[Little that we know]   [The Air Mechanic]   [Role of Observer]    [Teamwork and status]    [Training and recruitment]    [Shellshock and dangers]    [Summary]

World War 1 - History in the Royal Flying Corps[1]

Harry Harle Tatham (‘Grandpa’) (1888-1972)

The little that we do know..

Like many who fought in the Great War, Grandpa did not talk openly about his experiences in the War. The information relating to his service listed below is based primarily on recollections provided by my father from what he had been told by his father and mother. It is supplemented by details from his service record which I eventually managed to obtain from the National Archives in 2005 though disappointingly this provides relatively little additional detail.

Information specific to Grandpa is shown in Exhibit 1 and this is supplemented by research from other sources and particularly an excellent book by Ralph Barker [2].

Exhibit 1 - What we know of Grandpa’s service 

The Air Mechanic

A clear hierarchy existed between the men who flew and those that did not. This gulf was exacerbated by the fact that the former wore uniforms while the latter did not. In this way the RFC was different to other parts of the army in the front line where officers and men were generally seen to be ‘all in it together’.  

However, by the very nature of the activities undertaken teamwork was generally much more important within the RFC than for front line soldiers and as one contemporary put it ‘NCOs were not drill and yapping experts but men with some trade who knew what they were doing and worked with others more as a team' [3]  

A strong bond typically developed between the pilot, his observer and his mechanic [4]. An important reason for this - one that was widely acknowledged at the time - resulted from the pilot’s total dependence on his aircrew particularly given the general fragility of machines. Often a pilot would take up his mechanic for a flight to help test the aircraft and also to give him assurance that the plane was being properly maintained! [5]  It was in this way that many ground crew got their initial experience of flying and developed the desire to become either pilots or observers. It seems likely this was also the case for Grandpa.   

Despite Air Marshall Hugh Trenchard’s claim made of the dedicated ground crew [6] that ‘these men are the backbone of all our efforts’[7], the role of non-flying personnel in the RFC during World War 1 has generally been under-played.  

Ground staff were fully aware of their relative fortune in generally being one step removed from the enemy and compared to the regular army, in having what seemed a relatively more comfortable existence in terms of conditions and general environment. However, they were by no means immune from danger and were especially at risk when enemy bombing of aerodromes increased in frequency as the war developed. This was particularly acute in the first half of 1918 when in an attempt to win the war before American intervention could prove effective the Germans launched a major offensive involving extensive night bombing of aerodromes.  

At this time life for the aircrew was characterised by the need to work both day and night and also by frequent moves between aerodromes often at short notice. Activities involved not only the repair and maintenance of aircraft but also building hangers and digging trenches. The responsibilities faced by the ground crew, particularly at these times of acute pressure were summed by Trenchard’s instruction during the retreat of March 1918, ‘You men must guard these machines with your lives. Without these machines the army is blind…and if it is between you and the machine the machine comes first’ [8]  

Typically there was up to 200 ground crew (ie non-flying ranks) within a typical squadron, though it was usually only those who were directly involved with pilots or observers who made the transition to flying themselves. Air gunners were paid an additional 2 shillings a week (‘blood money’) and the response of one engine fitter ‘no fear … they get all the dirty long distance bombing jobs’ [9] suggested those that volunteered had no small amount of spirit. However, not all ground crew were allowed to take up a flying role and where this was the case, it was due to the fact that they were perceived to be of more value maintaining the aircraft rather than flying them. One engine officer who applied for pilot training was refused on the grounds that ‘we can recruit fit young men and train them in three months, we can’t do that for engine fitters’ [10]

The Role of the Observer

Observers accompanied pilots in two seater aircraft (some examples include the Vickers FB5 Gunbus, BE2 series (both from the early war years), the Sopwith 1.1/2 Strutter and FE2b). We do not know which planes Grandpa flew in, but it might have included any of those mentioned.

Observers had a key reconnaissance role and were responsible for locating, mapping and reporting the position of German targets (both troop and infrastructure) to enable accurate shelling from British field guns. Other activities would typically include attacking enemy targets both air born (ie German planes) and land based. Initially attacks against enemy aircraft were fairly rudimentary and included the use of rifles and later machine guns. Barker confirms the use of flechettes [11] (lethal steel arrows thrown over the side of the aircraft which from such height could ‘cut a man in two’) and other weapons to harass enemy troops (including improvised petrol bombs and grenades). My cousin Ken recalls that Grandpa told him he dropped post and mail bags and this may indeed have been one of the activities of the Observer – it was common to drop messages not only to one’s own troops but also to the Germans (for example to pass information back about the capture or death of their pilots).

Initially the task of observing had been viewed as more important than piloting, the later being merely the driver whilst the former was interpreter and judgment maker. As the war developed it became clearer that the pilot was often better positioned for the majority of activities and the observer became little more than a glorified lookout and gunner.

