Identifying Annotations on a 1917 German Aerial Recce Photo

[Bernoullis]

Folks, I have been extremely fortunate to obtain, from Ebay, an original WW1 recce photo that portrays Bruay airfield in mid-1917, a time when Major Arthur W Keen MC, our research subject, was based there. Delightfully, the photo shows the Nieuport 17/23 aircraft of his unit, 40 Squadron, arrayed upon the airfield. As well as the airfield hangars and offices, my research buddy and I have also been able to identify much of the squadron domestic and ancillary accommodation, including the tennis court that was the pet project of 40 Squadron’s Padre Bernard W Keymer!

Aware of the experts that contribute to this website, I have a trio of questions for those of you who are more familiar with recce photos and recce units of the German air services.

1. The hand-written annotation (printed from the photo negative) across the top of the photo appears to be the following:

FL.A.240 5.6.17 845 U [or perhaps J?] Flugplatz Bruay H.5000 Br.50.
1513

[I do want to put up a scan of the annotation here, but I am having trouble getting it to appear with the posting. Please bear with me, I will work on it ...]

The details that I garner from that annotation are that the photo was taken 5 June 1917 at 08:45 a.m. Having actually walked this ground last year, there is no doubt it is certainly Bruay Airfield. I suspect the "H.5000" indicates 5000 metres altitude. "Br.50." may be something to do with the camera lens or camera settings, or perhaps even a map reference. Can anyone conclusively help with these annotations?

The German vendor of the Bruay recce photo (whom I first pointed out to users of The Aerodrome here) has several other German WW1 recce photos, some vertical, some oblique, and the annotations mostly seem to have a similar format. Just about all those that have annotations also begin with “FL.A.240”. Many of those particular recce photos are still available on Ebay – please see the links I have provided at the very end of this posting.

2. Given the different time systems used by the opposing sides in this war, am I correct in assuming that a German time of 08:45 on 5 June 1917 would be 07:45 for the British? Whilst I am aware that there were differences in the times used by the opposing sides on the Western Front, I don’t have much material about it. Trevor Henshaw’s newly revised edition of ‘The Sky Their Battlefield’ states the following about 1917 time, where the date of this specific photo is concerned:

“From 16.4.1917 until 17.9.1917 German time was one hour ahead of British time.”

The few paragraphs about time in Trevor’s marvellous book only seem to provide specific references to variations of time in 1917 and 1918. What would have happened in 1914, 1915 and 1916? I would welcome any enlightenment about times in general for the Western Front, throughout the entire war.

3. If there isn’t anything in the recce photo annotation that identifies the unit that took it, perhaps the following may help identify the German unit? Amongst the vendor’s photos is an air-to-air shot of what looks like a German DFW C.V (or one of it’s license built derivatives from Aviatik, Halberstadt, LVG, or Schütte-Lanz ..... but I’m no expert, ). This air-to-air photo also has similar annotations across it’s top edge, including a date of 3 September 1917. Consequently, I strongly suspect this photo was also taken by the unit that snapped the recce photo of Bruay airfield. You get the idea - one chap taking a pic of his formation colleague. Does that seem a reasonable assumption? There is a white ‘S’ symbol on the fuselage side, just forward of the cross (be sure to select the second photo on that Ebay page and mouse-over to zoom in on it). Can anyone identify the unit depicted by this aircraft photo?

As my buddy pointed out to me, there is a similar ‘S’ seen in a photo on this Wikipedia page about the DFW C.V, although here the ‘S’ is dark on a white square. Is it a squadron unit marking or is it perhaps the marking of a larger wing or group? I did write to the vendor (with an attached German translation courtesy of Google Translate) and asked if they could discern the serial number visible on the fuselage under the leading edge of the tailplane – no reply, sadly.

I sincerely hope that you can throw some light on my questions, because the subject is way outside my field of knowledge. Over to you, the experts!

Many thanks!


PS: The Bruay recce photo has evidence on it’s rear side of having spent time glued into an old dark-paged album. This persuades me that the collection of photos from this Ebay vendor likely came out of an old album and were, therefore, likely to have originally been in the ownership of the person who snapped the pics, or from someone closely connected to that person. Many of the photos are still for sale, so fill your boots – pricey, but we are chuffed to bits with the Bruay pic!


