Hot air Archives - Greg's War

7 August 201831 July 2018

Wednesday 7 August 1918 – Something in the Air

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. 7^th. 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:

Sunday 21 July 1918 – No Windy Shoot

Thursday 4 July 1918 – Hot-Air Bomb Raid

21 July 201831 July 2018

Sunday 21 July 1918 – No Windy Shoot

A windy day, and a ‘hot air’ take off. Greg is relieved not to have to do a shoot in the evening.

Log Book

Date: 21.7.17 
Time: 7.50 
Rounds: - 
Bombs: - 
RE8: 2517 
Observer: Lt. Hodgson 
Time: 50 m 
Height: 3000 
Course/Remarks: Attempted shoot with 237 SB. Unsucc.

Diary

Sunday July 21^st.  Very windy all day.

At 8pm, hot-aired up into the atmosphere to do a shoot.  To my great relief the battery did not take any notice of my signals when I called them up, so tootled back home again.

Thursday 4 July 1918 – Hot-Air Bomb Raid

Today was, unusually, the occasion of a whole-squadron mission. There was a “hot-air” bomb raid from which all returned but, alas, the intended target got away.

Log Book

Date: 4.7.18 
Hour: - 
Machine type: RE8 
No.: E27 
Passenger: Lt Pring 
Time: 1 hr 
Height: 7000 
Course/Remarks: Bomb raid.  Bombs dropped on road near Estaires.

Diary

Thursday July 4^th. 1918 Hot-air bomb raid on Fritz’s back area.
Someone reported lorries – consequently squadron goes over to bomb them.
None seen.  Archie jolly hot.  Dropped bombs near Estaires & fired off all the rounds into Fritz’s lines.  Quite a good show, everyone returned.

Hot-Air Bomb Raid

In what sense is Greg using the phrase ‘hot-air’? Full of sound and fury and signifying nothing, as the Bard had it, because the intended target wasn’t found?

Possibly. But I get the impression that Greg may have meant that the air was ‘hot’ because of all the aircraft, engines and bombs. In other words, he may have been conveying a sense of excitement rather than futility. In support of that theory, there is a later diary entry (for 21 July 1918), when he said that it was very windy all day and that he ‘hot aired’ it up into the atmosphere to do a shoot. Against it, I have found no mention of that sense of the phrase in the reference works and websites that I have consulted. Any useful further information will be rewarded with an honourable mention.

Header image: 42 Squadron Record Book extract for 4 July 1918