ns ion 1'01' the Royal Na va l A ir Se rv ice .

Eq uipped wi th the first produ ctio n tw in gun scout to see Brit-

ish front line se rv ice . the squadro n's pilots se rved o n the West-

e rn Front under RFC con tro l. Due to a lack of train ed pilots

and slo w supply or airc ra ft. the squadron was pull ed out or

the inten se a ir righ ting encounte red d urin g the ba tt le o r Arras

in Apri I 191 7 and relocat ed to a qui et er fro nt. Enc umbe red by

aircru ft that did no t perform to ex pectations and two Flight

Com mande rs who were no t pulli ng their wei gh t. the sq uadro n

strugg led to make its prese nce fe lt.

T he poor pcrformuncc o r the ir tw in-g u n rig hter. th e

Nieupor t 17 Bis. prompted a rapid re-eq uipping w ith the new ly

intro duced So pwi th Camel in June 191 7. Th e squadro n' s per-

Iorma ncc sta rted to pick up bu t the heavy losses experienced

6

by the R ' AS squad ro ns that we re on loan to the R. F e. on the

Western Front were unsustainab le and the de cision was take n

to red uce the numb er o f scout sq uadro ns. Toget he r wi th No . 11

Squadron. No .6 Squad ron was di sb an ded at the end or A ugust

191 7. wi th its a irc raft and pilo ts be ing used to rei nfor ce o the r

squadrons.

RNAS requi rements for 191 8 included new da y bo mbing

squadrons flyi ng the D.H.9. the firs t of these new units was

No .6 Squadron. reforme d at Dover on the Ist January 19 18

around a sma ll core of ex pe rie nce d personnel. New offi ce rs

and new aircra ft we re fo rmed into a co hes ive unit during Ja nu-

ary and Fe bruary. with o pe ra tions over Belgi um co m me ncing

in March . Th e dr eadful reli abil ity an d poo r pe rfo rmance o f

the Siddeley Puma engine fitted to the D.H.9 seri ou s ly af-

tcc tcd the squadron' s early effec tiveness. mi rror ing the pro b-

lems experienced by the squadro n in the spr ing o f 191 7.

T he squadro n became 0.206 Squadron on 1st Apri1 191 8

wh en the Royal Nava l A ir Se rv ice and the Royal Fly ing Cor ps

were amalgamated to for m the Royal Air Force . No .206 Sq uad -

ron RA F wa s still in existence at the beg inning o f the 2 1st

Ce ntu ry. fly ing the Nimrod maritime reconnaissance aircra ft .

Sa d ly. the squadro n was di sbanded in A pril 2005 .

My aim in th is work has been to de tai l the histo ry of No .6

Squadro n RNAS. sta rt ing with a di scu ssion o r wh y the RNAS

had to expa nd its sco ut capability at the e nd o f 19 16 and work-

ing th rou gh to inco rporati on int o the RA F on Ist April 19 18.

T he boo k dea ls with the peopl e. the machines. the pla ces. the

inc idents and the day-to-day vic to ries and losses .

Read e rs should be awa re that the aut hor tak es a sceptica l

vie w o f co mbat cla ims. es pec ia lly w he re the or ig ina l docu -

mentati on does no t support the m. T he mo re o utrageous cl a ims

Int roduct ion

qlirfltoo '11iourout

00 BrutJn tJa rs~n n ,urt

o (iliisttffu

L I IRd Tn11t 0 Cam6ra.

.~ 1 O 0 '1ourcointJo' o /ij1u6.Ji t

jlnniRt iufS 'L ifTt'

L8t' t liunt 0 :0' (a lltuSl'

-0 Lens" 0 Henin LiefJrJ

o C'!'my oDouaiO't ,'try

Cf"l'ifTy 'F{ez 0 S t. Q!u ntin

; Iem fromf s .USOCi.Jtf d u 1t li ~Vo 6 Squadron ft; \ :l1S. - - q (je ll 1stI'm F ront

Sketch map showing the area of operation of No.6 Squadron during 1916,19 I7 and 19 18

II .u a later date by. or on behalf of. certain pilots. have

II discounted. The reference to original documentati on is

nrhcant. the content of this wor k being based upon original

u.ulrun documents. R AS Wing document s and RFC Wing

I I Brigade doc uments. backed up by pilot' s log books and

II . , written by the Senior R lAS Officer at Dunkcrqu c HQ.

Ih . author does not wish to be dragged into disput es ove r

.. , many victories a ce rtain pilot did or did not score. For

hi reason the following notes may cla rify the criteria used in

hI presentation of this aspect of the work .

Combat claim s were generally regarded as either "deci-

ivc" or " indecisive". A decision that was initially made by

th . Squadron's Commanding Off icer after rev iewin g the com-

h. 11 and assoc iated reports. The ultimate decision of whether a

laim was granted wou ld not be made until the cla im and all

.1 vociatcd evidence had been considered by Wing HQ and

R AS HQ. or in the situa tion where a Naval squadron was

work ing for the RFC. by Wing. Brigade and then RFC HQ.

I \ idcnce might well be obtained from sources such as bal-

loon observers. infantry and artillery unit s. intelligence age n-

cies and other flying unit s.

Dec isive

A dec isive claim generally fell into one of two camps:

"Apparently Out of Contro l": where an opponent' s ma-

chine was considere d 10 fall in an uncontroll ed manner

with lillie chance of recovery but there was no evide nce

to support the claim.

" Destroyed" : where an enemy machin e was seen to break

up in the air. fell in flames. or was see n to crash. "Driven Down" : Where an opponent declined combat and

dived away.

"Out Of Co ntrol": where an opponent's machine was con-

sidered to fall in an uncontrolled manner with little chance

of recovery.

or course. the "out of control" ca tegory was open to signifi-cant personal interpretation and abus e. It must be remembered

however. that whe ther an opponent left the bail ie zone in an

inverted spin and after a fright recovered at a much lower alti-

tude or simply stalled his machi ne and spun away to fight an-

other day. he ceded the bail ie zone to the victor. An important

objective of a sco ut machin e was to make the sky safe to en-

able the observation. spotting and bombing machin es to go

about their norm al business . An "Out or Co ntro l" achievedthis objective.

"Driven Dow n and FTL" : Where an opponent declin ed

combat. escaped and blatantly landed to wait for the op-

ponent to go away.

When discussing victory claims. it help s to remember a few

truths:

Most encounters took place over enemy terr itory mak-

ing verification difficult. if not impossible.

We now know that gross ove r-c laiming on the part of

the Allies was a regular occurrence.

In decis ive

An indecisive claim generally fell into the following catego-

ries:

When trying to match Allied claims with German losses.

unless the German machin e was destroyed completely.

or the Germ an pilot was unable to return to his unit. no

loss was record ed in the German record s.

7

A History of No,6 Squadron Royal Na val Ai r Service ill lVor ld lVar I

In the heat of ba ttle. eve n the most ex perie nce d pilot so me-

times made mistakes in observation.

Thc clai ms presen ted in this book arc pilot s' dec lara tions,

lIotnccessarily co rroborated victo ries . The claim s arc all sup-

port ed by primary docu mentation sources, squadro n record

books and Co mbat In Th e Air Reports (C ITA RS). Thi s wo rk

8

does not p lace a stro ng e m phasis o n R AS a nd RFC

Co mmuniques which we re basica lly mor ale boost ing summa-

rics produced by clerica l staff and were ofte n unre liab le. It

docs not place any emphas is at all upo n sec ondary pub lished

sources , many of which have fed off their predecessors.

GLOSSARY

AA Anti-Aircra ft FA.U. Friends Ambulance Unit

AAP Aircraft Accep tance Park FCdr Flight Commander

AD Ae rop lane Depo t FlgOb ll/ Fl ugmaat (flying Mute)

DD Aircraft Depot Dunkerquc (situated at SI. Pol) FIS Flying Instructors School

AFC Air Force Cross FLt Flight Lieutenant

AM Air Mechanic FSgt Flight Sergeant

AI' Aeroplane Park FSL Flight Sub-Lieutenant

ASD Aeroplane Suppl y Depot FfL Forced to Land

1"11' Feldll'ebel (Se rge ant)

Bdc Brigade FII'LI Feldwebell.eutnant (Master Sergeant )

Capt Captain GHQ General Headquarters

CBE Commander of the British Empire

Cdr Co mmander HA Hostile Aircraft

CFS Central Flying School Haupt Hauptmann (Captain)

COL Crashed on landing HOP High Offensive Patrol

CPO Chief Pett y Officer Hp Hor sep ower

Cpl Corporal HQ Headquart ers

CSD Central Supply Depot Hrs Hours

DD Driven Down Jasta Jagdstaff el (scout unit)

DFC Distinguished Flying Cross

DFM Distinguished Flying Mcdal KB Kitc Balloon

DFIV Deutsche FIIIgzellg-lVerke

DSC Disting uished Service Cross LAM Leading Air Mechani c

DSM Distinguished Service Meda l LFG Luftfahr z eug Gescllschaft

DSO Distinguished Service Order LM Leading Mechanic

Lt Lieutenant

EA Enemy Aircraft 2Lt Second Lieutenant

Eng Lt Engineer ing Lieutenant LI // Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)

LVG Luft- verkehrs Gesellschaft

9

II llistorv Id'No.6 Squadron NO."111 NII\'II I Ai r Sen -ice ill \l'or ld \l'lI r l

MBE

M

A1F/

ivlM

Member Of the British Empire

Military Cross

J'vlarinefcldjasta

ivliiitary Meda l

RN

R AS

RNR

RNVR

Royal Navy

Royal Naval Air Service/Royal Nava l Air Station

Royal Nava l Reserve

Royal Nava l Volunteer Reserve

RzT Radio Telephony

NAD

NADD

NAP

OBE

OM

O.!TI"1 /,-/r

OOC

0 1'

PFO

PFSL

PO

POW

PRO

RAE

RAF

RFA

RFC

Rittm

Nava l Aero plane Depot

Naval Aerop lane Depot Dunkcrque

1 ava l Aerop lane Park

Order Of The British Empire

Ohcrleutnant ( I st Lieutenant)

o.m~ierS/e ll rer/re/er (Warrant Officer )

Out Of Control

Offensive Patrol

Probationary Flying Officer

Probationary Flight Sub-Lieutenant

Petty officer

Prisoner of war

Public Records Office (National Arch ive)

Royal Aircra ft Establishment

Royal Air Force

Royal Fleet Auxi liary

Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing)

Rittmeister (Cavalry Captain)

10

SCdr

SD

SDF

TDS

TPFO

TP FSL

TS

U.f/'z.

USAS

V;/III

V;/Il'

WCapt

WCdr

WIT

Squadron Co mmander

Stores Depot

Seaplane Defence Flight

Training Depot Station

Tem porary Probationary Flying Officer

Temporary Probationary Flight Sub-Lieutenant

Trainin g Squadro n

Unteroffizier (Corporal)

nited States Air Service

\ Iizef lugmeister

vizefeldwebel (Acting Sergeant)

Wing Captain

Wing Commander

Wireless Telegraphy

C H A PTE R ON E

EXPANSIO N OF T H E RNAS AT DUN KERQ!JE

The Wings were struc ture d as sho wn:

Respon sibilit ies inc luded bo mbi ng and fig hte r pat rol s.

Rcsp o nsibiIities inc lud cd photo reco nna issa nce. an iIler y

spo tt ing (by day and night ) and fighter patro ls o ve r fron t

and fleet.

The history of the Roya l Naval Air Service 's presence

at Dunkcrque is beyond the sco pe o f this book . how

e ver. in or de r to understa nd why new sco ut squadrons

we re int roduced during 191 6 and 19 17. we need to briefl y

lo ok a t th e po lici e s and re -organ isa t io n o f th e Dover -

Dun ke rque command.

By the la te sum me r of 191 5. Wing Captain C L Lambe

was in cha rge o f two reconnaissance sq uadro ns at Dover and

s ix squadro ns at Dunk erq uc. T he Dunke rqu c squadro ns COI11-

prise d two spo tt ing and reconnaissance squad ro ns . two bomb-

ing sq uadro ns and two figh ter squadrons. Lambe had ambi-

tious plan s for hi s com mand and by December 19 15 had ob -

tained Admira lty approva l to form two more Wings. Eac h Win g

was co mprise d of four squadro ns to con cen trate on o ffe ns ive

operatio ns . It is import ant to reali se that at thi s stage an RNAS

Squadron wa s the eq uivale nt o f a more convent iona l Flight

and was co mprised of s ix ai rcr a ft.

Duri ng 1916 the Do ver - Dunk crq ue command expanded

rapid ly under Lambe 's d irec tio n. Its three main objectives

be ing:

To prot ec t the cross-c han ne l sup p ly rout es of the British

Exped itio na ry Fo rce .

I W ing

4 Wing

5 Wing

A Sq uadro n

B Squadron

C Squadron

A Sq uadro n

B Squadron

A Sq uadron

B Squadron

No . 1 Flight

No.2 Flight

No .3 Flig ht

No.4 Flight

No . 14 Flight

No.9 Flight

o. 10 fl ight

10 . II Flight

o. 12 f light

No.5 fli ght

No.6 Flight

0 .7 Flight

No .8 Fl ight

To harass e ne my submarines usin g Be lgi an port s .

To tak e o ffen si ve action aga ins t the channe l e nd o f the

German lines.

By m id 191 6. Win g Capta in La mbe had established I Win g at

Du nkerqu e. 4 Wi ng at Petite Synthc and 5 Wing at Coudc kcrkc ,

/I

Respon sibiliti es were pri maril y bo mbing but incl uded

so me fighte r pat ro ls and reco nna issa nce .

In June 19 16. the two flights of A Squadron I Win g mo ved

nearer to the front at Fum es aerodrome in Bel gium. the sq uad-

ro n qui ck ly becomi ng known as the " De tac hed Squadro n" .

The Det ach ed Sq uadron wa s eq uipped so le ly w ith icuport

A His!OI:1' olNo.a Squadron Royal Naval Air Service ill lI'orlt!lI'ar /

single seat sco uts and was the first uniformly equipped squad-

ron in the RNAS. Duc to the close r proximity to the front. the

Detached Squad ron took on new duties of providing Frenc h

reconnaissance and artille ry spotters with fighter escort.

By the autumn of 19 In. the RFC was ex periencing ditfi -culi ics on the Sommc. In October. Wing Captain Lambe agreed

to provide a squadron to assist the RFC. In order to achieve

this. eac h of the Dunkerquc Wings contributed a Flight of pi-

lots and aircra ft. Sopwith Pups from I Wing. Nieuport Scouts

from 4 Wing and Sopwith 1/2 Strutte rs from 5 Wing. The

newly formed "de tac hed" squadron was act ivated on the 25th

October 19 16 and was eve ntually designated No.8 Squadron

RNAS or more familiarly " Naval S. Thi s designat ion did not

co me into effect. however. until February 1917.

Also in the autu mn. possibly prompted by Major-Gen-

eral Trenchard' s request to borrow a scout squadron. Lambe

embarked upon another ses sion otvra tiona lisa tion" , rearrang-

ing his ex isting squadrons into specialist units and re-labe l-

ling them with sequentia l unique num bers:

A Squadron Wing

B Squadron Wing

C Squadron Wing

A Squadro n 5 Wing

B Squadron 5 Wing

A Squadro n 4 Wing

B Squ adron 4 Wing

Squa dron on loan to RFC

becam e 10 . 1 Squadro n

became No.2 Squadro n

becam e 10 .] Squadron

became No.4 Squadro n

became 10 .5 Squadron

became No.n Squadron

became No.7 Squadron

became No.S Squadron

Scouts

Spotting/ Reco nnaissance

S COUlS

Scouts

Bom bers

Scou ts

Bomb ers

Scout s

These rc-dcs ignations took place from the wee k co mmencing

20th I ovcmbcr 19 16. although in most cases. no change was

seen at Squadro n level for a number of weeks.

By the autumn of 1916. the Germans had introd uced the

Albatros DI and Dll twin gun sco uts. preci pitating a cr isis for

the RFC. Major-General Trenchard reques ted a subs tantia l

strengthening of the figh ter squadrons attached to eac h Brit-

ish army. Nothing was done until Decem ber 19 16. when it

rapidly beca me obvio us that any realistic action wou ld be too

late. The Detached Squadron had proved its value to the RFC

and Trenchard informally approached Lambe to discuss the

possibi lity of borrowing four more scout squadrons. he re-

qu ired a Triplanc squadron. a Nicuport scout squadron. plus

two more sco ut squadrons. In Decem ber. the War Ofrice made

a formal request to the Admiralty for the loan of four addi-

tiona l fighter squadro ns to ass ist the RFC and mater ial help in

thc form of engines and ai rcraft.' The Admiralty was not in

any real posit ion to refuse, being in the "ove rk i ll" situation of

having Lam be's newl y rest ructured squadro ns attached to

Dunkcrquc, exace rbated by the polit ica l embarrass ment o f

having been recently " caught-out" circumventing the agreed

protocols for obtaining funding for aircraft.

At the end of 19 16. the RNAS Dunkerq ue "Order of

Buttlc' for landplanc sco ut/fighting squadro ns was as show n

below :

/ 2

No. 1 Sq uad ro n: Equipped with a mix of Nieuports and

Sopwith Tri planes at FUrJ1es . In the process or re-equip-

ping with Sopwith Triplancs. Carrying out coa stal pro-

tection.

No.3 Sq uad ro n : Initially equipped with Sopw ith I 1/2

St rut ters. to be re-equipped with Sopwit h Pups.

No.4 Sq uad ron: Initially equipped with Sopwith I 1/2

Strut ters . to be re-equipped with Sopwi th Pups.

No.6 Sq uad ron : Equipped with a variety of Nieuport 2-

seaters and scouts. To be re-equipped with Nieuport 17bis

sco uts.

Det ach ed Sq uad ro n : On secondmcnt to the RFC at Vert

Galant. Equipped with Sopwith Pups. To be renamed No.8

Squadron and re-equipped with Sopwith Tri plancs.

From the I aval point of view, five fighter squadrons. even

when fully equipped would not be adequate to meet the com-

mitmen t to the RFC and to provide coastal and fleet protec-

tion. Lambe therefore embarked upon another round of ex-

pansion in 19 17:

Expansio n o] the RNAS at Dunkerque

No.9 Squadron: No.9 Squadro n was formed at SI. Pol on

Ist February 1917. Initial ly equipped with Sopwith Pups

and Nieuports. No.9 Squadron perform ed coastal defence

duties until seconded to the RFC in Jun e.

No. III Squadron : No. 10 Squadron was formed at SI. Pol

on 12th February 1917. Core personnel were taken from

Cranwcll and Easichurch but later hea vily reinforced with

ex perienced personnel from the disbanding No.3 Wing.

Initia lly equipped with So pwith Tripl ancs, Perform ed

coastal defence duti es from Furncs until seconded to the

RFC at Droglandt on 15th May 19 17.

No. 11 Squad ron: Formed at Petit e Sy nthc on 8th Marc h

19 17 and equipped with ieup ort scouts. Sopwith Pups

and Triplancs. Evidence indicates that No. 11 Squadron

was intended to be a scout Squadro n but due to shortage

of pilots and aircraft effe cti vely becam e an Opcrational

Training Unit and Pilots Pool for the other sco ut Squad-

rons. The Squadron was eve ntually activated in Jul y and

ca lled upon to provide fleet and port protection duti es.

Further ex pansion of scout squadrons took place in Jun e 1917

to strengthen the coastal defence and trainin g provision :

No.12 Squadron: Formed at Hond schoot on 8th Jun e

19 17. served primari ly as an Operational Training Unit

and Pilots Pool. with some port de fence du ties.

No. 13 Sq uadro n: Formed at SI. Pol on 30th Jun e 1917 as

the Seaplane Defence Flight with coastal and fl ee t pro-

tcction duties . Bccnmc the Seaplane Defe nce Squadron

on 23rd September 19 17 and No. 13 Squadron on 15th

January 19 18. Initially equipped with Sopwith Pups.

As stated above, a Detached Squadron had been seconded to

the RFC since the end of October 19 16. The squadron was

withdraw n back to Dunkerqu c control early in February 1917

for re-equippi ng and rea llocat ion of so me officers and rat ings

to new squadrons. On the same day. No.3 Squadro n came un-

de r RFC control and took responsibility for both the Detached

Squadron's duties and their aircraft. Sccondmcnt of ava l sco ut

squadrons to the RFC during 19 17 took place as shown be-

low:

Senior Officer at Dunkerque and architect of the RNAS expansion atDu nkerque,Wing Captain CL Lambe.This photograph was taken during 1918,Lambe is wearing RAF uniform and hasthe rank of Brigadier General.CourtesyJohn Oxley Library

No. 1 Sq uadron : Seconded to thc RFC on 15th February

1917. initia lly bascd at Chipilly. Returned to RNAS con-

trol on 2nd Nove mber 19 17.

No.3 Squadron: Seco nded to the RFC and took ove r 0.8

Squadro n's Sopwiih Pup aircraft at Vert Ga lant on 3rd

February 19 17. returned to RNAS control on 18th June

19 17.

0.6 Squadron: Seconded to the RFC on II th March

1917. based at La Bellevue , Disband ed on the 27th Au-

gust 19 17 with the pilots dispersed to other squadrons

and the ai rcraft tran sferred to No . 10 Squad ron. No.6

Squadron would be revived in 19 18 but as a bom bing

squadron.

13

A Ilistorv o] No.6 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service in World \Var I

No.NSquadron : Brought back under RNAS contro l and

retu rned to Dunkcrquc on 3rd February 1917 for rest and

re-equipping with Sopwith Triplanes. Seco nded to RFC

on the 29th March 1917. init ially based at Auchcl, Re-

turned to RNAS control on Ist March 1918.

No.9 Squadron: Seconded to RFC on 15th June 1917.

initially based at Flez. Return ed to RNAS co ntrol on 28th

September 1917.

No. III Squadron: Seco nded to RFC on 15th May 1917.

initially based at Droglandt. Return ed to RNAS contro l

on 27th November 1917.

i'\OTE1 Discussions between Tr enchard and Lambe, later for mally ra ised at the

30lh meeting o ft he Ai r Board . on I l th December 1'!1 6. rcf ADi\t I /X44'! .

When the new RNAS sco ut squadrons started to form in late

19 16. Lambe's intenti on was to maintain a squadron strength

of 20 pilots. However. losses sustained by the squadrons serv-

ing on the Western Front were considerably higher than the

RNAS had previously experienced. With a much lower re-

cruiting intake than the RFC. the RNAS found it impossib le

to keep their squadro ns staffed at their optimum level. On

numerous occasions new recruits were thrown into the fray

with no time allowed for adj ustment. the inevitable outcome

depleting numbers even further. For much of 1917. squadron

strength hovered around a core of 15 pilots. sometimes drop-

ping as low as 10 01' II .

By August 1917. it had become apparent that the R lAS

could not support five sco ut squadrons on the Western Front

and on 27th August 19 17. No.6 Squadro n and No.11 Squad-

ron were disbanded. their pilots and Sopwith Camel aircraft

dispersed to reinforce other squadrons.

C HAPTER rwo

FORMAT IO N

No.4 Wing was formed du ring the week ending 11th

Oc tober 19 15 fro m the Eas tc hurc h based No.4

Squadron as part o f Wing Ca ptain Lambe's initial

expansion of the R lAS presence at Dunkcrquc.The new Wing

set up its headqu arters at Petite Synthe in April 19 16 under

the command of Squadron Commander CL Courtney. Add i-

tional pilots and aircraft were drafted in and by mid Jun e 19 16

the Wing comprised 10 . 1Squadro n and No.2 Squadron These

names were changed to A Squadro n and B Squadro n during

Ju ly.

Both A and B Squadrons were. in effec t. mult i-role squad-

rons. A Squad ron comprised 1 0.9 and No. 10 Flights equipped

with scout and bombin g machines respec tive ly and B Squad-

ron comprised No. 11 and No. 12 Fligh ts which were similarly

equipped. To add to the confusion. there were also A and B

Squadrons attached to both 0. 1 Wing and No.5 Wing at the

same time . As discussed in Chapter I. towards the end of 19 16

Wing Captain Lambe instigated a final rationali sation of the

squadrons in the Dunkerquc Command. aimed at enabling eac h

squadron to function independently. ta ilor ing eac h squadro n

to a spec ific funct ion and employ ing the structure of uniquely

numb ered squadrons used by the Royal Flying Corps. Whilst

the changeover da te for most of the squadrons can be deter-

mined with a fair degree of co nfidence . the acti vation date for

No.6 Squadron is more difficult to determine.

It is know n that the squadron name officially changed from

A Squadro n to No.6 Squadron during the week precedi ng the

27th lovember 19 16. the wee kly publication "Disposition of

Officers o f the Royal laval Air Service" record s the change

in the issue dated 27th I ovc mbcr 19 16. Th ere was no imme-

diate change to the squadro n structure however. during De-

ce mber 1916 and most of January 19 17. the squadron still of-

ficially comprised a flight of scout pilots and a flight of bomber

pilots. New pilots and admini strat ive officers were drafted in

to the squadron towards the end of January 1917 but it was

not until the 5th February 1917 issue of the Disposit ion List

that the squadro n structure was officia lly reported as being

co mposed of two flights o f scout pilots.

The date of the 5th/6 th Feb ruary 1917 is significa nt as

the 6th is the first day that a Daily Operations Report was

Petite Synthe Aerodrome. situated on the eastern outskirts of Dunkerque. theheadquarters and base of 0.4 Wing RNAS.Courtesy)MBIGSL ColleGian

15

A llistorv ofNo.6 Squadro n Roval Naval Air Service ill World \\1Ir /

re lea sed in the nam e of '0 .6 Squadron and sig ned by the

squadro n's new commandi ng office r. SCd r II Petre. A ll Op-

e ra tions Reports pr ior to the 6t h Fe brua ry we re re leased by

'0 04 Wing and sig ned by Win g Capta in Courtney.

Fo r the purposes o f this wo rk . it has bee n dec ided to re-

ga rd the 27th Nove mber 191 6 as the da te thai A Squad ro n was

ren am ed No .6 Squadron and the 6t h February 19 17 as the da te

that No. 6 Squadro n was ac tiva ted as a fun ctiona l and ind e-

pendent scout squadron. Th e in terim period be tween the se

dates was mostly devoted to prac tice flying an d pilot eva lua-

tion . a ltho ug h ve ry oc cas iona l so lo fig hting pa tro ls we re ca r-

ried out. Win g Co m ma nde r Courtney excha nge d pilo ts be-

twee n No .6 and No .7 Sq uad ron s on a week ly basis durin g

Dece mber 191 6 and Janu ary 19 17. this occurred so o fte n tha t

it' s prob abl y bett e r to say that ce rta in pilo ts we re attac hed to

0 04 W ing ra ther than trying to pin the m down to any pa rtic u-

lar squadro n.

Th e struc ture o f No A Win g' s two squad ro ns on the 27 th

j ovcmbcr 19 16 was as follows :

No.6 Squad ron

A Fligh t

FLt AD W A lle n. Flight Comma nde r

FSL C Perrett

FS L C L Ba iley

FS L WHR Brown

) - scout p ilo ts

Thi s ba la nce of o ffic ia l a llocatio n of pi lot s did not cha nge s ig-

ni ficantl y throu gh ou t December 19 16 and January 191 7 al-

though man y of the pilot s were swa pped about be tween the

two sq uadrons from week to week . Sev era l new pi lot s were

transferred to 004 Wing at the end o f January suc h tha t o n

5th Fe bruary No .6 Sq uad ro n had the fo llow ing co mpos ition:

SCdr JJ Petre . Com mand ing Offi cer

SL (RI V R) W To dd. Armam ent s O fficer

A Fli gh t

FCd r CT M acLare n. Fli ght Com mande r

FLt BHP De Roeper

FLt LC Keebl e

FS L GL Hartgi ll

FSL ldeC Paynte r

FSL GP Po wles

B Flight

FCdr ADW A lle n. Flight Comma nde r

FLt C L Ba iley

FSL GCW Dingwall

FSL RR Winte r

FS L R K Sla te r

FSL VR Gi bbs

C Fligh t

FLt FT Digb y. Fli ght Comma nde r

FSL RE Darnton

FSL A HV Fletcher ) - bo mbe r pilots

FSL VE Sievek ing

FSL LW O rmerod

No.7 Sq ua d ro n

A Fligh t

FLt CT Macl.arcn . Flig ht Com ma nder

FSL G L Hart g ill

FSL JA Shaw ) - scout pil o ts

FS L GC W Dingwall

C Fligh t

FLt HG Brackley. Flight Co mma nde r

FSL C H Darl ey

FSL A L T ho rne ) - bomber pi lot s

FSL G P Po wles

FS L A Frauen feld er

/ 6

It is the autho r 's impression that during December and Janu-

ar y. Win g Comm ande r Courtney d id not regard his pilo ts as

be longing spec if ica lly to No .6 or to No .7 Squadrons but to

the 004 Win g sco ut pi lot resource and bomber pilot resource .

