ad, however, been carried out spasmodically before
1918. In addition to its taste for bombing in general, the Royal Naval
Air Service were keenly bent from the outset on long-range bombing in
particular. The question of forming an Allied squadron to bomb German
munition factories was first raised in 1915 at one of the monthly
meetings between the French and British Aviation departments; and in
February, 1916, a small squadron of Sopwith "1-1/2 Strutters" was formed
at Detling for the purpose of bombing Essen and Dusseldorf from England,
but the Army in France, being short of machines, asked that they should
be sent to the front, and therefore the scheme did not mature; neither,
for similar reasons, did one for the co-operation in 1916 of British and
French bombing squadrons, operating from Luxeuil.

It was not until October, 1917, that the first striking force,
consisting of three squadrons, was formed under the Army with Ochey as
its base. It was mainly used in raids against the ironworks in the
Alsace-Lorraine Basin and the chemical industry in the neighbourhood of
Mannheim. As I have said, a definite offensive policy by means of an
independent strategic force was later decided upon, and the
"Independent" Air Force was brought into existence. It originally
comprised two day-bomber and two night-bomber squadrons. During the
summer additional squadrons were allotted to it, including D.H.9's and
Handley Pages. Day-bombing squadrons had to fight their way to
objectives in close formation, and the problems connected with
navigation, calculation of petrol supply, action of wind and ceiling,
were all accentuated. Casualties were heavy, with the result that a
squadron of Fighters, composed of Sopwith "Camels," was incorporated for
the purpose of protection. Thus we see the beginnings of an air fleet
analogous to the naval fleet with its capital ships and protective
craft.

The main objectives were the centre of the chemical industry at Mannheim
and Frankfort; the iron and steel works at Briey and Longwy and the Saar
Basin; the machine shops in the Westphalian district and the magneto
works at Stuttgart; the submarine bases at Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven,
Cuxhaven, and Hamburg, and the accumulator factories at Hagen and
Berlin.

It will be seen from a map that three of the main industrial centres
were situated near the west frontier of Germany; and, therefore, one
portion of the striking force was based at Ochey, which lies