Three squadrons of 1st Wing Royal Flying Corps were attached to First Army to fly defensive patrols for four days before the attack, to deter enemy reconnaissance.

Intrepid pilots decided to interfere with enemy reconnaissance by improvised means, including throwing bricks, grenades and sometimes rope, which they hoped would entangle the enemy plane's propeller.

Efforts were to be made to disguise this movement from enemy reconnaissance.

During the war, the entire area was camouflaged to fool enemy aerial reconnaissance.

So this unit was now exposed to the world, available for any enemy reconnaissance or surveillance satellite passing overhead to get a good look.

He accumulated considerable flight time while flying training missions in artillery spotting and enemy reconnaissance and observation.

Glantz also states that 13th Air Army provided pre-offensive fighter cover to discourage enemy aerial reconnaissance which might have uncovered the offensive's maskirovka measures.

Eventually its operational career was cut short, and the remaining Ba.88 airframes were used as fixed installations on airfields to mislead enemy reconnaissance.

Patrols were constantly engaging in low-level aerial battles with enemy reconnaissance and large formations of Fokker pursuit aircraft.