One task that might have been required of an observer was to fly the plane home if the pilot was incapacitated and many observers were taught the rudiments of flying. Some machines had a spare joystick and rudder control in the observer’s cockpit, and there were many examples of an observer bringing the aircraft home.

Teamwork and status

Team work was critical but often the rate of deaths within squadrons meant that frequently an airman would be flying with someone different and new teams were constantly being established. Pilots often rejected an observer they were unhappy with or had no confidence in but observers often had no choice about their pilot. If lucky, an observer would be paired with a good and congenial pilot and a strong bond would develop whereby each would happily live and if need be die together. It was the unlucky observer who was paired up with a hamfisted, timorous or over-confident or fool hardy pilot. Often experienced observers were teamed up with inexperienced pilots to act as coach and provide precious additional support.

Observers did not receive the recognition or status of pilots and were for example infrequently mentioned in dispatches or awarded medals for bravery (none ever received the VC for example) or received commendations. Pay was less than that of pilots. However, the danger appeared generally greater for observers than pilots, time and time again pilots would return from missions with dead observers.  For example, by April 1917 in Squadron 43 of the 18 pilots and observers who assembled in France in mid January 1917, only 8 pilots remained but not one observer.

Training and recruitment

Preparation for the role of observer was sketchy, no formal training was given until 1917 (after Grandpa’s recruitment). There was no recognised career structure or opportunity for promotion and for many it was a stepping stone to becoming a pilot. It was ironic that the most able and experienced observers were the ones who often became pilots.  

Most were recruited from regular army personnel and vacancies were advertised, the chance to fly and a desire to get away from the mud and horror of the front-line were the major motives in applying [12]. Recruitment came mainly from the volunteer infantry and gunnery officers already serving at the front. However, it is clear from Grandpa’s service record that he enlisted directly into the RFC rather than coming from a regular Army regiment.  It seems likely that he joined up when conscription was introduced in early 1916. Whether he had a choice as to which service he served is not clear. Certainly at the time of his recruitment the RFC were desperate for both flying personnel and supporting tradespeople including mechanics to support the planned Allied offensive [13].

Training was effectively learned over the lines in action. The ‘brevet’ or single wing of a qualified observer had to be earned (once earned it could not be taken away and was effectively seen as a decoration). As a minimum it required ten flights over enemy lines and practical tests including a practical under the watchful eye of the brigade machine gun specialist. Most probationary observers didn’t live long enough to qualify. Photos of Grandpa in uniform clearly show his brevet.

‘Shellshock’ and the dangers faced

‘Shellshock’ or an attack of the nerves was a very common occurrence in the Royal Flying Corps during WWI. For example between July and December 1916 499 pilots and observers were killed or went missing in action, 250 were wounded or injured and a further 250 were removed from strength for other reasons the most significant of which was nervous debility [14].

There were common perils and stresses that RFC aircrew (pilots and observers) had to endure:

Additionally there were psychological pressures which aircrew experienced that were different to those of the regular soldier [17].  As one contemporary airman recorded… ‘in an aeroplane there is always the feeling that it is a personal matter. They are not firing at a line of trenches but at you. … In the trenches you face death every second, not knowing when it might come…in the air you could see death coming.’ [18]

The life expectancy of RFC pilots and observers was typically measured in weeks rather than months or years. Particularly in the early phases of the war, only a decade or so after their invention, airplanes were still very fragile and often unreliable and there were many losses from crashes and mechanical failure. Also at certain stages of the war, British aircraft (such as the FE2bs) were severely uncompetitive against enemy planes which resulted in significant losses particularly in the early part of 1917. [19]

Shellshock, however was more pronounced among observers than pilots. A medical analysis of nervous instability in some 200 flyers concluded...’ that an observer has a far greater strain placed on him than a pilot.’ [20]

The Observer had no direct control over the aircraft and was utterly reliant on the skills or otherwise of the pilot. The observer had no real opportunity to influence who his pilot was. At times of the war particularly from 1916 onwards the quality of pilots was severely impaired due to the need to rapidly increase pilot numbers. Having earned his ‘brevet’, Grandpa as a qualified observer would presumably have been more likely to have been paired with a ‘raw’ or inexperienced pilot to provide much needed coaching and support.

Lack of confidence in a partner in the air was bad enough for a pilot but for an observer it was paralysing. For example in the case of a stricken plane falling from height, whilst the pilot was fully occupied trying to regain control the observer had nothing to do except sit there transfixed anticipating the end. Observers it was contended would ‘generally break down sooner and to a much greater degree than pilots.’

Summary

In reviewing the contribution of the RFC observer, it is perhaps best summarised by two quotations from Barker’s history of the Royal Flying Corps. He starts his consideration of the role of the observer by quoting Captain Leslie Horridge of No 7 Squadron who commented that ‘ the observers out here are very plucky chaps’ and ends with his own reflection that ‘what is remarkable is that so many of those who survived stuck it for so long’ . Little more needs to be said.