Northern Bombing Group

Last updated February 17, 2024

The Northern Bombing Group consisted of United States Navy and United States Marine Corps squadrons conducting strategic bombing of German U-boat bases along the Belgian coast during World War I. The first United States military unit sent to Continental Europe (France)^[1] was the First Aeronautic Detachment of seven naval officers and 122 enlisted men who arrived in France on 5 June 1917. These men became the nucleus of the United States naval aviation forces in Europe. They formulated a strategic bombing plan approved by the Secretary of the Navy on 30 April 1918, but chronic difficulties in obtaining aircraft prevented establishment of an effective bombing campaign before the war ended six months later.^[2]

Background

The Imperial German Navy established Flanders U-boat flotillas in March 1915. Type UB and UC submarines were based in Ostend and Zeebrugge with repair yards at Bruges. These coastal submarines operated in the English Channel, along the English coast of the North Sea and in the Western Approaches. U-boats were sinking over 150 ships per month by late 1916; and the resultant loss of both cargoes and import capacity threatened the ability of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to continue the war.^[3]

Concept

One of the Allied efforts to reduce shipping losses was a day and night bombing campaign against the bases from which the U-boats operated. United States naval aviators were to establish a Northern Bombing Group headquarters near Ardres for a sustained bombing effort against the U-boat bases. The group was to consist of a day wing and a night wing operating from six aerodromes with a separate repair and supply base, all in the area of Calais and Dunkirk. Each of the six Navy night wing squadrons was to have ten Caproni Ca.5 bombers operating in two flights of five; and each of the six Marine Corps day wing squadrons was to have eighteen Airco DH.4 bombers operating in three flights of six.^[2]

Implementation

Difficulty in obtaining aircraft caused reduction of planned strength to four-day squadrons and four night squadrons on 31 May 1918: Night squadrons 1 and 2 were assigned to Saint-Inglevert Airfield (aerodrome A). Night squadrons 3 and 4 were assigned to aerodrome B in Campagne. Aerodrome C in Sangatte was to be built as a dummy but was cancelled after objections by local residents. Day squadrons 7 and 8 were assigned to aerodrome D at Oye-Plage. Day squadrons 9 and 10 were assigned to aerodrome E at Le Frene. Aerodrome F at Alembon served as a bomb dump and was available as a reserve field. By June, the military situation in France raised doubts about the safety of bases; so on 20 July a British site in Eastleigh was designated the repair and supply base where newly delivered aircraft would be assembled and tested.^[2]

Caproni had projected delivery of thirty bombers in June and July, and eighty more in August. Only eighteen had been delivered by the end of August, and their Fiat engines were unsatisfactory. Arrangements were made to equip future Caproni deliveries with Isotta Fraschini V.6 engines; but the improved aircraft were not available prior to the First Armistice at Compiègne. Substitution of Handley Page Type O bombers was similarly unsuccessful until after the armistice. The only Northern Bombing Group night raid was made on 15 August 1918 by a single Ca.5 bomber over Ostend; but seven United States Navy pilots and about 40 enlisted men participated in several raids flying two No. 214 Squadron RAF Handley Page bombers. Of an originally projected strength of sixty night bombers, the war ended with six Ca.5s at the night wing aerodromes; and only two of these were operational.^[2]

Headquarters company and squadrons A, B and C of the First Marine Aviation Force arrived in Brest, France aboard USS DeKalb on 30 July 1918. The squadrons were redesignated as 7, 8 and 9 upon arrival. Prior to the delivery of Northern Bombing Group aircraft, Marine Corps pilots began flying bombing missions in No. 218 Squadron RAF bombers on 9 August 1918, and in No. 217 Squadron RAF bombers on 21 August. The first DH.4-day bomber was delivered on 7 September 1918. As the American DH.4s and substituted Airco DH.9s became operational, they accompanied No. 217 and 218 squadron raids. The first daytime mission undertaken entirely by Northern Bombing Group aircraft was a 14 October raid by day wing squadron 9 dropping seventeen bombs with a total weight of 2,218 pounds (1,006 kg) on the Tielt railway yard. Seven more raids were made by day wing squadrons 8 and 9 before operations were cancelled on 27 October. Two day wing bombers were lost in action; and the war ended with an operational strength of twelve DH.4s and seventeen DH.9s of the originally projected force of 108-day bombers.^[2]

Notable members

Related Research Articles

The Handley Page Type O was a biplane bomber used by Britain during the First World War. When built, the Type O was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world. There were two main variants, the Handley Page O/100 (H.P.11) and the Handley Page O/400 (H.P.12).

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1917.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1918:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 18 Squadron RAF</span> Flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 18 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook from RAF Odiham. Owing to its heritage as a bomber squadron, it is also known as No. 18 (B) Squadron.

No. 118 Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force. Originally formed in 1918, it served as a fighter squadron in the Second World War, flying Spitfires and Mustangs. It flew jet fighters as part of RAF Germany in the 1950s, and Bristol Sycamore helicopters in Northern Ireland before finally disbanding in 1962.

