An unsuccessful – and probably frustrating – shoot with a new battery (346 Siege Battery, RGA). It was unsuccessful because Greg couldn’t see the bursts of the shells, and he didn’t know why he couldn’t. Greg’s observer today was Lt Bett, but in another sortie Lt Mulholland has a lucky escape.
Log Book
Date: 15.9.18
Time Out: 14.10
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 157 hrs 55 mins
RE8: 2517
Observer: Lt Bett
War Flying Time: 1 hrs 25 mins
Height: 4000
Course/Remarks: Shoot with 346 SB, 6” How. Unsucc.
RE8 2517
Greg’s usual ‘bus’, RE8 E27, was presumably with the mechanics. He had described the engine as ‘rotten’ yesterday. Greg flew 2517 on one earlier occasion (21 July 1918), and would fly it more often as the war progressed.
Squadron Record Book
Type and Number: R.E.8.2517
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Bett
Duty: Art Obs on H.B. Destructive.
Hour of Start: 16.20
Hour of Return: 17.45
Remarks: U. [unsuccessful] with 346 S.B. (4-6” Hows) on H.B. [Hostile battery] at N.17.c.15.52. (P).
Called 16.40. K. 16.42. L. 16.45. G. 16.47.
10 ranging rounds:- 1 C. 9 W. Salvos unobserved.
Battery firing, but unable to see any bursts. Vis. good and unable to account for inability to see bursts.
C.I. sent 17.15.
16.50. fire in wood in J.18.d and 24.b. (Nth of LILLE).
17.00. sent N.F. [Now firing] N.12.a.5.0. (A). Result unobserved.
17.05. sent K.K. on flash in I.2.a.
A.A. active. E.A. and E.K.B. nil.
Vis. good. Height 4000’. Obs. by P. & O.
The locations in the above Squadron Record Book are shown on this map extract:
The hostile battery that was 213 SB’s target was near Fromelles (bottom left of map) not far from Aubers. This is where Greg saw a lighthouse in a pre-dawn patrol on 14 July 1918.
Greg’s observer three days ago, on 12 September 1918, was 2/Lt Arthur Mulholland. Today, Lt Mulholland was up with pilot 2/Lt R.M. Marshall on a counter-battery patrol in RE8 2649 (which Greg had earlier flown on 13 July, 7 August and 8 August 1918). According to a casualty report in file AIR 1/859 at The National Archives:
[C2649 RE8] Shot down by EA at Sh36G7 on artly patrol. 2Lt RM Marshall slightly wounded/2Lt A Mulholland Ok
‘EA’ is enemy aircraft. ‘Sh36G7’ is 1:40,000 map sheet 36, square G7, which is just north of Estaires:
Fortunately, where they were shot down was more or less over the British front line at the time. They made it back to safety. Greg was next to fly with Lt Mulholland at the end of October.
As the ‘Hundred Days’ final Allied offensive begins, Greg had a shoot of which he was clearly proud. He had had a good run with 213 Siege Battery over the last few weeks with shoots on 18 July, 19 July, 20 July and 22 July 1918, and today he capped it by ranging the battery’s howitzers in just 20 minutes. Later, he prepared (or was presented with) a small mount-board with ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs to show the effect on the ground.
Log Book
Date: 8.8.18
Time: 19.00
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: -
Time on RE8s: 111 hrs 05 mins
RE8: 2649
Observer: Lt Hodgson
Time: 45 mins
Height: 3500
Course/Remarks: Shoot with 213 SB on L32. Successful.
Diary
Thursday Aug 8th. Did a shoot with 213 S Battery on a dump in L32. Left ground 7pm & landed at 7.45. Battery ranged in 20 mins.
Squadron Record Book
Type and Number: R.E.8.2649
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Hodgson
Duty: Art Obs on H.B. Destructive.
Hour of Start: 19.00
Hour of Return: 19.45
Remarks: S. with 213 S.B. (8” How) on H.B. at L.32.a.25.95. (P)
Called 19.03. L. 10.05. G. 19.07
17 ranging rounds:- M.A.3. M.A.3. 1. O.K. 2 Z. 8 A. 3 B. 3 W.
V. 19.28. G. to V. 21 minutes
Engine unsatisfactory during ranging, unable to observe B.F.
C.I. eng sent 19.34.
19.10. 1 E.K.B. South and 1 East of ESTAIRES.
19.13. 1 flare (or fire) at Q.11.c.8.7.
19.30. 2 E.K.B. East of ESTAIRES.
19.32. large fire, hedge, at Q.18.a.5.5.
Vis. good. Height 3500’. Obs. by P. & O.
Shoot with 213 Siege Battery
Greg’s shoot with 213 Siege Battery was recorded on a small mount-board shown here:
No.42 Squadron R.A.F.
H.B. at L.26.c.22.01
L.32.a.25.95
Date engaged 8th August 1918
By 213 Siege Battery R.G.A.
Calibre 8" H.
Rounds 135.
Observations by Lt.Gregory
Results 1 O.K. 2 Z.s; 8 A.s;
3 B.s.
Direction of Fire [bearing ~93º; reciprocal ~273º]
The Target
The location of the target, in squares L.26 and L.32 is just to the east of Merville, near a house or settlement called Crinquette Lotte on what was then the north bank of the River Lys. The names Crinquette and Lotte belong to two local families, and genealogical records show that one Marc Jean Baptiste LOTTE married Marie Angélique Victoire CRINQUETTE, both of Merville, on 24 February 1784.
Although the Lys had been canalised before the Great War, since 1918 it has been diverted, and the location of the target is now south of the river, within the phytochemical plant of Roquette Frères .
