I only recently learned about an amazing bunch of people known as the ‘Balloon Busters’. According to historyisnowmagazine.com, ‘Balloon Busters’ were regarded as the daredevils of World War One. They were fighter pilots who specialised in flying high-risk missions behind enemy lines, destroying enemy observation balloons.
The balloons were usually filled with helium and attached to a winch by a cable. Baskets carried observers whose job it was to monitor enemy movements from a high altitude and provide vital intelligence to the troops on the ground.
They also acted as artillery spotters. From their vaulted vantage point, they could advise their troops on whether they were hitting their targets or not and instruct the gunners on necessary adjustments to improve their accuracy.
These balloons were heavily protected by anti-aircraft guns and machine guns and the infantry who were encouraged to fire at any enemy aircraft that came within range so getting close to them was a risky business. A shortage of helium in Germany meant they were often filled hydrogen instead which exploded when mixed with air and any kind of flame.
The balloons were often booby-trapped too. Straw dummies dressed in uniform were placed in the basket along with explosive charges and left at a tempting altitude for enemy fighters. When the pilots got close enough, the bombs were detonated. That made life difficult for attacking fighter pilots, so they had to get in and out quickly.
It wasn’t a job for the faint hearted and one man who took on the challenge was Major Edward Corringham “Mick” Mannock. He was a British First World War flying ace and while his exact place of birth is uncertain, some sources say he was born in Ballincollig, Co. Cork.
In an article by O’Brien Browne published in an issue of Aviation History, it was revealed that Mannock was born in Cork, Ireland, on May 24, 1887. As soon as he was old enough, he joined the British Army and as he wanted to become a pilot, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps.
His instructor noted that Mannock was a natural flier who needed very little instruction or encouragement. He didn’t lack confidence either and when he was sent to the Western Front in April 1917, he wasn’t slow in giving advice to pilots who had been there far longer than him.
They accepted his arrogance though because he proved himself to be a skilful pilot. They were further impressed when Mannock volunteered for a strike on German observation balloons. He destroyed one and notched up his first victory of the day but later wrote in his diary: “My fuselage had bullet holes in it, one very near my head, and the wings were more or less riddled. I don’t want to go through such an experience again.”
It didn’t stop him though and he had tallied 73 victories by the end of the war. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) and the Victoria Cross (VC) as a flight commander. In his VC citation in the London Gazette of July 18,1919 Major Mannock is described as “a highly distinguished officer who during the whole of his career in the Royal Air Force was an outstanding example of fearless courage, remarkable skill, devotion to duty and self-sacrifice which has never been surpassed.”
He gained a reputation for being ruthless and for being one of the greatest fighter pilots of the war, but he also developed a phobia about being burned to death in mid-air. Mannock became upset when he saw one of his victims catch fire on its way to the ground and from then on, he always carried a revolver with him in his cockpit and promised to shoot himself if he ever found himself in that situation.
Just days after warning a fellow pilot about the danger of flying low into ground fire, Mannock did just that. On 26 July 1918, his fighter plane was set on fire, and he was killed in action.
He took a rookie pilot, New Zealander Lt. Donald Inglis, on a mission to get his first kill on a dawn patrol. The two left the base at 5 a.m. and flew out towards the enemy lines. Mannock spotted an enemy plane on a routine reconnaissance sortie. He led Inglis into the attack and shot the plane down near the village of Lestremme.
Mannock waved to Inglis and then broke his own rule by making a couple of low passes over the burning wreckage. He dived to the crash site to view the wreckage and while crossing the trenches, the fighters were met with a massive volley of ground-fire. The engine of Mannock’s aircraft was hit and immediately caught fire and crashed behind German lines.
One account of the incident described how Mannock’s body was believed to have been found, about 250 yards from the plane wreckage although that was never proven. The implication being that he may have jumped. The body showed no gunshots, but Mannock had always said he would shoot himself first.
Inglis said they were over the German trenches when he noticed a bluish flame on Mannock’s engine cowling. The left wing then fell away and it entered a death spin into the trenches where it exploded in a ball of fire.
Initially it was thought that Major Mannock’s remains were obliterated in the fire, but it is now known that he was buried by an unknown German soldier, who later returned his notebook and other personal effect via the German Red Cross.
His grave was never found but the condition of his identity discs and the reported condition of his notebook indicate that he may have jumped or fallen from his aircraft, or that he may have even shot himself as he said he would.