forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
The Book Shelf => What's interesting to read => Topic started by: PJ Fisher on April 02, 2023, 11:12:06 AM
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Zeppelin Gap
Happy April Fools everyone!
(from The Onion, 1913):
(https://i.imgur.com/mb5qYcG.png) (https://i.imgur.com/Kimt7Vd.png)
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Russians Over Galicia
Hey all, starting up again with some war news. Here's a little peek of from the air from a Russian perspective. Not sure how much weight this doctored image holds but it reminds us that the battle for the skies was fought not just over the Western Front.
(from the Evening Ledger, 2 April 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/V78uTb0.png)
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Propeller for a Headstone
And from the Balkan Penisula, here's a grave image showing the burial spot of a few German aviators shot down in action.
(from the Day Book, 3 April 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/FJzerH2.png)
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'Aviation' Car Powers Observation Balloon
(from the Richmond Palladium and Sun-Telegram, 4 April 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/8QbqyOh.png)
Check out forum member MoFo's observation balloon renderings: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9452.msg172139#msg172139
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Freiherr von Richtofen's 75th
Today's news notes the Red Baron's April-2nd victory over a Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 (serial no. A3868), crewed by teenager 2nd Lt. Ernest David Jones and 2nd Lt. Robert Francis Newton of the two-day-old Royal Air Force. Both aviators were were killed when shot down over Hill 104, north East of Moreuil, France. The Kilduff translation of von Richtofen's combat report states:
"About 12:30pm I attacked a British R.E. [aircraft] at an altitude of 800 meters above the woods at Moreuil just below the clouds. As the adversary did not see me until very late, I managed to approach within 50 metres of him. I fired from ten metres' distance until it began to burn. When the flames shot out, I was only five metres away from him. I could see the pilot and observer twisting out of their aeroplane [seats] to escape the flames. The machine did not burn in the air, but gradually burn [on the way] down. It fell out of control to the ground, where it exploded and burned to ashes."
Evidently the wreckage this R.E.8 and its crew was captured on film while still smoldering (skip to the 9:30 mark): https://www.filmportal.de/video/bilder-aus-der-grossen-schlacht-im-westen-5-teil
(from the New-York Tribune, 5 April 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/bVGX03N.png)
Check out forum member gedmunson's 1/32 Meng build of Fokker Triplane 127/17, which was flown by Richtofen in the spring of 1918: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13422.0
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Yankee Flyer
American author James Norman Hall had several 'high adventures' fighting in France. Though he never earned ace status, today's news relays a combat from 27 March where he, flying with 103rd Aero Squadron, downed two enemy aircraft in the span of seven minutes. His backstory is equally impressive:
"Hall was on vacation in the United Kingdom in the summer of 1914, when World War I began. Posing as a Canadian, he enlisted in the British Army, serving in the Royal Fusiliers as a machine gunner during the Battle of Loos. He was discharged after his true nationality was discovered.... Hall returned to Europe in 1916 on assignment with Atlantic Monthly magazine. He was to have written a series of stories about the group of American volunteers serving in the Lafayette Escadrille, but after spending some time with the American fliers Hall himself became caught up in the adventure and enlisted in the French Air Service. By then the original Escadrille had been expanded to the Lafayette Flying Corps, which trained American volunteers to serve in regular French squadrons." (via wikipedia)
(from the Knoxville Independent, 6 April 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/0KmfU9t.png)
Just one month later Hall would find himself on the receiving end of bad luck in the skies of France:
"On 7 May 1918, during a dogfight over German lines, Captain James Norman Hall's Nieuport biplane fighter lost the fabric on part of its upper wing and almost simultaneously was hit by an antiaircraft shell, and crashed in enemy territory.... Hall spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner. By the time of his capture, Hall was one of the most experienced and highly decorated American pilots in the United States Aviation Service." (via masshist.org)
Hall ultimately garnered the Croix de Guerre with five palms, the Médaille Militaire, the Légion d'Honneur and the American Distinguished Service Cross. His bullet-torn-and-bloodied French uniform tunic (from a prior downing) is in the collection of the Iowa State Historical Museum. After the war, Hall partnered fellow pilot Charles Nordhoff to pen several book, including a history of the Lafayette Escadrille and most famously, Mutiny on the Bounty. We are lucky to have 'before and after' images of Hall's Nieuport 28 (No. 6153).
