|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Flight Lieutenant Henry Botterell
First World War fighter pilot with the Royal Flying Corps. Born in 1896, Henry Botterell joined the Royal Naval Air Service in Canada, and in 1916 sailed for England where he trained as a pilot to fly fighters. In 1917 he was posted to France, joining an operational squadron on the Western Front, butan engine failure on his second take off brought his flying to an abrupt conclusion, forcing him to spend several months in hospital and convalescing back in England, where he was demobilised. After a chance meeting with pilots on leave in England with whom he had trained, Henry applied to rejoin the service and was accepted. Re-qualifying as a fighter pilot, in early 1918 he returned to operational combat flying in France with 208 Squadron Royal Flying Corps. Flying Sopwith Camels he saw active service with 209 Squadron for the remainder of the war until the Armistice in November. Staying in France as part of the continuing Force he eventually returned to Canada in 1919 - bringing back with him a fence post which the wing of his Camel had collected on one of his many low level sorties. The post now resides in the War Museum in Ottawa. Henry died in 2003.
|
|
| Text for the above items : |
The Biff Boys by Robert Taylor. On the morning of 30th November 1917, Lieutenant Andrew McKeever, a Canadian serving with 11 Squadron RFC, together with his observer/gunner Lieutenant Leslie Powell, climbed into their Bristol F2b Fighter and took off alone; their task to fly a solo reconnaissance patrol over Cambrai, where the decisive battle involving tanks for the first time in history was raging on the ground below - it was to prove a remarkable day. As they flew over the enemys lines they encountered a pair of German two seater observer aircraft, protected by no fewer than seven enemy Albatross DV scouts. Armed with a forward firing .303 Vickers machine gun and a ring mounted Lewis gun in the back seat, McKeever skilfully manoeuvred his aircraft to engage one of the enemy scouts, and destroyed it. As he turned to get back to the Allied lines, five of the remaining enemy Albatross fighters dived on his tail, but Lt Powell rapidly downed two of them in quick succession with deadly fire from his Lewis gun. Continuing the duel with the remaining Germans, McKeever managed to destroy a further Albatross when suddenly his observers Lewis gun jammed. The pair seemed doomed, however McKeever, showing great courage and initiative, feigned disaster by rolling his aircraft over, plummeting it towards the ground. Fooled by the manoeuvre, the German aircraft climbed away, and McKeever levelled out just twenty feet above the ground and flew back to safety. Remarkably, all of McKeevers thirty one victories were achieved at the controls of the Bristol F2b Fighter, making him the highest scoring ace with 11 Squadron, and of any pilot flying two seater aircraft during the First World War. |
Balloon Buster by Robert Taylor. Flying a Sopwith Camel with RFC Squadron 208, Flight Lieutenant Henry Botterell brings down a German observation balloon near Arras, northern France, August 29, 1918. Botterell acknowledges the observer with a chivalrous salute before departing the scene. |
| Flight Lieutenant Henry Botterell Aircraft details |
 Camel Manufacturer : Sopwith Built : 5714 | Camel SOPWITH CAMEL: was the most successful fighter of World War one. Claiming almost 3,000 air victories. The prototype of the Sopwith camel first flew in December 1916, and its first combat mission began in June 1917. joined 4 squadron RNAS based near Dunkirk. The first Royal Flying Corp squadron to receive the aircraft was no. 70 squadron. The Sopwith camel was the first designed fighter to have two forward firing machine guns. Its design gave it amazing maneuverability and aerobatic qualities. and was perfectly suited for aerial dog fighting. Squadron after squadron was re equipped with the camel and by the end of February 1918 13 squadrons were fully operational with the aircraft along the western front. Also used on the Italian Front with 3 squadrons equipped. This figure increased with a total of 19 squadrons equipped on the western front by August 1918. This included two squadrons no. 151 and 152 for night fighter duties. in June 1918. There was also a naval version of the Sopwith camel. the 2F.1s which gradually replaced the Sopwith Pup and other naval aircraft. The Naval version most memorable fete was done by Lt S D Culley who took off from a towed wood platform and destroyed the Zeppelin L.53 on the 10th August 1918. also on the 18th July six aircraft took off from the forward deck of HMS Furious to bomb the Zeppelin base at Tondern which they successfully did destroying two Zeppelins L.54 and L.60. This was the first time carrier borne aircraft had destroyed a land base installation. In total 5597 F.1s and 317 2F.1s were ordered but there may have been 200 less built. Performance. speed: 113mph at 10,000 feet. service ceiling 19,000 feet. Armament: two fixed forward firing Vickers .303 machine Guns. or one .303 forward firing and one .303 Lewis Gun |
| Flight Lieutenant Henry Botterell Squadron details |
No.208 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , GA, RG, | No.208 Sqn RAF Vigilant |
|
Contact Details |
|
Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com
|
 |
