BearWorks MSU Graduate Theses Fall 2021 (Australian): Challenges of the Australian Flying Corps During World War I Patrick Joseph Blizzard Missouri State University, [email protected] As with any intellectual project, the content and views expressed in this thesis may be considered objectionable by some readers. However, this student-scholar’s work has been judged to have academic value by the student’s thesis committee members trained in the discipline. The content and views expressed in this thesis are those of the student-scholar and are not endorsed by Missouri State University, its Graduate College, or its employees. Follow this and additional works at: https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses Part of the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Blizzard, Patrick Joseph, "(Australian): Challenges of the Australian Flying Corps During World War I" (2021). MSU Graduate Theses. 3688. https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3688 This article or document was made available through BearWorks, the institutional repository of Missouri State University. The work contained in it may be protected by copyright and require permission of the copyright holder for reuse or redistribution. For more information, please contact [email protected]. (AUSTRALIAN): CHALLENGES OF THE AUSTRALIAN FLYING CORPS DURING WORLD WAR I A Master’s Thesis Presented to The Graduate College of Missouri State University TEMPLATE In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts, History By Patrick Joseph Blizzard December 2021 Copyright 2021 by Patrick Joseph Blizzard ii (AUSTRALIAN): CHALLENGES OF THE AUSTRALIAN FLYING CORPS DURING WORLD WAR I History Missouri State University, December 2021 Master of Arts Patrick Joseph Blizzard ABSTRACT The air forces of the Great War faced many challenges. These challenges included integrating air power into established military doctrine and coping with the ever evolving airplane technology. The hurdles identified had to be overcome in order for the belligerent nations to wage a successful aerial campaign and control the skies above both static and dynamic forces. For the members of the Australian Flying Corps, these shared challenges were augmented by being the lone British dominion to operate an independent air arm. But what were these additional challenges and how were they overcome? The goal of this thesis is to explore the unique challenges that faced the AFC, both the organization and the individual men of the corps. The majority of these challenges were the product of Australian nationalist and military goals. These dual goals centered on waging a successful military campaign while at the same time maintaining a distinct dominion identity. In achieving these goals, the dominion sought to raise its standing within the British Empire, a footing on par with that of England. While other nations with an independent air arm sought similar goals to various degrees, none were an imperial possession in the same manner as Australia. Unfortunately for the Australian military and government, these nationalist and military goals were not always compatible and often were at odds with each other. As the majority of the AFC historiography focuses on the combat experiences of the Australian airman, this paper focuses and explores the social and cultural challenges with the Great War as the context and catalyst. While it is impossible to quantify each nation’s unique obstacles, it is safe to assert that in overcoming their cultural and social challenges the AFC faced the one of more challenging paths to achieving its military and cultural goals in the First World War. KEYWORDS: World War I, Australia, Australian Flying Corps, The Great War, aviation iii (AUSTRALIAN): CHALLENGES OF THE AUSTRALIAN FLYING CORPS DURING WORLD I By Patrick Joseph Blizzard A Master’s Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College Of Missouri State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts, History December 2021 Approved: Sarah Panzer, Ph.D., Thesis Committee Chair Djene Bajalan, Ph.D., Committee Member Angela Hornsby-Gutting, Ph.D., Committee Member Julie Masterson, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate College In the interest of academic freedom and the principle of free speech, approval of this thesis indicates the format is acceptable and meets the academic criteria for the discipline as determined by the faculty that constitute the thesis committee. The content and views expressed in this thesis are those of the student-scholar and are not endorsed by Missouri State University, its Graduate College, or its employees. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Sarah Panzer for her support during the course of tackling this project and serving as my Thesis Committee Chair. Her guidance, feedback, and patience were instrumental in making this work becoming a reality. I dedicate this thesis to Melissa, Kaydence, Owen, and Nani. