Book - No 60 Sqn RFC/RAF

When No 60 Sqn arrived in France in May 1916, partially equipped with the delightfully named Morane Bullet, there were only two dedicated single-seat fighter squadrons on the Western Front. Operating initially as a utility unit, No 60 Sqn's duties were mixed - reconnaissance, fighter patrols and escorts (by one Flight), as well as the landing of spies behind the enemy lines. In the opening weeks of the battles of the Somme in the summer of 1916, the squadron suffered heavy casualties. Its Commanding Officer complained to General Trenchard that this was mainly due to inadequately trained pilots and inferior aircraft. Trenchard withdrew the squadron from frontline duties.