Lt George Merz – a doctor who was destined to fly. Photo provided by WO1 Darryl Kelly, RSM 1 Bde

‘The planes only had a top speed of fifty miles per hour and when hitting strong headwinds actually began to move backwards in mid-air.’

by RSM 1 Bde
WO1 Darryl Kelly

Lieutenant George Kinnock Merz
Australian Flying Corps
PART 1

The Gulf War is not the first time Australians have fought in Iraq. Our first actions occurred in 1915 and this is the story of one of those who fought in the desert of Iraq – known then as Mesopotamia.

George Merz was born in Parham, Melbourne, in October 1891. From an early age, George showed himself to be an excellent scholar. On graduating high school, he attended Melbourne University to study medicine.

During his time at university, he sought the mateship of the local military unit, the Melbourne University Rifles, where he was appointed as a Second Lieutenant.
He was a good officer, keen, loyal and dedicated, although he harbored a secret dream – to fly.

On his graduation as a medical practitioner, George decided to delay entering medical practice to enlist in the Permanent Military Forces. He, along with three other officers, had the distinction of being part of the first war-flying course to become pilots, in the fledgling Australian Flying Corps. The course was to commence on August 17, 1914 and was to last for three months. It was to be conducted at a small Victorian airfield, known as Point Cook.

The course was more trial and error than formal instruction but the instructors got their point across. Every time the student and instructor went up in the flimsy machines, they were sure they’d come down again. Whether it was in one piece, was certainly another matter.

He was a natural born flyer and in the air, it was as if George and the plane were one.
As they handed George his wings, he thought he would burst with pride
“Congratulations, Mr. Merz and happy landings,” the officer said.
“Thank you sir,” the newly-qualified pilot replied.

With Australian units being readied for overseas, George was ordered to embark with elements of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, bound for the newly-captured town of Rabaul. George’s deployment was not merely a routine matter, but required clearance by no less than the Minister of Defence.

George returned to Australia in early 1915 and prepared to sail yet again. This time he hoped that it would be to the battlefields of Europe.

In April 1915, the British Government asked Australia to supply members of the flying corps for service in India. The Government immediately indicated that they could not supply aircraft but could provide the four recently-qualified Australian officers (due to his recent return from Rabaul, George was to follow later) as well as 45 other ranks, to be known as the First Half Flight.

Some of the other ranks compromised volunteers from the training camp at Broadmeadows. Most of these men had a bit of mechanical experience, but mostly on motor vehicles, electric motors and the like – none had any experience with aircraft. Others chosen to work on the fuselages were carpenters, joiners and the like.
As they all clamored to volunteer, little did they know that India was only a stepping stone to their real battle-front – Mesopotamia.

The Turks had conquered Mesopotamia in their quest to establish the Ottoman Empire. The British were keen to seize the vital oilfields and open an avenue to re-supply Russia via an overland route.

As they made their way towards their final destination, they were able to pick up a few people on route. They found a couple of pilots and mechanics from the Indian Army and a New Zealander, Lieutenant Burn, who were quickly seconded to the flight.

On their arrival in Mesopotamia, the pilots could not believe their eyes. Instead of front line combat aircraft, they learnt they were to fly primitive outdated relics. The machines were in insufficient numbers to do the job. Some were defective when they arrived in the theater and lacked enough spare parts to effect repairs. The aircraft could not be fitted with machine-guns and as the bomb racks that arrived with the planes didn’t fit – the light two pound bombs had to be dropped by hand.

As the larger 20 pound bombs arrived, the pilots would be forced to drop them through holes cut in the cockpit floor. What really rubbed salt into the wound, was that some of the aircraft were even purchased secondhand.

It was clear the planes would be restricted in the most parts to merely a reconnaissance role. The only problem was that these missions would be carried out in the worst conditions imaginable. The temperature often topped 50 degrees celsius and the hot thermal winds blew with unbelievable ferocity. The planes only had a top speed of fifty miles per hour and when hitting strong headwinds actually began to move backwards in mid-air.

George Merz arrived at the end of June and was immediately put to work. He found the flying conditions horrendous but like the other pilots, he flew all the same, without question.

They would strike out ahead of the advancing troops, reporting on the disposition of the enemy forces, the movement of reinforcements and also the actions of the surrounding Arab tribes whose loyalties were questionable to say the least.
In mid-July the force received two Caudron aircraft, each powered by an 80hp engine. The pilots still considered the aircraft as frail but significantly better than the crates they were flying at present.

Towards the end of July the British forces were pushing against the heavily defended town of Nasiriyeh. Merz and another pilot by the name of Reilly, acting as an observer, were engaged in close reconnaissance of the town during the assault. As the situation changed, Reilly quickly scrawled a note and placed it into a weighted bag with signal tail affixed. Merz would then fly in low over the forward headquarters and Reilly would drop the bag to the waiting arms of the headquarters staff.

The Euphrates dissected Nasiriyeh and the battle raged throughout the day on both sides of the river, in temperatures of 113 degrees fahrenheit. In a see-sawing battle, most of it hand-to-hand in the forward trenches, the British took the upper hand and forced the Turks from the town. Casualties were high on both sides and the medical staff were battling to cope with the numbers of badly wounded soldiers.

That night Merz presented himself at the hospital to assist. The doctor eyed the pilot with suspicion, “Sorry Lieutenant, no aeroplanes here, I'm afraid.”

“I’m not here to fly, I'm here to work. I’m a qualified doctor and by the look of it you can use a hand. Where do I scrub up?” Merz replied.

George worked through until the early hours of the morning and as he finished with his last patient, he moved outside to get some fresh air.

“Well lieutenant, the Flying Corps gain is certainly the Medical Corps loss. You did well in there,” the doctor said.
“Yes, well it’s flying for me at the moment, which reminds me, I must get to bed, I’m scheduled for a flight at dawn.”
“Well thanks again, we couldn’t have done it without you, you know!” the doctor said extending his hand.
“No problems, if you need a hand again, please don’t hesitate to give me a yell,” Merz assured.

The next morning, July 30, 1915, the two Caudrons sat on the edge of the strip. The mechanics had started the engines a couple of minutes early to warm up. The engines had been acting indifferently when flown from Basra a few days previously. Reilly was to fly one of the aircraft with a sergeant-mechanic in the observer’s seat, while Merz was to fly in the other with the New Zealander Burn as observer.

Reilly laid out the plan.

“Right, we’ll take-off and head south-east back towards Basra. We’ll stay in sight of each other at all times, at about 4000 feet – alright?”

George, nodded and he and Burn moved towards their plane.

Soon after take-off, the planes became separated in the early morning haze. Reilly’s machine was running rough and he was forced to make a landing near a pumping station at Abu Salibiq. Although the Arabs looked menacing, they’d been suitably impressed by the recent British victories and didn’t harm the flyers. After some minor repairs, Reilly and his observer were able to complete their journey to Basra. On his arrival he found that Merz and Burn had failed to arrive.

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