(iii) The battle of Bapaume to November 11, 1918.
During the last-mentioned period No. 8 Squadron was reinforced by No. 73 Squadron, which, being equipped with Sopwith-Camel machines, was able to deal effectively with the enemy’s anti-tank guns.
The first essential of successful co-operation being comradeship, a firm alliance was at once established between the flights of No. 8 Squadron and the tank units with which this squadron was working. This was carried out by attaching tank officers to the flights, these officers frequently flying, whilst pilots and observers were given rides in the tanks.
The battle of Hamel, on July 4, was the first occasion upon which aeroplanes were definitely detailed to work with tanks, C Flight of No. 8 Squadron being attached to the 5th Tank Brigade for this operation. The morning was a peculiarly dark one, with clouds at 1,000 ft.; nevertheless one aeroplane managed to get off at 2.50 a.m. and a second at 3 a.m. These two machines flew low over the enemy’s lines with the object of drowning the noise of the approaching tanks. Later on another machine, flying down into the smoke of the artillery barrage, silenced some guns which were giving considerable trouble. Altogether the assistance that No. 8 Squadron rendered the Tank Corps, on this the first occasion upon which these two mechanical arms co-operated, boded well of the future.
After the battle of Hamel, tests and training were continued, “B” Flight concentrating on wireless telegraphy and telephony with the 1st Tank Brigade, and “A” Flight on visual signalling with the 3rd Tank Brigade.
The wireless telephony tests, though of exceptional interest, did not prove very successful. Under very favourable conditions speech could be heard in a moving tank from an aeroplane flying at an altitude of 500 ft. and not more than a quarter of a mile away. It was consequently decided that, for immediate use, wireless telephony was not a practical means of communication.
Towards the end of July a series of most successful tests were carried out in wireless telegraphy, tanks clearly receiving messages from aeroplanes at 2,500 ft. altitude and 9,000 yards away. Successful as these experiments proved, they were destined to be still-born, for time was insufficient to develop them or to apply them during active operations.
The disc signalling carried out by “A” Flight was instituted as a means of directing Whippet tanks on to their objectives. By degrees a complete code of signals was evolved so that the aeroplane was able to communicate both the nature and direction of the target. In conjunction with disc signalling, various kinds of smoke bombs and Very lights were experimented with, and by means of these several very successful manœuvres were carried out at the Tank Gunnery School at Merlimont.
In spite of the fact that the period of preparation was too short to enable the results of tests to be applied in battle, pilots and observers had got to know a great many of the tank officers with whom they were going to co-operate, and in addition had learnt much concerning the limitations of tanks, and the kind of information required by their staffs and crews during action.
The programme of work for No. 8 Squadron on the opening day of the battle of Amiens was as follows: