Description

This book covers all of Naval 10 from the squadron’s formation in February 1917 up to its re-designation as No. 210 Squadron on April 1, 1918, when the RNAS and the Royal Flying Corps were amalgamated into the Royal Air Force. It includes the real exploits that lay behind the legends of Naval 10—and also reveals a darker patch on the squadron’s war record. By the autumn of 1917, Naval 10 had suffered such heavy casualties in the course of unrelenting intense combat over the Flanders sector that its commander, acting on the feedback of some officers, refused to send his pilots on missions. That led to his being relieved of command and the squadron being transferred to a quieter sector in a state of disgrace, though the act of mutinous insubordination was discretely downplayed, lest it affect other units. Eventually the pilots of Naval 10—and No. 210 Squadron—redeemed their honours, but details of the mutiny are revealed here for the first time.