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25.01.2022 This may be of interest some of you.

24.01.2022 An invitation from the Western Front Association General Sir John Monash as Military Commander, the battle of Hamel A special webinar talk by Paul Cobb (military historian, chairman of the UK Wiltshire branch, and author of Fromelles 1916)... Saturday 26 September 2020 5.30pm Sydney time (AEST) For your time zone click on the link https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html The following link enables you to register for the event. Immediately after you register you will receive a confirmation email with a link to enable you to join the event when it goes live. https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_u6K_hyXzTNSke8TZdtl9uA This event has been organised by the Australian and New Zealand branches of the Western Front Association, in co-operation with the Fromelles Association of Australia. The UK WFA have provided support and assistance to enable this international event to occur. Members and supporters of the Australian Society of World War One Aero Historians are invited to join the webinar.

24.01.2022 Members and Friends are cordially invited to attend.

21.01.2022 Vale Dr Patrick Simon AO, the Mayor of Villers-Bretonneux, he maintained the town's war and peacetime bond with Australia and worked tirelessly to honour the ANZAC sacrifice in France. He was a worthy recipient of an honorary Order of Australia. Our deepest condolences are with Dr Simon's family and the people of Villers-Bretonneux.

20.01.2022 4 Squadron AFC's Black Day, November 4th, 1918. By the end of the day 4 Squadron had lost 5 pilots over 2 patrols, their adversary this day was Jasta 2 equipped with Fokker DVII's. The morning patrol of 4 Snipes lead by Lt. Cato while on an offensive patrol encountered seven Fokker DVII's at 10,000 feet N.E. of Tournai. F.M. Cutlack outlined this engagement in volume VIII of the Official History of Australia in the War of 19141918. ... According to Cutlack the Snipes of 4 Squadron started climbing from the south of the DVII's while four SE5a's climbed from the north when they reached 15,000 feet they dived on the DVII's. Lt. Cato would claim 1 Fokker driven down while 4 Squadron lost 2 pilots, Lieutenants Edward John Goodson and Charles William Rhodes, initially posted as missing they would see out the war as POW's. Karl Bolle has been credited with 2 Snipe claims that morning, however in his repatriation report Lt. Goodson claimed he was twice hit by AAA shells before hitting a bridge! Goodson wrote, "Whilst patrolling the line we were being shelled by anti-aircraft guns from the German artillery. When at 13,000 feet I was hit in my lateral controls and bottom of control lever. The machine immediately went into a left hand spin from which it did not recover. When at about 3,000 feet, I received two more direct hits under the right wing. I spun into the canal between two bridges in the centre of Tournai. One wing of the machine was carried away by the bridge and the machine became a total wreck on striking the water. " Lt. Rhodes' repatriation report supports Karl Bolle's claim as he states that he was shot down by a Fokker DVII. There have been suggestions that Goodson mistook the later hits as AAA shells when it could have been Karl Bolle finishing him off on the way down. The midday patrol of 15 Snipes lead by Captain "Bo" King was tasked with escorting DH9's of 25 Squadron RAF on a mission to bomb an aerodrome. After completing the bombing run, they turned for home. 12 DVII's from Jasta 2 shadowed the formation at 9000 feet, Captain King turned the formation and climbed to meet the Fokker threat. In the ensuing dogfight "Bo" King claimed 1 DVII destroyed in flames and 1 out of control (OOC), George Jones clamed 1 DVII destroyed in flames and Lt. H.A. Wilkinson 1 DVII OOC. 4 Squadron lost 2 Aces, Captain T.C.R. Baker (12) and Lieutenant A.J. Palliser (8) and Lieutenant P.W. Symons all killed in action. Over the two actions, Karl Bolle claimed two Snipes and Ernst Bormann one. "Bo" King ended the war as the highest scoring Snipe Ace with 7 victories. 4 Squadron pilots flying Snipes claimed 37 victories of which 35 were against D.VIIs. These 35 claims were broken down into 20 Destroyed and 15 OOC. All photos courtesy of the Australian War Memorial.