(https://i.imgur.com/uFfG9l7.png) (https://i.imgur.com/PATzUTc.png)
(images respectively via theaerodrome.com and wwiamerican.com)
Check out forum member IanB's 1/72-scale Revel build of a Nieuport 28 similarly in American service: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=2115.msg34609#msg34609
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Both Sides of a Bombardment
More news from the Dardanelles Campaign with a story on the Royal Navy's continued assault on Turkish fortifications; this time at Smyrna. As reported here last month, the R.N.A.S. was flying Shorts, Sopwiths and Wights from the seaplane-tender H.M.S. Ark Royal for artillery spotting, observation, and light bombardment beginning in early 1915. Though not referenced directly, we know from Ark Royal's logbook that the two planes involved in today's headline were Sopwith Admiralty Type 807 (serial #922) and [my favorite] the Wight A.1 Improved Navyplane (serial#172), which were respectively featured here on February 21 (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg252648#msg252648) and March 10 (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg253029#msg253029).
(from the Cambria Daily Leader 7 April 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/6NwOBkK.png)
Our March 10 post offered the airman's angle, including a diary entry and a personal poem about aerial bombing from the Wight Navyplane's pilot, Flight Commander Geoffrey Rhodes Bromet, whose machine had been hit twenty-eight times by enemy fire. Today we get glimpses of these airplanes from eyewitnesses at sea and on land. First, excerpts from Ark Royal's log provide insight on the support crew's efforts and the man-hours involved to get these two planes into action. And after all that work, the Sopwith failed to reach its objectives due to engine trouble... twice in one day! The images show #922 on deck, Wight #172 folded in the slinging process, and a sister Navyplane (#176 I believe) with its great wingspan fully unfurled on the sea surface.
4 April 1915, Gulf of Smyrna, Lat 38.5, Long 26.8
2:05am: Shaped course S 27 E –68 revolutions – Patamos Lights N 27 W
3:05am: reduced to 60 revolutions
3:30am: Course and speed as requisite for Seaplanes and obtaining a bearing
3:45am: Air Service Ratings employed hoisting out Seaplanes
6:00am: Hands employed cleaning ship and assisting with Seaplanes
6:12am: Lieutenant Douglas left in 922 for bomb dropping flight over Smyrna Harbour
6:57am: Lieutenant Bronst (sic; et al.) left in 172 for bomb dropping flight, over Smyrna Harbour
8:20am: Lieutenant Bronst returned and reported that bombs had been dropped at 3 Torpedo Boats but had missed
8:55am: Lieutenant Douglas returned in tow of HMS USK, his engine having failed before reaching Smyrna
9:00am: Cleaned guns
9:20am: Pipe down – hands and Air Service Ratings employed when necessary for Seaplanes
12:30pm: Lieutenants Bronst and Douglas left in 172 and 922 for bomb dropping flights over Smyrna Harbour
12:40pm: Lieutenant Douglas returned, engine having failed
2:00pm: Air Service Ratings employed when necessary for hoisting machines
3:40pm: Shaped course N 5 W – 11 knots for Mityleni
(via naval-history.net; original document here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/oldweather/ADM53-34098/0068_0.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/1XMKFqJ.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/WIN18kf.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/ZjPPaoh.jpg)
Secondly, we have an enlightening diary entry; not from a man of war but from a female nurse who witnessed the bombardment from her home. Grace Williamson (1865-1945) was the daughter of an expatriot English merchant, and ran a maternity hospital (now home to the Levantine Heritage Foundation) in Smyrna at the time of the Great War. Williamson's description of the 'huge Aeroplane' (the Wight was about the biggest plane in British service and the world's largest seaplane when introduced) and the timing of her entry suggest that it was Bromet she saw in the sky above her that day:
"April 1915: At a quarter past one this afternoon the aeroplane came round again and the valiant Turks fired at it and quickly drove it away in a few minutes. The shots certainly very nearly reached it this time. I can see so well from my window.... What excitement we have. It appears the Aeroplane threw one bomb on a small gun boat. Ruth saw it from Guiffrey’s balcony. It did not hit the boat. It is a lovely sight to see the huge Aeroplane flying round and round and being shot at. The shells burst in the sky when they don’t hit, and look like little white doves or puffs of clouds against the blue. I am so glad to have seen this sight. As soon as we hear the whirl of the plane we all rush to the roof, and you should see what a sight it looks from my window. Every roof crowded."
