Fire In The Sky

Michael Molkentin

Allen & Unwin 2010

In this book Michael Molkentin gives us a detailed description of the development of the Australian Flying Corps during World War I. The history of this group, which later became the Royal Australian Air Force, is little known apart from the usual dry war histories. Molkentin has used much original correspondence from the aircrews and mechanical staff to give a far more personal account of a war that Australia was unprepared for. The first flight in Australia had occurred only in 1910.

In so doing, Molkentin points out that returning airmen gave Australia an appreciation of just how much air transport could do in a huge country like Australia. This gave us organizations like QANTAS, the Air Ambulance and regular passenger air services. Australia rapidly became one of the most air-minded nations in the world. It is hard to imagine the roots of an international airline like QANTAS being in a Bristol fighter plane over Mesopotamia in 1918, but the Australian Flying Corps gave us the nucleus of men and experience to achieve this.

The value of aircraft for reconnaissance and spotting was realised early over the battlefields of Europe, but the first Australian squadron went into action over Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) harassing Turkish troops and supply lines. They used old aircraft on loan from the RAF and although they were intended to be for reconnaissance only the pilots and observers soon found that dropping bombs on the troops below was quite practical. The pilots were often drawn from ground troops with some sort of mechanical background. They were also selected on the basis of mapreading skills and other talents which may prove useful in the air. They often had an adventurous spirit that suited the new form of warfare. The training that the men were given at the new Point Cook base was cursory and hampered by few aircraft and instructors who were themselves undertrained and inexperienced. Any experience in wartime flying was gained on the job.

While ground troops were fighting desperately at Gallipoli, fliers were carrying the air war to Mesopotamia where they provided invaluable information for the British advance up the Tigris river. There are many anecdotes given in the book that show the Australians’ rather casual attitude to discipline but their serious attitude to their work. One example is given where an aircraft crew was tasked to destroy the telegraph line going up the river. Rather than drop inaccurate bombs on it they landed next to the line and attached their bombs to the poles. While doing so they were suddenly attacked by Bedouins who seemed to come out of nowhere. It became a tradition that as far as possible they would land and rescue the crew of a downed aircraft in spite of the danger to themselves. Many anecdotes of this dangerous practice are included in the book.

They were first exposed to air combat in Mesopotamia when the Germans brought in some Pfalz scout aircraft (early fighters) to try to curb the losses being inflicted on the ground troops by the Australians. The Pfalz was a greatly superior aircraft to those of the Australians. Again Molkentin lets the pilots’ memoirs and letters tell the story, giving us a valuable insight into the aircraft, tactics and attitudes of the flyers. Air combat introduced a problem that would plague pilots right through the war. The RAF refused to provide aircrew with parachutes, fearing that it may encourage a lack of moral fibre and crew might bail out rather than stay in their aircraft and fight. This attitude led to the deaths of many aircrew who could otherwise have been saved. The constant tension also led to the first cases of “aero-neurosis”, the mental breakdown caused by the constant risk of death.

When the squadrons were sent to Egypt and the Sinai the experience was not much different but by now the opposition had hardened. Large scale air battles were still rare, but antiaircraft fire from ground troops was becoming fierce. Since their main task was air support for the ground troops there was a lot of low level flying involved and the casualties mounted. Over such a large battle area the aircraft came into its own as the eyes of the Headquarters staff, constantly ferrying information on troop movements, reinforcements and the success or otherwise of taking objectives. At least the aircraft were improving, with specialised bomber aircraft now being introduced accompanied by better fighters.

The book spends almost half its space on the battles of the Middle East and a picture emerges of an Air Corps dedicated to doing a thorough job against increasing odds. Many airmen felt an affinity for the ground troops they supported, having come from infantry regiments themselves. By the time the squadrons were sent to the Western Front the pilots, observers and ground crews had the hard core of battle-toughened veterans that they would need to survive a more deadly form of war.

The German aircraft were superior, especially the Fokker DVII, and reconnaissance and photography missions over the front were always dangerous. It wasn’t until some squadrons were reequipped with the new Sopwith Camel that the balance changed back. With increasing numbers of aircraft ranged along the front, the massive “dogfight” began to appear. The pilots’ memoirs show that the aircraft were still frail, the action was incredibly fast, and the life of an inexperienced pilot was short. The percentage death rate of aircrew was approaching that of the ground troops. The experienced pilots still remained laconic

“I went into the cloud again and when I came out the bastard was just above me. So I pulled up the bus (aircraft) and blew the observer’s bum through the back of his neck”

The Australian squadrons had their own sections of the Front to guard and the Germans would move their increasingly stretched squadrons around to cover more territory. It was in a combat in the Australian sector that Manfred von Richthofen, the “Red Baron” was shot down. He was buried with full military honours, an act that rankled with Australian airmen. When an Australian pilot died he was sewn up into his blanket and give a hasty burial so his death would not demoralise the other aircrew. It rankled with the French as well. On the night following the funeral they destroyed the grave. I was not aware of this little fragment of history until reading this book.

The book also delves into the aftermath of the war. The mechanics did fairly well in peacetime, having worked on some of the finest engines in the world during the war. For many aircrew, however, peace brought problems. They were not really trained for anything else. Some made a small living barnstorming around the country. One airdropped the city newspapers to country towns along the Murray River from an aircraft. Hudson Fysh formed the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service that later grew into QANTAS.

In 1921 the Royal Australian Air Force was formed to retain the skills of the air and ground crew. This took up a lot of the demobilised AFC staff, but many just faded into an undeserved obscurity. As a result the history of the Australian Flying Corps has also fallen into obscurity. Hopefully Michael Molkentin’s book will remedy that.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No. 5 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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