At the start of World War I, the air power of the Allied forces was extremely limited. Most of the available aircraft and pilots were assigned to the European theater of operations. This meant that the Indian army, which was assigned the task of protecting British oil interests in Mesopotamia against the Turkish army, had no air support. On 8th February, 1915, the Australian government received a request for air assistance from the Viceroy of India. In response, the Australian government formed what is now known as the Mesopotamian half-flight, or Australian half-flight, which sailed for Bombay (and from there to Basra, in what is now Iraq) on 20th April. At this point in time, the Australian Flying Corps was still in its infancy, and while it could provide trained airmen, support crew and repair equipment, it could not spare any aircraft. These were instead provided by the Indian government, and on arrival in Basra on May 26th, the half-flight had access to three pusher (propeller behind the cockpit, rather than in front) biplanes (two Maurice Farman Shorthorns and a Maurice Farman Longhorn). The planes available for the half-flight were of fairly early design, and were not suitable for the desert conditions. To start with, their top speed was only 50mph, while the desert wind (called the Shamal) often reached 80mph, so at top speed the planes would fly backwards. Secondly, the warmer desert air reduced the aircraft lift capability, and so sometimes they could not take off. Also, the Longhorn was a second-hand aircraft, which had persistent mechanical problems, so spent most of its time being repaired. After arrival, the airplanes were immediately put to use on reconnaissance missions. Shortly afterwards, the Indian Army captured the town of Amara, and the airbase was moved there on 9th June. On 4th July, the half-flight was reinforced with two Caudron G3 aircraft, which were still not up-to-date, but generally preferred to the Farmans. Later, on 30th July, one of the Caudrons was forced to land in enemy territory due to mechanical problems. It was later reported that the crew were killed by local hostile Arabs after a running gun-battle over several miles. This was Australia's first air-casualty of the war. On 24th August, the British reinforced the half-flight with additional men and four additional aircraft (Martinsyde S1s) to form a full squadron (renamed 30th Squadron RFC). Further aircraft (three Maurice Farman sea-planes) were added to the squadron in September. Because the Tigris river was too shallow for the sea-planes to use at that time of year, the sea-planes were converted into Shorthorns. The Indian army attack on Kut occurred on 27th September, and was the city was soon captured. 30 Squadron's base of operations was soon moved there. In October, four BE2c aircraft arrived, and the squadron was divided into two flights (A and B), with the Australian half-flight incorporated into B flight. The Indian army soon met with stiff opposition outside Baghdad, and were forced back to Kut on 4th December, where the city was put to siege. Due to the perceived limited usefulness of aircraft in a siege, the remaining Australian aircraft was flown out of Kut towards Egypt on 7th December, where it was eventually incorporated into 1 Squadron AFC.
Here's some information on Lt Merz, the AFC's first fatal casualty. Merz, Lieutenant George Pinnock MiD, Mesopotamian Half-Flight George Merz came from Melbourne, where he was born on 10 October 1891. He trained as a Doctor, and served in the Melbourne University Rifles and with the Aviation Instruction Staff prior to the outbreak of War, after which he served as a Second Lieutenant with the Naval and Military Expeditionary Force in New Guinea from late November 1914 until January 1915. Two aeroplanes, a BE 2a and a Farman waterplane, were shipped to New Guinea on the sloop HMAS Una (formerly the German Naval yacht Komet) but were brought back to Australia without being unpacked. In 16 April 2Lt Merz was promoted to Lieutenant; he left Melbourne on the SS Morea four days later, after being retained in Australia as an instructor after the bulk of the Half-Flight had left. He rejoined his unit on 13 June, when he arrived at Basra in Mespotamia. Shortly after his arrival, the unit received Caudron aeroplanes to supplement the Maurice Farmans previously in use. Lt Merz was Mentioned in Despatches for services during the Euphrates Campaign, during which he carried out numerous reconnaissance missions as the Indian Forces advanced up the River. He was killed in action in Mesopotamia on 30 July 1915 while flying in Caudron GIII IFC4 with Lt W W A Burn, a New Zealand officer serving with the Half-Flight. The Caudron, along with a similar machine flown by Capt H L Reilly of the Indian Army and Sgt Palmer, left Nasiriyeh for Basra after a reconnaissance mission. Capt Reilly’s aeroplane soon had to land due to engine trouble, but came down among relatively friendly Arabs. A short time later, Lt Merz was also forced to land some 20 miles south east of Nasiriyeh due to engine failure, but the Caudron landed among hostile Arabs. The airmen defended themselves with revolvers, but were eventually killed after a running fight that extended some eight kilometres. Despite a search, no trace of the airmen was found. The remains of the Caudron were recovered some days later. Lt Merz was the AFC’s first fatal casualty. Lt G P Merz has no known grave and is commemorated on Panels 43 and 65 on the Basra Memorial, Iraq. Gareth
In addition to the death of Lt Merz, nine AFC mechanics were trapped in Kut and taken prisoner by the Turks when the garrison surrendered. Seven of these men died in captivity - along with 4800 other British, Australian and Indian prisoners.
