Meanwhile, the other business of the Squadron continued. Capt. Archer, who was in combat action only two days ago (here), was the pilot, who flew to the (unsuccessful) defence of a balloon – probably a kite balloon – near Steenbecque:
Time: 4.50 p.m.
Locality: STEENBECQUE
Pilot: Capt. R. A. Archer, M.C.
Observer: Lieut. F. B. Sagar
Saw a hostile Scout flying towards Balloon. Decided to attack if I got a chance. E.A. was steering a roundabout course which enabled us to reach Balloon almost as soon as E.A. Dived on E.A. firing Vickers at him until a No 3 stoppage occurred. Turned to give Observer a shot and he put in about 50 rounds. In the meantime the balloon was lit and the E.A. turned home. Closest range Vickers about 150 yards. Lewis about 200 yards. E.A. did not appear to try to fire on us.
No 3 Stoppage
According to the Great War Forum’s user Andrew Upton in a post of 20 November 2016, the most common reason for a No 3 (3rd position) stoppage on the Vickers machine gun is a feed fault, but there are other possibilities, including
Insufficient headspace,
Friction in the lock,
Bent or damaged long spacers (every three rounds),
Thick-rimmed cartridge,
Stuck or “frozen” gib, overly stiff gib spring, or roughness or burrs on extractor face, and
Not enough tension on the recoil spring.
Steenbecque
Steenbecque is just north of the Nieppe Forest, 4½ miles (7 km) northwest of Aire-sur-la-Lys:
After his long journey and spending the night in a railway truck in Aire-sur-la-Lys, Greg finally made it in the morning to his squadron – No. 42 Squadron RAF, Major H. J. F. Hunter, M.C., commanding – at Rely Aerodrome. He had a first, short flight with the squadron that afternoon.
Diary
Monday June 3rd 1918. Phoned up to 42 Squadron for tender.
Managed to find an Hotel with someone in, where we had breakfast.
Arrived Squadron (at Rely, nr Estrée Blanche, west of Merville) about 9.30am. Posted to B flight. (Merville – midway between Ypres & Arras.)
[Side note] Squadron about midway between Ypres & Arras. Front includes Eastern edge of Forest of Nieppe & down to where the line cuts the La Bassée canal north of Béthune.
So began Greg’s time at Rely, where he was to spend several months. Rely is a small village set amongst farmland on the gently rising ground to the west and south of the Lys. It is about 31 miles (50 km) WSW of Lille. If the name seems familiar to British travellers to France today, it is probably because the Aire de Rely is the first eastbound service area on the A26 autoroute (L’Autoroute des Anglais) from Calais.
The First World War aerodrome at Rely was at 50°34’44” N 2°21’4″E (hat-tip to Anciens Aerodromes) , which places it on the Rue de Liettres, NW of the village centre just on the 100 m contour line. The site looks like this in Google Street View today:
RE8 E102
As it happens, today was the day that the Squadron’s daily orders recorded that the RE8 aircraft with the serial number E102, which was to be allocated to Greg the following day, was officially transferred to the strength of the squadron:
The sector of the front line on which 42 Sqn was working ran, as Greg notes, from the east of the Nieppe Forest (just west of Merville) to the La Bassée canal near Béthune:
Most of the action that Greg saw would be in the north of this sector, near Merville.
Sandbag Flight
As Greg had no observer or passenger with him on his first short flight, he had to carry sandbags to ensure that the aeroplane was properly balanced, as explained here, under the heading “Crew”: