The Sandbag Times Issue No:24

WO2 Rick Boys
Lynx D & T Sqn AAC
Middle Wallop
Army Air Corps
By Rick ‘Boysie’ Boys
All commanders need to see the enemy in
order to plan for a campaign or battle. In
the early days before the end of the 19th
century soldiers on the ground did this. By 1863 the
British Army had started development of balloons
for aerial observation, after 15 years of intermittent
study in 1878 a trials unit was formed from the
Royal Engineers (RE). Capt. James Templer
became its first Officer Commanding. Balloon units
saw their first action during the Sudan campaign of
1884, and in 1887 the RE Balloon Establishment
was given official status (3 Officers, 15 Other Ranks
& 14 Civilians) - they were the first true ‘flying
soldiers’! Their abilities were limited to static
observation only since they remained tied to the
ground. Their only means of
communication before the invention of
the radio was either word of mouth
or messages dropped in weighted
bags. In 1907 the Balloon
Establishment experimented with
an airship the Nulli Secundus, it
was the army’s first airship and
on its maiden flight it reached a
height of 1300 feet, a ground
speed of 24 mph and in 3 hours &
20 mins travelled over 50 miles. The
army now had a means of mobile aerial
observation. The early aeroplane expanded the
army’s abilities well before the first world war
started. In 1908 British Army Aeroplane No. 1 had
its first test flight. Field regulations of the day
stated ‘Aeroplanes, airships, balloons and kites
provide special facilities for observation and the
rapid communication of information.’ The term
‘Army Air Corps’ was first used in 1910, but it was
not an official name and didn’t really catch on – yet.
In 1911 the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers
was formally established on the Army list. Also in
1911 a dedicated band of army officers, encouraged
the War Office to found a military flying school at
Larkhill on Salisbury Plain, following on from its
success - The Royal Flying Corps was fully
established by 1912. Its pilots were all army
officers and the groundcrew were all soldiers. It
was divided into 3 squadrons, the first with airships
and the other 2 with planes.
Our Military Roots
THE ROYAL FLYING CORPS
Offensive aviation action had already occurred in the
Balkans during 1912 when Italian, Bulgarian and
others had dropped bombs from planes onto Turkish
positions. France and Germany continued the
development of this new type of weapon and so did
Britain. By 1914 the RFC had 63 aircraft split into 4
squadrons, employed on reconnaissance tasks for the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. At this
point the red, white & blue roundel was first
introduced onto the aircraft so that they could be
recognised from the ground as British. An offensive
capability developed, with pistols, rifles, machine
guns, hand grenades and metal darts all being used
from the early aircraft. Primitive radios were also
helping the pilots to talk to the commanders on the
ground and to direct the artillery. 1915 saw the
development of the grid system for plotting accurate
points on a map in order to help the application of
artillery fire, it was invented by Lt DS Lewis, a
pilot in the RFC. He was also the first
official user of the clock face method
of direction. Bombers were able to
penetrate deeper into enemy
territory than the artillery could
fire a shell, fighters engaged in
dogfights in order to gain aerial
advantage and aerial superiority
over a stretch of the battlefield,
some of the early planes could
reach 20,000ft. In 1918 the RAF
was formed as a purely heavy bomber
formation, but with tightening budgets
after the war, military aviation past from army
hands when the RFC was amalgamated with the
RAF. During WW1 the RFC had suffered over
16,600 casualties & had won 13 Victoria Crosses.
THE BIRTH OF THE AAC AND THE GPR
Since 1940 the War Office had put into motion the
selection and training of both new aircraft and troops
for a new airborne arm of the army. In 1941 having
watched the continued success of the German
Airborne troops, Winston Churchill decreed that the
British Army would form a new branch of Army
Aviation to be known as the ‘Army Air Corps’. This
new Corps was formally recognised in Dec 1941 and
would control both the GPR and The Parachute
Brigades. This body of soldiers comprised lightly
equipped air landed infantry (later to form the
Parachute Regiments) and the Glider Pilot Regiment,
who flew gliders carrying specially trained line
infantry directly into battle. The GPR were formally
added to the army list in Feb 1942 with its Depot at
Tilshead on Salisbury Plain. Towed by RAF tug
aircraft, the gliders were cast free at a certain point
en route. Only the skill of the pilots in navigating
and handling these unpowered machines stood
between success and terrible failure. Death by
enemy action or accident was an ever-present danger.
The nucleus of what was to become the SAS also
formed part of the new Corps. The new Corps was
awarded the distinct maroon coloured beret in 1942,
with maroon and Cambridge blue being the Corps
colours. The first AAC cap badge was of an eagle
(facing to the soldiers left) inside a wreath above the
letters ‘AAC’ with the Tudor crown at the very top.
| 18 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk