During the First World War, the month of April 1917 was known as Bloody April by the Allied air forces. The Royal Flying Corps suffered losses so severe it came close to being annihilated. In April the Allies launched a joint offensive with the British attacking near Arras in Artois, northern France, while the French Nivelle Offensive was launched on the Aisne and the air forces were called on to provide support, predominantly in reconnaissance and artillery spotting.

The Battle of Arras began on 9 April 1917 and in support the RFC deployed 25 squadrons made up of 365 aircraft, about a third of which were fighters (scouts). There were initially only five German Jastas (fighter squadrons) in the region and this rose to eight as the battle progressed. Since September 1916 the Germans had held the upper hand in the perpetual contest for air supremacy on the Western Front with the Albatros D.II and D.III outclassing the British scouts.

Superior German aircraft, inexperienced British aircrew and the prevailing British offensive strategy resulted in a crushing German victory in the air. During April the British lost 245 aircraft, 211 aircrew killed or missing and 108 as prisoners of war. As a comparison, in the five months of 1916's Battle of the Somme the RFC had suffered 576 casualties.

The Bristol F2A made its debut with No. 48 Squadron RFC during April and lost heavily with four out of six shot down on its very first patrol in an encounter with five Albatros D.IIIs of Jasta 11, led by Manfred von Richthofen. Under Richthofen's leadership, Jasta 11 scored 89 victories during April, over a third of the British losses.