No. 51 Squadron Royal Flying Corps

   No 51 Squadron formed on the 15th of May 1916 at Thetford as a home defence squadron. It was redesignated No. 51 Squadron, Royal Air Force in April 1918.

15th May 1916   No 51 Squadron was formed on the 15th of May 1916 at Mousehold Heath aerodrome, Norwich from a nucleus drawn from 9 Reserve Squadron. The Squadron moved to Thetford aerodrome on the 1st June for home defence duties in East Anglia flying BE2s. More info.

16th July 1916

23rd Sept 1916 Move

11th Feb 1917 New Squadron formed

7th August 1917 Move

February 1918 Move

13th April 1918 Air Raid

5th August 1918   By the beginning of 1917 the German High Command was losing faith in the extremely costly air ships campaign, which overall had wreaked only limited structural damage on Great Britain. From May 1917 most bombing raids were carried out by the Gotha bombers although, with a more limited range, these operations were largely limited to London and the South East. There were only seven airship-raids in 1917 and four in 1918. The final airship raid on Great Britain took place on the 5th August 1918. The command airship was shot down over the North Sea by the gunner of a British DH4 twin-seater aircraft flying from South Denes aerodrome, Great Yarmouth. The German Leader of Airships, Peter Strasser, and his 23 crew were all killed. The remaining four airships hurriedly and mistakenly dropped their bombs into the English Channel and turned for home.
The total number of airship attacks on Britain between 1915 and 1918 probably numbered only a total of 12 raids on London and 40 more over the rest of the country, but the Zeppelin was very effective in drawing RFC and RNAS resources away from the battle front. By December 1916 at the height of the Zeppelin threat 17,340 officers and men were in the AA service together with 12 RFC squadrons comprised of 200 officers, 2,000 other ranks and 110 aircraft for home defence duties. By 1918, facing the raids by Gotha bombers, there were 55 Home Defence Squadrons. The threat of bombing certainly reduced the numbers of effective squadrons and trained pilots at the front and thus reduced the pressure on the German front line.
The First Air Raid on Lancashire: The Zeppelin Menace By Scott Carter-Clavell

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Those known to have served with
No. 51 Squadron Royal Flying Corps
during the Great War 1914-1918.

McLeod VC.. Alan Arnett. 2nd Lt. (d.6th Nov 1918)

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2nd Lt. Alan Arnett McLeod VC. 2 Squadron (d.6th Nov 1918)

Alan McLeod was born on 20th of April 1899 in Stonewall, Manitoba, the son of a doctor. He enrolled in The 34th Fort Garry Horse in 1913 at age 14, but when the war started in 1914 Alan was sent home, as under age. When he became 18 he enrolled in the Royal Flying Corps in Toronto. After obtaining his pilotâ€™s licence at Long Branch near Toronto, he was sent to France on 20th of August 1917
He was originally posted to No. 82 Squadron flying scouts, but then transferred to 51 Squadron on Home Defence duties, flying the B.E. 12 at night. However he was transferred back to France in December 1917 with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, where he was posted to No. 2 Squadron flying from Hesdigneul in northern France.
With Lt. Comber as his gunner, he was mentioned in dispatches for bringing down a Fokker and an observation balloon near Beauvin in January 1918. On 27th of March 1918 with his observer Lt. Arthur Hammond, in an Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 he destroyed an enemy triplane and but they were immediately attacked by eight more, three of which they brought down. However their plane was hit and burst into flames and both pilot and observer were wounded. McLeod, by side slipping steeply, tried to keep the flames away from his observer, and when the machine finally crashed in No Man's Land, the young pilot, despite his own injuries, dragged his comrade from the burning wreckage and under heavy fire carried him to safety. McLeod was wounded three times in the side and Hammond was wounded six times. Hammond lost a leg but was awarded a bar for his Military Cross. McLeod received the Victoria Cross. He returned to Canada to recuperate but sadly died from Spanish flu on the 6th November 1918.

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No. 51 Squadron Royal Flying Corps

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Those known to have served with
No. 51 Squadron Royal Flying Corps
during the Great War 1914-1918.