(via noisybrain.com; further entries here: https://noisybrain.blog/2017/06/03/smyrna-at-war-1914-1918)
And here's a vintage postcard depicting Smyrna's harbor and rooftops leading up to the old fortifications (via neareastmuseum.com):
(https://i.imgur.com/wxDLxhW.jpg)
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Unbuckled Boxkite
Here's a grave reminder from the past to wear your seatbelt! Amazingly there was no safety-harness requirement (and actual resistance to wearing them!) when learning to fly in those early years. Had this cocksure showboat not thrown himself out of his plane he likely would have earned Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate #762 on this day in 1914.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 8 April 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/8gQ8GBG.png)
"It was a pathetic piece of over-confidence. He had already done his two sets of five figures of eight, descending safely after each set, and had then only to complete a volplane, i.e. glide, from 400 feet. Noticing that the wind was strengthening, I had told him not to go higher than 400 feet, and I was therefore astonished and not a little alarmed to see him continue to climb until he was over 1,000 feet. "He's going to try a spiral", I called out apprehensively to the official observer ... I was right. He began to spiral down to earth, but the nose of his machine dipped steeply and Deane fell out of the plane from over 400 feet to the ground. He was determined to finish his test with special brilliancy and had made his spiral too steep. He must have been thrown forward against the control column and then been catapulted out. " (F. Warren Merriam, 'First Through the Clouds', B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1954, pg. 81)
Following this mishap the Royal Aero Club strongly recommended the fitting of quick-release safety-belts:
"Report.—
The Committee sat on Tuesday, April 28th, 1914, and received the report of the Club's representative who witnessed the accident. Eye-witnesses of the accident also attended before the. Committee and gave evidence. From the consideration of the evidence, the Committee regards the following facts as clearly established:—
1. The aircraft was built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Co., Ltd., in November, 1913, and was of a type in which the pilot sits on the front edge of the lower plane with the engine and propeller behind, and is quite unenclosed.
2. The wind at the time of the accident was about 5 miles per hour.
3. The control wires were found to be intact after the accident.
4. Sergt. Deane had been a pupil at the Bristol School for about six weeks, and during the latter part of the time had made many good flights.
5. The School instructor has stated that in his opinion Sergt. Deane was fully competent to pass the tests for his Aviator's Certificate.6. The pilot was not strapped into his seat, nor was the aircraft fitted with a safety belt.
7. A spiral descent is not laid down as part of the tests for Aviators' Certificates.
Opinion.—
The Committee is of opinion that the accident was due primarily to the pilot forcing the aircraft down at too steep an angle, resulting in his falling forward on his control and accentuating the steepness of the descent.
Recommendation.—
In view of the numerous instances which have come before the Committee in which the use of a safety belt might conceivably have either prevented the accident or mitigated the results, the Committee strongly recommends that all aircraft be fitted for and with some form of quick-release safety belt in order that the pilot may avail himself of this safeguard should he wish to do so. In making this recommendation the Committee is fully alive to the objections that have been raised to the use of the safety belt."
