An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir March 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 40 | BY GUY WARNER W as anti-submarine patrolling the real reason that 105 and 106 Squadrons came to Ireland in May 1918, estab- lishing six airfields? Omagh, Birr and Athlone were far from ideal locations from which to search for U-boats, all being about as far inland as it was possible to be, though Fermoy, Castlebar and Oranmore were more feasible. Why did Captain Howard Pixton travel through 24 counties in the middle of 1918, inspecting 65 potential landing grounds and noting the nearest military or police barracks? Were these, instead, the first tentative steps towards an RAF doctrine that would come to be known as 'air control' in Wa- ziristan, the North-West Frontier, Iraq, Sudan and Aden? At that time Ireland was 'in a strange condition of mingled excitement, foreboding and suspense' following the Home Rule Crisis and the Easter Rising, awaiting a storm that would surely come. Sinn Féin had emerged as the political wing of the Irish revolutionary movement, and a boycott campaign against mem- bers of the RIC had reduced police morale considerably. One modern commentator has described the British Govern- ment's position thus: 'While lethargically seeking a formula for eventual constitutional settlement, it continued to administer Ireland on the basis of mild coercion – repression too weak to root out opposition, but provocative enough to nurture it.' The temperature was raised by a proposal in the spring of 1918, in light of a major German offensive on the Western Front, to introduce military conscription in Ireland, and by the arrest and imprisonment of 73 leading Sinn Féin activists. In May, Field Mar- shal Viscount French was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Of Irish extraction, dating back to 14th century Wexford, French considered himself to have particular insight into 'the Irish Prob- lem'. French advised the prime minister that he planned to use aircraft based in 'strongly entrenched air camps' for 'air patrolling with bombs and machine guns', which 'ought to put the fear of God into those playful Sinn Féiners', and to 'destroy Sinn Féin in order to create an environment in which Home Rule could safely be granted.' These bellicose ambitions were not fulfilled and, thankfully, keeping the peace by such means was not adopted as official policy. On 5th May 1918, No 55 Wing was formed with its headquar- ters at Parkgate, Dublin, and comprising 19 Training Squadron (Curragh Camp) and the two operational squadrons, 105 and 106; the former, based at Omagh, with detached flights at Castlebar and Oranmore, was under the command of Maj Douglas Joy, and the latter, based at Fermoy, with flights at Birr and Athlone, commanded by Major EAB Rice. Both squadrons were equipped with the then standard RAF reconnaissance two-seater, the RE8. In Omagh there was an immediate impact on the town's infrastructure as its first hard-surfaced road was laid between the railway station and the airfield, from where Captain George Bowen carried out his first operational patrol on 20th May. Of two hours and 40 minutes duration, it is recorded in his log book as, 'NE Patrol Omagh, Derry, Aldergrove, Dungannon.' He repeated the route next morning before undertaking a SE patrol on the 22nd ('Omagh, Monaghan, Dungannon') and a southern patrol on the 24th ('Omagh, Enniskillen, Dundalk.') These RAF aircraft were apparently being sent out to get the lay of the land, to see if there was anything going on that shouldn't be. If a Sinn Féin rally, a muster of volunteers, drilling or manoeuvres were taking place, then the idea would be to make a 'show of presence' by flying over the area. It would certainly appear that Captain Pixton's expedition was an indica- tion that the authorities in Ireland were looking seriously into the possibilities of aerial intervention in the event of increased political tension. Before the end of the month Capt Bowen flew four consecu- tive NW patrols from Omagh, over Limavady, Derry, Letterken- ny, and Strabane. The next few flights were fairly local, looking for possible sites for making a forced landing, and included 'stunting over tennis court' and 'dropping message on tennis court' – presumably to impress the young ladies of the area? On 2nd June the squadron carried out a formation flight over the town, which Bowen recorded as '6 machines VG.' More patrols followed, taking in new locations including Dungiven, Ballymoney and Coleraine. Within the first couple of weeks he had therefore overflown parts of six counties – Tyrone, Derry, Antrim, Monaghan, Fermanagh and Louth. He soon went 40 | in Ireland, 1918 RE8 on the ground in Omagh. Photo courtesy of the JH Bruce JS Leslie Collection.

• Cover