They say he was the doctor born to fly Gareth ...... ! ‘The planes only had a top speed of fifty miles per hour and when hitting strong headwinds actually began to move backwards in mid-air’
Lieutenant G.P. Merz of Melbourne Australia, born at Prahran VIC, 1891 Lieutenant W.W.A. Burn of Christchurch NZ, born Gippsland VIC, 1890 Although William Burn was born in Australia, he was educated in New Zealand and in 1911 joined the New Zealand Defence Forces. In August 1912 he left for England for further military training (a common practice at the time). Although not specifically earmarked for aviation training, he became New Zealand’s first military aviator when he passed his Royal Aero Club Certificate on 24 February 1914. Burn stayed on in the UK for several months before returning to New Zealand in 1914 to a staff appointment. Lieutenant George Merz was born at Prahran in Victoria and graduated from Melbourne University with a degree in Medicine. After joining the Australian Flying Corps in 1914, Merz was dux of the Central Flying School’s first course, which included the likes of Williams, White and Manwell. Merz complemented intellectual brilliance and professional dedication with an appealing modesty. Within weeks of the November graduation from CFS Merz and his companions were bound for the Middle East. In February 1915 the Indian Government unexpectedly asked Australia to contribute pilots, aircraft, and supporting services to Indian Flying Corps operations against the Turks in Mesopotamia. Although no aircraft could be provided, four officers and forty-one airmen with their own ground transport were dispatched to Mesopotamia via Bombay, including Lieutenant George Merz. Lieutenant William Burn was seconded to the Australians as New Zealand’s commitment to the Indian request. Known as the AFC Half Flight and used mainly for reconnaissance, this group possessed a mere handful of borrowed aircraft, with only hand-dropped bombs. On 30 July 1915, Burn and Merz were returning to base at Basra when the engine of their Caudron aircraft failed. They made a forced landing near Basra and were immediately attacked by heavily armed Arabs. Armed only with pistols, Burn and Merz conducted a skilful running fight, hoping to reach the nearest friendly base. One was wounded, and the other stayed to protect him. They both died, but not before killing one and wounding five of their adversaries. Each was the first death in action for the air forces of their countries.
G'day All, Nice to see some familiar faces here. MyGreat Uncles William and Hector Lord were both members of the Half Flight. William ended up in Kut and ended up dying on the Turkish Death Railway through the Tarsus Mountains. I have a number of Williams letters, his last letter talks of the wonder that was Ezra's Tomb. His remains are now buried outside Baghdad in a communal grave. When his remains and the others were moved to Baghdad they could not identify who was who and buried them together. I have written a letter to the CWGC offering a DNA sample from myself and Hector's Grand Son. I was never one to worry too much about the communial grave until I read a file stating the fact that they all had individual graves until the relocation. We will see what comes of this. Hector and William were twin brothers. Take care all Andrew.
I was reading about the ordinary Turkish soldiers during WW1 recently ... they had no concept of the word "prisoner" ..... they would automatically kill any enemy soldiers who surrendered or who were left behind injured on the battlefield. This behaviour really annoyed the Germans and those Turkish officers trained in Europe because live prisoners were needed to get intelligence information. As well as the murder of defenseless prisoners, the Turkish armed forces further ignored the normal conventions of war by using captured enemy soldiers as forced labour. The death-rate of allied prisoners working on the Cilicia railway exceeded that of the notorious "death railway" in Burma constructed by the Japanese during WW2 using forced labour Not sure when this was taken but ......... here's a view of a narrow gauge train carrying troops and supplies. The Henschel ""Bagdadbau lok"" is pulling a long string of typical WW1 German cars
