ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 78971
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| Date: | Saturday 22 August 1914 |
| Time: | 11:16 LT |
| Type: |  Avro 504A |
| Owner/operator: | 5 Sqn RFC |
| Registration: | 390 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Enghien-Bassily, Hainaut -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Maubeuge, France |
The first British aircraft to be shot down by the Germans, on 22 August 1914, near Enghien-Bassily, Flanders, Belgium The pilot was 2nd Lt. Vincent Waterfall (on attachment from the 3rd Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment) and his navigator Lt Charles George Gordon Bayly (formerly of the Royal Engineers) (both of 5 Sqn RFC). According to the following published source from the IWM:
"THE WAR IN THE AIR
BY SIR WALTER ALEXANDER RALEIGH
DATED 1922
22nd August 1914
Extract from the above publication - "The same report confirmed what had already been seen, the presence of enemy troops moving along the great Chaussee on Soignies. This column was taking advantage of the trees on either side of the road to shield its movements. This was the first day on which a machine failed to return from over enemy territory. Lieutenant V. Waterfall (Pilot) and C.G.G. Bayly (Observer), of No.5 Squadron, started on a reconnaissance in an Avro at 10:16 a.m. and next day were reported missing. It was the bringing down of this machine, no doubt, which gave the Germans their first assurance of the presence of the British forces. The observer's report so far as he had written it, was picked up near the wreckage of the machine by some Belgian peasants, and eventually found its way to the War Office in London."
Sources:
1. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/478239/bayly,-charles-george-gordon/
2. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/478797/waterfall,-vincent/
3. http://www.rafmuseumstoryvault.org.uk/archive/waterfall-v.-vincent
4. http://www.rafmuseumstoryvault.org.uk/archive/bayly-c.g.g.-charles-george-gordon
5. https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/4637968
6. https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/38999-the-first-rfc-pilot-kia-in-ww1/
7. http://www.brightoncollegeremembers.com/roll-of-honour/1936
8. http://www.1914-1918.be/insolite_avion.php (Belgian text)
9. https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/38999-the-first-rfc-pilot-kia-in-ww1/
10. http://westfrontassoc.mtcdevserver.com/the-great-war/great-war-on-land/britain-allies/4158-the-first-to-fall-britain-s-first-casualties-of-war.html#sthash.NtPMFX9k.dpbs
11. https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/36959-lt-c-g-g-bayly-no-5-sqn-rfc/
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 31-Oct-2010 05:52 | harro | Added |
| 02-May-2013 19:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Feb-2017 17:20 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Phase] |
| 05-Feb-2019 17:08 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Jun-2022 20:28 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 10-Oct-2023 06:11 | Anon | Updated [[Location]] |
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