Simple wargaming rules for WWI.
Simple wargaming with the Belgian Airforce in the Great War
Ihave always been fascinated by the Great War (WWI) particularly the aerial warfare elements with those early dog fights between machines held together by nothing but wire, glue and hope! And - like many - I naturally named to the exploits of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), inspired by the stories of aces like Albert Ball and Lanoe Hawker and decided to wargame these actions using little planes of my own. Whether you use Wings of Glory, rules or something of your own, the little models of Sopwith Camels, Pups, SESs etc all join your collection in tiny 1/144 scale painted in RFC colours; pitted of course against suitable German opponents. When I started aerial gaming I tended to concentrate on the years 1914 to 1916. Then, a chance, one-pound purchase from a charity shop changed all that.
IT ALL STARTED HERE...
The purchase in question was of an unpainted but complete 1/72 scale aircraft that I didn't recognise at first glance but it was so good I couldn't resist buying it. After much searching for images I initially identified the plane as a Hannot HD1 as used by the Belgian Air Service. I set to and prepared to paint up the model, just for fun. But this got me thinking about that country's struggle in the air during the 1914 -18 war and how little I knew about it. I then took the next logical step and decided that I would find out a bit more about the Belgian Air Force, build one or two Hanriots in 1/144 scale and pit them against some suitable German models.
Ironically, during the early phase of research I realised that the unpainted charity shop model was actually a Nieuport 28 as made by Revell. Used, I discovered, mainly by the United States Air Arm in 1918. Still, I thought, perhaps the Belgians used it too? I would soon find out.
HISTORY OF THE FORCE
Belgian military aviation was founded in 1909 when three key personalities came together in fortuitous circumstances. Firstly there was General Hellebaut, the Minister of War who decided after his own first flight, that aeroplanes might be of military use. Then there was a rich civilian, Baron Pierre de Caters who also learned to fly and was of the same opinion. Finally, there was the Belgian monarch King Albert who also took a keen interest in the military use of aircraft and gave the project his full backing.
As with other countries the Belgian War Ministry Insisted that prospective pilots had to earn a civil pilot's brevet prior to their military one and in 1910, three Belgian lieutenants earned their pilot's brevets, paying their own fees! Other fee payers followed with some training in England before returning to their native Belgium In the spring of 1911, the new air force established its own military aviation school with five pilots, two mechanics, and a woodworker receiving its first aircraft gifted by Baron Caters himself.
In September 1912, a Belgian pilot and his observer were the first Europeans to fire a machine gun from an aircraft. That was followed by another Belgian pilot demonstrating the aerial use of the Lewis machine gun at Hendon and Aldershot So, although Belgium politically chose neutrality they were at the leading edge of military aviation in terms of possibilities if not in the manufacture of home grown aircraft.
As with other countries Belgium entered World War I with a motley collection of aircraft used solely for reconnaissance missions. By the time of Belgium’s invasion by the German army in August 1914 the military aviation branch had been renamed the Aviation Militaire Belge (AMB). It consisted of four squadrons,
each of four Henri Farman aircraft. Each squadron had a commander, five pilots, and six observers, with all officers seconded from parent units. A Belgian pilot Sous Lieutenant Henri Crombez flew one of the first war patrols on 4 August 1914 and Adjutant Behaeghe was the first to engage an enemy a few days later.
BRING ON THE FIGHTERS
On 3 January 1915, two machine guns supplied by the British were fitted to two Belgian aircraft. These were in fact Belgium’s first dedicated fighter planes. In April, further advances in armament took place when a Lieutenant Fernand Jacquet mounted a machine gun on his pusher aircraft. On the 17th of that month he and his observer (Lieutenant Henri Vindevoghel) scored Belgium’s first confirmed aerial victory, sending an Albatros reconnaissance aircraft down in flames.
On 18 January 1916, the decision was made to form dedicated fighter squadrons and on 22 February, Escadrille I became the 1ère Escadrille de Chasse while Escadrille V was turned into the 5ème Escadrille de Chasse.
The former consisted of newly supplied Nieuport 10s and one obsolete
Farman two-seater.
Later the new squadrons would upgrade to
Nieuport 11s, By
February 1917 the AMB had grown to 44 aircraft, including 21 fighters and in March 1918, the AMB matured into a Groupe de Chasse with two fighter escadrilles. By the start of the Allies final offensive in September 1918, the AMB was incorporated in the Allied aviation effort, and could send 40-plus aircraft into the air at one time. In its short span of service, the Groupe fought over 700 aerial combats and was credited with 71 confirmed and 50 probable victories.
But what of its pilots? Perhaps the most famous was Willy Coppens who became the top ranking balloon buster of World War I, as well as one of the war’s top aces with a score of 37 including the balloons. Four other pilots from the tiny force also became aces these being Andre de Meulemeester (11), Edmond Thieffry (10), Fernand Jacquet (7) and Jan Olieslagers (6). A sixth Belgian, Adolphe DuBois d’Aische, became the war’s oldest ace while in French service. This is a considerable achievement by the pilots of the AMB considering that often the planes used were not the most up to date models, as you will see...
AIRCRAFT IN SERVICE
It is a sad fact that because Belgium was a small country which was largely occupied, it did not have the means to manufacture its own aircraft. So, all aircraft in use were mainly French or
British types. This usually meant that the AMB was at the back of the queue when new types or marks became available to the RFC and French Airforce. In fact the AMB often had to wait anything from six to twelve months for a latest mark of Nieuport or