Check out forum member NP's 1/48-scale Inpact build of a similar Bristol Boxkite: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1855.msg30186#msg30186
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Fröhliche Ostern!
(https://i.imgur.com/szOZf9T.jpg)
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Under the Gun of Garros
Two articles today cover a milestone moment in military aviation... the day Roland Garros felled another airplane by firing a gun mounted within arc of his propeller. His victory was widely reported in the press. Though the articles note how Garros 'shot forward with great bounds' using a 'quick-firer', his innovation was not fully appreciated publicly until later. The Germans military most definitely gained an appreciation it only seventeen days later when Garros was shot down over their lines and his novelty contraption revealed. The rest of the story is well known to most readers.
(respectively from the New Britain Herald and the Evening World, 10 April 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/t1Ov8ao.png) (https://i.imgur.com/UAGdgzD.png)
Check out forum member Zabu's 1/72-scale AZ Model build of Garros' Morane Type L Parasol from this encounter: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=2028.msg32992#msg32992
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The First U.S. 'Air Force' Mission
This not-so-successful but historical event was hinted at here last April in a headline titled 'Six U.S.A. Aircraft Already Become Junk' (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg242863#msg242863). Details from Smithsonian Magazine:
"On March 19, 1916, eight Curtiss biplanes from the U.S. Army’s 1st Aero Squadron—the country’s entire air force—flew into Mexico for their first military action. The target was Pancho Villa, the guerilla leader who had provoked U.S. ire ten days earlier by crossing the border to attack the small town of Columbus, New Mexico. Let's just say that things didn't go very well. By the end of April, every one of the airplanes was destroyed. And it wasn't as if the squadron's commander, Capt. Benjamin Foulois, hadn't seen disaster coming. Back at the unit's home base in San Antonio, he had struggled with incessant equipment problems, locked in a battle with the Curtiss company over shoddy workmanship and parts that constantly needed replacing." (full article here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-first-air-force-mission-55247737/
(from the Watertown Weekly Leader, 11 April 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/Xs50IQ0.png)
Though I believe the planes involved were technically Curtiss JN-3's, check out forum member macsporran's 1/48th-scale Lindberg build of the similar JN-4: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11404.msg212038#msg212038
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Seaplanes vs. U-Boats
Pivoting from yesterday's struggles searching for bandits below the Mexican border, today we're over the North Atlantic hunting for unterseeboots beneath the waves.
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 12 April 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/UiORNst.png) (https://i.imgur.com/kMP6kkP.png)
No specific aircraft are identified in this report, but since 'large seaplanes' were referenced, have a look at forum member mgunn's 1/32nd scale build of the Wingnut Wings Felixstowe F.2a: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12223.0
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Strike on the Royal Aircraft Factory
...by lighting!
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 13 April 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/dj8xzOp.png)
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Chases Thirty Miles. Shoots at Fifteen Feet.
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 14 April 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/49H3SH4.png)
Based on this post, Special Hobby offers a 1/48-scale Nieuport 10 with Bone's markings: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11942.msg222384#msg222384
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Jean Navarre Earns Special Ace Status By Downing Five... French Policemen!
The pioneer ace fought hard and partied hard only to die accidently just months after the armistice while training to fly through the Arc de Triomphe for a victory parade. Here's a great website recounting Navarre's highs and lows, including a mention of today's news: https://donhollway.com/jeannavarre/
(from The Sun, 15 April 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/VzcIWDD.png)
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Observations of a Neophyte
Walter John Shaffer was a relatively new recruit in the Lafayette Escadrille when he penned this letter home. Like the backdrop of a film set, it paints fleeting but perspicuous scenes of the aviator's everyday aerodrome experience.
