Tuesday 2 May 2023

Breguet 14. French Users. Part four.

 

The Breguet 14S was an ambulance variant of the regular Br.14. The Frenchs pioneered the ambulance aircraft technology. It was originally made to supplement the ambulance version of the  ageing Voisin X, aircraft which was eventually replaced by the Br.14S. These Br.14 were designated as Br.14S (the letter "S" standing for Sanitaire). The initial versions were regular unarmed A.2s modified to just carry two stretcher cases in the rear fuselage, however, afterwards a dedicated ambulance version was produced using a modified version of the Br.14T transport variant. The first recorded usage of a Br.14S was in 1918 over the Aisne front, when four Br.14S were employed to evacuated wounded officers from the frontlines.
After the war, they were also employed in the French colonial campaigns of Morocco, Syria and Algeria and some of them were employed in the Rif War.

Back to the bomber variant, during 1918, the Br.14B.2 equipped every day bomber group of the Aéronautique Militaire (AM - French Military Aviation), namely, Groupes de Bombardement (GB) 3,4,5,6 and 9. Between January and March 1918 those units were active all along the frontlines. Groupe de Bombardement 3 was attached to the 3e Armée and was specialized in high altitude (above 5.000 m - 16.4042 ft) bombing and GB 4 attacked targets inside Germany, with attacks on Pechlebon, Rothwreil, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. 
GB 5 was employed on a mixture of reconnaissance and attack missions over Châlons-en-Champagne, in the Marne department, GB 6 attacked railway stations all along the front and GB 9 was formed on 11th March 1918, just before the Battle of Picardie and was assigned to Escadre 12. 
During the Battle of Picardie and Flanders which took place from 21st March 1918 until 19th April 1918, all of the five Br.14-equipped escadrilles took part. GB 3, based at Maisonneuve, while the rest of the GBs were based at Villenueve-le-Roi, close to Paris. 
On 23rd March Breguet units began their attacks, with special attention being paid to attacks on troop convoys, train stations and German troops on the frontline. Normally, those targets were attacked with bombs, but the Battle of Picardie saw the first time widespread strafing of frontline troops. Additionally the Br.14s dropped modified 75 mm shells modified as anti-personnel weapons. The combined efforts of every GB was required in order to sustain the aerial offensive on this sector of the front. Other typical targets for the Br.14B.2 were troop concentrations on the rear guard, bridges and supply lines that could slow the German advance. By late March GB 5, 6 and 9 were rebased to Plessis-Belleville, in the Oise department and GBs 3 and 4 were rebased to Cramaille, in the Aisne department. During the first week of April, the front had stabilized enough, so the GBs could concentrate on resuming their typical attacks on railroads and airfields. 
Thanks to the raids on German airfields, which destroyed a significant amount of enemy aircraft, the French bombers encountered significantly less aerial opposition. This disruption caused on the Lüftstreitkrafte (Imperial German Air Corps) allowed the Br.14s to concentrate their attacks on command centers and supply dumps far behind enemy lines. 
As the Battle of Picardie kept on, an innovative tactic took also place. Various SPAD fighters were assigned to escort the bombers. However, many times the planned rendezvous between bombers and fighters didn't take place, so the Br.14B.2s often had to proceed unescorted. On 3rd April GB 3 and 4 were rebased to Beauvais, in the Oise department and GBs 5, 6 and 9 were moved on to Montagne. During this battle the Breguet escadrilles helped to slow down the German onslaught on Picardie and Flanders giving the Allied forces a time to recover.

In the reconnaissance role, there were also various Escadrilles that employed the Br.14A.2, some of those were:

  • BR 227: This unit was created in October 1917 from C 227. It was under the command of Capitaine Poucher and was active in the 4e Armée's sector. It ended the war based at Rumont, Seine-et-Marne department, attached to the American 2nd Army. After the war, in January 1920, it became the 7e Escadrille of 4e Régiment Aérien d'Observation.
  • BR 287: Formed from SOP 287 in June 1918. This unit was attached to the 52e division d'infanterie (52nd Infantry Division), and was based at Roucy, in the Aisne department, in the 5e Armée sector. It was disbanded shortly after the war, in December 1918.
Finally, some A.2 were also field-modified with the addition of photo cameras installed on the sides of the fuselage in the observer's cockpit.





Sources:
1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bréguet_14
2nd Flying Machines Press  - French Aircraft of the First World War



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