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battle of loos
The Royal Flying Corps in the
Battle of Loos
By September 1915 the overall strength of the Royal Flying
Corps (RFC) had increased to 12 Squadrons and 161 aircraft.
The main role of the aircraft was reconnaissance although
some squadrons would fly missions to bomb railway tracks and
other lines of communication.
For the first time in WW1 the RFC was noted for reporting
accurate information on artillery falls of shot, thus saving
thousands of costly shells During the first few days of the
battle, the RFC target-marking squadrons with their recently
improved air to ground radios and better cameras helped
ensure that German targets were heavily pounded by the
British artillery.
Aircraft carried out multiple sorties, dropping many
100-pound bombs on German troops, trains and marshalling
yards. During the air battle, the superior German fighter, the
“Fokker Scourge” began to have an effect on allied aircraft;
however, the impact of German air superiority was diminished
by their doctrinal reluctance to risk their pilots being
captured by fighting over Allied held territory.