(from the Harrisburg Telegraph, 16 April 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/AAWQELV.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/jDJUmmF.png) (https://i.imgur.com/TdGgUX5.png) (https://i.imgur.com/C9138e4.png)
Our author doesn't reveal which type of parasol he was assigned to, but Czechmaster offers a Morane-Saulnier A.I with Shaffer's markings: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/CMR72-112. Meanwhile, check out forum member Ianschippee's 1/48-scale Special Hobby build of a similar plane: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8638.msg158750#msg158750
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Mission Failure
Today's news reports on one of the greatest strategic blunders of the Great War.
(from the Birmingham Age-Herald, 17 April 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/O7nJYSK.png)
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Down in No Man's Land
This story relates to a March 28 incident when American airman Frank Leaman Baylies survived being shot down in between the lines. Evidently Baylies had been rejected by the American air service because of substandard vision, so he flew for France instead in the Lafayette Escadrille.
(from the Tonopah Daily Bonanza, 18 April 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/VPituuW.png)
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Tanked By Turks, Brits Bomb Own Submarine
Not sure which planes participated in this mercy killing of submarine HMS E15, but the 1960's-era comic below suggests one was a Short two-seater (possibly Admiralty Type 166). For further reading, here's a good article written by a descendant of one of its survivors who was subsequently imprisoned for the remainder of the war: https://timedetectives.blog/2015/05/31/submarine-e15/
(from the Sun, 19 April 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/hyat5Qs.png) (https://i.imgur.com/iJcCJTo.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/nmzNmrL.jpg)
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Meet the Fokkers
Coming soon to your hometown! Mere months after the armistice, captured war trophies were already touring America to celebrate the Allied victory and to help for a final round of war loan funding. Two Fokker D.VII's were highlights already flying over American skies when today's news hit the press. Images and articles on this pair of planes were featured in local papers across the county well into the coming summer months as the tour progress throughout the states. Here are some samples. I wonder if these planes are among the survivors in museum collections today? Here's the list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_Fokker_D.VIIs
(respectively from the Monmouth Inquirer {19 April}, the Evening Capital News {20 April}, the Omaha Daily Bee {26 April}, the Monmouth Inquirer {1 May}, and the Oklahoma City Times {2 May}; 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/5aiDOAv.png) (https://i.imgur.com/Nbf2twd.png) (https://i.imgur.com/zwnhrgH.png) (https://i.imgur.com/x0nLi7r.png) (https://i.imgur.com/TPLJ1IE.png)
Check out forum member fredjocko's build of a captured Fokker D.VII in USAS markings: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11351.0
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Sopwith Camel Time
The F.1 had already been on active duty for ten months before this introductory mention was published in the stateside press. While the reporter's description of the 'hump' reminds us that the press doesn't always get it quite right, this remains an early public mention of one of the best-remembered airplanes in history.
(from the New-York Tribune, 21 April 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/w4WwhJ9.png)
The Camel is claimed to have the highest kill rate of any British fighter of the era. Its high accident rate is also well known.
"...the Camel gained an unfortunate reputation with pilots, with inexperienced ones crashing on take-off when the full fuel load pushed the aircraft's centre of gravity beyond the rearmost safe limit. A stall immediately resulted in a dangerous spin. RFC pilots used to joke that it offered the choice between "a wooden cross, the Red Cross, or a Victoria Cross." (via wikipedia)
To reduce the frequency of training mishaps a number of Camels were fitted as two seaters. Here's an old 1/72 build (Academy with Rosepart conversion) of mine depicting a such a configuration as flown with No.32 Training Depot Squadron, Montrose, Scotland, Spring 1918:
(https://i.imgur.com/zC2iyDD.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/69fSTP7.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/72EspHk.png)
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I find it very, very hard to believe any part of that model is Academy, PJ - beautiful work! I thought it was a 1/48 Eduard, if not larger!
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I find it very, very hard to believe any part of that model is Academy, PJ - beautiful work! I thought it was a 1/48 Eduard, if not larger!
haha, thanks. I actually recycled it from a model I built as a teenager. Disassembled, sanded down and repurposed. I recall much of the shading was done with pastels and the surface details simply highlighted with various colored pencils.
