1915 Fokker Scourge (British Ace Book 2) (37 page)

The photograph demonstrates the observer's firing positions in the
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2d
. T
he observer's cockpit was fitted with three guns, one fixed forward-firing for the pilot to aim, one moveable forward-firing and one moveable rear-firing mounted on a pole over the upper wing. The observer had to stand on his seat in order to use the rear-firing gun.

This artistic work
created by the United Kingdom Government
is in the
public domain
.
This is because it is one of the following
:

1. It is a photograph created by the United Kingdom Government and taken prior to 1 June 1957; or
   
2. It was commercially published prior to 1964; or
   

It is an artistic work other than a photograph or engraving (e.g. a painting) which was created by the United Kingdom Government prior to 1964.
HMSO has declared that the expiry of Crown Copyrights applies worldwide.

An F.E.2
this image (or other media file) is in the
public domain
because
the copyright has expired.

This applies to Australia, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of
life of the author plus 70 years
.

The circle devised by Bill and Billy really existed.  It was known as
a
Lufbery circle
The gunner of each,F.E.2, could cover the blind spot under the tail of his neighbour and several gunners could fire on any enemy attacking the group. There were occasions when squadrons used this tactic to escape the Fokker monoplane and the later fighters which the Germans introduced to wrest air superiority from the Gunbus.

The Immelmann Turn was named after the German Ace
Max Immelmann who flew the Fokker E1.  He was apparently shot down by an FE 2 although one theory is that his interrupter gear malfunctioned and he shot his own propeller off.  I prefer the first theory. This is the Immelmann Turn as a diagram.

I have no evidence for Sergeant Sharp’s improvised bullet proofing.  However they were very inventive and modified their aeroplanes all the time. The materials he used were readily available and,
in the days before recycling, would have just been thrown away. It would be interesting to test it with bullets.

The Mills bo
mb was introduced in 1915.  It had a seven second fuse. The shrapnel could spread up to twenty yards from the explosion.

Hulluch was the scene of a German attack with gas.  The Bavarian regiment attacked the British near to Loos.  They had some forewarning of the attack as a German deserter told them and rats were seen leaving the German trenches. (A sure sign of leaking gas bottles.) The Germans had nearly as many men incapacitated as the British but the inferior nature of the British gas mask meant more deaths amongst the British.  The bombing raid is pure fiction.

General Henderson commanded the RFC for all but a couple of months of the war. The Fokker Scourge lasted from autumn 1915 until February 1916.  It took the Gunbus and other new aircraft to defeat them. The BE 2 aeroplanes were known as Fokker fodder and vast numbers were shot down. There were few true bombers at this stage of the war and the Gunbus was one of the first multi-role aeroplanes. The addition of the third Lewis gun did take place at this stage of the war.

More aeroplanes were shot down by ground fire than aeroplanes and I have tried to be as realistic as I can but Bill Harsker is a hero and I portray him as such.
The novel ends shortly before the start of the Battle of the Somme and book 3 in the series (1916) will begin with that monumental battle.

Selected Specifications
for the aeroplanes mentioned in the novel

FE2b

2 crew

47 feet wingspan

12 feet 6 inches height

Rolls Royce Eagle engine 360hp

Maximum speed 91 mph (up to 98 at higher altitude)

Ceiling, 11000 feet

2 Lewis machine guns and up to 517lb of bombs

AEG G1

3 crew

52 feet wingspan

11 feet four inches height

2 Mercedes 8
cylinders in line engines 100 hp each

Maximum speed 78 mph

Ceiling 7874 feet

2 machine guns

Aviatik B1/B11

Crew 2

Wingspan 40 feet

Height 10 feet 10 inches

Mercedes D11 Engine 99hp

Maximum speed 60 mph

Ceiling 16404 feet

1 machine gun

Fokker E1

1 crew

29 feet wingspan

9 feet 5 inches height

.7 Cylinder air cooled rotary engine 80 hp

Maximum speed 81 mph

Ceiling 9840 feet

1 machine gun (later variants had a machine gun firing through the propeller

Arco DH2

1 crew

28 feet wingspan

9 feet 6 inches height

Gnome Monosoupape 10 hp Rotary engine

Maximum speed 93 mph

Ceiling 14,000 feet

I machine gun
either fixed or moveable

Nieuport 11

1 crew

29 feet wingspan

7 feet high

1 Le Rhone Rotary Engine 80hp

Maximum speed 97 mph

Ceiling 15,000 feet

1 machine gun

I used the following books to verify information:

World War 1- Peter Simkins

The Times Atlas of World History

The British Army in World War 1 (1)- Mike Chappell

The British Army in World War 1 (2)- Mike Chappell

The British Army 1914-18- Fosten and Marrion

British Air Forces 1914-1918- Cormack

British and Empire Aces of World War 1- Shores

A History of Aerial Warfare- John Taylor

Thanks to the following website for the slang definitions

• www.ict.griffith.edu.au/~davidt/z_ww1_
  slang
  /index_bak.htm
  ‎
  

Griff Hosker
July 2014

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