British Military Aviation in 1915 - Part 2

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26 April
Second Lieutenant W.B. Rhodes-Moorhouse of No.2 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, is awarded the Victoria Cross, the first to be won by an airman, for heroism displayed during a low-level bombing sortie against Courtrai railway station in Belgium. His successful attack, flying a Royal Aircraft Factory BE2, in the face of heavy ground fire was judged to have been the most important bombing sortie of the war to that point.

The award was posthumous; although mortally wounded during the attack, Rhodes-Moorhouse successfully flew his damaged aircraft back to the Royal Flying Corps airfield at Merville in order to lodge a full report of the attack.

30 April
Allied aeroplanes arrive in South West Africa for use against German forces.

May
The South African Aviation Corps begin to fly reconnaissance sorties in support of South African Army units during operations against German forces in German South-West Africa. The colony surrendered 2 months later.

4 May
Kite balloons are used for artillery observation in France for the first time.

9 May
The Battle of Aubers Ridge. After an initial failed attempt on 25 April, the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) made the first concerted attempt to mount 'contact patrols', consisting of low flying aircraft seeking to identify for higher headquarters the exact whereabouts of friendly troops during an attack. 3 aircraft of No.16 Squadron attempted to fulfil this role during assault on Aubers Ridge, sending down 42 wireless messages reporting on the progress of ground troops, who displayed white sheets measuring 7 feet by 2 feet. At this time troops did not have the benefit of portable radios, and could only send back information on their progress by means of runners. Although perhaps better than nothing, Contact Patrols were never to prove a wholly reliable method of obtaining information on what would now be called the 'Forward Line of Own Troops'.

10 May
Royal Flying Corps pilot Captain L.A. Strange manages to regain control of his Martinsyde S1 Scout after he falls out and hangs on when trying to free a jammed ammunition drum.

31 May
German Army Zeppelin LZ38 carries out the first air raid on London. A house at 16 Alkham Roadin Stoke Newington was hit. 7 members of the public were killed and a further 35 injured.

26 May
Following a request from the Indian Government for trained pilots for service in Mesopotamia, Australian Flying Corps air and ground personnel arrived at Basra to join Indian Flying Corps personnel serving in the theatre. Australian and Indian Army personnel flying Indian Flying Corps aircraft formed the 'Mesopotamian Half-Flight', which supported the Indian Army during the opening round of the Mesopotamian Campaign.

7 June
The Victoria Cross is awarded to Flight Sub-Lieutenant R.A.J. Warneford of No.1 Wing, Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), for downing Zeppelin LZ37 (Oberleutnant von der Haegen) near Bruges in Belgium. He dropped six 9 kilo (20 pound) Hales bombs onto it from above in a Morane Saulnier Type L3253.

17 June
Flight Sub-Lieutenant R.A.J. Warneford VC of No.1 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), is killed with his passenger, American journalist H.A. Needham, when his Henri Farman F27 two-seat reconnaissance bomber of rolled over during a steep turn near Paris.

12 July
Following an inconclusive exchange of fire on 6 July, the monitors HMS Severn and HMS Mersey re-engage the German Navy cruiser Königsberg, which had been trapped in the Rufiji Delta by blockships. A seaplane of the Royal Naval Air Service provided spotting for the monitors until forced to land due to a combination of engine trouble and damage from anti-aircraft shrapnel. The Königsberg was destroyed during the bombardment.

13 July
The British Armstrong Whitworth SS (Submarine Scout) airship with an extra fuel tank successfully completes trials at Kingsnorth in Kent.

24 July
Colonel F.H. Sykes is appointed to command all Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) air units in the Eastern Mediterranean, effectively becoming the air commander for the Dardanelles operation.

25 July
No.11 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the first fighter squadron to be fully equipped with the Vickers Gunbus 2-seat fighter, arrives in St Omer, France.

25 July
The Victoria Cross is awarded to Lieutenant Lanoe G. Hawker of No.6 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, for his actions during an offensive patrol over France and in recognition of the continuous courage he demonstrated while flying a Bristol Scout 1611, with a hastily fitted cavalry carbine.

31 July
The Victoria Cross is awarded to Captain J.A. Liddell of No.7 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, for his actions during a reconnaissance patrol over Ostend in Belgium. His observer was Second Lieutenant R.H. Peck and the aircraft a Royal Aircraft Factory RE5, 2457.

August
The first systematic scheme for training observers is introduced.

12 August
Flight Commander C.H. Edmonds of the Royal Naval Air Service makes the first aerial torpedo attack as he sinks a Turkish supply ship in the Sea of Marmara, Dardenelles, flying a Short 184 seaplane from the seaplane carrier HMS Ben-My-Chree.

17 August
Flight Commander C.H. Edmonds sinks a second Turkish vessel with an aerial torpedo. While a Short 184 seaplane flown by Flight Lieutenant G.B. Dacre of the Royal Navy, sinks a Turkish tug. However, the plane was not airborne at the time and needed to release the torpedo in order to be able to take-off from the water.

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