(https://i.imgur.com/FvuDpit.jpg)
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TERROR DRONE
During aviation's early years newspapers routinely published fantastical stories about new inventions that now seem naive. This story actually holds some truth for its time, and drone technology is certainly at the forefront of aviation today, over 100 years after this article was published.
(from the Medford Mail Tribune, 22 April 1915):
'(https://i.imgur.com/SDCrZiK.png)
Not sure how such supposedly top secret information made its way to the public, but the Royal Aircraft Factory did indeed experiment with 'Aerial Torpedoes' throughout the great war. I'm going to add a model of this to my 'to-do' list. Per wikipedia:
"There is a Royal Aircraft Factory engineering drawing dated October 1914 of an unmanned powered monoplane 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) long with a 10 ft (3.0 m) wingspan. This was developed as a possible defence to counter the threat of aerial bombing from German dirigible airships. This new potential weapon was called "Aerial Target" (AT), a misnomer to fool the Germans into thinking it was a drone plane to test anti-aircraft capabilities... The Royal Flying Corps' Aerial Target was the world's first drone unmanned aircraft (UAV) to fly under control from the ground.
Until 2016 the RFC Aerial Target project was deemed by most sources to have failed and been terminated. The on-line images of the Imperial War Museum Feltham artefacts were not presented as a collection. Prior to 2019 no known source had published details of the Royal Flying Corps secret patents or demonstrated that they matched and described the items in this IWM collection. The Feltham Works re-application of their system to control the Royal Navy DCBs had not been established. Details of the mysterious Feltham Works were in the National Archives but not published. References to the post war influence of the Feltham Works success as it passed via Biggin Hill to the Royal Aircraft Establishment have now been researched. The suspected influence of Pitcher and Loraine on Denny's involvement with UAVs was recognised in 2019. The Imperial War Museum now state... "The Aerial Target... became the first drone to fly under control when it was tested in March 1917. The pilot (in control of the flight from the ground) on this occasion was the future world speed record holder Henry Segrave."
(https://i.imgur.com/MkkGr2b.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/dySCNb4.jpg)
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Iron Nerve
Can anyone identify this anoymous aviator? Aliased here as only "De M", his story closely resembles but predates by a few months that of British pilot John Aidan Liddell, who earned the V.C. for showing similar fortitude in completing his mission. Liddell's feat was shared here back on August 25th. Perhaps this French flyer ultimately survived and was similarly decorated?
(from the Omaha Daily Bee, 23 April 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/ekRjgaV.png)
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Highs and Lows
Two back-to-back snippets pertaining to the RNAS today. The first notes the decoration of Petty Officer J. Rees for an aerial victory, the second describes the death of Flight Lieutenant Bush from a unfortunate wirestrike over his home port. Following is a bit more on Bush's story.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader 24 April 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/pxV8F5m.png) (https://i.imgur.com/T6jLh0y.jpg)
(image via greatwarforum.com)
"On April 22nd 1917 Lieutenant Richard Eldon Bush was testing a Sopwith Baby seaplane near Fishguard Harbour. The aeroplane failed to clear power lines when taking off and it crashed, and a sentry dragged the injured pilot from the plane before... two 16 pound bombs being carried exploded and the aircraft was completely wrecked. Bush (aged 26) - was badly burnt. Lieutenant Bush was billeted at the Fishguard Bay Hotel, and was taken there to be treated for his injuries. He died on 24th April 1917. Bush was piloting Sopwith N1033, one of the latest Blackburn-built ‘Baby’ float planes, with a revised wing section had only been delivered to the new RNAS anti-submarine station at Milford Haven the day before the accident. " (via aviation-safety.net)
(https://i.imgur.com/pg62Erl.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/XRFAtiU.jpg)
(images respectively via kingstonavaiation.org and walesonline.co.uk)
According to a post on greatwarforum.com, the blackened mark from Bush's crash is still visible one-hundred years later. In 2019 a model of Bush's plane was put on display at the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre: https://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/17432896.seaplane-model-goes-display-pembroke-dock-heritage-centre/. Also, check out forum member PrzemoL's 1/32 Lukgraph build of a similar bomb-laden Sopwith Baby; https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10939.0
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Lafayette Fliers Fall
The final flight of R.H.Hoskier, allegedly the second American aviator to have died in combat during the Great War, was referenced here last month on March 15. Today's news reveals that his flying mate was French adjutant Jean Dressy, a who had previously escaped capture by the Germans. They were felled by Willie Schenke of Jagdstaffel 20.
