Air Service WWI (non .303 inch)

When the British Expeditionary Force went to France in August 1914, the Royal Flying Corps element took off from Swingate Down above Dover and flew to their headquarters at Amiens.

66 aircraft took off and not one of them was armed with anything other than the pilot's sidearm. They were simply not powerful enough to carry both the crew and a heavy machine gun and ammunition.

It was soon realised that the aircraft would need to defend themselves from enemy craft if they were to carry out their function of reconnaissance effectively and so a range of ammunition was developed suitable to be fired from rifles and shotguns carried by pilots or observers

At the same time, the Zeppelin threat to the United Kingdom was recognised and steps were taken to develop ammunition believed capable of attacking these massive airships.

As aircraft rapidly developed it soon became the norm for them to be armed with Vickers guns firing forward and Lewis guns for the observers and for the over wing position. The .303 inch ammunition for these weapons is covered in the relevant .303 inch pages.

All other calibres of ammunition , both service and experimental are covered in the following pages.