Good morning Pals!

I am the first to admit that my knowledge of 'the war in the air' is limited to a few Biggles stories and the BBC series 'Wings' which was shown in the late 1970s. However, that has now changed! I was at the Tank Museum at Bovington last weekend (for those who haven't been, go; and for those who haven't been since April 2009, go again now that it has been revamped because it is now more awesomer than what it was before!) and whilst waiting in the souvenir shop for my 12-year old lad to choose between a model Tiger or Chieftain (you know how it is) I spotted a copy of 'Sagittarius Rising' by Cecil Lewis and on a mad impulse I threw caution to the winds and bought it!

It has now sparked an interest overarching in the RFC but whilst reading it I came across a passage relating how one day at the beginning of the Somme battle a BE2c landed on the aerodrome remaining on the far side of the field with the engine ticking over. A short while later a man dressed in a ragged mac and cap appeared, walked over to the plane and got into the passenger cockpit. The plane promptly took off and headed in the direction of the lines. It would appear that he was dropped off behind the German lines to carry out his mission.

How was this organised? Was there a specific RFC squadron dedicated to this task (as the RAF had in WW2) or was it done on an ad hoc basis? At what level up the chain of command did these taskings originate? How were pick ups for the return journeys organised?

It has just tweeked my curiosity!

Many thanks in advance.

Kind regards

Woolly

Agents were dropped by parachute and also landed. Parachutes were used by the RFC for dropping agents behind the lines in Italy (black chutes being used at night) and at least one HP bomber was fitted with a trap door on which the agent sat until the pilot, hangman like, pulled a lever (one wonders if the agents carried a spare pair of trousers). I believe that in Italy at least one unit did specialise in such activities. I've seen many accounts of agents being landed or dropped behind the lines in Belgium, France and Italy but no accounts of any pick ups. I think the agents had to make their their own way back (possibly via a neutral country). I'll try and post more this evening.

Interesting about the Handley Page 'spy bomber' - do you have any more information on this, particularly sources?

Cheers

You might want to take a look at "The Secrets of the Rue St. Roche", by Janet Morgan, Penguin 2004. There is a section on infiltration of agents, with some of information on flight units involved, the history and development of this capability, and several reports of a gas-filled balloon being used for this purpose. Pages 177 ff are the most interesting in this regard.

The aeronautical part of the intelligence service arose from the Secret Service Bureau. This section responsible for infiltration of agents and carrier pigeons seems to have been called section I(. Doc

There is an authorative history of the parachute that gives names etc - more later

Wooly, Number 6 squadron tried dropping an agent once (according to the official squadron records) with the intention that he made his owwn way back. Things didn't go quite according to plan and the mission was not repeated - at least for Number 6 which was a Corps squadron. According to the records, on 13th September 1915 Captain T W Mulcahy-Morgan flew his BE2c with an agent in the observer's cockpit with the intention of landing him behind the lines near Courtrai. He tried to land in a well-protected field to avoid detection but found it was too small and one of the wings was torn off when he hit a tree. Both men were injured in the crash but managed to dispose of their papers before they were captured. An expensive exercise.

Regards
Steve

Guardian Angel parachutes with black canopies and rigging lines were used to drop some 30 agents behind the lines on the WF. The technique was developed at Orfordness. As far as I can tell HP 0/100s were used for at least some of these missions. Later in Italy the twin engined Italian bomber the SP -4 was used. The first such Italian spy dropping mission was flown by Billy Barker with Captain Wedgewood Benn as the navigator. The first Italian agent so dropped was Alessandro Tandura. The mission was a success and intelligence was sent back for three months. Tandura was awarded the Gold Medal for Valour. Wedgewood Benn describes the Italian spy dropping missions in "In the Sideshows"

Some more info

Trenchard decided in 1917 that it was too expensive in terms of men and machines to continue to land agents behind the lines and ordered the practice to be discontinued - hence the experiments in parachuting at Orfordness. Parachute agents were recruited by a Captain W.A. Hazeldine. As said above up to 30 agents were dropped in this manner over the WF however there were problems. Trenchard imposed a number of limitations including one that agents were not to be carried more than 15 miles behind the front and only during full moons. Once the Germans had cottoned on to what was going on this made it easier for them to anticipate and intercept incoming agents. A means of silent insertion was sought and the idea of using free balloons was thought up by a Major Wallinger and developed with him by a Commander Pollock. It would appear that a number of agents were successfully inserted by this method.

Initially air dropped agents carried some carrier pigeons. Further pigeons would be airdropped at prearranged times and places. It would seem that quite a few of these went astray (what are we eating tonight Rene? Roast pigeon my love!). Captain Round developed a lightweight wireless transmitter for use by agents but there was a degree of ineptness in setting up the receiver and the Germans also captured an agent and wireless set and introduced wireless location measures. Pigeons never completely went out of use.

It would seem that the Germans also air dropped agents into Russia and the French sabotage teams into the Ardennes in 1918. WS Churchill produced a scheme for dropping saboteurs into occupied France and even Germany. This may have been the germ of the SOE of WW2

Main source [Official] History of Intelligence [B], British Expeditionary Force in France From January 1917 To April 1919 - Lt Col R.J. Drake General Staff May 1919

I've seen a further reference to the French dropping of saboteurs. It would appear that they were two man teams, the first parachuting in April 1918 and their targets were "communications". I'd be interested to know if they were carried in the same aircraft (or if two planes were required per mission) and how successful they were.

According to some stuff published by the Caterpillar Club No 60 squadron although primarily a fighter unit was the one most usually used for dropping agents by parachute, having a number of 2 seaters specially modified for this purpose. Dropping the agent through a gallows style trap door appears to have been the preferred method on all types of aircraft

Pals,

Many thanks for all the fascinating info - it has whetted my appetite!

I am sorry for the late reply but I have been away.

Kind regards

Woolly

The book "Armour against Fate Britsh Military Intelligence in the first World War" does discuss agent dropping by parachute and the methods used ect. A very usefull book.