An aviator’s life on the Western Front in 1918 was bedevilled by two factors – in addition to the small matter of the enemy, that is. They were mechanical unreliability (of armaments, engines and other equipment) and the weather. Today, Greg’s engine was better than it was yesterday, but it was another day for the weather to assert itself, as a Counter Battery Patrol evolved into a Shoot. Even fair weather can cause problems, in the form of shadows over the target, and that was before the rainstorm approached.
Log Book
Date: 10.7.18 Hour: 3.40 Machine type: RE8 No.: E27 Passenger: Lt Pring Time: 1 hr 45 Height: 5000 Course/Remarks: CBP & shoot with 14 SB. Successful. Rainstorm. Eng better.
Diary
Wednesday July 10th. CBP at 5.30pm (1hr 45 m). 5000 ft. Took up a shoot with 14 Siege Battery (6” Hows). Shoot successful. Large number of W’s owing to clouds throwing shadows over target. Archie pretty hot, unable to go over target. Engine running better. Two bombs dropped. Target at L.20.a
So weather-related problems are not confined to bad weather as such: shadows from clouds over the target meant that a large number of the battery’s rounds were unobserved – hence the ‘W’, for washout. And then came a rainstorm…
Squadron Record Book
Type and Number: R.E.8.27 Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Pring Duty: Art Obs 14 S.B. (6” How) on L.C.21. [northeast of Merville; see below] Hour of Start: 5.40pm Hour of Return: 7.25pm Remarks: SUCCESSFUL. Called up 5.48pm. K. 5.50. L. 5.55. G. 5.58. V. 6.45. Time G. to V. 45 mins. OBSERVED:- M.C.3. M.C.5. 1 O.K. 1 Y. 8 A. 11 B. 4 C. 1 D. 11 W. 37 ranging rounds. M.O.K. sent during B.F. One direct hit on ranging pit which was badly damaged. No 1 Pit believed damaged but owing to A.A. could not properly inspect target. Shoot by P. Height 5000’. MISC INF. 5.56pm 2-25lb bombs dropped at K.28.c.5.3. Both bursts observed. 7.5pm sent C.I. [going home] owing to approaching storm. A.A. active. Vis. good but shadowy. Obs. By P. & O.
Successful Shoot, Despite Shadows over Target
This was Greg’s second shoot with 14 Siege Battery. This link is to the post that recounts the first, which was just over a week ago on 2 July:
The ‘G to V’ time – the time taken to range the howitzers – was 45 minutes, down from 1 hr 20 mins last time, which will have pleased Greg, the Squadron Commander and the Battery Commander. Eleven ‘washouts’ – unobserved shells – wasn’t so good, but explained by the shadows from the clouds.
Target LC 21 was in the 500 yard square L.20.a, northeast of Merville, but Greg dropped his two bombs on the other side of town. He dropped them on the Rue d’Aire going west out towards Haverskerque. The time was 5.56pm, just as he was about to begin ranging the guns (‘G’ – the ‘fire’ signal – was at 5:58pm). The battery itself was probably located a mile or two further west, near Haverskerque.
One hundred years after Greg bombed the Rue d’Aire, I drove along it. I can report that the road has been repaired.
For more details on how a shoot operated, see this page:
To see how zone numbers such as LC 21 were allocated to targets, see “Assigning a Zone Number to the Target” on this page: