"So it was that the war in the air began. Men rode upon the whirlwind that night and slew and fell like archangels. The sky rained heroes upon the astonished earth... What was the heavy pounding of your Homeric swordsmen, what was the creaking charge of chariots, besides this swift rush, this crash, this giddy triumph, this headlong sweep to death?"

Tuesday 15 March 2016

Belmont's Rascals

"I came here to make chocolate and fly planes, and there's no more time for chocolate."

Frederick Belmont as a pre-war chocolatier
Introducing No. 00 Squadron RFC, otherwise known as the Double-Oh or Belmont's Rascals after their eccentric leader Major Frederick Belmont. Born in Switzerland, he trained as a chocolatier before emigrating to England in 1907 to establish a renowned tea room and café. When war broke out in 1914 he was eager to give something back to the country which had been so good to him and promptly enlisted as a cavalry officer, before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in early 1915. He quickly earned a reputation for near-suicidal bravery and tactical innovation, and as the war in the skies escalated used his political influence to push forwards his ideas for a special-purpose squadron, and No. 00 (Experimental) Squadron was born. Following the example of their squadron leader the volunteers of the Double-Oh took on some of the most dangerous and toughest missions over German lines, and were responsible for testing many of the new aircraft arriving at the front, before they were issued in bulk to the RFC.
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