Members of the Half Flight gather around a Short 827 seaplane, Serial 822, which has been ...

Members of the Half Flight gather around a Short 827 seaplane, Serial 822, which has been converted from seaplane to land bomber configuration. The Short was one of the small collection of aircraft which made up the Australian Flying Corps Half Flight which, upon the request of the Indian Government, operated in the Mesopotamian basin until mid 1916 against Turkish forces. Built by Short Brothers for the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), 827 was powered by a 150 hp Sunbeam Nubian which, in ideal conditions, gave it a top speed of 98 kph. Armament was provided for with bomb rack fitted under the wings and provision for a Lewis gun. This aircraft was one of three (the others were serials 825 and 827) sent to Mombasa (in modern Kenya) in July 1915 for use by the RNAS against German East Africa, but upon arrival, they were diverted to Mesopotamia. They reached Basra at the start of September and were immediately converted for wireless. As a floatplane, however, they were unimpressive as they often failed to lift off from the Tigris River. To combat this shortcoming, two of the Shorts were then converted to land use with home made undercarriages. In early December 1915 all three Short 827 participated in the bombing of the Turks advancing on Kut, immediately after which they were withdrawn for refitting at Basra. In January 1916 all three were flown to Ora as part of a new composite RNAS/RFC flight, but none survived more than a month and by mid February 1916, all three were destroyed in landing accidents. Note the employment of the Union Jack as a national emblem, which was generally discontinued in December 1914, although this may have been less of a concern in the Mesopotamian campaign.