(from the New-York Tribune, 25 April 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/oontwXo.png) (https://i.imgur.com/ZOABV7R.png)
Here's a second view of their crash site juxtaposed with a modern image of the same field where a memorial sign has been placed. A stone stele erected in their memory can be seen here: https://www.aerosteles.net/steleen-grugies-hoskier.
(https://i.imgur.com/bgEveDD.png) (https://i.imgur.com/yXjJv7r.png) (https://i.imgur.com/topituN.png)
(images via patch.com; uswarmemorials.org)
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Sopwith Cuckoo in Action
For our third Sopwith spotlight in one week, here's an early publication, albeit printed inverted, of the now-familiar photo series of Sopwith's Cuckoo N6950 during torpedo-dropping tests. Though the article correctly states that the Armistice arrived before the Cuckoo saw combat, it first flew nearly a year and a half earlier in June 1917. I was surprised to discover that no one has submitted a model of this plane here on the forum!
(from the Ogden Standard, 26 April 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/RjPpDkw.png)
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Seaplane Side-Slips
Our fourth Sopwith story this week shares news of a new two-seater that crashed just two days into service with the seaplane tender HMS Ben-my-Chree (whose sinking headlined here back on January 12).
(respectively from the Newark Evening Star and the Freie Presse fur Texas, 27 April 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/tMyz1HN.png) (https://i.imgur.com/6lm1kFB.png)
Some online sources cite the aircraft involved in this double fatality as a Wight Navyplane (at least one of which was aboard ship), but Ben-my-Chree's logbook notes this crash involved RNAS serial number 928, which was assigned to a Sopwith Admiralty Type 860 torpedo bomber. Kingstonaviation.net also notes,"On 26th April after just two days in service and on its first test flight from HMS Ben-my-Chree, “Type 860” floatplane No.928 crashes from 600 ft after banking slightly with the engine throttled back possibly intending to alight but side-slipping into a nose dive beside the ship. Fl Lt S. Medlicott and AMI H. G. Hughes are both killed". Flight Lieutenant Medlicott was interned at Haslar Royal Navy Cemetery, and is memorialized on the Potterne Cross outside the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Wiltshire, England. The Sopwith 860 is another plane that has yet to appear in model form here... or maybe anywhere?
(https://i.imgur.com/j5NrU4e.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/xRiC0yc.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/4oFOvbl.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/OcOz2WZ.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/x6pNnfn.png)
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Struts to New Heights
I swear I'm not overly obsessed with Sopwiths, but here's story number five on the subject this week. Today's news pertains to a '1-1/2 Strutter' that their chief test pilot, Harry Hawker, flew to nearly 25,000 feet. This established a new British height record.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 28 April 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/9p82o0H.png)
"On 26th April Harry Hawker takes a “1½ Strutter” to a new British height record of 24,408ft at Brooklands, a considerable improvement on his own 18,393ft record in the “Sigrist Bus” last June and not far short of the long-standing world record of 25,750ft held by Herr Oelerich in a specially modified DFW. The only change to Harry’s standard machine is a finer pitch Lang propeller. One report refers to it as a single-seater which would suggest that it is the first “1½ Strutter” bomber. Sopwith’s second Admiralty order for “1½ Strutters” has been formalised for 100 in a mix of long & short range two-seat fighters and long range single-seat bombers." (via kingstonaviation.net)
Check out forum member AndRoby67's 1/72nd-scale Toko build of a Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter single-seat bomber variant in Dutch markings: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10861.msg199831#msg199831
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Quarterly Report
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 29 April 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/IZ4mm1V.png) (https://i.imgur.com/VvrZRud.png)
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Churchill Splashes in a Short
Contrasting with our March 1 article where First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill soared in a Sopwith (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg252849#msg252849), in today's news he inadvertently endures a different ending. Imagine how different history could have turned out had this forced landing been worse. The plane involved is identified as 'Seaplane No. 79', the serial number assigned by the RNAS to one of seven Short Bros. Admiralty Type 74 seaplanes stationed between bases at Grain and Dundee. Short Bros. were arguably Sopwith's main competitor in their early days.