The sudde n fo rmal ration a lisat ion o f sco ut pilots in to 1 0.6

Sq uadro n and bomber pi lot s into No .7 Squadro n at the begi n-

ning of February 19 17 g ives adde d we igh t to the sugg es tio n

tha t No .6 Squadron was ac tivated on the 6th February 191 7.

T he Squ adron's initi a l scout pro vision comprise d fo ur

Nieuport 12s. two Iicuport lOs and a licuport II s ing le-se at

scout. Severa l of the Nieuport 10 and Nie upo rt 12 machin es

were single-seat con ver sion s. A furth er five Nieu port I I sco uts

s lowly fi lte red in from the depot at Dunk crque duri ng Januar y

and the ea rly part o f February 19 17 .

Whi lst No .6 Squadro n wa s in its fo rma tive stage during

Dec e mbe r 191 6 an d Jan uary 191 7 seve ra l Caudro n G. IV 2-

se ate rs were attac hed to the squadro n.

It was intended that when No.6 Squad ro n was ope rat io na l

it would be eq uipped wi th the Nie upo rt 17Bi s. powered by a

C te rgc t 130 h p e ngi ne a nd a r m a me n t co nsist ing o f a

sy nc hronise d Vick e rs gun firing throu gh the propel ler a rc .

Fo rmat ion

combined with a Lewis gun mounted on the top wing. The FSL WHR Brow n

first 17Bis was del ive red on the 1st Feb ruary 1917 and whilst

o ne mo re was de livered on the 24th Feb rua ry, it was not until FLt ADW A lle n

March that the new model began to arri ve in significant nurn-

hers. FLt ADW Allen

overnber 1916As related abo ve. the ass umption has been made that the train - FLt CT Macl. arcn

i ll g and slaj}illg of No.6 Squadro n com me nced Oil the 271h

November / 9/6. By this da le. both A and B Squad rons had FSL .JA Shaw

II I II/OSI completc lv ceased ca rrying out warjliglttand started

to concentrate UI W Il practi ce and testflight , FSL WHR Brown

27th Novem ber FSL LW Omcrod

FLt Allcn with FSL Hartgil l as passcngcr flew 1 icuport 12 2-

seate r X74 1 to 0.5 Wing at Coudc kcrkc and returned with FSL RE Darnton

two singlc-scurcr Nicuport 12s. n os and X7 12,nfuvourablc weather conditions prevented any other fl y- FSL A1-1 V Fletcher

ing during the day.

Nic uport 10 scrial3 185

63 minute prac tice flight

Nicuport 12 se ria l 87 12

15 minute tcst flight

Nicuport 12 sc rial 8734


with LM Wchb

Nicuport 10 scrial 3 185

30 minute practice flight

Nicuport 10 serial 3965

15 minut e practice flight

1 icuport 10 serial 3 185

20 minute practi ce flight

Caudron serial 9 119

30 minute pract ice flight





with A1\1 Morgan

2Nth Novem ber

FLt Allen ca rried out a fightin g patro l to Zccbruggc at 13.15

in Nieuport II serial 8746 . Allen patrol led around Zccbruggc

for 40 minutes but no enemy aircra ft were enco untered. I-I c

reported that a train was observed entering Ostcnde at 13.40.

Three Nicuport 12s were co llec ted from the Depot at

Dunkcrquc, Hartgill collected 8726. Perret co llected 85 12 and

Shaw collected 9206.

The rcst of the day was given ove r to tcst and practice

flight s:

29th Novem be r

nfavourab lc weather conditions prevented any flying dur-

ing the day.

BELOW: Nieuport 10 serial 3185 was on the squadron strength from the 27thNovember 1916 0 the 3rd February 1917 on which date it was crashed andwritten off by FSLVR Gibbs.This machine was converted to singleseat configu-ration by sheeting over the forward cockpit. There does not appear to havebeen a standardised method of carrying out the conversron, 3185 being some-what unusual in having the cladding taper up from the firewall to the pilot'scockpit. Author's collection

/ 7

A History o!No.6 Squadron Royal Na\'{/I Air Service ill \\'orld \\'ar I

30th Novem be r FLl ADW Allen

nfavourable weather conditions prevented any flying dur-

ing the day. FSL CL Bailey

FSL LW Omerod

December 1916

' ieuport 12 serial 87 12

15 minute test flight

l icupnrt 10 serial 3962


Caudro n serial 9 119


Bad weather durin g Decem ber se riously int erfered with

Courtney's training and pi/Of asse ssme nt programme.

5th Decemb er

Unfavourable wea ther conditions prevented any flying dur-

ing the day.

4th Dece mber

Twelve test and pract ice flight s were carried out:

1st to 3rd December

Unfavo urable weather conditions prevented any flying activ-

ity.

BELOW:The Caudron G IV bomber SIX of these aircra ft were inheri ted fromA Squadro n and remained on No.6 Squadro n's charge unti l Januar y 19I 7.Thisparticular machine was photographed with N o.5 Wing at Coudekerke. Cour-tesyJMBIGSL Collection

6th Decemb er

FLl Allen carried out a fighting patrol at 10.00 in Nieuport I I

8746. He patro lled to Ostende in search of a host ile kite bal-

loon. which was reported to have broken loose but fai led to

find it.

Later in the day. Allen trave lled to the Depot where he

carried out a 35 minute test flight in a SPAD V II serial 96 11

on behalf of loA Wing.

Four test and practice flights were carried out during the

day:

1 icup ort 12 serial 85 12


Nieuport 10 serial 3 185


Nieuport 10 seria 13 185


Nieuport II serial 8746

10 minute pract ice fligh t

FSL C Perrett

FLl CT Macl.arcn

FSL WHR Brown

FLt ADW Allen

ieuport 10 serial 3965

I I minute prac tice flight

Nieuport 10 serial 3962


Nicuport 12 serial 87 12




Nieupo rt 10 serial 3 185


icuport 10 serial 3 185


ieuport 12 serial 85 12






FLl ADW Allen

FSL C Perrett

FSL WHR Brow n

FLt ADW Allen

FSL JA Shaw

FSL GCW Dingwa ll

FSL CL Bailey

FSL GL Hartgill

FLt CT Macl. arcn

18

Format ion

7th Decem ber

I IV C tes t and practice n igh ts were carried out:

12th Dec ember

Unfavourable weat her co nditions preven ted all fl yin g.

13th December

Eight test and pract ice n ights were carried out during the day:

I I.t CT Mac Laren

I'SL GL Hartgill

"S L CL Bailey

"S L JA Shaw

I Lt CT Macl. arcn


15 minute test n igh t


15 m inut e test n igh t

licuport 10 serial 3962

35 min ute practi ce n igh t

Nicuport 10 seria l 3965

5 minute pract ice !ligh t

Iieuport 10 serial 3 185

15 minute tcst n igh t

FSL VE Sicvck ing

FSL LW Ormero d

FLt FT Digby

Caudron seria l 9 113

30 minute pract ice n ight

Ca udron seria l 9 119

25 min ute pract ice nigh t


35 min ute tcst n ight

Elevcn tcst and practice nights were carried out:

Ht h to 10th December

Unfavourable wea ther conditions prevented all fl yin g.

I Ith Decem ber

Four pilots ca rried out a 30 minute form ation practice:

14th December

Four tcst n igh ts were carried out:


20 minute test n ight

lieuport II seria l 8746

35 minut e speed test

Nicuport 12 seria l 87 12

35 minu te speed test

Nicuport II serial 8746



6 minute practice n ight


20 minute tcst night

and FLt CT MacLarcn


15 minute pract ice n ight



Nieuport 12 seria l 9206

50 minute tcst n ight



Nieuport I I serial 8746

40 minute test night


25 minute practice night

FS L .fA Shaw

FSL C Perrett

FSL GL !'!arlgill

FLt ADW Allen

FLt ADW Allen

FSL GL Harigill

FLt AD W Allen

FLt CT Mac Larcn

FLt ADW Allen

FSL CL Bailcy

FSL GCW Dingwall

FLt ADW Allen

15th December

Unfavo urable weather conditions prevented all fl y ing.

Nicupon 12 serial 9206


Nicupor t 10 serial 3 185



15 minute practice nigh t

and CPO Gott


35 minute practice nigh t


40 minute practice n igh t

Nicuport 12 se rial 872 6



40 minute test fli ght

Nieuport 12 seria l 85 12






with PO Clarkc

FSL CL Bailey

FSL GCW Dingw all

FSL .f A Shaw

FLt Allen

FSL GL I-I artgill

FSL GC W Dingwall

FSL JA Shaw

FSL CL Bailcy

FLt CT MacLarcn

FSL C Perret t

FSL RE Darlton

FSL C Perren

/ 9

II History of No .6 Squadron Royal Na\'(/I A ir Servi ce in lVorld mlr I

16th December

Three tes t and pract ice fligh ts were carried out:

19th Decemb er

Two tes t an d pra ctice fligh ts wer e ca rried out:

FSl Gl Hartg ill

FLt A D\\' A lle n

FLt A D\\' Al len

Nieupo rt I() se ria l 3962


Nieupo rt I() se ria l 3965


Nieupo rt 12 se ria l 8734


with AM Bentley

FSL GL Hartg ill

FSlJA Shaw

FLt ADW All en

FLt ADW A llen

1 ieuport I() se ria l 39 62


1 ieuport I() se ria l 3965

30 minute prac tice flight

Nieuport II se ria l 8746


SPAD V II se ria l 96 11

25 minu te test flight

17th December

At 13 .35 . S haw ca rr ie d o ut a fi g h ti ng patrol betw ee n Flt AD\\' A llen

Dunkerquc and Nieupo rt in Nieupo rt 10 3965 , T he pat rol was

une ventful and Shaw had noth ing to report. FSL VE Siev ek ing

Two test and pra ctice flights wer e carried out:

SPA D V II se ria l 96 11

55 mi nute test flight

Caudro n se ria l 9 113

15 m inute practi ce flight

I Sth December

Si x test an d practi ce fligh ts were carried out:

20th December

Fo urt een test and pra ctice fl ight s wer e car ried out:

FLt CT Ma claren

FLt A D\\' All en

lic uport I I se ria l 874 6

20 minute pra ctice flig ht

SPAD V II se ria l 96 11

25 minute test flight FLt CT Maclaren

FLt CT Maclaren

1 ieuport I I se ria l 8746

50 minute total practi ce

Nieuport II seri a l 87 46

FLt A D\\' All en

FLt CT M aclaren

Sopwi th se ria l 93 43 '


Nieuport I I se ria l 8746

35 m inute pra cti ce flight

BELOW : SPAD S7,serial 961 I underwent Type Trials with 0.4 Wing duringDecember 191 7 and whilst at Petite Synthe was flown exclusively by FLtADWAllen. For reasons unknown, the SPAD was supplied to the RNAS wi th theincorrect serial N 3399 as depicted here, thrs was changed at the SI.Pol depo tto the correct serial.FLt Alle n flew 961 I to Eastchurch on the 24th Decem ber19 16 where it underwent further evaluation by the Design Flight under thesuperv ision of Squadron Commander Harry Busteed. CourtesyC&CJ Archive

20

Forma tion

22nd December

Two practice flights were carried out: FSL LW Ornerod

2 1st December

Unfavourable weather conditions prevented all flying activ- FSL VE Sievek ing

it y,

Seven practice flight s were carried out:


15 minut e pract ice flight



Caud ron seria l 9 120

64 minute total pract ice flight s

Caud ron ser ia l 9 120

Caud ron seria l 9 130


with FSL RB Frame


20 minu te practice flight





Caudro n serial 9 123






FSL LW Omcrod

FSL .lE Ruth ven

FSL RE Darnton

FSL .lE Ruth ven

FSL .lA Shaw

FSL GL Harigill

FS L RE Damron

FSL .lE Ruth ven

FSL CL Bai ley

25t h December

Unfavourable wea ther conditions prevented all flying activ-

ity.

26t h December

Five practice flights were carried out:

Nieuport 10 seria l 3 185






SPAD VII serial 96 11

160 minut e total test flights

SPAD VII se rial 96 11



with FSL .lE Ruth ven


55 minute total practice flights




with LM Scotcher



with AM Walker


120 minut e total test flights


FSL .lA Shaw

FLt ADW Allen

FSL RE Darnton

FLt ADW Allen

FSL .lA Shaw

FSL LW Omcrod

FSL RE Darn ton

FSL LW Omcrod

FSL VE Sievek ing

FSL .I E Ruthven

FSL .lE Ruth ven

FLt CT Macl.a ren

FSL GL Hartgill

Nieuport II serial 874 6



10 minu tes practice flight

27t h Dece m her

Six conventional test and pract ice flights were carried out:

FLt CT Macl. arc n

23rd Dece m her

Unfavourable weather conditions prevented all flying activ- FSL GCW Dingwall

ity.

FSL GCW Dingwall

24th Dece m her

FLt Al len delivered the SPAD VII to Eastchurch at 10.50 . FSL RE Darnton

FSL Bailey was performing duties at the Depot and fer-

ried Sopw i i h Trip lane 154 25 fro m Sopwi tb's faci lit y at

Brooklands back to Dover.



ieup ort 12 serial 872 6






with LiVI Blank sby

2/

II History {if No.6 Squadron Royal Nava l Air Service i ll Worltl ll'l/r /

FSL VE Sicvcki ng

with LM Dell

FSL RE Damron


35 minute pract ice fligh t


15 min ute test flight after repair

with A~v1 Marsha ll

ca rried 0 11I ill the Nic upott 10 and Ni cupo n 12 machines.

building up 10 [li ghts ill the Nieupo rt II sco uts. Thi s su rmi se

is suppo rted hy the logbook o] Nell' Zealand pil ot FSL GL

I-Ia rtg ill . Mu ch o] Geo rge Hart gill's previous experience 1\'(/ .1'

ga ined ill Caudron bombers and the Nieupo rt Iypes 10 and

12. His continuing progres s with the small er sco ut type o]

machine call he [o 1101 Fed below.

Two formation practice flights were carried out:

30 minute formation practice

FSL CL Bailey Nieuport 10 serial 3962

FSL C Perrett Nieuport 10 se rial 3 185

FSL JA Shaw Nieuport 10 serial 3965

FSL GL I-I artgill Nieuport 12 serial 8734

with LM Stonebridge


FSL GL Hartgill Nieuport 10 serial 3962

FSL JA Shaw Nieuport 10 serial 3965

FSL C L Bailey Nicuport 12 serial 8734

FSL C Perrett Nicuport 10 serial 3 185

FSL Bailey led the first formation and I-I artgilil ed the second.

I-I artgill reported that as a leader he flew too fast.

2nd .lunuury

Local practice fligh t at )3,45 in ieuport 10 serial 3962 . Air-

borne for 30 minutes at 3000 feet.

5th J a nuary

Local pract ice flight in I ieuport 10 se rial 3962. Airborne for

20 minutes at 2000 feet.

7th J anua ry

Local practice flight in Nieuport 10 serial 3962. Airborne for


11 th J anuary

Local pract ice flight in ' ieuport I I serial 8746 . Airborne for

20 minutes at 3000 feet. I-I artgill recorded that this was his

first time in a Bebc and that he thought it was a "fine bus" .

2Xth December

Two test and practice flights were carried out:

FLt CT i\lacLaren and

FSL CL Bailey

FSL RE Darnton




14th January

Local practice flight in Nieuport I I serial 399 1. Airborne for


Squadro n formation practice carried out at 3000 feet for

20 minutes. Hartgill aga in flew Nieuport II serial 399 1.

29th J a nu a ry

25 minute practice flight Loca l practice flight in Nieuport I I se rial 3988. Airborne for

65 minutes at 6000 feet. Harrgill recorded that he made two

29t h to 31st Decem ber bad land ings. bendi ng the ax le the first time and hittin g the

Unfavourable weather conditions prevented all flying acti v- road on his seco nd landi ng.

i iy.

.January 1917There are 110 surviving dai ly reco rds [ro m Janu ary 1917 fo r

No. "; Willg/ No.6 Sq uadron, ho wever. it is su rmised that they

[o llowrd a simi iarpatt crnto tha! see n during December 1916

and illdeed the /)(1 IIem [a llowed by other lIel\' sco ut squad -

rons whilst working up 10 readiness. Th is would invo lve the

less experienced pilots II/ akillg local practice fl ights. initi ally

Towards the end of January. AFCdr JJ Petre. a high ly experi-

enced office r from I Wing was transferred to 4 Wing to take

command of No.6 Squadron.

Februa ry 1917February sa\l' the pace o] activity accelerating, act iva tion of

No .6 Squ ad ron. 111'\1' p ilots bro ugh t O il stre ng th and expans ion

to th ree [ lights, contact with enemy aircraft, the comme nce -

Forma tion

mcnt ojre-cquipp ing with new airc raft and the squadron 'sfirst

Iti S S i' S .

Tliejlight structure at the beg inn ing ofFebruury is shown

be lo w:

fI Flight

fI /-Cd r CT Macl.aren, Flight COII/II/ande r

FLt IJ/-fP De Roeper

FLt LC Keebl e

FS L GL Hartgill

FS L .I .t: PaynterFS L G P Pm \' 11'.1'

FS L CL Tho m e

2nd February

FLt Allen Icd Dingwall, Paynter and Bai ley on an offens ive

patrol at IOAO.The patrol was flown from Poperinghe to Ypres,

east to Roulers, then Thourout and returning to thc north of

Dixmu dc. Paynter observed severa l hostil e machines in the

vicinity of Moors lede.

ASCdr Pet re ca rrie d out a height tcst and fighting patrol

to Dixmude and Pcrv yse in Nicuport 1713is N3 184. When re-

turnin g he observ ed antiaircraft fire over Nieuport. before he

co uld investigate. N3 184 ran out of fuel and Pe tre mad e a

forced landin g on the beach at La Panne. The Nieuport was

refuelled by NO. 1 Squadron.

Petre recorded the following test resul ts:

n FlightFLt fl D \I' A llen , Fl ight COII/ II/ {///{Ier

FLt CL Ba iley

FS L GC\I' Ding wall

FS L RR \l'illler

FS L RK Slater

FS L vs Gibbs

Climb

Ce iling

1000 feet in 45 seconds

4000 feet in 3 minut es

10000 feet in 8 minutes

15000 feet in 15 minut es

20000 feet in 50 minutes

23000 feet

3rd February

Bailey ca rried out a patro l at 07.20 to search for missing air-

cra ft. He wa s ab le to locat e a Sopw ith 5 mil es west of

Dunkerquc, 10 yards out from the shore , a Caudron on thc

FCdr MacLa rcn del ivered N icuport 10 3965 to the newl y

form ed No.9 Squadron at St.Po l.

Se ve n pract ice and tcst fligh ts were carrie d out during the

day:

1st Febr ua ry

T he squadron' s first Nicupo rt 1713 is. se ria l num ber N3 184.

arrived on the l st, together with a couple of old Nieuport II

machines. Nicuport II serial num ber 399 1 was returned to

thc depot for repair.

A fightin g patrol was ca rried out by MacLaren and Win-

ter, both pilots flying Nieuport II scouts. The route flown was

from Nicuport to Dixmudc and Yprcs. Heavy anti-aircraft fire

was ex pe rie nce d ove r Yprcs and two enemy ai rcraft were en-

countered. These retreated in the dire ction of Roulcrs when

approached .

Allen co llected Nieuport II serial 3987 from the depot,

whilst there he carried ou t a num ber of test flights on Sopwith

Pups and Tri plancs.