The Airco DH.4 is a British two-seat biplane day bomber of the First World War. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber capable of defending itself.

The Airco DH.9A is a British single-engined light bomber that was designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, crucially, replacing the under-powered and unreliable inline 6-cylinder Siddeley Puma engine of the DH.9 with the American V-12 Liberty engine.

The Airco DH.10 Amiens was a twin-engined heavy bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Airco. It performed the first nighttime air mail service in the world on 14-15 May 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 55 Squadron RAF</span> Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

Number 55 Squadron was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). First formed in April 1917, the squadron saw action on the Western Front during the First World War. Based in the Middle East during the interwar period and the Second World War, No. 55 Squadron saw action over Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Italy. Between 1960 and 1993, the unit flew the Handley Page Victor. Initially on the Victor B.1A before becoming a tanker squadron in 1965 with the Victor B(K).1A/K.1/K.1A before converting to the Victor K.2 in 1975. Disbanding in October 1993, No. 55 Squadron were the last RAF unit to operate the Victor. Between 1996 and 2011, No. 55(Reserve) Squadron operated the Hawker Siddeley Dominie T.1 from RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, helping to train navigators for the RAF.

The Independent Air Force (IAF), also known as the Independent Force or the Independent Bombing Force and later known as the Inter-Allied Independent Air Force, was a First World War strategic bombing force which was part of Britain's Royal Air Force and was used to strike against German railways, aerodromes, and industrial centres without co-ordination with the Army or Navy.

RAF Narborough was a military aerodrome in Norfolk operated in the First World War. It opened on 28 May 1915, originally as a Royal Naval Air Station for RNAS Great Yarmouth tasked with defending against Zeppelin raids. The airfield covered a 908-acre (3.67 km²) site, including 30 acres (120,000 m²) of buildings – making it the largest First World War airfield in Britain. These buildings included seven large hangars, seven sheds, five workshops, two coal yards, two Sergeant's Messes, three Dope sheds and a Guardroom.

Royal Air Force Lympne or more simply RAF Lympne is a former Royal Air Force satellite station in Kent used during the First and Second World Wars. It was opened in 1916 by the Royal Flying Corps as an acceptance point for aircraft being delivered to, and returned from, France. It was later designated as a "First Class Landing Ground". In 1919, the airfield was turned over to civil use as Lympne Airport, serving until 1939 when it was requisitioned by the Fleet Air Arm as HMS Buzzard, later being renamed HMS Daedalus II.

No. 108 Squadron RAF was originally a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War which continued to serve with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 223 Squadron RAF</span> Military unit

No. 223 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. Originally formed as part of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), the Squadron flew in both World Wars.

No. 144 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force. It was first formed in 1918 during the First World War, operating as a bomber squadron in the Middle East. It reformed in 1937, serving in the bomber and anti-shipping roles during the Second World War. A third incarnation saw the squadron serving as a strategic missile squadron during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

No. 107 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps bomber unit formed during the First World War. It was reformed in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and was operational during the Cold War on Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles.

Number 125 (Newfoundland) Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron active during World War II and briefly in the mid-1950s. Throughout its service the squadron primarily operated night fighters.

The 28th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.

The 1st Provisional Air Brigade was a temporary unit of the United States Army Air Service, commanded by Col. Billy Mitchell, operating out of Langley Field, Virginia, that was used in Project B to demonstrate the vulnerability of ships to aerial attack when, in July 1921, the "unsinkable" German dreadnought SMS Ostfriesland was sent to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean by bombardment. Other targets included the German destroyer SMS G-102, the SMS Frankfurt, and the USS Iowa.

A day bomber is a bomber aircraft designed specifically for bombing missions in daylight. The term is now mostly of historical significance, because aircraft suited to both day and night bombing missions have become more and more prominent.

References

↑ Destroyer Division 7 arrived in the Ireland, British Isles, then part of the United Kingdom on May 17, 1917. See USS Ericsson (DD-56) and Naval History & Heritage Command sources cited in that article.
1 2 3 4 5 Van Wyen, Adrian O. (1969). Naval Aviation in World War I. Washington, D.C.: Chief of Naval Operations. pp. 9, 64, 80–81 & 84–87.
↑ Potter, E.B.; Nimitz, Chester W. (1960). Sea Power. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. pp. 457–463.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Destroyer Division 7 arrived in the Ireland, British Isles, then part of the United Kingdom on May 17, 1917. See USS Ericsson (DD-56) and Naval History & Heritage Command sources cited in that article.

[nan-2] 1 2 3 4 5 Van Wyen, Adrian O. (1969). Naval Aviation in World War I. Washington, D.C.: Chief of Naval Operations. pp. 9, 64, 80–81 & 84–87.

[3] Potter, E.B.; Nimitz, Chester W. (1960). Sea Power. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. pp. 457–463.

[1]

[2]

[3]