RAF support in Battle of Amiens
Letter from the commander of the Fourth Army, General Henry Rawlinson, thanking the RAF 5th Brigade for its support during the Battle of Amiens, 16 August 1918.

The Allied victory at the Battle of Amiens (8-11 August 1918) was founded on a combined offensive, in which - as Rawlinson acknowledged - air power played a significant part. In the days before the battle, British pilots undertook important reconnaissance missions over German lines. Roughly 800 RAF aircraft then participated in the offensive on 8 August, during which Allied forces captured seven miles of territory. However, as Rawlinson also recognised, this success came at a heavy cost: 97 British and French aircraft were either downed or irreparably damaged during the first day of the battle.
Catalogue reference: AIR 1/168/15/160/3 (16 Aug 1918)

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