September 2018 FLYPAST 11798 SQUADRON 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
when a raid by ‘A’ Flight was
engaged by 15 enemy aircraft. The
next day the squadron flew its final
sorties over Champagne and then it
moved to Blangermont, France, in
the British sector where on the 8th it
supported the Battle of Amiens. In a
day of intense air fighting the unit’s
DH.9s initially hit enemy airfields
before switching in the evening to
targeting railways. One formation
from ‘B’ Flight, led by Capt F G
Powell, struck Péronne but he
and his observer, Capt G H P
Whitfield were wounded and forced
down by Fokker D.VIIs, to
become prisoners.
Sorties continued through August,
still in the face of strong opposition
and during one strike against railway
sidings at Cambrai on September 3,
the DH.9s were attacked by a group
of Fokkers, several of which were
driven down. However, the RAF
machine flown by Lts Raymond
Ingram and Kenneth Dennitts was
shot down and they were killed,
whilst another returned with Lt J G
W Halliday, its 19-year-old
observer, dead.
No.98’s darkest day came during a
raid on Mons on the 30th – four
DH.9s failed to return and two
more crashed on landing, though
the gunners also claimed four
Fokkers. Operations then tailed off
with its final bombing strike being
by six DH.9s against a rail junction
near Mons on November 1.
Reconnaissance work then occupied
the squadron until the Armistice.
During its time at the front it had
dropped around 84 tons of bombs
and destroyed 40 enemy aircraft for
the loss of 26 of its own, with 41
aircrew killed or missing and 16
more taken prisoner – a very
heavy toll.
Initially the squadron acted as a
holding unit for personnel from
disbanding DH.9 units; then in
March 1919 it returned to England
as a cadre which stood down on
June 24, 1919.BOMBER COMMAND
No.98 was eventually re-formed
at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, on
February 17, 1936 as part of the
great expansion of the RAF, and
equipped with Hawker Hinds with
1 Group Bomber Command, in
the day role. By the end of July it
participated in the large-scale air
exercises to test London’s defences,
moving the following month toHucknall, Nottinghamshire’s
2 Group.
A few weeks later, Sqn Ldr P J A
Hume-Wright was appointed CO
and training continued at an almost
leisurely peacetime pace until in
June 1938 the first Fairey Battle
monoplanes arrived. When the
‘Munich Crisis’ broke in September
the unit was put onto a war footing,
after which training continued with
renewed vigour. However, when war
was declared the following
September, No.98 was tasked to
provide operational training for
crews destined for the frontline
Battle squadrons in France. To assist
it in this role, it received ten dual-
control Battle (T)s in November.
The following April, Wg Cdr D F
Anderson led the squadron to France
where it was quickly established at
Château Bougon near Nantes. Its
primary task was to receive crews
from England to complete their
training in theatre. This work
increased following the heavy losses
suffered by the Battle squadrons after
the German offensive which began
on May 10. However, it is believed
that No.98 didn’t fly any operations
before it was withdrawn to Gatwick
in June. The ground party was“I fi red 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”
Above left
After World War One
No.98 became a
holding and disposal
unit and among
the aircraft used
was DH.4 B7964 at
Bickendorf, western
Germany, in early
March 1919. VIA
C HUSTONBelow
A trio of Hind light
bombers prepares for
a formation training
fl ight from Abingdon
in the spring of 1936.