PPS: For your interest, these are the other interesting pictorial items being offered by this Ebay vendor - recce pics:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2216239378...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3810751968...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2216239534...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3810751825...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2216239495...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3810751961...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3810751945...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3810751903...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3810751892...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3810751883...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3810751756...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2216239391...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2216239442...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3810751816...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2216239398...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2216239356...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Some other WW1 aircraft pics:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3811234004...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2216241024...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
(The following 2 pics appear to be the same 19 Sqn SPAD VII B1627. Research shows that it was shot down by AA near Harnes, on the north-east side of Lens, on 19.5.1917 and Lt Stanley Frank Allabarton taken POW.):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3810753595...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2216241031...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Ernst Udet (highest scoring German ace to survive WW1?), in a photo that looks like it was taken between the Wars:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Original-F...item58bc968ba1

[alastair reid]

I speak German but do not know very much detail about the organisation or subject at all I am afraid. I also cannot yet see the photo itself, but from a language point of view some common abbreviations are:

FL.A. Flieger Abteilung = Flying unit
H. Höhe = height
Br. Breite = width

They may of course have stood for other common phrases associated with aerial recce photos that I know nothing about.

[alastair reid]

Br. could also be Brennweite = focal length

Attached is the border of another German WW1 recce photo with 'Bild 3; BR = 25 cm; ca 10 km.' Picture 3, focal length 25 cm, approx. 10 kilometres (to the target)

[alastair reid]

Here's a page that lists some of the members of 240 Squadron:

http://www.frontflieger.de/2-faa240.html

There are a couple of photos at the bottom, one of which has an aeroplane in. Apparently the Sqn became renamed FA 240 after a reorganisation on 15 Jan 1917. Before that it was the AFA 240 (which looks like the same thing really - Artillerie Flieger Abteilung) and this was originally formed on 12 September 1916.

http://www.frontflieger.de/2-afa240.html

[Bernoullis]

Alastair, thank you for having an attempt at interpreting the annotation, and convincing, too - thank you!

Yes, it is frustrating that I have not been able to get the annotation scan posted here on the forum. It is Sunday morning here so after breakfast I will have another try. [Sigh] .... sometimes the technology works, other times it seems designed to frustrate, but without it we wouldn't all be able to converse and exchange info here like we do.

EDIT: As an interim measure, Alastair, you might wish to look at the original Ebay sale page, click on the picture of the photo to enlarge it, and see enough of the annotation to confirm or revise your thoughts? Of course, these Ebay sale pics don't stay up on the web forever .......

[alastair reid]

Thanks - I did post another reply for you with a link to a page about the German Recce Squadron involved but I'm afraid its being 'moderated'. Hopefully it will be allowed when the moderator gets up later this morning.

[alastair reid]

Had a look at the ebay link and happy that it is indeed Flieger Abteilung 240.
The height also looks right for 15,000 ft, and Br. is focal length
I think the 1513 is probably the plate number.

[Bernoullis]

Blimey Alastair, you're on the ball this morning! That was very quick!

With your steer for Flieger Abteilung 240 I have had a mosey around the internet and there seems to be compelling evidence that it is the candidate for these photographs, including the fact that it operated the DFW C.V. Merely one example I found is this Ebay link for a Spring 1984 copy of Cross & Cockade, on the cover of which is a photo of a "DFW C.V. of Flieger-Abteilung (A) 240 Returning To The Unit's Airfield at Abscon, France". Great stuff!

I, too, had wondered if "1513" was a print or plate number - seems very likely.

It seems only polite to still attempt to post a scan of the recce photo's annotation with these posts, so I will get to that now. After all, those Ebay links eventually vanish!

[alastair reid]

If you type in Fliegerabteilung 240 (Artillerie) - Frontflieger it will take you to a page about the Squadron. There's a list of some of the pilots and three photos.

[Bernoullis]

Originally Posted by alastair reid

If you type in Fliegerabteilung 240 (Artillerie) - Frontflieger it will take you to a page about the Squadron. There's a list of some of the pilots and three photos.

As it happens, that is one of the pages that turned up in my searches, thank you!

I now also note, in my as yet unread copy of Peter Hart's 'Aces Falling' (having read his 'Somme Success', I am currently in the midst of his 'Bloody April') that it includes several quotes from a Leutnant Fritz Kampfenkel, an observer with FL (A) 240. According to Kampfenkel, Flieger Abteilung (A) 240 performed essentially three different missions:
"photographing enemy positions, including troop positions and approach roads"; "in support of our ground troops, reconnoitring the area where the positions dovetailed"; "seldomly, on bright moonlit nights directing our artillery against enemy guns or supply depots."

Certainly seems like the responsible unit doesn't it?