Half-Flight earned full praise

The fliers and ground crews of the Half-Flight in front of an aircraft at Nasiriyah.

The view showing the workshop and stores. One Half-Flight member wrote: “The chairs are where we take the air in the evening.”

A pilot, possibly Lieutenant Harry Hawker, with an A1 DH9 aircraft.

Men of the Half Flight, or "B" Flight as called here, in Mesopotamia. Photos courtesy RAAF Museum

The Half-Flight camp and aerodrome as seen from an aircraft at 2000 feet.

Posing for a group photograph.

The current war against Iraq is not the first time Australian air and ground crews have operated in the area, as David Wilson writes


During the Allied advance into Mesopotamia (now Iraq) in World War I, the Australian Government was invited by the British Indian Government to contribute a flying unit to the campaign.

A unit of four officers (Captain H.A. Petre, Lieutenants G.P. Merz, T.H. White and W.H. Treloar) and 42 other ranks was deployed to Basra, just below the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia.

The unit, known as the Half-Flight, formed on May 26, 1915, and received its aircraft – two Maurice-Farman Shorthorn and a single Maurice-Farman Longhorn – which were primitive even by 1915 standards. With a maximum speed of 50mp/h, the aircraft were capable of going backwards if opposed by a strong headwind.

The Half-Flight undertook its first reconnaissance mission on May 31, 1915, when it obtained useful intelligence during the Battle of Kurna, which was fought in the marshes near the village of the same name and resulted in a British victory. The aircraft reported the Turkish retreat to the British force commander.

The Half-Flight, renamed No. 30 Squadron Royal Flying Corps in August, flew reconnaissance missions from its base at Ali Gharbi in preparation for the army’s advance to Kut.

During visual reconnaissance of the Turkish defensive positions the squadron discovered a route through the marshy ground through which the enemy flank could be attacked. This facilitated a well-planned attack and contributed to the subsequent Turkish rout.

During the action itself, the aircraft were used as the primary means of communications between the commander, Major General Sir Charles Townshend, and the mobile column operating on his left flank. The aircraft were also involved in artillery spotting and bombed the retreating enemy, using either 2lb or 20lb bombs, sometimes dropped through a hole cut in the cockpit floor.

Before the advance to occupy Ctesiphon, the squadron flew reconnaissance missions to ascertain the strength of the enemy at Nasiriyah, which would be the main route for the retreating enemy forces.

During the preparatory stages, there was an incident that graphically illustrates the primitive nature of the aircraft. Lieutenant White and his observer, Captain F.C.C. Yeats-Brown, were forced to land in front of an enemy position at Zeur because of an engine malfunction. Unable to gain enough power to take off, the two airmen taxied the aircraft 15 miles back to Azuzeyih.

On November 13, White and Yeates-Brown volunteered to cut the communications lines running north and west from Baghdad to the Euphrates, Constantinople and Kifri. Although the mission was successful and the communications were disrupted, the two men were captured, leaving only Captain Petre as the sole surviving Australian aircrew in the squadron.

General Townshend’s attack on Ctesiphon on November 22 was unsuccessful and he was forced to retreat to Kut. After a brief siege Townshend’s force was surrounded and capitulated. The majority of the Australian airmen was withdrawn before the siege and later joined the Australian Flying Corps in Egypt. Nine Australian airmen remained with the forces in Kut with three damaged aircraft and were captured. Seven of them died prisoners of war with only two surviving captivity.

Despite the harsh operating conditions and primitive aircraft the Half-Flight had proved the tactical value of air power by mapping enemy trench positions, directing artillery and bombing enemy troops. They had also cut enemy communications, but at a relatively high cost.

Lieutenant Merz and the New Zealander Lieutenant W.W.A. Burn were killed by enemy troops after their aircraft was forced to land near the front ranks. Captain H.L. Reilly and Lieutenants Treolar and White (Indian Army) were all captured and became prisoners of war. Despite these difficulties the British Indian Army contingent lauded the excellent reconnaissance work done by the flight/squadron.

• David Wilson is the Executive Officer, RAAF Historical Records, Aerospace Centre.

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