A successful shoot with 237 Siege Battery (at last), was almost compromised by a German aircraft. And later there was a German bombing raid, possibly by Gotha bombers.
Log Book
Date: 31.7.17 Time: 10.35 Rounds Lewis: 100 Rounds Vickers: - Bombs: - RE8: E27 Observer: Lt. Hodgson Time: 2 hrs 50 m Height: 4500 Course/Remarks: CBP & shoot with 237 SB. Successful.
Diary
Wednesday July 31st. CBP at 10.30. Took up a shoot with 237 SB. Called them up at 11, but there was a Hun overhead & did not put out groundstrips. Shoot successful, battery firing wide during battery fire, so re-ranged them & then came home. Dozens of Huns knocking about. Hun bombing raid at night. Three or four big Huns overhead. No bombs dropped anywhere near.
Shoot with 237 Siege Battery
During his counter battery patrol, Greg took up a shoot with 237 Siege Battery. He must have been relieved to have a successful shoot with this battery, as previous attempts with them on 21 July and 28 July 1918 had failed.
A German aircraft overhead nearly compromised the shoot, since the battery could not communicate with the aircraft by putting out the usual ground strips (see the article on Shoots for an explanation).
Hun Bombing Raid at Night
It was an active day for enemy aircraft. Rely Aerodrome seems not to have been the target, but the ‘big Huns’ – possibly Gotha G.IV or G.V bombers such as illustrated below – were plainly heard. This was the kind of aircraft that used to bomb London.
