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The RNAS, RFC and RAF
in Aden 1916 – 1918
The first aircraft to fly over Aden
were seaplanes of the Royal Naval Air Service. In June
1916 the seaplane carrier HMS Ben-my-Chree with five
seaplanes aboard, three Shorts and two Sopwiths, paid a
short visit to Aden from her normal operational area at
the northern end of the Red Sea. With typical naval
panache, although the Staff had been forewarned, the
first the Aden garrison and civilians knew of the ship’s
coming was the appearance of a seaplane flying in from
seaward. During the ship’s brief 5-day stay 15 bombing
sorties were flown over enemy lines, during which 41
bombs of various sizes were dropped, causing little
damage. A number of very useful aerial photographs of
Turkish defences were also taken.
Planes flew as far as Lahej. Due to
the heat the aircraft were nearly always limited to
operating for an hour or two after first light and their
ceiling was a maximum of 1,500 feet above sea level.
Most attacks were made flying at about 700 feet above
the Turkish positions, sometimes less, and it was
surprising that there were no loss of aircraft or
casualties to aircrew. In case a plane was forced down
over enemy territory there was laid on the 1916
equivalent of a Black Hawk rescue helicopter: ‘Rescue
parties’ of 5-7 men, well mounted and with spare horses,
supported by two galloping ambulances, were sent out
from No.5 Sector to points averaging three quarters of a
mile from enemy’s front to watch flights.’
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HMS Ben My Chree |
On the way back to Suez two
seaplanes from the Ben-my-Chree bombed the
Turkish fort at Sheikh Syed and spotted for the
guns of the three warships offshore. This
spotting was not as effective as it might have
been as the Short equipped with wireless was
unable to get off the water and had to be
replaced with a Sopwith with no set. |
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In March 1917
another seaplane carrier, HMS Raven, called at Aden to
rendezvous with a French cruiser prior to hunting a
German raider (the Wolf) at large in the Indian Ocean.
Her arrival was rather unpleasant, as through some error
the ship had hoisted an old recognition signal instead
of the current one and she was greeted with three large
shells, one of which passed too close for comfort. Apart
from the Wolf being in the area, three days previously a
ship captured by the Wolf off Socrota had laid some
mines off Aden. Whilst waiting for the other ship
seaplanes from the Raven carried out a number of sorties
over enemy lines. The seaplanes were a more powerful
version than eight months previously, which allowed them
to fly considerably higher. To the extent that the GOC
was taken up and as far as Lahej without being put in
undue danger. |
One can perhaps assume that it was as a result of the
GOC’s experiences and reports, especially as regards his
seeing at first hand the possibilities of aerial
reconnaissance, that he then put in a request for
aircraft to be permanently based in Aden. In November
1917 a half-Flight of 114 Squadron Royal Flying Corps
was transferred to Aden from India, personnel arriving
on 6 November with aircraft in crates and stores
following a week later. An airfield was selected at
Khormaksar and the equipment was brought forward on the
light railway that ran past the camp. Whilst the first
plane was being assembled three possible emergency
landing grounds were identified just inside the piquet
line, two of which were then prepared for use. The first
plane flew on 30 November and the first flight over
enemy lines took place on 5 December. |
The detachment initially consisted of four Henri Farmans,
although one was a reserve aircraft. By early February
1918 three planes were in use and between them they
averaged about 20 flying hours each week. The fourth
plane was assembled towards the end of February, when it
was also reported that two further planes in their
crates, but without engines, were at Maalla Wharf. At
that stage there were five serviceable and two
unserviceable engines at the airfield. A peak with the
Henri Farmans was reached in mid-March when for a brief
period all four assembled aircraft were serviceable.
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The planes were given a range of tasks of which bombing
and general reconnaissance were the most frequent.
Reconnaissance included the taking of photographs of
enemy positions. Bombs carried were mostly 20 pounders,
but occasionally 112 pounders. Some sorties included a
psychological warfare task, which involved dropping
pamphlets over enemy held territory. The remaining group
of tasks came under the heading of ‘cooperation’ with
cavalry, infantry or artillery, the last-named being the
most important but also the most ineffective due to
difficulties of communication. Useful information on
enemy movement or patrols could be passed to the cavalry
by means of messages dropped from an aircraft, but
reporting fall of shot to the artillery really required
the use of wireless. Although at least one set was in
use in the closing months of the war, no RFC aircraft
had wireless fitted for perhaps the first six months of
air operations in Aden. (It will be recorded that at
least one of the Short’s on the Ben-my-Chree some 18
months before had been fitted with wireless.) A report
in February 1918 mentioned that “with no wireless,
artillery work is difficult.” But by August 1918 there
were daily classes for all RAF pilots and observers “for
the practice of Morse buzzing and also reading of lamp
and panels.” |
Until the introduction of plane-mounted wireless the
principal ‘eyes’ of the artillery were provided by a
balloon from 57 Kite Balloon Section, which was also
operated by the Royal Flying Corps. This section kept
one balloon operational and this was “flown” on average
for about 10 hours each week. Each balloon had a life of
only 10-12 weeks and when balloon BM 173 replaced AM 74
in February 1918 it was reported that three other
unserviceable balloons were still on charge of the
Section. 173 was replaced in early May by SB 239; by
mid-July there was no replacement for 239 and the
Section was dismantled and moved to Egypt. These
balloons were particularly useful in directing
counter-battery fire by the two sections of long-range
artillery, one of 5 inch howitzers and the other of 6
inch guns, since an observer in the balloon could be in
direct telephonic contact with the gun positions. In
addition, since the observer was operating from a fixed
position, accurate alterations were possible. The
balloon appears to have been moored in the same location
until towards the end of May when it was moved to a new
position forward of Robat, from where it was much better
situated for artillery cooperation. |
In France and Flanders observation balloons were very
vulnerable to attack by enemy aircraft, but in Aden
there was no such danger as the Turks had no aeroplanes
in theatre. This also explains why there was no need to
arm the Henri Farmans or BE2es with Lewis guns for use
as an air-to-air weapon. Lewis gun training only
commenced in June 1918 and from July onwards that year
limited use was made of this weapon against troops
caught out in the open.
The Aden Flight received some BE2s in late March or
early April 1918. It is likely that the two crated
planes reported as sitting at Maalla Wharf in February
were not two extra Henri Farmans but the first of a
total of five BE2es that eventually arrived in Aden,
since no subsequent reports mention more than four Henri
Farmans. With the arrival of the BE2s the main problem
was the lack of hanger space, since to maintain
serviceability it was essential to keep the planes under
cover when not in use. In fact one unserviceable Henri
Farman had to be dismantled to make room for a second
BE2 to be assembled. In mid-May two Farmans were damaged
by enemy fire, only one of which was repairable. The
other was dismantled and by mid-May the Flight had a
maximum of five operational planes - two Farmans and
three BE2s.
Given the extreme climatic conditions the serviceability
rate was very satisfactory, although the Farmans appear
to have been slightly the more reliable. However by the
end of June the last of the Farmans had been dismantled.
Having flown more than 100 hours it could no longer be
considered serviceable.
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Although there was no danger of being shot down by
Turkish planes, Turkish anti-aircraft fire was always a
worry, and many weekly reports mention fire as having
been “very active”, especially around Lahej where the
Turkish headquarters was located, and at Waht where the
main Turkish force was encamped. Anti-aircraft fire was
by no means just from small-arms; a report of July 1918
mentions AA fire bursting up to 6,500 feet and in
mid-May the Turks came very close to bringing a plane
down from AA fire, one shell |
bursting very close which severely damaged the
plane and wounded the pilot in both legs. He
managed to make an emergency landing at the
advanced landing ground at Robat. The pilot was awarded
the MC. This was one of three occasions when planes had
to make emergency landings. Most sorties were not far
into enemy held territory, although in early February
two Farmans had ventured some 50 miles over the line and
had dropped bombs on targets 20 miles inside
Turkish-held territory. |
From 1916 onwards there was in effect a stalemate as
regards the military situation in Aden and in particular
as regards the offensive capabilities of both sides. In
nine months of Flight Reports for the period December
1917 to August 1918 the nearest the British land forces
came to mounting an attack was a ‘demonstration in
force’ in August 1918 against ‘Point K’, a strongly held
piquet, when three planes supported cavalry, infantry
and artillery. Messages were dropped on the infantry and
on Brigade Headquarters and at least one plane spotted
for the 6 " gun and 5" howitzer sections.
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