Thr ee practice flights were carried out:

FSL VR Gibbs Nicuport 10 seria l 3962


FSL CL Th orne Nicuport 10 seria l 3 185

II minut e prac tice flight

ASCdr .1.1 Petre Nieuport II seria l 3689

55 minut e practice flight. shooting at fire balloons. He de-

stroycd two balloons and collided with a third.

23

FSL AL Thornc

FSL AL T ho rne

FSL AL Thornc

FSL AL Thorne

FSL LW O rm erod

FSL VR Gibbs

FSL VR Gibbs







Nieu port 12 serial 9206








A llistorv ofNo.6 Squadron Royal Na\'(/I A ir Service ill \\'orld 1I'llr I

Nicuport I I serial 3989


Nicuport II scrial 3987

20 minute lormatiou

FCdr CT 1\1acLarcn

FCdr EW Norton

FSL RR Winter

A practice formation patrol was ca rried out :

N o.6 Squadro n's Com manding O fficer; Acti ng Squadro n Com mander JohnJoseph Petre.jack Pet re was a very experienced and capable officer;brought infrom N o.1 Wing 0 lead N o,6 Squadron. Courtesy LesRogers


40 minute pra c tice n ight

j ieuport II scria l 398 1

40 minute pra ctice ni ght


65 minu te practice nigh t


30 minute practice n ight.

firing at fire balloons


30 minu te pract ice fligh t


30 minute practice n ight. crashed .

FSL RR Wintcr

FSL VR Gibbs

FSL VR Gibbs

FSL RR Winter

FSL AL Th orn e

FSL CL Bailcy

Dingwall and Payn ter carried out a righting patrol at 10.10

in response to reports of an ene my mach ine over Hondschootc.

Heavy shelling was observed but the pilots were unab le to

rind the hostil e mach ine. Th e patro l was co ntinued over

Alvcring hc m. Nicuport. Ostcnd c. Zccbru ggc . Bru gcs and

Dixmude. I 0 enemy aircraft were encountered but observa-

tions of train mo vem ent s and shi pping were ca rried out.

FLt Norton carried out a righ ting patro l at 11 .00 and re-

port ed tha t the coast was clear o r shipping as l ur as Ostcndc.

FCdr Petre carried out a rightin g pat rol at 14500 ft in thc

Nicuport 17Bis during the mornin g. 10 enemy aircraft or ship-

ping were observed. On his return, Pet re carried out a spced

tcst along the beach.

Six pract ice and test flights we re carried out:

sands at Malo and an unattended Sopwith fl oating in the sca

between Mal o and La Pannc . T he Caudro n be lo nged to

Sicvcki ng or No.7 Squadron who had part icipated in a bomb-

ing raid to Brugcs on the night or the 2nd/3 rd February but

had made a forc ed landing on the beach at Malo upon his re-

turn .

Gibbs crashed and wrecked Nieuport 10 serial 3 185. He was

subsequently "washed out" on scouts and transferred to No.7 5th Februa ry

Squadron. Unfavourable weather conditions restrictcd act ivity to test and

practice flights:

-lth February

Dingwall and Bailey carried out a righting patro l at 15.30 in

response to an enemy machine reported to bc ove r Calais.

Din gw all c limbed to 10.500 It a nd pat ro lled between

Dunkc rquc and Gra vc lincs. visibil ity was very bad and no

hostilc mach ines were observed . Bailey round that mist roil-

ing in from the sea obscured the ground and he was forced to

cut his patrol short.

FCdr AD W Allen

FCdr ADW Allen

FCdr ADW Allen

FSL JdcC Paynter

I ieuport 17Bis seria l j 3 184

40 minut e tcst night

I icuport I I serial 3989



Nicupo rt I I serial 398 1

24

Formation

Slh February

Six fighting pat rols were flown in the Yprcs, Dixrnudc and

Nieuport area :

ity of Dunkcrqu c. Allied anti-a ircra ft fire was observed but

the enemy mach ines were not encountered.

Petre and Bailey carried out another hostile aircra ft pa-

trol at 12.45 upon report s of hostil e aircraft at Calais and

Gravelines. Th e two ieuports patrolled in the vicinity of

Dunkcrquc but failed to sec any enemy mach ines.

Petre ca rried out further tests with the icuport 17Bis at

Fumes when he reported that the Tripl anc. flown by FLt Allen

and the 1 icuport were found to have an iden tica l cl imb rate to

15.000 feet but the trip lane was 4 knots faster in level flight at

that altitude. In a dive. the Nieuport was found to be sig nifi-

ca ntly better than the trip lane but in manoeuvrabil ity. neither

machine showed any adva ntage.

20 minute form ation practice

FSL GP Powles 1 icuport II se rial 3987

FSL RR Winter Nieuport I I serial 3994

FSL AL Thorne Nieuport I I se rial 8746

6t h Fehr ua ry

ASCdr Pet re filed 0.6 Squadro n' s first Daily Operations

Report on the 6th and it is assumed that Wing Commander

Courtney finally regarded the squadron as being activated .

Nieuport II serial 3994 arrived from the depot .

In the afte rnoon. FLt Norton led Thorne. Winter and Slater.

a ll flying Nieuport II s , on a fighting patrol between Ypres.

Dixmude and Nieuport . The patrol reported a train leaving

Osicndc at 14.50. another train leaving Ghistc lles at 14.57 and

the coast [0 be clear of enemy shipping as far as Blankcnbcrghc.

FLt Allen travelled to the depot at St. Pol where he car-

ried out test flights on two Sopwith Pups and two Nieuport 12

2-seater machines.

SCdr Petre flew the Iicuport 17Bis to No.1 Squadron at

Fumes for a series o f co mparative tests with Sopw ith Tri plane

I 5426. He initially found that the Nieuport had a significantly

better climb. reachin g 10.000 feet by the time that the triplane

had ascended to 8.200 feet. Unfortunately. the test conditions

were not recorded. so we do not know whether the aircraft

were armed .

FLt EW lorton

FLt 13 1-11' Dc Roeper

FLt LC Keeble

FSL GCW Dingwall

FSL RK Slater

FSL RR Winter

Nicuport 17B is seria l I 3 184





Nicuport II seria l 3tJ tJo4

7th Febr ua ry

At the reques t of '0. 1 Squadron. offens ive patro ls betw een

Nicuport. Dixmude and Ghistc llcs were continuously main-

tained during the morning:

The patrols were relati vely unevent ful and reported a train in

Essen station. two trains in Ostende harbou r station. a train

approac hing Bcerst and one ene my aeroplane land ing at

G his tc lles .

Petre and De Roeper carried out a hostile aircraft patrol

at 11040 when enemy aircraft were reported to be in the vicin-

FCdr .l.l Petre

FLt BHP Dc Roeper

FSL GP Powles

FSL AL Thorne

FSL CL Bai ley

FSL GCW Dingwall

FSL RK Slater

FSL .ldeC Payn ter

ieuport 17Bi s serial 3 184

ieup ort I I seria l 3989

Nieuport I I ser ia l 3987

Nieuport I I se rial 8746

Nieuport I I se rial 398 1

Nieuport II se rial 398 1


Nieuport II se rial 398 1

25

FLt EW Norton. whilst patrollin g over Houthulst Forest at

18000 feel. encountered an Aviatic 2-sea ter flying 4000 feet

below his patrol height. Norton dived on the 2-sea ter and fired

a dozen rounds at very close range. he then made a right turn

and came up underneath the enemy machin e and fired a burst

of 25 rounds from 50 yards . Tracers were seen to hit the en-

em y machi ne. which fell awa y out of control emitting clouds

of black smoke from the front o f the fuselage. Norto n fol-

lowed the Aviatic down 10 10.000 feet whereupon the anti-

aircraft fire became intense. When last see n the machin e was

falling erratically and emitting smoke. Norton reported that at

no stage in the enco unter did the enemy pilot attempt to ma-

noeuvre. or the observe r re turn fire. The gun-s ight fitted to

Norton's Nieuport 17B is was a Co llimateur Chretien single

point te lescope and Norton was very enthusiastic regardin g

its ease of use when compared to a standard doub le point tele-

sco pe.

At 12.20. a report was rccci ved of a hostile machin e head-

ing northeast from Calais. Paynter was dispatched in a Nieuport

II 3tJ81 to intercept the intruder but was unab le to locate it.

Two local test flights were ca rried out:

II Histo ry oj'No.6 Squadro n Roya ! Nava l Air Se rvice ill II'tJlM \Var !

No enemy aircraft were obse rved but the patrol s reponed a

numb er of train movements and two enemy ships to the nort h

of Ostcndc Pier.

De Roeper and Bai ley were both give n thc op portuni ty to

made short practice flight s in the Iicuport 17Bis.

9t h Feh r ua rv

At 07.40 . hostile aircraft were reported over Dunkcrqu c, Petre

and Bai ley attempted to intercept thc intrud ers. Th e eng ines

proved diffi cult to stan du e to the intense cold and thc result-

ing delay pre vent ed the defenders from catching the ene my

aircraft.

Eight fighti ng pat rols were flown along the Nieuport-

Dixmudc line duri ng the cours e of the day :

10th February

At 06.40 Bailey and Thorn e were "sc rambled" to intercept a

reponed incurs ion ove r Dunkcrqu c. Bai ley flying the 17Bis

climbed rapid ly to 3000 feet and sighted the enemy aircraft

heading seaward s and gave chase. he was catc hing the intruder

when his engine stopped and he was forced to gl ide back. T he

Nieuporr's eng ine picked up aga in and Bailey resumed the

pursuit. he chased thc enemy machin e to Westende where-

upon it dived away towards Middlckcrkc, Both pilots reponed

being heavi ly she lled by the Allied anti-ai rcraft defe nces in

thc vicinity o f Nieuport .

