The Flight Commander 05

in addition to the lighter but nevertheless important side of keeping the body healthy by football matches, for a war pilot should be clear of eye and have the blood pulsating healthily through his veins if he is to bring all his energies and faculties to bear when facing the enemy in the air. Much could be gathered about the methods of aerial fighting by discussion,

and it was part of a Flight-Commander’s duty to see that his pilots gained all possible knowledge which could be imparted on the ground. An aerial combat discussed afterwards in comfort on the ground often revealed where a mistake had been made, and by such methods a flight could be brought to a high pitch of efficiency and developed into an invaluable fighting unit.


I should not like to proceed without first paying tribute to those who made it possible for us to leave the ground with confidence, for one of the essentials in successful single-seater fighting is confidence in the aeroplane, and one might truly say the morale of the Squadron depends largely on this. In No. 8 we had, without exception, the finest lot of men the Royal Naval Air Service could produce, drawn from every branch of trade, many of them ex-naval ratings. They all worked unsparingly to keep our machines in good condition, I say “unsparingly” advisedly, for the conditions under which they sometimes had to work were deplorable. Imagine nine inches of snow on the ground, with icy wind blowing through many holes in a canvas Bessoneaux Hangar, the feel of cold spanners and frozen oil, the making of delicate adjustments with hands numbed to the bone; thus would our men willingly work if any one of us had come back from patrol and complained that his engine seemed a little rough. I remember on one occasion I came back from patrol and said as I got out of the machine: “The engine is a bit rough and uneven, but I don’t know what it is.” My Chief Petty Officer replied: “Leave it to me, sir, and go in and get warm and rested." This happened after the last patrol of the day, and the next morning, when I went into the shed, I found that my engine had been completely dismantled and built up during the night; nothing much was found to be amiss, but when I tested it the roughness had certainly disappeared.


Truly did these men deserve our praise. With confidence did we trust them implicitly, knowing they realised that - although not spectacular - their work was the foundation of all our hopes and victories, without them

Anecdote Homepage

1916 - 1939 Anecdotes Homepage

…...continued

The Flt Cdr Page  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Compston - The Flt Cdr 06 Compston - The Flt Cdr 04
Home News Membership Chapters History Medals Galleries Contact Us
Home News Membership Chapters History Medals Galleries Contact Us
Chapters 1916-1939 Spit / Hurr Meteor Hunter Buccaneer Hawk
TemplateI-06 208 form.jpg

Timeline