There is some discrepancy about the nature of the target. Greg’s diary refers to “a dump in L32”. Yet the legend to the mounted photos and the Squadron Record Book give the rather more precise location (partly within square L32) of an “H.B.” or hostile battery. Both these things could be true, of course, as we would expect a battery to have an associated ammunition dump.
In any event, a comparison of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos gives a good indication of the havoc inflicted on and around the target by the one hundred and thirty five 200 lb (91 kg) shells fired.
Location of 213 Siege Battery
The mounted photos indicate the direction of fire of 231 SB’s 8″ howitzers. Fortunately, this information enables us to have a stab at working out 213 SB’s location, as follows.
The direction of fire is on a bearing of (roughly) 93º. So the reciprocal bearing, from target to battery, would be 273º. Also, we can hazard that the 8″ howitzers used by the battery were probably Mark VII BL-Howitzers, which were introduced in July 1916. They had a range of 12,300 yards (11,250 m). We can put those bits of information together, and assume that the howitzers would be working comfortably within their maximum range – say 75% for the sake of argument. Doing that, we find that 9,000 yards along a reciprocal bearing of 273º takes us to near the village of Haverskerque, in the lee of the Nieppe Forest, just north of St Venant:
This reasoning is the basis of the remark in this earlier post that 213 Siege Battery was located near Haverskerque:
If the battery was operating closer to the maximum range of its artillery than the assumed 9,000 yards, that would place it north and west of Haverskerque, but still generally near the village.
Battery Ranging Time and Results
Greg ranges the howitzers in 20 minutes, which was pretty brisk and obviously pleased him. (The Squadron Record Book says 21 minutes, to be precise, but we can allow him the minute!) This would be the “G to V time” in the parlance of artillery ranging. The following article explains this, as well as the results (1 O.K. 2 Z.s; 8 A.s; 3 B.s.), which indicated a thoroughly successful shoot:
It was business as usual for Greg on this day. But 8 August 1918 is more famous for being the beginning of what was to be the Allies’ final offensive. This became known as the Hundred Days Offensive. (It was actually 95 days, but where’s the marketing impact in that?)
Michael Seymour reflects here on the wider significance of the day:
In the Lys sector, the front line on the morning of 8 August 1918 had moved a little eastwards from the line held on 1 May 1918 at the end of Operation Georgette. In the furthest west position, the British line had crossed the Lys at St Floris. The position recorded for the morning of 8 August on the map accompanying General Haig’s despatches of the final British offensive had halved the distance to Merville. By now, the line crossed the Lys at Le Sart:
Updated 20 August 2018 16:35
Updated with Squadron Record Book info 28 September 2018 15:55
Although Greg’s early Counter Battery Patrol was curtailed by a dud engine, and he only flew for 1¼ hrs, something was clearly afoot. In a ‘hot air gust’ in the squadron, three machines were on the line all day.
Log Book
Date: 7.8.18
Time: 6.00
Rounds Lewis: -
Rounds Vickers: -
Bombs: 4
Time on RE8s: 110 hrs 20 mins
RE8: 2649
Observer: Lt Hodgson
Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Height: 2500
Course/Remarks: C.B.P. Three machines on line. Eng dud.
Diary
Wednesday Aug. 7th. Rec’d Ma’s letter. Great hot air gust in Squadron. Three machines on line all day. CBP at 5.30am. Dud engine, landed on drome after 1¼ hrs.
Hot Air Gust
Here’s this term again. He used it because there was lots of aircraft activity, with three machines being kept on the line at any one time. So the squadron must truly have been busy. Possibly it was an intensive reconnaissance effort in anticipation of the Allies’ final offensive.
There’s more on the term in these two earlier posts:
A couple of short Counter Battery/Artillery Patrols today, but Greg’s verdict was “nothing much doing”. Apart from a close encounter with a passing shell, that is.
Saturday July 13th 1918. CBP 8-11
8.30-9.10 & 9.55-11.0
Nothing much doing. Got one fearful bump, machine did a half roll, out of control for a few seconds,
Our artillery very active so pressure bump due to a passing shell. Height 1800 ft.
As the following extract from the Squadron Record Book shows, at 1800 ft Greg was flying just below the cloud base at 2000 ft. This is at the low end of the heights flown for counter battery work (more typically 3000 ft or above), and well below the 5000 or 6000 ft flown when directing artillery fire in a shoot. At 1800 ft, it could easily have been a passing howitzer shell from a British battery that passed close by the aircraft – possibly one being fired at sub-square K.36.c, south of Merville – see below.
Squadron Record Book
Type and Number: R.E.8.27
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Pring
Duty: Artillery Patrol
Hour of Start: 8.30am
Hour of Return: 9.40am
Remarks:
8.40am C.W.S. sent X. 8.45am sent U.L. F.R. U.D. C.20. [Unfit for counter battery work or photography; fit for registration of artillery; clouds at 2000 ft]8.45am fire at FARM at K.16.b.7.4 [Rennet Farm, north of Merville] burnt for over an hour.
Vis. fair. Obs. By P. & O.
Type and Number: R.E.8.2649
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Hodgson
Duty: Artillery Patrol
Hour of Start: 9.55am
Hour of Return: 11.0am
Remarks:
10.25am C.W.S. sent K.35 [south of Merville]. Went over to reconnoitre this square. Flash seen in K.36.c. [also south of Merville] but as this area was being heavily shelled no N.F. [now firing] sent.
10.15am smoke seen on railway near BAC ST MAUR, suspected train. Owing to vis, unable to find out which way it was proceeding.
Vis. fair. Obs. By P. & O.