The squadron flew nine fighting patrols from Fumes to

Nicuport . keepi ng two sco uts in the air contin uously between

11.00 and 15.00:


90 minut es tot a l


75 minutes tota l

FSL RK Slatcr

FSL RR Wintcr

T he pat rols prove d uneven tfu l. the only report bein g a smoke

screen observed at Langcm arck .

FCdr EW N or ton.one of only three pilots to become an "ace" whilst a mem-ber of No.6 Squadron (although a fair number of the squadron's pilots wenton to become aces with other squadrons). N or ton. another pilot recruitedfrom No.1 Wing, was easily N o.6 Squadron's most aggressive and accom-plished N ,euport pilot. CourtesyJohn Oxley Library

Nicupon II scrial 8747

Nieuport II se rial 8746

Nicuport 17Bis N3 184

Nieuport II seria l 3989

Nicuport I I se rial 8746

Nieuport I I sc rial 398 1

Nicuport II seria l 8746 and 8747

FCdr JJ Petre

FLt LC Keebl e

FSL CL Baile y

FSL GCW Dingw all

FSL RR Winter

FLt ADW Allen

FLt ADW Allcn

FCdr JJ Petre

FLt BHP Dc Roeper

FSL AL Thorne

FSL CL Bai ley

' icuport 17Bis serial N3184

65 minut es total

Nieup on II sc ria l 398 1

120 minut es total

Nicuport II se rial 3989

180 minut es total

Nicuport 17Bis se ria l N3184

180 minutes tota l

II th February

Visibility was poor for most o f the day. the heavy overc ast not

c learing until late aftern oon .

New pilots FSL H Lawson and FSL FC Walk cr ar rived at

thc squadro n.

FLt De Roeper led Bailey. Paynter. Slater and Thorn e on

a practic e form ation patrol. all of thc pilots flyin g Nicuport II

scouts:

26

Formation

13th February

The weather was initia lly cloudy but cleared by 10.30. Five

une vent ful fig hti ng pa trol s wer e flown betwee n Ypres.

Houthulst and Slype:


FLl BHP Dc Roeper ' icuport I I ser ial 3989

FSL CL Bai ley licuport II seria l 8746

FSL .I deC Paynter licuport I I serial 398 1

FSL RK Slater licuport I I ser ial 3987

FSL AL Thorne ' icuport II ser ial 8747

Slater dro pped out after 15 minutes. Paynter after 30 minut es

and Bailey after 35 minutes.

SCdr .1 .1 Petre

FLt LC Keeble

FSL GP Powles

FSL RR Winter

FS L RK Slater

Nicupo rt 17Bis serial I 3 184

Nieupor! I I se rial 398 1

Nieuporl II se rial 8747

1 icuport II se rial 3987

Nieuport II se rial 3994

FSL 1-1 Lawson icup ort 10 serial 3962

FSL 1-1 Lawson 1 icuport 12 serial 9206

FSL D Plaistowe Nicuport 10 serial 3962

FSL D Plaistowe l icuport 12 serial 9206

FSL FC Walker Nicuport 10 se rial 3962

FSL FC Walker Nicuport 12 serial 87 12

FSL FC Walker Nicuport 12 serial 9206

FSL .I deC Paynter Nicuport I I serial 398 1

14th Februnry

Activi ty was more intense on the 14th Febru ary.

Th orne and Dingwall took off at daybrea k and pat rol led

in the vicinity of Dunkerque. no enemy ai rcra ft were enco un-

tered.

BELOW: N ieuport 12 serial 8734, depicted here after suffering an accidentwi th N O.1I Squadro n on the 9th May 19 I 7. FCdr ADW Allen was flying thismachine on the 26th N ovember 1916 when he lost a wheel at take off. helanded safelyand was comme nded for his flying skills.The N ieuport 12s weregenerally used for pract ice flights but were occasionally pressed into service tocarry out line patro ls. CourtesyjMB/GSL Collection


20 minute night

Nicuport II serial 398 1

15 minute night


20 minute night

Nicuport I I ser ial 8735

15 minute flight

Nieuport I I seria l 3987

15 minute fligh t

Nieuport 12 se rial 87 12

15 minut e night

Nicuport 10 se rial 3962

40 minute night


20 minute night

FSL D Plaistowe

FSL (I I' Powles

FSL HA Lawso n

FSL AL Thorne

FSL RR Winter

FSL .I deC Paynter

FCdr .1 .1 Petr e

FSL FC Walker

12th Februa ry

Heavy overcas t throughout the day and rain in the afternoo n Eight practice and familiarisation flights were carried out:

again prevented any war flying.

Nine practice and test nights were carried out. including

first nights by Lawson . Plaisiowc and Walker:

27

II History 4No.6 Squadron Roval Nava l Air Ser vice ill \l'or/dll l /r /

No.1 Squadro n aga in req uested that fighting patrols bc

carried out. Thorne patro lled along the Nicuport Dixmudc line

and Bailey co ve red the a rea bet we e n Yprc s , G hisic llcs and

Ostcnde.

From 11.00 to 15.00. the squadron maintained continu-

ous double patrols bet ween Dunkerquc and Furnes:

Allen and Norton had previously been scnt to the Nicuport

factory at Paris and they returned on the 15th with two new

Nicuport 17Bis machines. seria ls N3 186 and N3 187 respec-

tively. Both of these aircra ft were delivered to the depot at

Dunkcrquc.

Four practice n ight s were carried out:

FLt BHP De Roeper Nicuport II serial 8747 FSL 1-1 Lawson Nieuport II serial 3987

FLl LC Kceb le Nieuport I I serial 3989 FSL D Plaistowe Nieuport 12 serial 872C)

FSL G P Powles Nicuport I I serial 874 6 FSL D Plaistowc Nieuport I I serial 3987

FSL RK Slatcr Nieuport I I serial 8747 FSL FC Walker N icuport 10 serial 3902

FSL .I deC Paynter Nieuport I I serial 8746

FSL AL Thorne Nieuport 12 seria l 87 12. 16th February

Nieuport I I serial 3987 Nine fighting patrols were carried out during the day:

and ieu port I I scr ial 8747

At 11 .30. Paynter encountered four hostil e machines near

Houi hulst at 15000 feet. he gave chase but was unable to catch

them.

At 17.20 three enemy aircra ft appea red over Dunkerquc.

Petre. Keeb le, Powles. Bailey. Thorne and Winter took oil

immed iate ly to give chase but lost the intruders in the haze.

Four test and fami liarisat ion n igh ts were carried out du r-

ing the day:

FLt BI-IP Dc Roe pe r

FLt ADW A l len

FSL AL Thorne

FSL GCW Dingwa ll

FSL RR Winter

FSL GP Powles

FSL RK Slater

FSL 1-1 Lawson

Nieuport II se ria l 398 1

Nicuport 17B is serial N3 184



Nieuport II seria l 398 1



Nicuport I I scrial 8747

15th February

The squadron maintained continuous three machin e patrols

from daybreak until dusk to protect Dunkcrq uc:

Petre. De Roeper and Powles left at daybreak on the first pa-

trol. Thick fog blew in from the cast whilst ih c patrol was in

the air. two of the pilots were unable to find the aerodrome

and eventually landed on the beach ncar Gravclines.

FSL GCW Dingwall

FSL 1-1 Lawson

FSL 1-1 Pluistowc

FSL FC Walkcr

SCdr .1.1 Pet re

FLt BHP De Roeper

FLt ADW Allen

FSL G P Powles

FSL AL Th orne

FSL CL Bailcy

FSL RK Slater.

Nicuport I I serial 398 1




Nicuport 17B is seria l N3 184




Nicuport II scria l 8747

Nicuport 17Bi s serial N3 184

and Iicuport II serial 8746


28

The enemy activity. which had been intcnn ittcnt . increased

considera bly on the loth. At 06.25. Powles observed an LVG

2-seatcr 3 miles out to sca from Dunkcrquc and heading east-

wards. Pow les pursued and overhauled the enemy ai rc raft off

Coxy dc and opened fire at the rather optimistic range of ISO

yards. he reported that tracers hit the enemy aircraft . which

dived away towards Westende. Powles followed . changed his

ammunition tray and fired again. The enemy 2-sc ater was last

see n [ 0 Hatt en out at 2000 teet ncar Wcstcndc. at which point

Powles carne under heavy fire from Allied ami-aircraft de-

fences.

Allen carried out a patro l at 16000 feet to Ghistelles at

06.40. no enemy aircra ft were enco untered but Allen carne

under hea vy defensive anti-a ircrart fire in the vic inity o f

Ghistelles.

Thorne was patro lling ncar Dunkcrq uc at 17. 10 when an

Aviatic descended through the c louds above him . T horne

c losed to 100 yards and fired a whole dru m. tracers being seen

to hit the enemy mach ine which cl imbed steeply and was lost

in the cloud s.

Se veral other enemy airc raft were enco untered by patrols

during the day but could not be brought to action.

Six test and practice n ights were carried out:

Forma tion

FLt ADW Allen

FSl .IdcC Paynter

FSL I-I lawson

FSL D Pla isto wc

FSl FC Wa lker

FSL FC Walkcr


Nicuport II seria l 398 I

Nicuport I I se ria l 3987

Nicuport I I se ria l 8747


I ieuport I I scrial 8747

New pilot FSL 0 .1 Gagnie r arrived at the squadro n.

25t h Fe b r ua ry

The weat her was overcas t on the 25th but Thorne and Paynt e r

were ab le ge t more practice with Lc Prie ur rock ets :

17th to Brei Februa ry

FSL A t, Thorne

FSL .I dcC Paynter



A period of bad weather set in from the 17th to the 23rd of

February. curtai ling all flying activities. Severa l local practi ce fli ghts were carried out:

24th Fe br ua ry

licuport 17B is serial N3 187 was collected trom the depot .

Th e wea ther cleared enough on the 24th to allow twent y

local test and practice flights to be carried out:

Thorn e ferried Nieuport 12. serial 9205. across to No.10 Squad-

ron at St. Pol.

