Royal Flying Corps aerial attack statistics from the Battle of the Somme in 1916

One of the most common misconceptions regarding the First World War, and particularly the First Battle of the Somme, was that it was fought mostly on land and between soldiers and artillery, however the respective air forces played a large part, not only in the fighting and bombing, but also in gathering information and reconnaissance. This graph shows statistics regarding attacks made by the British Royal Flying Corps (which later became the Royal Air Force) during the First Battle of the Somme in 1916.
From the graph we can see that a total of 17.6 thousand bombs were dropped by British aircraft during the First Battle of the Somme (which translates to 292 tons of explosives). Almost three hundred British raids took place during the battle, and aerial observation helped contribute to over 8.5 thousand ground attacks by British artillery. A number of air battles between British and German forces also took place, and British aircraft destroyed or damaged almost 370 enemy aircraft.