Great War>The War in the Air

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No. 18 Squadron Royal Flying Corps    No. 18 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps was formed at Northolt on 11th of May 1915 and proceeded to France on the 19th of November 1915. It was redesignated No. 18 Squadron, Royal Air Force in April 1918. 11th May 1915 18 Squadron formed  No. 18 Squadron. RFC, was formed at Northolt, Middlesex, on 11th May 1915, from No. 4 Reserve Squadron. From experience at the front it had been recognised that reconnaissance aircraft had to be able to defend themselves from attack by enemy aircraft and 18 Squadron was therefore equipped with the Vickers FB5 Gunbus for fighter-reconnaissance duties. On 19th November 1915 the squadron went to France to the aerodrome at Treizennes. 26th Nov 1915 Meteorology   28th Dec 1915 Aircraft Lost 19th Feb 1916 Aircraft Lost 21st Feb 1916 Aircraft damaged 27th Feb 1916 Aircraft damaged 27th Feb 1916 Aircraft damaged 28th Feb 1916 Aircraft damaged 2nd Mar 1916 Aircraft damaged 6th Mar 1916 Aircraft damaged 6th Mar 1916 Aircraft damaged 1st April 1916 On the Move 2nd Apr 1916 Engine Faileur 26th Apr 1916 Aircraft Lost 6th May 1916 Aircraft damaged 6th May 1916 Aircraft damaged 16th May 1916 Aircraft damaged 21st May 1916 Aircraft damaged 21st May 1916 Aircraft damaged 3rd Jun 1916 Aircraft damaged 11st Jun 1916 Aircraft damaged 1st July 1916 In Action 7th Jul 1916 Aircraft damaged 11st Jul 1916 Aircraft damaged 16th Jul 1916 Aircraft Lost 19th Jul 1916 Aircraft damaged 2nd Aug 1916 Aircraft damaged 5th Aug 1916 Aircraft damaged 5th Aug 1916 Observer Wounded 8th Aug 1916 Aircraft damaged 8th Aug 1916 Aircraft damaged 8th Aug 1916 Aircraft damaged 8th Aug 1916 Aircraft damaged 1st Sep 1916 Aircraft damaged 15th Sep 1916 Aircraft damaged 16th Sep 1916 Aircraft damaged 16th Sep 1916 Aircraft damaged 16th Sep 1916 Aircraft damaged 16th Sep 1916 Aircraft damaged 22nd Sep 1916 Aircraft damaged 22nd Sep 1916 Aircraft Lost 22nd Sep 1916 Aircraft damaged   23rd Sep 1916 Aircraft Lost 30th Sep 1916 Aircraft damaged 1st Oct 1916 Aircraft damaged 10th Oct 1916 Aircraft damaged 15th Oct 1916 Aircraft Lost 16th Oct 1916 Aircraft Lost 16th Oct 1916 Aircraft damaged 18th Oct 1916 Aircraft Missing 22nd Oct 1916 Aircraft damaged 22nd Oct 1916 Aircraft damaged 22nd Oct 1916 Aircraft damaged 22nd Oct 1916 Aircraft damaged 26th Oct 1916 Aircraft Lost Nov 1916 Dual Role 3rd Nov 1916 Aircraft Lost 5th Nov 1916 Aircraft damaged 9th Nov 1916 Aircraft damaged 12th Nov 1916 Aircraft damaged 17th Nov 1916 Aircraft damaged 20th Nov 1916 Aircraft Lost 21st Nov 1916 Aircraft damaged 27th Nov 1916 Aircraft damaged   16th Dec 1916 Aircraft damaged 20th Dec 1916 Aircraft Lost 20th Dec 1916 Aircraft Lost 20th Dec 1916 Aircraft Lost 26th Dec 1916 Aircraft damaged 26th Dec 1916 Aircraft damaged 23rd of April 1917 Dogfight June 1917 Bombing Raids 12th April 1918  Spring Offensive 12th Apr 1918 Victories 11th Nov 1918 Armistice If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about No. 18 Squadron Royal Flying Corps? There are:75 items tagged No. 18 Squadron Royal Flying Corps available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served with No. 18 Squadron Royal Flying Corps during the Great War 1914-1918. Barrett Frederick. Sgt. Hall Fred. 2Lt. (d.22nd September 1916) Maxted Oscar Dean. Lt. Smith Reginald. 2nd Lt. (d.20th December 1916) All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records of No. 18 Squadron Royal Flying Corps from other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. 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Announcements 19th Nov 2024     Please note we currently have a massive backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 264989 your submission is still in the queue, please do not resubmit. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to the Great War. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great battalion regiment artillery Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations. 252085 Lt. Oscar Dean Maxted 18 Squadron My grandfather, Oscar Maxted piloted an F.E.2b during Bloody April and was shot down during a photographic reconnaissance flight near Arras on 12th April 1917. He survived the POW camp and died in South Africa in 1965. His observer, Lt. Alick Todd was injured and died the following day. Colin Macdougall Add to this record. 243635 Sgt. Frederick Barrett 18 Squadron In the early days, when the Squadron was in France with the Vickers FB5 Gunbus, they had pilots but no gunners. My grandfather, Frederick Barrett was ground crew but would be grabbed to do the job as he was very light (around six stone on enlistment) and short and a good shot with excellent reactions. They later got trained gunners. Pilots would also often test fly the planes by taking mechanics into the air. It apparently improved the focus of the ground crews. In 1916 they began night operations and had to light the field for returning aircraft. The landing lights were jam tins with oil and rags. When they recognised a returning aircraft by engine noise, they had to rush out and light tins to guide the aircraft in, and then extinguish them afterwards. Apparently, the planes were outclassed for daylight operations and they had suffered excessive casualties. In the occupation at the end of the war, my grandfather told me the Sergeants could leave camp after their morning duties. Local German women were suffering privation and would wait outside the camp some with prams and young children. He said the men, like him, would get a loaf of bread and other food and take their pick. He would then be welcome to their homes for a couple of hours and even get a homecooked meal if he had brought the makings. He found it hard to feel animosity toward ordinary Germans like himself who struggled to feed their families after that. He came from a poor East End background himself and did not pass up the opportunity of being able to meet the locals. One was a captain's wife and a number were very middle class, posh to him but hungry. He often wondered if troops taking advantage of the occupation helped create the underlying sense of injustice that fostered support for extremist politics among women in Germany. He got a silver medal in boxing for the squadron. Fred Barrett Add to this record. 241368 2nd Lt. Reginald Smith 18 Squadron (d.20th December 1916) Reginald Smith was killed in Air Combat on 20th of December 1916. Flying in a FE 2b serial number 4884 when attacked near Beugny, shot down in flames and burning fiercely at 12.55 hrs near Velu, by an aircraft from Jasta 2. Both he and all the crew were killed in action. Michael Add to this record. 239835 2Lt. Fred Hall 18 Squadron (d.22nd September 1916) Fred Hall is interred in Guillemot Road Military Cemetery. He had previously served with the Dorset Regiment. Michael Hall Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

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