Ross Smith's Handley Page at Heliopolis 1918

Depicts Captain Ross Smith's Handley-Page 0/400 bomber at Heliopolis in Egypt.

Ross Smith had served in the cadets and the militia before he left Australia as a sergeant in the 3rd Light Horse Regiment in October 1914; he went to Gallipoli the following year. He was later commissioned and was at the battle of Romani (in the Sinai) in August 1916. The next year he volunteered for the Australian Flying Corps. Flying with No. 1 Squadron AFC, Smith took part in attacks, aerial photography missions, and bombing raids on Turkish forces. On one occasion he landed in the face of the enemy to rescue a downed comrade. During his extensive war service he was twice awarded the Military Cross, received the Distinguished Flying Cross three times, as well as the Air Force Cross. A gifted flyer, Smith became experienced in flying his squadron's twin-engined Handley Page 0/400 bomber; on occasion Lawrence of Arabia was his passenger. While still with the flying corps, he made pioneering flights from Cairo to Calcutta, and from Calcutta to Timor.

The 0/400 bomber was an improved model of the Handley Page 0/100 that had first flown in December 1915, and was the largest British aircraft to see operational service during the First World War. Purposely designed as an aircraft with which to bomb Germany, it was one of the first strategic bombers and operated in this role, largely at night, until the end of the war.