Two pilots practiced firing at a gro und target using Le

Prieur incendiary rockets. they reported that success ful results

were obta ined:

26 th February

Six righting pat rols were 11 0wn betw een Ypres. Nicuport and

Ostc ndc:

Slater. flying at 13000 feet ncar Houthulst. observed a hosti le

machine at his own height. He pursued the enemy aircra ft dow n

to 900 0 lcc t and 7 miles behind the enemy lines. 50 rounds

were fired at long range without effec t. Paynter reported ob-

serving heavy anti-uircra ft fire over Osicndc at 09.40 and what

appea red to be a machine railing in flames. Norton reported

observing an enemy machine at low altitude over Ostend e at

10.50.

At 11.45. Keeble. Th orne and Powles were despat ched to

No.1 Wing to provid e an escort to a photoreconnaissance mis-

s ion to Zeebru gge. Thorn e obse rved two enemy sea planes

"shadowing" the patrol but he was unable to clim b up to their

altitude . Powles fl yin g Nicuport II . se rial 398 1. became the

squadron's first loss in action after his fuel tank was damaged

by ground fire and he made a forced landing at Cadzand.

Nicuport 17Bis serial N3 187

Nieuport II seria l 398 1

Nieu port II se ria l 3989



I icup ort II serial 8747


30 minu tes total



30 minutes

icupon II serial 3994

8 minutes


crashed and inj ured his back .

FSL 0 .1 Gagnier

FLt EW Norton

FSL .I deC Paynter

FSL RK Slatcr

FS L GP Powles

FS L I-I Lawson

FS L 0 .1 Gagnier

FSL RK Slater

FSL GCW Dingwa ll

FSL 0 .1 Gagnier

FLt CT Macl.a rcn

Nicuport I I seria l 8746

Nicupo rt I I scria l 8746

Nicupo rt 17Bis seria l N3 187

70 minutes total

Nicuport 17Bis se ria l N3 184

35 minutes total

Nicuport II se rial 3989

Nicupori 17B is serial N3187

15 minut es total

Nicup ort II serial 3989

35 minut es total

Nieuport I I seria l 398 1

Nicuport II seria l 3987

Nicupo rt 17B is N3 184

Nicuport 17Bi s serial N3 184

10 minutes

Nicupo rt 10 scria l 3962

35 minutes total


Nicuport I I scrial 8747

30 minutes

Nic uport II se rial 398 1

60 minutes total


r:SL H Lawson

FSL .IdeC Paynter

FSL .I dcC Paynter

FSL .I deC Paynter

FSL GP Powles

FSL RK Slater

FSL FC Walker

FSL H Lawson

FSL RK Slater

FCdr CT Macl. a rcn

FLt BHP De Roeper

FCdr CT Macl. arcn

FLt EW Norton

FSL Al Thorne

FSL .I deC Paynter

SCdr .1.1 Pet re

2CJ

A History ofNo.t) Squadron Royal Naval Air Service ill \\'orld lVar l

zsu. FebruaryThe bad weather persisted through [0 the 2Rth of the month.

closing down all war flying activities.

Zee land. Powles was interned in 1-I 01land .2 Thorne reported

three enemy destroyers seen between Ostende and Zccbrugge

and seven enemy seaplanes parked on the Zebrugge Mole with

several more in the water.

When Powles fai led to return . SCdr Petre in 1 3 1R7 flew

along the coast and surrounding country to try to locate the

missing machine.

27th February

No war flying took place on the 27th February due 10 ove rcast

conditions and mist. Several local practice and test flights were

carried out by Norton. Thorn and Fletcher.

SCdr Petre travelled 10 the depot at Dunkcrquc to test the

Sop with Camel prototype N5 17. The Camel was referred to

as "F?" at this time and Petre recorde d the following perfor-

mance figures:

Climb to 10.000 feet

Speed at ground level

Speed at 5.000 feet

R 1/2 minutes

103 knots

95 knots

30

ABOVE: N ieuport I I serial 3981, depicted here wi th an opt imistic twin gunarmament whilst serving wi th N o. 1W ing.FSL GP Powles wasnying 3981 w itha single gun on an escort mission on the 26th February 1917.anti-aircraft firedamaged the machine's fuel tank and Powles made a forced landing in Holland.Both pilot and machine were interned, the N ether lands autho rities purchasedthe N ieupor t and used it as a patt ern machine for a batch of N ieupor t I Isbuilt under licence byTrompenburg. Courtesy JMBIGSL Collection

Petre. Norton and Plaistowe carried out test flights and

Norton led Thorne. Fletcher. Paynter and Lawson on a 30

minute practice formation patrol. the first occasion that the

members of C Flight flew together.

March 1917Th e squadron \I 'O S tra ns ferred to RFC co ntrol Oil the 171h

March, re-equipping with the Nieupo rt 17/Jis scout wos no-

ticcably acce lerat ed as the transfer dal e app roache d. Wilh

tnorc emphasis Oil pra ctice (!!j ill'lllalion/7yin g when weather

permitted, the Sq uadron \' Flight compo si tion beco mes easy

10 discern .

At thisjunctu re the squadron structure Ivas asfollows:

I I Flighl . A FCdr cr Macl.a renI I FCdr /JHP De Roeper

FU LC Keeb le

FSL GL Ha rtg ill

FS L ./ .uc Payn terFS L 0 ./ Ga gnier

B Flight. A FCdr A D II' Allen

FLt CL Bailey

FS L D Plaisto we

FS L FC \\'a lker

FS L RK SImer

Fonnation

2nd March

The day was misty and overcast with rain in the aftern oon. the

condi tions restr icted flying to ju st one pract ice flight and a

del ivery flight when Thorne co llec ted licuport 17Bis serial

'3 186 from the depot.

Jrd March

The bad weat her continued. with all war flying activitics aban -

doned.

6th March

The weather was ove rcas t throu ghout most of the day. restrict-

ing the squadron to test and practice flights:

5th Murch

It was ove rcas t and foggy on the 5th. however. Hartgill car-

ried out a short practice flight to Bcrgucs and back in Nieuport

II 399 1.

4th March

Fletcher. Slater and Gagnier ca rried out a sweep of the lines

between Dixmud c and Nieuport. an enemy machine was ob-

served but the old Nicuport scouts were unab le to overhaul it.

Thorne and Paynter flew the ieup ort 17Bis mach ines

on fighting patrols between Ypres. Bruges and Nicuport. one

enemy machine was seen over I-I outhulst at 14.45.

Petre and De Roeper ferried two new Nieuports. N3 193

and N3 194. from Paris. later taking them on to the depot.

Hartgi ll. newly return ed from a period of sick leave car-

ried out a pract ice flight in one of the Nicuport I Is. Obviously

co nsciou s of his last landin g at the end of January he reported

that he made a good landing. A second flight in another " Baby"

Nieuport rated a "fair landin g".

FCdr Allen had previously travelled to England and re-

turned with Sopwit h Triplane N545 9. He later del ivered the

triplane to the Depot and whilst there was able to make a test

flight in the prototype Sopwith Camel. F2.

C Flight. Arca- E ll' No rto nFSL RR lI'illter

FSL II L{/\\'SOIl

FSLtlL'l/lOl'II e

FSL A IIV Fletch er

1st March

The squadron mounted eight fight ing pat rols to Ostcndc,

Ghistcllcs and Dixmud e and several patrols to Dunkerqu c in

response to reports of enemy incursions, SCdr Petre. Keeble.

Thorne. Paynter. Fletcher. Slater and Gagnier were involved

in these ope ration s. Five hostile aircraft were pursued. two of

which were driven down by Paynter. When in the vicinity of

Osic nde. Paynter. flying Tieuport 17Bis N3184. fired at a

hostile seaplane which dived away before he could close with

it. Paynter then observed three enemy machines over Ghistelles

and dived to attack . Two of the mach ines dived towards the

aerodro me and the third. a sco ut. climbed away and wasn' t

seen aga in. Paynter attacked the nearest enemy mach ine. a 2-

seater. at very close range and followed it down to 7.000 feet

firing all the time. Tracers were seen to hit the aircraft which

was still diving vertically when Paynter broke off the attack.

Paynter was subjected to heavy unti-aircrnl t fire as he returned

to the lines.

At 12.30. Slater obse rved a hostile mach ine low over

Os tende .

SCdr Petre performed some tests on N3 1R7. the squadron's

seco nd Nieuport 17Bis machine. Petre was trying to deter-

mine the "pe rformance hit" incurr ed by using two mach ine

guns:

Armament Climb to 12.000 fee t

Fixed Vickers + Lewis + double tray 16 minutesFixed Vickers only 14 minutes

Speed at 12.000 feet was reduced by 2 knots ca rrying both

guns.

3 /

FCdr CT MacLaren

FSL GL Hartgill

FSL AHV Fletcher

FSL RK Slater

FSL FC Walker

FSL FC Walker

FSL OJ Gagnier

Sopwith Camel serial F2

Nieuport II serial 399 1

Nieuport 17Bis serial N3 184

Nieuport 17Bis se rial N3 184

Nieupo rt 17Bis serial N3 184


Nieuport 17Bis serial N3 184

II History of No.6 Squadron Royal No \'(/1 Air Service ill World mlr I


7th Ma rc h

No flying due to unsuitable weath er conditions.

9th Ma rch

FCdr Allen returned from St. Orner on the 9th. Later in the

day he led B Flight on a practice formation patrol:

At the end of Macl. arcns A Flight formation practice. lIartgill

flying ' icuport I I serial 399 1 made another bad landing COI11 -

ing down on his wing tip.

FCdr Allen fl ew Nieuport 17Bis N3 186 to NO.1AD at St.

Orner.

' ieuport 17Bis serial '3 184

Nieuport 17Bis seria l N3 184

' ieuport 17Bis serial '3 184

Nieuport I I serial 399 1

Nieu

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