by Griff Hosker
Beattie linked my arm, “Home?”
“A home posting. We will be together. We will be a family.”
“Then my prayers have been answered!”
The End
Glossary
Beer Boys-inexperienced fliers (slang)
Bevvy- drink (beverage) (slang)
Blighty- Britain (slang)
Boche- German (slang)
Bowser- refuelling vehicle
Bus- aeroplane (slang)
Butchers- look (slang)- butcher’s hook- look
Corned dog/Bully Beef- corned beef (slang)
Dewar Flask- an early Thermos invented in 1890
Donkey Walloper- Horseman (slang)
Erks- Slang for Other Ranks in R.A.F.
Fizzer- a charge (slang)
Foot Slogger- Infantry (slang)
Fuzzy Wuzzy- Dervish (slang) named because of their hair style.
Gaspers- Cigarettes (slang)
Google eyed booger with the tit- gas mask (slang)
Griffin (Griff) - confidential information (slang)
Hairies- locals (slang)
Hun- German (slang)
Jasta- a German Squadron
Jippo- the shout that food was ready from the cooks (slang)
Killick- Leading seaman (slang-Royal Navy)
Kite- aeroplane (slang)
Lanchester- a prestigious British car with the same status as a Rolls Royce
Loot- a second lieutenant (slang)
M.C. - Military Cross (for officers only)
M.M. - Military Medal (for other ranks introduced in 1915)
Ninak- Nickname for Airco DH 9A
Nelson’s Blood- rum (slang- Royal Navy)
Nicked- stolen (slang)
Number ones- Best uniform (slang)
Oppo- workmate/friend (slang)
Outdoor- the place they sold beer in a pub to take away (slang)
Pop your clogs- die (slang)
Pukka- Very good/efficient (slang)
Reval- Tallinn (Estonia)
Rosy – Tea (slang- Rosy Lee- tea)
Rugger- Rugby (slang)
Scousers- Liverpudlians (slang)
Shufti- a quick look (slang)
The smoke- London (slang)
Toff- aristocrat (slang)
V.C. - Victoria Cross, the highest honour in the British Army
Maps
Historical Notes
R.A.F. Ranks
R.A.F. other ranks (1 April 1918) R.A.F. other ranks (1 January 1919)
Technical Administrative Service other ranks
Chief Master Mechanic (Chief Master Clerk) Sergeant Major 1st Class Sergeant Major 1st Class
Master Mechanic (Master Clerk) Sergeant Major 2nd Class Sergeant Major 2nd Class
Chief Mechanic Flight Clerk Flight Sergeant Flight Sergeant
Sergeant Mechanic Sergeant Clerk Sergeant Sergeant
Corporal Mechanic Corporal Clerk Corporal Corporal
Air Mechanic 1st Class Clerk 1st Class (Leading Aircraftman) Leading Aircraftman
Air Mechanic 2nd Class Clerk 2nd Class Private 1st Class Aircraftman 1st Class
Air Mechanic 3rd Class Clerk 3rd Class Private 2nd Class Aircraftman 2nd Class
Aeroplanes mentioned in the text.
