but it could be located on the upper wing central section, or either above or below the port side upper wing. Operational service After evaluation at Hendon on 22 June 1915, the first DH.2 arrived in France for operational trials with No. 5 RFC Squadron but was shot down and its pilot killed during early August 1915. This aircraft was recovered and repaired by the Germans. The first squadron equipped with the DH.2, and the first RFC squadron completely equipped with single-seat fighters, No. 24 Squadron RFC, arrived in France early February 1916. The DH.2 eventually equipped seven fighter squadrons on the Western Front and proved more than a match for the Fokker Eindecker and the first DH.2 victory over an Eindecker may have been on 2 April 1916. DH.2s were heavily involved in the Battle of the Somme with No. 24 Squadron engaging in 774 combats and claiming 44 enemy machines. Service training for pilots in the RFC was poor, and the DH.2 initially had a high accident rate, supposedly gaining the nickname "The Spinning Incinerator", but as familiarity with the type improved, it was recognised as being maneuverable and relatively easy to fly. The limited ammunition supply of the original gun installation proved to be inadequate. Although officially discouraged, pilots experimented with different gun arrangements, including a fixed twin-gun configuration. Furthermore, the original gun mounting was criticised for being loose and unstable, and it obstructed the stick when elevated. DH.2s were routinely flown with the guns fixed into position. The arrival at the front of more powerful German tractor biplane fighters such as the Halberstadt D.II and the Albatros D.I, in late 1916, meant that the DH.2 was outclassed in turn. It remained in first line service until June 1917 in France, until No. 24 and No. 32 Squadron RFC reequipped with Airco DH.5s, and a few remained in service in Macedonia including "A" Flight of No. 47 Squadron and a joint R.F.C. / R.N.A.S. fighter squadron, and with "X" Flight, in Palestine until late 1917. By then, it was dangerously obsolete as a fighter. The DH.2 was then used as an advanced trainer and for other secondary tasks, with the last recorded use of a DH.2 being a single example flying at RAF Turnhouse in January 1919. Ace pilots Distinguished pilots of the DH.2 included Victoria Cross recipient Lanoe Hawker (seven victories, though none in the DH.2),