1358 Archives - Greg's War

30 April 201830 April 2018

Tuesday 30 April 1918 – Zone Calls Again

As Greg enters his last week at Yatesbury, the first flight of the day saw some consolidation work on zone calls, and the second flight didn’t end well:

Date: 30.4.18 
Hour: 8.15 
Machine type and No.: BE2E 8660 
Passenger: – 
Time: 35 m 
Height: 600 
Course: Zone calls 
Remarks: –

Date: 30.4.18 
Hour: 11.30 
Machine type and No.: BE2E 1358 
Passenger: – 
Time: 40 m 
Height: 2000 
Course: Aerodrome 
Remarks: Practice Crashed on landing

This was the second day running of zone call work, as explained in yesterday’s post:

https://gregswar.com/2018/04/29/monday-29-april-1918-zone-calls/

The question arises whether the crash on landing at the end of the second flight was deliberate, so as to practice what happens in the event of a crash. The absence of a full stop or other punctuation mark after ‘Practice’ leans in the direction of that interpretation. Leaning the opposite way, though, are (a) the capital C of ‘Crashed’, and the fact that the past participle (‘Crashed’) rather than the noun (‘Crash’) was used. For my money, the crash wasn’t deliberate – though no doubt useful practice!

No flying the following day. Greg’s next log book entry is for Thursday 2 May 1918.

28 April 201816 June 2018

Sunday 28 April 1918 – Landings and Formation Flying

Working today in BE2es and DH.6s, Greg practises landings (of course) and formation flying:

Log book entry

Date: 28.4.18 
Hour: 9.45 
Machine type and No.: DH 5155 
Passenger: – 
Time: 30 m 
Height: 1000 
Course: [Aerodrome] 
Remarks: Practice landings 4.

Date: 28.4.18 
Hour: 10.35 
Machine type and No.: BE 1358 
Passenger: – 
Time: 30 m 
Height: 2000 
Course: [Aerodrome] 
Remarks: Practice. 1 landing.

Date: 28.4.18 
Hour: 2.25 
Machine type and No.: BE 8660 
Passenger: – 
Time: 45 m 
Height: 2500 
Course: [Aerodrome] 
Remarks: Practice. 1 landing.

Date: 28.4.18 
Hour: 4.45 
Machine type and No.: DH 5155 
Passenger: – 
Time: 1 hr 55 m 
Height: 2000 
Course: – 
Remarks: Formation flying

21 April 201816 June 2018

Sunday 21 April 1918 – Landings, Landings

A day concentrating on landings in BE2e 1358:

Log book entry

Date: 21.4.18 
Hour: 3.10 
Instructor: – 
Machine type and No.: BE2E 1358 
Passenger: – 
Time: 25 mins 
Height: 1000 
Course: [Aerodrome] 
Remarks: Landings (four) 4.

Date: 21.4.18 
Hour: 6.15 
Instructor: –
 Machine type and No.: BE2E 1358 
Passenger: – 
Time: 25 mins 
Height: 1000 
Course: [Aerodrome] 
Remarks: Landings (4).

8 April 201817 March 2021

Monday 8 April 1918 – RAF Graduation and First Solo in RE8

Greg in front of RE8, probably at Yatesbury

Despite the somewhat nondescript weather, another significant day dawned for Greg on Monday 8 April 1918:

four flights in three different aircraft types (BE2e, DH.6 and RE8);
first use of bombs;
first solo in RE8; and
Greg was awarded his RAF Graduation Certificate – his ‘wings’.

Log book entry

Date: 8.4.18 
Hour: 5.55 
Instructor: Lt Thomas 
Machine type and No.: RE4462 
Passenger: Self 
Time: 45 min 
Height: 1000 
Course: [Aerodrome] 
Remarks: Dual. Six landings.

Date: 8.4.18 
Hour: 3.35 
Instructor: – 
Machine type and No.: BE 1358 
Passenger: – 
Time: 55 min 
Height: 3000 
Course: Bombs. Successful.

Date: 8.4.18 
Hour: 3.00 
Instructor: – 
Machine type and No.: DH6 7226 
Passenger: – 
Time: 15 min 
Height: 1500 
Course: [Aerodrome] 
Remarks: Turns

Date: 8.4.18 
Hour: 6.45 
Instructor: – 
Machine type and No.: RE6632 
Passenger: – 
Time: 35 min 
Height: 2000 
Course: [Aerodrome] 
Remarks: First solo. Two landings

Bombs

Greg dropped his first bombs (probably 20lb Coopers) during the flight at 3:35 pm from BE2e 1358, a photograph of which featured in an earlier post on 14 March and is reproduced again here:

RE8 Solo

Greg’s first solo in an RE8 was significant enough for him to note in his log book. Possibly it was on this occasion that the following somewhat blurry photograph of him standing in front of an RE8 was taken:

Graduation

Greg’s RAF graduation certificate – a fairly crudely adapted RFC graduation certificate – was issued this day by the Central Flying School in Upavon (some 11 miles/18 km to the SSE of Yatesbury):

And Finally, the Weather…

In Wiltshire the weather was overcast in the morning and mostly cloudy in the afternoon. Back home in Holyhead, by contrast, Greg’s parents would have enjoyed not only a little over four hours of sunshine, but also, according to the Met Office records, a solar halo:

SOLAR HALO observed at Holyhead — Met Office weather record

In earlier times, one can imagine that this would have been seen as an omen.