Sopwith Snipe
General characteristics
Crew: one
Length: 19 ft 10 in (6.05 m)
Wingspan: 31 ft 1 in (9.48 m)
Height: 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
Wing area: 271 ft² (25.2 m²)
Empty weight: 1,312 lb (596 kg)
Loaded weight: 2,020 lb (918 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Bentley BR2 rotary engine, 230 hp (172 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 121 mph (105 knots, 195 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
Service ceiling: 19,500 ft (5,945 m)
Endurance: 3 hours
Climb to 6,600 ft (1,980 m): 5 min 10 sec
Climb to 15,000 ft (4,570 m): 18 min 50 sec
Armament
Guns: 2× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns
Bombs: 4× 25 lb (11 kg) bombs
DH 9A
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 30 ft 3 in (9.22 m)
Wingspan: 45 ft 11¾ in (14.02 m)
Height: 11 ft 4 in (3.46 m)
Wing area: 486.75 ft² (45.2 m²)
Empty weight: 2,800 lb (1,272 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 4,645 lb (2,111 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Liberty 12A V-12 piston, 400 hp (298 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 123 mph (198 km/h)
Service ceiling: 16,750 ft (5,110 m)
Endurance: 5¼ hours
Climb to 10,000 ft: 15 min 45sec
Armament
Forward firing Vickers machine gun
1 or 2 Rear Lewis guns on scarff ring
Up to 740 lb (336 kg) bombs on underwing and fuselage racks
Vickers Vernon
General characteristics
Crew: three
Capacity: 11 passengers
Length: 42 ft 8 in (13.01 m)
Wingspan: 68 ft 1 in (20.76 m)
Height: 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m)
Wing area: 1,330 ft² (124 m²)
Empty weight: 7,981 lb (3,628 kg)
Loaded weight: 12,554 lb (5,706 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Napier Lion, 450 hp (336 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 87 kn (100 mph, 161 km/h)
Cruise speed: 65 knots (75 mph, 121 km/h)
Range: 278 nmi (320 mi, 515 km)
Service ceiling: 11,700 ft (3,600 m)
Wing loading: 9.44 lb/ft² (46.0 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.0717 hp/lb (0.118 kW/kg)
Vickers Vimy
General characteristics
Length: 43 ft 7 in (13.28 m)
Wingspan: 68 ft 1 in (20.75 m)
Height: 15 ft 8 in (4.77 m)
Wing area: 1,330 sq. ft (123.56 m²)
Empty weight: 7,104 lb (3,222 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 10,884 lb (4,937 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII piston engines, 360 hp (268 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 100 mph (161 km/h)
Range: 900 mi (1,448 km)
Service ceiling: 7,000 ft (2,134 m)
Power/mass: 0.07 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns: 1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun in Scarff ring in nose and 1 × in Scarff ring in mid-fuselage
Bombs: 2,476 lb (1,123 kg) of bombs
The Bristol Fighter (F.2B)
General characteristics
Crew: 2 (pilot & observer/gunner)
Length: 25 ft 10 in (7.87 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 3 in (11.96 m)
Height: 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
Wing area: 405 ft² (37.62 m²)
Empty weight: 2,145 lb (975 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 3,243 lb (1,474 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Falcon III liquid-cooled V12 engine, 275 hp (205 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 123 mph (107 kn, 198 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
Range: 369 mi (320 nmi, 593 km)
Service ceiling: 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
Rate of climb: 889 ft/min (4.5 m/s)
Armament
Guns:
1× .303 in (7.7 mm) forward-firing Vickers machine gun in the upper fuselage
1 or 2× .303 in Lewis Guns in the observer's cockpit
Bombs: 240 lb (110 kg)
Halberstadt D.II
General characteristics
Crew: one, pilot
Length: 7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 8.8 m (28 ft 10-1/4 in)
Height: 2.66 m (8 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 23.6 m² (254 sq. ft)
Empty weight: 519 kg (1,144 lb)
Loaded weight: 728.5 kg (1,606 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.II six cylinder in-line, 90 kW (120 hp)
Performance
Maximum speed: 150 km/h (93 mph)
Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,123 ft)
Climb to 1,000 m (3,280 ft): 3.5 minutes
Climb to 2,000 m (6,560 ft): 8.5 minutes
Climb to 3,000 m (9,840 ft): 14.5 minutes
Climb to 4,000 m (13,120 ft): 22.5 minutes
Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 38.5 minutes
Armament
1 × forward-firing 7.92 mm (.312 in) IMG 08 "Spandau" machine gun
Background to the novel
This will be the last novel in the British Ace series. For those who want to read more about Bill Harsker and his son Tom then they both appear in the Combined Operations series set in the Second World War.
Almost every event in the book actually happened. I have shortened the time frame. Sir John Salmond was Air Vice Marshal. The aeroplanes and their bases are historically accurate. Everything about Sheikh Mahmud happened almost exactly the way I wrote it. Sometimes events from the past are stranger than any fiction I might come up with. The Halberstadt incident is fiction. The Count is fiction. I am a storyteller although I do like to give some historical accuracy.
Squadron Leader Harris became more famous in World War 2 as ‘Bomber’ Harris. He was responsible for the strategic bombing of Germany. He served briefly in Mesopotamia. In Mesopotamia, he commanded a Vickers Vernon squadron. "We cut a hole in the nose and rigged up our own bomb racks and I turned those machines into the heaviest and best bombers in the command". Harris also contributed at this time to the development of bombing using delay-action bombs, which were then applied to keep down uprisings of the Mesopotamian people fighting against British occupation. With regard to this period, Harris is recorded as having remarked "the only thing the Arab understands is the heavy hand."
Nissen Huts
A Nissen hut is made from a sheet of metal bent into half a cylinder and planted in the ground with its axis horizontal. The cross-section is not precisely semi-circular, as the bottom of the hut curves in slightly. The exterior is formed from curved corrugated steel sheets 10 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 2 inches (3.2 × 0.7 m), laid with a two-corrugation lap at the side and a 6 inch (15 cm) overlap at the ends. Three sheets cover the arc of the hut. These are attached to five 3 × 2 inch (7.5 x 5 cm) wooden purlins and 3 × 2-inch wooden spiking plates at the ends of the floor joists.
Two factors influenced the design of the hut. First, the building had to be economical in its use of materials, especially considering wartime shortages of building material. Second, the building had to be portable. This was particularly important in view of the wartime shortages of shipping space. This led to a simple form that was prefabricated for ease of erection and removal. The Nissen hut could be packed in a standard Army wagon and erected by six men in four hours. The world record for erection was 1 hour 27 minutes.
Rolls Royce Armoured Cars
Source: File: The Big Fella and The Fighting 2nd (6340864262).jpg - https://en.wikipedia.org
Armoured cars- Germany and Turkey
Ehrhardt 1
Weight 7.12 - 7.75 tonnes
Length 5.3 m
Width 2 m
Height 2.85 m
Crew 8 or 9
Armour up to 9 mm
Main Armament
Usually 3 machine guns
Engine petrol 80 hp (59 kw)
Power/weight 10.3 hp/tonne
Suspension four-wheel drive
Operational range 250 km
Speed 61.3 km/h
War in Mesopotamia
‘Rebellion and raiding were part of the way of life to Middle Eastern tribes at that time-almost a sport. Experience had shown that suppression of such activities by ground forces could be achieved only at high cost in lives on both sides, for the enemies often included intense heat and thirst as well as the guns of the opposition.
By comparison, under air control, offenders were instructed to submit themselves immediately for trial in a court of law. If they refused, a warning was given, by every possible means, that their village would be bombed on a certain date. They were recommended to leave their houses and told that it would not be safe to return until they were prepared to toe the line. At the appointed time, the village would be bombed, but it was quite unnecessary, and even undesirable, to cause any serious damage. The object was really to institute an air blockade, depriving the offenders of the shelter and comfort of their homes and to disrupt their daily routine. Occasionally, however, the house or fort belonging to a particularly recalcitrant leader like Mahmud was selected for individual destruction, calling for a high degree of bombing accuracy.
After the offenders realised the uselessness of holding out, and surrendered, troops or police were flown in, with medical staff, to restore order, treat sickness or wounds, distribute food and generally rehabilitate the place.
Properly applied, air control never failed, and damage and casualties to both sides were minimal. Its success in Iraq and Transjordan led to its adoption in the Aden Protectorate. It would have worked equally well on the North-West Frontier of India, where conditions were ideally suited to it; but the army retained control there and R.A.F. squadrons were used only in a support role.’
‘The R.A.F. assumed responsibility for the security of Iraq in October 1922, all forces in the country being placed under the command of the A.O.C., Air Vice Marshall Sir John Salmond. It was a bold move as some 33 battalions of infantry, six of cavalry and 16 batteries of artillery had previously been considered necessary for the job; and there was no shortage of prophets predicting the disaster of relying on air control. It can hardly be said that the aircraft were tailored for the task. Most were of first "World War vintage; but this meant, at least, that they were well proven. Their engines were quite reliable by the standards of the day, which was important in an area where a pilot who force-landed sometimes faced, very literally, a fate worse than death. They could land and take-off on rough ground, which helped in emergencies, and they were sturdy enough to carry a variety of additional equipment such as goatskins of water, survival rations, and even a spare wheel strapped to the side of the fuselage, in addition to more offensive loads. The quality of the squadron personnel was high. Salmond himself was to become a Chief of the Air Staff (1930-33). No. 45 Squadron was commanded by Sqn. Ldr. A. T. Harris, remembered today as the great leader of Bomber Command in the second World War.
His two flight commanders were Saundby (to be his wartime deputy) and the future Air Chief Marshall Sir Ralph Cochrane.’
The Pictorial History of the R.A.F. 1919-1939
John W R Taylor 1967
Sheikh Mahmud
Mahmud was a very ambitious Kurdish national leader and promoted the idea of Kurds to control their own state and gain independence from the British. As Charles Tripp relates, the British appointed him governor of Sulaimaniya in southern Kurdistan as a way of gaining an indirect rule in this region. The British wanted this indirect rule with the popular Mahmud at the helm, which they believed would give them a face and a leader to control and calm the region. However, with a little taste of power, Mahmud had ambitions for more for himself and for the Kurdish people. He was declared "King of Kurdistan" and claimed to be the ruler of all Kurds, but the opinion of Mahmud among Kurds was mixed because he was becoming too powerful and ambitious for some.
Mahmud hoped to create Kurdistan and initially, the British allowed Mahmud to pursue has ambitions because he was bringing the region and people together for the British to control. However, by 1920, Mahmud, to British displeasure, was using his power against the British by capturing British officials in the Kurd region and starting uprisings against the British. As historian Kevin McKiernan writes, "The rebellion lasted until Mahmud was wounded in combat, which occurred on the road between Kirkuk and Sulaimaniya. Captured by British forces, he was sentenced to death but later imprisoned in a British fort in India." Sheikh remained in India until 1922.
With the exile of Sheikh in India, Turk
ish nationalists in the crumbling Ottoman Empire were causing a great deal of trouble in the Kurdish regions of Iraq. The Turkish nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal, were riding high in the early 1920s after their victory against Greece and were looking to take that momentum into Iraq and take back Mosul. With the British in direct control of northern Iraq after the exile of Sheikh Mahmud, the area was becoming increasingly hostile for the British officials due to the threat from Turkey. The region was led by the Sheikh's brother, Sheikh Qadir, who was not capable of handling the situation and was seen by the British as an unstable and unreliable leader.
Sir Percy Cox, a British military official and administrator to the Middle East especially Iraq, and Winston Churchill, a British politician, were at odds on whether to release the Sheikh from his exile and bring him back to reign in northern Iraq. That would allow the British to have better control over the hostile but important region. Cox argued that the British could gain authority in a region they recently evacuated, and the Sheikh was the only hope of gaining back a stable region. Cox was aware of the dangers of bringing back the Sheikh, but he was also aware that one of the main reasons for the unrest in the region was the growing perception that the earlier promises of autonomy would be abandoned and the British would bring the Kurdish people under direct rule of the Arab government in Baghdad. The Kurdish dream of an independent state was growing less likely which caused conflict in the region. Bringing the Sheikh back was their only chance of a peaceful Iraqi state in the region and against Turkey.
Cox agreed to bring back the Sheikh and name him governor of southern Kurdistan. On December 20, 1922, Cox also agreed on a joint Anglo-Iraqi declaration that would allow a Kurdish government if they were able to form a constitution and agree on boundaries. Cox knew with the instability in the region and the fact that there were many Kurdish groups it would be nearly impossible for them to come to a solution. Upon his return, Mahmud proceeded to pronounce himself King of the Kingdom of Kurdistan. Sheikh rejected the deal with the British and began working in alliance with the Turks against the British. Cox realized the situation and in 1923, he denied the Kurds any say in the government and withdrew his offer of their own independent state. The Sheikh was the king until 1924 and was involved in uprisings against the British until 1932, when the Royal Air Force and British-trained Iraqis were able to capture the Sheikh again and exile him to southern Iraq.