LOGISTICS SUPPORT for ROYAL FLYING CORPS OPERATIONS on the WESTERN FRONT 1914-1918 By
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AIR POWER’S MIDWIFE ‒ LOGISTICS SUPPORT FOR ROYAL FLYING CORPS OPERATIONS ON THE WESTERN FRONT 1914-1918 by PETER JOHN DYE A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Modern History College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham October 2013 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract The development of the British air weapon on the Western Front during the First World War represented a radical and unprecedented change in the way that national resources were employed in exploiting a technological opportunity to achieve tactical and operational advantage. Logistic competence was the precondition for air superiority and the ‘modern style of warfare’ – indirect, predicted artillery fire. The Royal Flying Corps’ logistic staffs, led by Brigadier-General Robert Brooke-Popham, demonstrated considerable agility in meeting the demands of three-dimensional warfare. Sustaining adequate numbers of frontline aircraft required substantial numbers of skilled and semi-skilled personnel, located largely beyond the battle zone, operating at a continuously high tempo while coping with rapid technological change and high wastage. These elements formed a complex, dynamic and integrated network that was also partly self-sustaining, in the form of salvage and repair, with the ability to compensate for shortfalls in aircraft and aero-engine production as well as unpredictable demand. The logistic principles developed on the Western Front provided the foundation for Royal Air Force success in the Second World War and anticipated the management practices that underpin today’s global supply chain – as well as demonstrating the enduring interdependence of logistics and air power. Dedication To my family, who waited patiently. Acknowledgements This thesis could not have been undertaken without the generous support of the Royal Air Force through the award of a Portal Fellowship. I am also grateful for the encouragement of the Royal Air Force Museum and Matt George’s assistance with the maps and schematics. An early version of parts of this material was published in RAF Air Power Review, Vol. 1, No 2 (1998). Pages 15-38 and 103-129 substantially reproduce pages 42-58 of that article. Smaller amounts of material, typically of 1 to 4 lines, reappear on pages 68, 135, 141, 159, 163, 283, 294, 298 and 315. CONTENTS List of Figures page ii List of Tables iv List of Appendices iv Abbreviations v Preface vii Introduction 1 1. Royal Flying Corps Operations on the Western Front 37 2. The Supply of Aircraft and Aero-engines 1914-1918 67 3. The Royal Flying Corps’ Logistic System 1914-1918 103 4. 1916 – The Somme 151 5. 1917 – Arras and Third Ypres 183 6. 1918 – Logistics on the Move 225 o German 1918 Offensive o One Hundred Days Campaign 7. Conclusions and Enduring Lessons 283 Appendices 331 Bibliography 351 i Figures 1 RFC/RAF Squadrons on the Western Front page 49 2 Aircraft per BEF Division (1916-1918) 54 3 RFC/RAF Squadron Employment by Role 60 4 No 9 Squadron Combat Employment (July 1916) 62 5 No 9 Squadron Combat Employment (August 1917) 63 6 No 9 Squadron Combat Employment (September 1918) 64 7 Aero-engines Delivered to British Air Services (1914-1918) 69 8 R.E.8 Squadrons on Western Front (1917-1918) 79 9 R.E.8 / RAF4a Ratio on the Western Front 80 10 R.E.8 & RAF4a Cumulative Production 81 11 R.E.8 Production Contracts (1916-1918) 83 12 R.E.8 Deliveries to the Western Front (1916-1918) 86 13 Dolphin Production Deliveries (1917-1919) 91 14 No 87 Squadron Aircraft Serviceability (1918) 96 15 R.E.8 Distribution (Nov 17 - Mar 18) 99 16 Dolphin Distribution (Nov 17 - Mar 18) 100 17 Increase in RFC/RAF Vehicles (1914-1918) 106 18 RFC Motorization (1915-1917) 107 19 BEF Motorization (1916-1918) 108 20 RFC Logistic System – Western Front (1914 ) 112 21 RFC Logistic Organisation – Western Front (1916) 116 22 RFC Logistic System – Western Front (1917 ) 119 23 RFC Logistic Organisation – Western Front (1917) 120 24 RAF Logistic System – Western Front (1918 ) 122 25 RAF Logistic Organisation – Western Front (1918) 124 26 Aircraft Salvage (1917) 130 27 Aircraft Salvage (1918) 131 28 Aviation Stores Shipped to France (1916) 133 29 Aviation Stores Shipped to France (1917) 136 30 Aviation Stores Shipped to France (1918) 138 31 Expansion in RFC Squadrons (1916) 154 32 Growth of RFC (1915-1916) 155 33 RFC Aircraft Deployed on the Western Front (1916) 157 34 RFC