Biggles 3, 4–6, 7, 106, 164, 222, 246–7, 287, 297
biplanes 46–50
advantages of 47
drag as problem of 49
pusher 18, 30, 60–1, 78, 87, 231
tractor 19, 61, 78, 83, 231, 319
Bir Qatia 296, 297
Birley, Lieutenant-Colonel J.L. 165, 166, 210
Bishop, Billy 49, 169, 182–3, 198–9, 227–8
acting as a ‘lone wolf’ 199–200
on disadvantages of early shows 182–3
engagement that won him VC (1917) 198–9
engine knowledge 130–1
fame of 201
foraging raids 166
on night flying 115, 116
questioning of victory claims and scores 198–9, 200, 201
VC awarded to 201
Blackadder Goes Forth (TV comedy series) 6
Blanchard, Sophie 212
Blatchford, Robert 261
Blériot, Louis 43, 46
flies the Channel (1909) 46, 71
flying schools 124, 125, 131
XI model 46, 47
Bloody April (1917) 191, 192, 216, 222, 236
Blue Max medal 185–6
Boelcke, Oswald 184, 185, 186, 189–91, 202
bombing
by aircraft 113–14, 118–19
during Second World War 279
bombing raids, British
against German cities 276–7
bombing raids, German 149, 256, 258
against Harwich and Felixstowe 272
against London 268, 270–1
casualties caused by 259
killing of children at Upper North Street School (1917) 268
psychological impact of on Britons 258
Bonnet, Frédéric 235
Booth, Charles
Life and Labour in London 15
Boothby, Squadron-Commander J.R. 238
Bottomley, Horatio 261
Bourhis, Jean 235
box girder 47
Bradshawing 116
Brancker, Major Sefton 19, 301–2
Bristol (aero company) 23
Britain
modernization of industry 57
naval blockade of German ports 265
pre-war social turmoil in 14–16
shipbuilding 14
British Medical Journal 231
British Somaliland 10
Buckingham bullet 93
Bulgaria 286, 287
bullets 91–3
Buckingham 93
dum-dum 92
exploding 92
incendiary 92–3
tracers 92
Cairns, Hugh 245
Calthrop, Everard 235, 237
cambered wing 42, 47
Canada
and conscription 200–1
evaporation of popular backing for war 200–1
Caproni, Gianni 294
Carpers 44
Cat and Mouse Act (1913) 15–16
Cavell, Edith, execution of 274, 275
Cayley, George 42
Central Flying School 17, 123–4, 127, 143
Chain Home defence system 37
chemical weapons 93
Childers, Erskine
The Riddle of the Sands 257
Churchill, Winston 257, 275
Clark, Alan
Aces High 27–8
class
and airmen 217–18
Clausewitz, Carl von 269, 274
On War 253
Cobb, Irvin S. 277
cockpits 90
Cody, Samuel 17, 43, 43–6
Combat Stress Reaction 222
communication 97–9
contact patrols 102–4
wireless 97–9, 272–3
Compagnie d’Aérostiers 8
compasses 226
Constantine, King of Greece 288
Constantinesco (CC) gear 89
Constantinescu, George 89
contact patrols 102–4
Coppens, Willy 110
Cotton, Sidney 212
Coxwell, Henry 205–6
Curragh Mutiny (1914) 16
Curtiss, Glenn 43, 44
Curtiss HS-2L flying boats 43
Daily Mail 26
Damascus 302
d’Annunzio, Gabriele 70, 153, 294
Dardanelles campaign 286–7, 296
Darfur 285, 285–6
d’Arsonval’s chronometer 227
de Havilland, Geoffrey 18, 43, 44, 53, 147–8
Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) 31
Degelow, Carl 186, 193, 197
Department of Military Aeronautics 30
Deperdussin, Armand 43
desert warfare 297
DFW (Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke) 125
Dinar, Ali 285–8
distant offensive patrols (DOPs) 104, 106–9
dogfights 107–9, 145, 182, 195
dope poisoning 33–4
Douglas, C.G. 207
Douhet, Giulio 72, 294
Rules for the Use of Aeroplanes in War 69–70
Dowling, Bartholomew 161
down-draughts 290
drag 49
Drama (Greece) 290
dreadnoughts 14
dum-dum bullets 92
Dunne, J.W. 17, 43
Dyson, Freeman 248
Edwards, Arthur 74
Egypt 283, 286, 296–7
electrically heated clothing 213–14
engines, aircraft
knowledge of by pilots 130–1
radial 56
rotary 56–8, 67
Entente 73–4, 279, 282
Euler, August 83
Evans, W.H.B. 45
Faber, Lieutenant-Colonel Walter 26
Farman brothers 43
Fascism
link with flying 153, 295
Feisal, Prince 302
Ferber, Ferdinand 70
Ferrie, Capt. R.L.M. 233–4
First World War
cost of to Britain 37
death toll of servicemen 1
Fisher, Admiral John 254
Flack, Captain Martin 209, 229
flamethrower 69
fléchettes (aeroplane arrows) 77
Fliegerabteilung (30) 290
flying clubs 124–5
flying schools 124–5
Fokker, Anthony 43, 46, 47, 85, 116, 125–6
Flying Dutchman 84
‘Fokker Scourge’ (1915) 25, 29, 30, 86, 87, 180
Fonck, René 183, 202
Ford, Henry 56
France
flying schools 125
sees potential of aviation in war 10
Francis, Lieutenant Duane 78
French aircraft 72
arming of 73
bombing of Moroccan rebels (1912-14) 72
Farman ‘Longhorn’ 127, 182, 298
Farman M.F.11 ‘Shorthorn’ (‘Rumpety’) 75, 78, 127–9, 139
Hanriot HD.1 110
Hanriot HD.3 320
‘Henri Paul’ triplane bomber 69
Nieuport ‘Bébé’ 29, 189
Nieuport sesquiplane 49
‘Parasol’ monoplane 85
Sopwith 3.F.2 Hippo 320
SPAD S.VII 239
SPAD S.XIII 63, 66
SPAD XII fighter 83
weaponry used on board 79
French, Field Marshal Viscount Sir John 272
French pilots
aces 183
and parachutes 240
training of 130–2, 144
Fryatt, Captain Charles, execution of 274, 275–6
Futurism 153
g-forces
contending with by pilots 229–30
Gallipoli campaign 286–7, 296
Garros, Roland 85, 181
Gast machine gun 69
Gavotti, Lieutenant Giulio 70, 256
Geneva Disarmament Conference 278
Genevieve (film) 7
George V, King 281, 285
German
aces 184, 185–7, 188–97
awarding of Blue Max to 185–6
and Boelcke 184, 185, 186, 189–91, 202
feedback between aircraft industry and 186–7
and Immelmann 80, 184, 185, 186, 189, 201
and Richthofen see Richthofen, Manfred von
Voss 192, 195–6
German Air Force 73
air strategy 253
pilot as subordinate to observer 79
German aircraft 67, 83, 181, 182
Albatros D.1 190
Albatros D.III 191, 196, 207, 230
Fokker Dr.I 48, 195
Fokker D.VII 63, 65, 67, 118, 196
Fokker E series 182
Fokker E.1 Eindecker 20–1, 46, 85–7, 88, 179
Fokker F.1 196
Gotha bombers 258, 260, 267, 268, 270, 272
Junkers J.1 50, 106
Pfalz D.III 65
‘Taube’-type monoplanes 83
weaponry used on board 79
Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI bombers 112, 273
German airships 72–3
bombing of England by 256
see also Zeppelins
German pilots 179–80, 182, 247
and parachutes 237
training of 132, 134, 144
German Spring Offensive (1918) 153–4, 165–6
Germany
and aviation medicine 218
bombing raids against England see bombing raids, German
bombing of Scarborough and Hartlepool by warships 254–5
early view of aviation potential in war 10
flying schools 125
reprisal bombing raids by Britain against cities 276–7
and total war concept 253, 254–5
U-boat fleet 32, 253, 255, 262
unrest in 302
Gibson, Guy 167
Glaisher, James 205
gliders 42
Gnome 56
goggles 243–4
Gosport 143–6, 147
Grahame-White, Claude 43, 124–5, 129
Greece 287–8
Greenhous, Brereton 198
Grey, Charles G. 23–4, 27
Grider, John MacGavock 137–40, 146, 165
Grierson, Lieutenant-General Sir James 9
Grinnell-Milne, Duncan 22
Grosz, Peter 65
Guglielminetti-Draeger Respiratory Apparatus 209
Gulf War (1991) 279
Guynemer, Georges 202, 239
Hadley, Dunstan 53, 55
Hague Convention (1907) 71, 92, 93
Hague Declaration (1899) 93
Haig, GeneralSir Douglas 9, 269, 272
Haldane, J.S. 207
Handley Page, Frederick 249
hang-gliders 42
Hartley, L.P.
