Arch Whitehouse's war record?

[Lufbery]

Hi all,

Arch Whitehouse had written a lot about WWI aviation, but aside from a few remarks that I've read, I've not seen much about his war record. What I do know is this:

• He was born in England, but his family moved to the U.S. when he was a child.
  
• He joined the R.F.C. early in the war as an observer. I think he ended up as a Brisfit gunner.
  
• He later went on to fly Camels.

That's it ... that's all I know. Can anybody tell me how many planes (if any) he shot down as an observer and as a pilot? There was a line in one of his books, The Military Airplane, where he stated that in the author's squadron, none of the observer/gunners had fewer than 11 kills -- presumably, this includes the author himself.

-Drew

Hi!
As near as I can tell,Whitehouse is a fraud. In the book "Above the Trenches(I think)" ,the exhaustive work by Franks et.al, Arch Whitehouse's name is no where to be found among the British pilotsand observers listed.
Dan

[Darryl]

Hello,

Arch Whitehouse is a legend in his own mind.
He single handedly won the war, invented dogfighting, knew every ace, drank more and had more women than any other man on the face of the earth!!!!!!!!!!

Along with Longstreet and to a lesser extent Reynolds, he did more to put about
mis-information and outright lies than anyone else.

He WAS an observer and Above The War Fronts (?) lists him only as a note to a shared victory of one of the actual observer aces. Don't have it with me so can't tell you which.

As I have said before, reading his books is not a total waste of time as long as you keep a close watch on him and verify anything he says from other sources. No reading or knowledge is a waste of time!

BUT quote him here at your peril, as not everyone is as open minded as I. (VBG)

As for him being a Camel pilot, I've not heard any proof of that and his name never crops up in any reference I have of Pilots. Personally I doubt it but am always happy to hear contrary arguments.

best regards

Darryl

[Lufbery]

Thanks for the responses, guys. Actually, I was aware of his dubious reputation, that's why I posted this message. I've enjoyed reasing his book, The Military Airplane, but I've never treated it as more than a survey of plane types with commentary thrown in.

His description of flying a Camel sounds right on, and he never outright claims to be a either an observer ace or a pilot ace. He also describes some other technical issues, like the carb in a Camel, in great detail. On the other hand, a lot of his commentary is obviously exagerated and very biased. Still, I think it's interesting to find out the truth behind such a prolific author.

-Drew

The only problem I have with Whitehouse's describing the "carb in a Camel" is that the Camel did not in fact have a carburettor. No rotary-powered aircraft did. Some variants of the Camel had fuel-control levers that physically resembled throttles, but these were not connected to carburettors in any sense that I'm aware of. Rather, they were connected to a valve that regulated fuel flow into the crankcase.

[Russell]

As far as I know Whitehouse was in 22 Squadron from April to November 1917. He shares in 4 claims, all in Bristols, 2 on 12 August with Lt J C Bush, 1 on 2 Oct 17, again with Bush, and 1 on 10 Oct 1917 with Lt Meggitt. Seniority as pilot from 20 Sep 1918 in 1919 Air Force list.

[Darryl]

Very interesting Russell, is there any indication as to with which squadron(s) he served as a pilot? Or the aircraft he may have flown?

regards

Darryl

While in final training at Cranwell on Camels in the summer of 1918, Whitehouse found out that overseas volunteers with at least 3 years active service could apply for overseas leave (i.e. return to their country of origin on leave). As a qualifier, he naturally applied. The leave came through while he was at Southampton, getting ready to board the ship that would have taken him and other Camel pilots to the Italian front for postings. He retuned to the States a day or two before the war ended, never having gotten to an active squadron.

These details come from "The Fledgling--an aerial gunner's experiences in World War 1", which is Whitehouse's autobiography (Nicholas Vane publishers, 1964).

As an aside, it should be noted that in trying to research information on Whitehouse, his name in British records is "Arthur G.J. Whitehouse, C of E" (Church of England). Don't try Archibald--while a lifelong nickname, it isn't his real name.

[Lufbery]

Michael Skeet said:

[color=blue] "The only problem I have with Whitehouse's describing the "carb in a Camel" is that the Camel did not in fact have a carburettor. No rotary-powered aircraft did. Some variants of the Camel had fuel-control levers that physically resembled throttles, but these were not connected to carburettors in any sense that I'm aware of. Rather, they were connected to a valve that regulated fuel flow into the crankcase." </font>

Here’s an excerpt from a book called The Military Airplane, Its History and Development (Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1971. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 76-145752) written by Arch Whitehouse:

[color=blue] "Many historians have declared that rotary engines were not fitted with carburetors. This is a ridiculous statement. In the author’s engine-school notebook, still extant, is his classroom drawing of a Clerget carburetor showing the double air-intake, the petrol inlet, needle valve, and expanding throttle slide. There also was a fine adjustment device between the tank and the carburetor itself. The carburetor was known as the block-tube type and was mounted on the end of the hollow crankshaft. At the crankshaft was fitted an expanding throttle slide, and attached to the end of the slide by a ball joint was a tapered needle that fitted into a jet port. Thus, as the throttle was opened it allowed air to flow through the carburetor to mix with the gasoline being forced through the jet. It was not as efficient as the standard carburetor, but it provided command of engine speed and permitted control of fuel and air flow. What surplus gasoline flooded around the needle valve was carried away through two drip pipes." </font>

Actually, Michael, it sounds as though you and Arch are talking about the same thing.

-Drew

[Lufbery]

Thanks to everyone who's replied. I submitted the same question to the folks at Over the Front. Here's the reply I got: <hr> [quote][color=blue] Drew:

If you can find a copy, Arch Whitehouse wrote his own WWI autobiography under the title, The Fledgling. That, of course, would give you the complete picture, but to answer your questions:

Whitehouse flew with 22 Squadron from the time it was equipped with F.E. 2bs through their time on Bristol Fighters. He claimed (strong emphasis because as is the case with most of the RFC victory claims, his was no doubt inflated) to have shot down 22 EA as an observer. In fact, I believe he claimed to have been the leading observer ace of the war, but I'll let you make up your own mind on that one. In any event, you're right, he did return to England to train on Camels and, if memory serves, he had either just completed his training or was in its final stages when the war ended, so he had no victory claims as a pilot.

Good luck finding the book.

Jim Streckfuss <hr> -Drew