C
cptroyce
Guest
I posted the following question on the Aerodrome forum, to see if I could get an "historical" prospective on what I and others can experience here in OFF. I received a reply, that really shows that OFF can and does model, to a great degree, WW1 aviation. I'll repost here as it may prove interesting to others as well.
Q. Does anyone know the statistic (if even available) as to how often the "typical" scout pilot or flight group would be engaged in combat? Either side?
I know the "17 hours" as the average life expectancy; I am just curious as to what the average pilot could expect on a typical mission.
A. I looked into this a bit using some logbooks from members of No. 1 and No. 4 Squadron AFC (to get a WF and Palestine comparison).
I discovered that there was no 'typical' combat experience. The number of sorties varied significantly from month to month, dependent I found, on the weather, offensives and enemy activity. Also, the unit's tactical role (which could change from month to month) greatly changed the frequency of combat-
Take Alex Lockley of No. 4 Squadron for example. In June 1918, he flew 41 sorties totalling 52 hours and 45 minutes in the air. He flew on 25 out of 30 days, and on 11 days, he was airborne more than once. On average then, in June 1918 Lockley did 1.36 sorties per day, lasting about an hour and a quarter each on average. In the following month however, he flew on substantially fewer occasions and for less time, spending just 34 hours and 35 minutes aloft during 25 flights. He flew on only 17 days of the month, flying multiple sorties on just 7 days. In July 1918 then, Lockley’s average was 0.8 patrols per day, and he had almost as many days on the ground (fourteen) as he did in the air (seventeen).
Moreover, Lockley went SIX weeks without getting into a dogfight (with other scouts)- but his unit was mainly tasked with ground attack at the time, so that might not be surprising. Then, in an instant his flight was set upon by a couple of dozen Fokkers and he was nearly killed-
My conclusion is that the life of the WW1 aviator was unpredictable, and varied widely. I also think that this led to the flying corps' unique stress- whereas infantrymen saw their service in terms of reasonably predictable rotations through the trench lines, the pilot's exposure to danger fluctuated wildly each day.
Michael Molkentin
Royce
Q. Does anyone know the statistic (if even available) as to how often the "typical" scout pilot or flight group would be engaged in combat? Either side?
I know the "17 hours" as the average life expectancy; I am just curious as to what the average pilot could expect on a typical mission.
A. I looked into this a bit using some logbooks from members of No. 1 and No. 4 Squadron AFC (to get a WF and Palestine comparison).
I discovered that there was no 'typical' combat experience. The number of sorties varied significantly from month to month, dependent I found, on the weather, offensives and enemy activity. Also, the unit's tactical role (which could change from month to month) greatly changed the frequency of combat-
Take Alex Lockley of No. 4 Squadron for example. In June 1918, he flew 41 sorties totalling 52 hours and 45 minutes in the air. He flew on 25 out of 30 days, and on 11 days, he was airborne more than once. On average then, in June 1918 Lockley did 1.36 sorties per day, lasting about an hour and a quarter each on average. In the following month however, he flew on substantially fewer occasions and for less time, spending just 34 hours and 35 minutes aloft during 25 flights. He flew on only 17 days of the month, flying multiple sorties on just 7 days. In July 1918 then, Lockley’s average was 0.8 patrols per day, and he had almost as many days on the ground (fourteen) as he did in the air (seventeen).
Moreover, Lockley went SIX weeks without getting into a dogfight (with other scouts)- but his unit was mainly tasked with ground attack at the time, so that might not be surprising. Then, in an instant his flight was set upon by a couple of dozen Fokkers and he was nearly killed-
My conclusion is that the life of the WW1 aviator was unpredictable, and varied widely. I also think that this led to the flying corps' unique stress- whereas infantrymen saw their service in terms of reasonably predictable rotations through the trench lines, the pilot's exposure to danger fluctuated wildly each day.
Michael Molkentin
Royce