Manpower Efficiency (1916) 161 35 RFC Operational Outputs (1916) 165 36 Aircraft Losses during the Battle of the Somme 171 37 RFC Operational Efficiency (1916) 172 38 RFC Engineering Performance (1916) 173 39 No 9 Squadron Aircraft Availability (1916) 174 40 RFC Supply Performance ‒ Western Front (1916) 177 41 Increase in RFC Vehicles Employed Western Front (1915-1917) 178 42 RFC Artillery Co-operation (1916) 180 43 Balance of RFC Operational Effort (1916) 181 44 Attached RNAS Squadrons (1916-1918) 186 45 The Impact of Bloody April (1917) 189 46 RFC Flying Effort (1917) 190 ii 47 Monthly Supply Balance (1917) page 191 48 Depot Repair Output (1917) 192 49 Overall Supply Balance (1917) 193 50 RFC Aircraft Availability (March-May 1917 ) 194 51 Daily Frontline Serviceability (March-May 1917) 195 52 Average Monthly Available Aircraft 196 53 Average Monthly Serviceability Western Front 199 54 No 9 Squadron Serviceability (March-July 1917) 201 55 Aircraft Deliveries (June 1916 - June 1917) 204 56 Depot Holdings (1917) 205 57 Monthly Hours Flown Per Aircraft (1917) 211 58 RFC Tradesmen per Aircraft (1917) 212 59 RFC Engineering Efficiency (1916-1917) 213 60 Aircraft & Engines Struck Off (1917) 214 61 Total Depot Holdings (1917) 215 62 Level of RFC Reserves (1917) 216 63 R.E.8 Strength No 9 Squadron (1917-1918) 216 64 RFC Serviceability Italy (1917) 221 65 RAF Aircraft Serviceability Rates (May 1918) 222 66 RAF Flow of Material Western Front (October 1918) 227 67 Aircraft Wastage on Western Front (1916-1918) 228 68 RFC Ground Attacks (March 1918) 237 69 RFC /RAF Flying Effort (May 1917 - April 1918) 239 70 RFC/RAF Aircraft Wastage (1917-1918) 240 71 Aircraft Repair Output (January-June 1918) 242 72 RFC Brigade Serviceability Rates (March 1918) 244 73 RFC/RAF Squadron Moves (January-June 1918) 245 74 Aircraft Wastage & Supply (January-May 1918) 252 75 RAF Frontline Strength (April-October 1918) 254 76 RFC/RAF Flying Hours (1918) 261 77 RFC/RAF Flying Effort (1916- 1918) 262 78 RFC/RAF Artillery Cooperation (1918) 263 79 RFC/RAF Rounds Fired (1918) 263 80 RFC/RAF Bombs Dropped (1918) 264 81 RAF Aircraft Wastage (1918) 264 82 Available RAF Aircraft (1918) 265 83 Weekly Frontline Serviceability (April-November 1918) 266 84 Notional vs. Actual Strength (1917-1918) 267 85 Aircraft Repaired by Depots (1918) 269 86 RFC/RAF Aircraft Salvage (1918) 271 87 I Brigade Logistic Arrangements – Hundred Days 274 88 Aircraft Erected by Depots (1918) 275 89 R.E.8 Artillery Cooperation Aircraft (1918) 275 90 R.E.8 Serviceability (1918) 277 91 R.E.8 Squadron Airfield Moves (1917-1918) 278 92 RFC/ RAF Aircraft Serviceability Western Front (1916-1918) 284 93 Aircraft Deployed on the Western Front (1916-1918) 286 iii 94 Supply of RAF Aeronautical Materiel (October 1918) page 288 95 Global Distribution of Depots (1914-1919) 290 96 Overall RFC/RAF Manpower Efficiency (1916-1918) 293 97 Squadron Personnel per Aircraft (1916-1918) 294 98 Weekly Aviation Stores Delivered (1916-1918) 297 99 Delivery Pipeline - Elapsed Months 305 100 Average Daily Demand vs. Deliveries (1918) 306 101 Expansion in Reserves (1916-1918) 308 102 Aircraft Lead Time Gap 310 103 Predicted vs. Actual Wastage (June-October 1917) 311 104 RFC Decoupling Point 315 Tables 1 RFC Performance Indicators page 32 2 Aviation Expenditure £m – Actual Prices (1910-1914) 45 3 British Aircraft Production (1914-1918) 67 4 British Aero-Engine Production (1914-1918 ) 68 5 Replacement of Obsolete Squadron Machines (1917) 197 6 RAF Strategic Reserve (October 1918) 268 7 War Expenditure £m – Actual Prices (1910-1919) 295 8 Cost of RAF Operations in France £m – Actual Prices (1918) 296 9 Annual Shipping Tonnage for RAF Operations (1918) 298 10 Comparative Inventory Size 301 11 Supply Chain Complexity 303 12 Demand Forecast Accuracy (January-May 1918) 313 Appendices 1 Data Tables page 331 2 RFC/RAF Logistic Units 1914-1918 341 3 Breakdown of RFC Stores by Section 349 4 Movement of RAF Logistic Units ‒ Hundred Days 350 iv Abbreviations AAP Aircraft Acceptance Park AAC Air Ammunition Column AD Aircraft Depot AEF American Expeditionary Force AG Adjutant General AGS Aeroplane General Sundries AID Aeronautical Inspection Department AQMG Assistant Quartermaster General AOD Army Ordnance Department AP Army Air Park ASC Army Service Corps ASD Aeroplane Supply Depot BEF British Expeditionary Force CAS Chief of the Air Staff DAG Deputy Adjutant General DA & QMG Deputy Adjutant & Quartermaster General DB Day & Night Bomber DMA Directorate of Military Aeronautics DQMG Deputy Quartermaster General