The Go-Between 249
Hartney, Harold 240, 241
Haupt-Heydemarck, Oberleutnant 244
Hawker, Major Lanoe 54, 80, 87, 188–9
helmets 243, 244, 245
Henderson, Sir David 19–20, 27, 236, 272
Henderson, Yandell 207
Hill, Douglas 267
Home Defence 149, 253–80
aircraft deployed for 266
anti-aircraft batteries/defence 70, 259, 272, 273
appointment of Smuts as head of 273
difficulties in setting up adequate defences against bombing raids 260
initial lack of 258, 260, 265–6
public anger at lack of and demands for improvements in 268
recall of squadrons from France 268–9, 271
and RNAS’s seaplanes 262–5
wireless communication in defending aircraft 272–3
Zeppelin raids 258, 259
home leave 173–4
Hotchkiss machine gun 29, 73, 79
Hughes, Sergeant H.F. 62–3
Hussein bin Ali, Sherif of Mecca 282
hypoxia 206, 208, 209, 210, 211
Immelmann, Max 80, 184, 185, 186, 189, 201
Independent Air Force (IAF) 117, 276
India 283
instrumentation, aircraft 224–5
compasses 226
slip bubble 224–5, 226
Iraq 297–301
Iraq War (2003) 279–80
Italian aircraft 294
Caproni’s bombers 294
CR.42 ’Falco’ 50
Italian Front 293–5
Italy 73–4
dropping of bombs by aircraft in Libya (1911) 69–70
war against Austria-Hungary 294, 295
Jagdgeschwader 194–5
James, Lieutenant B.T. 98
Jastas 189, 190
Jerusalem 302
John Bull 36, 261
Johns, W.E. 3–6, 169, 210–11, 288–90, 292, 303–4
Biggles Flies East 297
and Biggles stories 3, 4–6, 164, 222, 246–7, 287
The Camels are Coming 65
first solo flight 135–6
flying career 3–4, 108–9
and Gallipoli 287
and Popular Flying 4, 141
The Rescue Flight 135
training to fly 133, 136–7, 141–2
juvenile pilots 135
Karno, Fred 160
Kilduff, Peter 199, 200
Kipling, Rudyard
‘Recessional’ 14, 281
Kitchener 285
Königsberg, destruction of (1915) 283–4
Kozakov, Lieutenant Alexander 75
Kressenstein, Colonel Kress von 296
Kut al Amara 298–9
Lafayette Squadron 173
Larkin, Philip
‘MCMXIV’ 13, 14
Lawrence, T.E. 282–3, 298–9, 302, 304
Le Prieur rockets 111
Lee, Arthur Gould 89, 105, 119, 128, 136, 172, 207–8, 226, 233, 234, 241, 246, 248
Leslie-Moore, Lieutenant 291–2
Lettow-Vorbeck, General Paul Emil von 284
Lewis, Cecil 53–4, 101, 135, 136, 156, 169, 224–5
Sagittarius Rising 309–10
Lewis gun 78, 79, 88
Lewis, Lieutenant D.S. 98
Libya 286
Lilienthal, Otto 41–2
line offensive patrols (LOPS) 104–6
Lloyd George, David 37, 266, 271
Loerzer, Bruno 75–6, 171
London
bombing raids against 149, 268, 270–1
looting 271
reprisals taken against foreigners by East Enders 269
slums 15
London Warning Centre 270
Longcroft, General Charles 236
looping the loop 126, 183
Loraine, Robert 97
Löwenhardt, Erich 186
Lufbery, Raoul 241
Luftstreitkräfte 190, 197, 253
Lusitania, RMS, sinking of (1915) 274
LVG 83
McCudden, James 90, 168, 194, 195, 202
McCurdy, John 97
Macedonia 287–9, 290–2
McElroy, George 202
Machine Gun Corps 287, 288
machine guns 77–85
Gast 69
Hotchkiss 29, 73, 79
jamming of 89–91
Lewis gun 78, 79, 88
Spandau 86
and synchronisation 21, 28, 29, 84–6, 88–90
Mackenzie, Flight Lieutenant 187
Maclennan, Roderick 146–7
McWalter, Dr 227
magnetos 57
Maitland, Captain Edward 234–5
malaria 292
Mannock, Mick 90, 91, 193, 202
Rules 191
Marconi, Guglielmo 97
Marinetti, F.T. 70, 153
Martin, Lieutenant Bill 78
Marty, Philippe 39–40, 41
Mattioli, Guido 153, 295
Maxim, Sir Hiram 86, 229
medical officers 221–2
Medical Research Council
‘The Medical Problems of Flying’ 229
medics 205–32
Megiddo, Battle of (1918) 302
Mesopotamia 282, 295–304
Middle East campaign 281–6
Military Cross 187
Ministry of Munitions 37–8
monoplanes 46, 47, 49
Monty Python’s Flying Circus 3
Morane brothers 84
Morane-Saulnier aero company 84
Morse transmission 97, 98, 99, 103, 223
Mosso, Angelo 206
Mount Vernon Hospital (Northwood) 227, 228
munitions factories
working conditions 91
Munitions of War Act 31, 55
Mussolini, Benito 153, 295
National Physical Laboratory 18
NATO 307
Nerger, Commander 265
Nesterov, Pyotr 126, 183
Nicholson, Field Marshal Sir William 9
night flying 114–17
Nissen huts 178
Nungesser, Charles 49
observation 8–9, 21, 30
aircraft 59, 70, 71–2, 74, 76, 79, 99, 100–4, 127
balloons 8, 17, 44, 71, 92, 96, 109–10
observers 20, 30, 59, 76, 77, 78–9, 101, 102, 193
fixing aircraft from outside cockpit 112–13
German 79, 212
and parachutes 109
stress experienced by 222–3
O’Gormon, Mervyn 17–18, 19, 20, 23–4, 27, 35, 235–6
O’Hagan, Andrew 250
Ottoman Empire 283
oxygen equipment 210–11
Palestine 295–302
Pankhurst, Sylvia 271
Parabellum MG (14) 79
parachutes 2, 233–51
and American pilots 240
buying of by officers 236–7
and French pilots 240
and German pilots 237
Guardian Angel 235–6, 237, 239
impact of added weight of to aircraft performance 238
Mears type 239
non issuing of until end of war and reasons 81, 234–9
snagging of 239–40
Spencer type 235
storing of on an aircraft 238–9
used for jumps from balloons 234–5
Parke, Wilfred 51–3
‘Parke’s Dive’ 52–3
Parsevals 72
patrols
contact 102–4
distant offensive 104, 106–9
line offensive 104–6
Paxman, Jeremy 6
Pearce, Major J.L.T. 91
Pégoud, Adolphe 126, 183–4, 201
Pemberton Billing, Noel 24–9, 35–7
The Air War: How to Wage It 36–7, 268
Persia 282, 299
Piazza, Captain Carlo 70
pigeons 111–12
Pike’s Peak expedition (1911) 206–7
Pilot’s Psalm 100–1
pilot’s vertigo 223–4
Popular Flying (magazine) 4, 141, 204
Poulson, J. 45–6
propellers, aero 41, 60, 299
pusher biplanes 18, 30, 60–1, 78, 87, 231
Q ships 255–6, 264
radio see wireless communication
RAF (Royal Air Force) 10
formation of (1918) 35, 37, 175, 216
gradual shrinkage and rationalisation 305–7
heyday of 305
Marked for Death Page 36