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Page 1 Part I: The Corps Chapter 1: “Why the Australian Flying Corps?” Page 9 Chapter 2: Operation and Administration Page 12 Chapter 3: What is in a Name? Page 20 Chapter 4: Point Cook’s ‘Rag-Time Show’ Page 24 Chapter 5: “Intensely British and Absolutely Australian” Page 31 Part II: Military Cultures Chapter 6: Diggers and Airmen Page 43 Chapter 7: Larrikins Page 49 Chapter 8: Swank and Glad Rags Page 57 Chapter 9: The Strictest Formalities Page 64 Part III: Cultures and Society Chapter 10: Aussies and the English People Page 70 Chapter 11: Larrikins and the Peerage Page 80 Chapter 12: The Exotic Australian Page 83 Chapter 13: The Invasion of Gloucestershire Page 88 Chapter 14: Giving Back Page 95 Conclusions Page 104 Bibliography Page 107 vi INTRODUCTION As with all technology, be it the machine gun, tank, or airplane, nations and commanders prepared to fight their current war the ways that proved victorious in the previous war, wars in which these technologies played a minimal if any role. In integrating the airplane into modern warfare, the dominion forces of the Australian military and its Australian Flying Corps (AFC) faced similar problems to those of the other nations, however, its budding nationalism while operating as a British dominion created unique challenges for the AFC. The difficulties facing AFC were unique even among the other British dominions of Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand. The primary reason for the development of an independent flying corps was desire to defend the nation’s borders from Pacific threats.1 With the British Royal Navy protecting a global empire, the Australian military relieved that their home defense would fall on their own shoulders and a way to prepare for the future was an independent air service. Unlike the other dominions, who sent men to England to be trained by and serve in the Royal Flying Corps, the Australian government decided to train their pilots in country and send complete flying squadrons to operate under British direction. The obstacles presented by the development of an independent flying corps were numerous and as the war progressed new hurdles manifested themselves. Despite developing an independent air force the AFC was under the operational control of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in terms of war administration and training. In addition to the operational and training challenges were the nationalist and cultural challenges the AFC and its members faced. Nearly 1 Michael Molkentin, Australia and the War in the Air (Victoria: Oxford University Press, 2014) 9. “Australia’s Danger: Eight Day Sail.” Sydney Morning Herald, December 30, 1911. 1 all of the men who served in the AFC trained at various bases in England and Scotland, often RFC officers were in charge of overseeing this training. The training of Australian men and units in England under British officers, brought with it its own set of problems, namely enduring the British military’s formality and insistency on strict parade ground discipline. Outside of the aspects of military operation, Australia and its men in uniform had dual identities to reconcile, that of an imperial subject and an Australian. As this thesis will show, successfully maintaining these two identities was not always possible. In several ways including recruiting and training, the AFC and the Australian military had to choose between supporting the British and Allied war effort or push their own cultural and nationalist objectives. The challenges discussed in this thesis, both the cultural and administrative, were either the result of or a response to the necessities brought on by seeing the achievement of one or both of these goal. The balance of supporting dual aims was a challenge not only to the military and governmental organizations but also for the individuals that made up the flying corps. The goal of this thesis is to explore the unique challenges that faced the AFC, both the organization and the individual men of the corps. In addition to discussing and identifying these hurdles, this examination will outline the steps taken to overcome these difficulties. Identifying both the challenge and the resolution are just as important today as they were during the Great War, as many of the obstacles are still encountered by today’s modern air forces. Like the AFC, air forces across the globe, including the United States Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force, face the difficulties of operating in a joint service and/or multinational operational environments, as well as interacting with the various cultures they find themselves operating within. Be it the establishment of an aviation training school in Australia or maintaining good relations with the English citizenry, this paper argues that all of the challenges facing the AFC 2 made their path to achieving the dominion’s military and cultural war objectives unique among all the belligerent nations. In examining these challenges and their resolutions, this thesis fills in a gap in the current historiography dealing with the AFC, that is focusing not on the combat of the unit but its nationalist and culture challenges.