20.01.2022 Another work from Russell, this time of Stan Dallas' 40 Squadron SE5a

17.01.2022 The Committee and their families would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

12.01.2022 Happy 99th Birthday to the Royal Australian Air Force.

10.01.2022 For the researchers in our community the National Archives of the UK are making digital records available on their website free of charge for as long as the Kew site is closed to visitors. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/search/results?_q=free

09.01.2022 Each month we will remember those Australians who served in the air services of the Great War and made the ultimate sacrifice. Lest We Forget. October...Continue reading

06.01.2022 The volunteer team of pilots and ground crew make an early start yesterday at 7:50am at Hood Aerodrome. Thanks to you all for keeping the collection flying!

05.01.2022 It was about 2.15 pm on 17 December 1917, a week before Christmas, on the Western Front near Armentières. The distant shape was easily recognisable as an RE8 ob...servation machine, one from No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (AFC). Like the troops below, the crew of two were taking their turn to man the front line. The flyers’ time on station in the air was determined by the fuel carried by their plane; the routine was to patrol for several hours and carry out assigned tasks, and then go home when another aircraft took over. From the ground below, the movements of the Australian aircraft would have been familiar, directing heavy guns, sited well behind the lines. The British shells could be accurately dropped five kilometres into German territory if given good ranging. The crew of the RE8 provided that. Waiting near the battery for the flash of the guns, the pilot would then steer back to the front line, parallel to the shell’s flight path. As it neared the line the aircraft would execute a neat turn and head back to its starting point, ready for the next salvo. For 35 minutes the patient effort went on. In the cockpit of RE8 A3816 was Lieutenant James Sandy. In addition to flying the aircraft accurately, artillery spotting meant a lot of extra work for the pilot. On his knees was a board with a standard military map of the area. In addition to the usual gridded coordinates, it bore a series of concentric circles at the centre of which was the target. The battery below, the British 151st Siege Battery equipped with 8-inch howitzers, had the same map and was well briefed on the details of the flight. Once the guns on the ground fired, Sandy started his watch and then turned the RE8 so that he had a clear view straight ahead. As the seconds ticked down, he scanned the ground in the target area for the shell bursts. By knowing exactly when the explosions were due, Sandy could identify the bursts from his guns. Once located, the distance and direction from the target would be noted on the map. The concentric circles allowed the distance from target to be easily fixed. Viewing the circles as a clock face allowed the direction to be fixed as well: for example, a shell that hit short and just to the right would be at 5 o’clock. The RE8 carried a simple transmitter and this information could be summarised into short groups of letters and the letters broadcast to the battery using Morse code and radio. Sandy worked the Morse key as well. Behind the pilot sat his observer, Sergeant Henry Hughes. Hughes’s head and shoulders projected into the airstream from the middle of the Scarf ring mounted on top of the fuselage. The ring was a rotating gun mount to which was attached a single Lewis machine-gun. While the pilot was busy the observer kept watch on the skies around he RE8. If German aircraft began to take an interest in the slow observation plane he needed to alert the pilot and prepare for a battle. Although the observer’s gun provided the main defence of the RE8, the pilot controlled a forward-firing Vickers machinegun that sometimes came in useful. At just after 2.50 pm, probably summoned to put an end to the shelling, a formation of six German fighters arrived. They were faster and more nimble than the RE8, and each one carried a pair of forward-firing machineguns. The fighters were from Jagdstaffel 29, a hardworking and experienced unit equipped with Pfalz and Albatros fighters. They had been transferred to this area several weeks earlier to support the German 6 Armee, and were based nearby at Bellincamps. The Australian airmen were now in serious trouble. No. 3 Squadron had learned how to push the stolid and slow RE8 to its limits, and crews had already survived encounters with roving German reconnaissance aircraft or even small groups of fighters. However, a formation of six enemy could work together to block any path of retreat and mount simultaneous attacks from several directions. By any reasonable measure, the fight should have been over quickly. The two Australian airmen began a desperate battle for survival. Their adversaries would have to come close to deliver an accurate burst, and at that distance they were equally vulnerable to return fire. Watched by hundreds if not thousands of observers on the ground, the RE8 endured the aerial melee for minute after excruciating minute. After a few minutes, however, it was the RE8 crew who claimed one of the attackers. An Albatros fighter dropped down, its motor silent, and crash-landed intact right in front of one of the 21st Battalion’s forward dugouts. The surprised Australians scrambled out, grabbed the German pilot and dragged him back under cover. Leutnant Rudolf Clausz had a minor wound in the upper leg; after treatment he would survive to become a prisoner of war. He was relieved of his flying boots and sent back under escort. The Albatros D.Va, hardly damaged but leaking fuel, sat exposed on the open ground, and would later be recovered and transported to Australia after the war. Having had one piece of luck, Sandy and Hughes received another when a second RE8 from their squadron joined the fight. Now the two Australian machines could cover each other and combine their defensive fire. Soon a third RE8 crew from No. 3 Squadron waded in. Moments later the German fighters broke off the attack and flew away. It was now about five minutes after 3 pm the action had lasted more than 15 minutes. The three RE8s split up, but not before the second RE8 flew alongside Sandy and Hughes’s machine. All appeared to be normal. Unnoticed by anyone, Sandy and Hughes’s aircraft flew in steady circles and drifted off to the south-west until lost to view. Back on the ground, No. 3 Squadron had been informed of the remarkable events of the day. Reports were forwarded to AFC Headquarters and recommendations were drafted for the award of a Military Cross to Sandy and Distinguished Conduct Medal to Hughes. However, the two men did not return as scheduled and no word of a crash or forced landing was received. After a few hours they were declared missing. The men and their aircraft had apparently vanished. Later that morning news finally arrived about the missing crew, who had been found dead in their aircraft. A3816 had come down, unseen, in a field 75 kilometres to the south-west. A careful report based on firsthand examination of the crash scene confirmed that the previous day’s air battle had a remarkable and haunting conclusion. In what must have been the last seconds of the fight a bullet fired from behind the RE8 struck Hughes in the chest and then passed on to strike Sandy’s head, killing him. The aircraft, with the flight controls apparently in a neutral position and the throttle high, settled into a stable series of orbits and drifted on the wind until the petrol ran out and the engine stopped. Without power, the RE8 then came down in a steep glide and carried out a respectable robot landing near St Pol. The ghost aircraft had taken two hours to complete its remarkable flight. A3816 delivered its crew to earth without further injury to their bodies. Although found fairly intact, the RE8 was too badly damaged to repair and was reduced to parts. Author: John White, The ghost plane, Wartime 44 (2008) 5863. Australian War Museum (edited)

05.01.2022 Members and friends are cordially invited to attend via Zoom THE ERIC WATSON MEMORIAL ADDRESS Dr. Michael Molkentin will speak on the writing of his biography of Sir Ross Smith.... Meeting Details Saturday 14 November 2020 10am Sydney time https://zoom.us/j/94902767006 Meeting ID: 949 0276 7006 Passcode: 088843 Convert your time zone; https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html Anzac and Aviator: the Remarkable Story of Sir Ross Smith and the 1919 England to Australia Air Race In October 2019 Michael Molkentin’s biography of Ross Smith was published to coincide with the centenary of the 1919 England to Australia air race. Researched in archives in Australia and the United Kingdom and introduced by retired NASA astronaut Dr Andy Thomas, the book represents the first-ever comprehensive biographical study of this significant Australian aviator’s life. Anzac and Aviator recounts Smith's upbringing on a remote grazing station in outback South Australia and follows his exploits throughout the First World War initially in the Australian Light Horse and, later, the Australian Flying Corps. The book then examines the little-known aerial survey that Smith undertook between Egypt and the Dutch East Indies on behalf of the RAF and, finally, his victorious participation in the England to Australia air race in 1919. In this talk, Michael Molkentin will discuss how he researched and wrote Anzac and Aviator and will reflect on what Smith’s life and times can tell us about the early history of aviation in Australia and the British Empire. Michael Molkentin is the author of four books on the early history of aviation. He has a PhD in History from UNSW and is the Coordinator of English at a regional secondary school on the south coast of New South Wales.

05.01.2022 This year ANZAC Day will be like no other ANZAC Day in our history. The COVID 19 crisis has made public services, marches and other commemorative gatherings impossible. This year at 6 A.M. many of us will stand in their driveways, on our balconies or commemorate inside our homes, the sacrifices made by those who have served and are currently serving. The Queensland RSL have recorded a short commemorative service that you can play at home. Lest We Forget. https://rslqld.org/News/Latest-News/Light-up-the-Dawn

03.01.2022 The camouflage on our new Fokker D.VII works very well with the parched summer airfield at Hood Aerodrome

02.01.2022 On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month - we will remember them. Lest we forget.