Fly Past

116 FLYPAST September 2018

NEVER

FAILINGFAILING

OUR OCCASIONAL LOOK AT THE HERITAGE OF NOW

DISBANDED UNITS FEATURES 98 SQUADRON, FROM

ITS FOUNDATION IN WORLD WAR ONE TO ITS COLD

WAR NUCLEAR BALLISTIC MISSILE DUTIES.

WORDS BY ANDREW THOMAS

1918 2018

By May 25 the situation had

stabilised, and the squadron moved

north to Coudekerke near Dunkirk

in France for strikes on docks and

submarine bases. In early June a

move to Ruisseauville in northern

France was undertaken from where

attacks on the enemy railway system

became its main focus. These

offensives were often strongly

opposed by large formations of

enemy scouts and the unit suffered

steady losses. It wasn’t all one-way

traffic though, as No.98 had its

successes too, such as during a raid

on July 11 that was intercepted by

14 enemy scouts. Second Lt F C

Witton and his observer, Lt Edward

Austin destroyed two, though the

latter was killed in the action.

Flying D1731 Capt Olans Johnsen

was also victorious in this battle:

“Immediately bombs had been

dropped I saw seven Pfalz scouts

coming straight for me about 100

yards away. I fired 20 rounds at the

leader from my front gun who was

last seen going down completely out

of control with a large cloud of

smoke coming from his machine. I

was unable to follow him down as I

was attacked by other EA [enemy

aircraft] and my observer’s gun had

jammed.” Over the next two months

he claimed five victories over

German scouts, and later received

the DFC.

BATTLE OF THE MARNE

Shortly afterwards, 98 Squadron

moved to the east of Paris to aid the

French forces fighting in that area

and quickly went into action to

contain a massive German offensive

on the Marne in northeast France.

Gradually the French stabilised

their line and began to push the

enemy back.

The fighting in the air was fierce,

such as on the afternoon of July 28

N

o.98 Squadron formed at

Harlaxton, Lincs, on August

30, 1917 as a day bombing

unit under Major E L M Gower. It

trained on a miscellany of aircraft

until February 1918 when its de

Havilland DH.9s arrived – this was

a solid type apart from its Siddeley

Puma engine, which proved

disappointingly unreliable.

The unit became operational at the

beginning of April 1918 and moved

to Clairmarais in Flanders as part of

the 9th Brigade, just in time for the

Battle of the Lys that started on the

9th. Two days later No.98 opened its

account when 15 aircraft attacked

Wervicq on the French/Belgium

border. One DH.9 crashed on take-

off and two returned with engine

trouble, but the remainder bombed

successfully. A great German

offensive was in full swing and the

following day No.98 began strikes

on the advancing enemy, mainly in

the Armentières and Bailleul area of

northern France.

Enemy opposition was fierce and

during a raid on Gheluwe in western

Flanders on the 25th the squadron’s

formation was intercepted by seven

Pfalz scouts, resulting in a DH.9

being shot down. Lts C J Gillan and

W Duce were taken prisoner – the

first of 98’s many losses. The unit

continued, however, to fly

throughout the desperate fighting

of April.

Above

Lt Lawson Reason,

an American pilot,

standing in front

of his patriotically

marked DH.9, probably

at Blangermont, on

August 20, 1918. ALL

IMAGES 98 SQUADRON

RECORDS UNLESS NOTED

Right

DH.9 D3053/E forming

a backdrop to the

aircrew of A Flight at

Blangermont, France,

in August 1918.