(respectively from the Amman Valley Chronicle and the Abergavenny Chronicle, 30 April-1 May 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/SHZFY0B.png) (https://i.imgur.com/xLstfOv.png) (https://i.imgur.com/fXTU7h7.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/wKeNrri.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/vTBYKyy.png)
(images via lostinwatersdeep.co.uk)
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Instruments of Destruction
(from Popular Mechanics, May 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/tpFqKW4.png) (https://i.imgur.com/Wzbc2vJ.png)
For this article I've attempted 3D renderings of a Zeppelin conical tarred-rope incendiary bomb and a 20kg Carbonit bomb. Not quite sure how the fuses looked but I've based these on extant specimens from the Imperial War Museum collection. Does anyone know of a good reference on WW1 German ordnance?
(https://i.imgur.com/o6FNGRK.png) (https://i.imgur.com/gZhUfUB.png)
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German Engineering
Here's an interesting survey on some of the Luftstreitkräfte's technological developments during the war.
(from the Brecon County Times Neath Gazette, 2 May 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/vCVs0tD.png) (https://i.imgur.com/lX6nxVd.png)
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Hunting with Pups and Elephants
(from the Yorkville Enquirer, 3 May 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/49EDRA1.png) (https://i.imgur.com/tHwPMoo.png) (https://i.imgur.com/gPc9881.png) (https://i.imgur.com/lEGNgd1.png)
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Wasser Doppeldeckers Ream British Steamer
Tying into our May 2 story on German aerial 'instruments of destruction', today's brief but intense tit-for-tat denotes the first ship within English territorial waters to be torpedoed via aircraft. An hour after sunrise on May 1, the British collier SS Gena was sunk from the sky by two Hansa-Brandenburg GW seaplanes of the newly formed Torpedostaffel II, operating out of Zeebrugge. Amazingly, return fire from the sinking steamship managed to shoot down the second assailant (#703), though no lives were lost on either side.
(from the North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 4 May 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/s3WBjLB.png)
Here are excerpts from others primary souces compiled on www.heritagegateway.org.uk:
"...from my position on the bridge of my ship I saw the whole occurrence. My attention was first drawn by the whirr of an aeroplane’s engine overhead. On looking upwards I saw two machines in company. One descended to an altitude of about 500ft, and one could see that she intended dropping something on the GENA. Evidently the German’s intention was to drop his missile upon the GENA’s gun crew, who were on duty around their gun. Seeing that his companion had failed, the second airman swooped down to an extremely low altitude. He did not seem more than 30ft from the bridge of the GENA. In fact, he was so low that he appeared almost to touch the vessel. He dropped a torpedo, which hit the GENA in the centre, and then made off."
"Located approximately 5.4 miles east of Thorpe Ness, the GENA foundered in a position cited at the time as '0.75 mile S x W 0.5 W of the War Channel "A" Buoy off Southwold, after being torpedoed in an aerial attack on her passage from the Tyne with coal... The survivors were picked up by a patrol vessel and landed at Lowestoft, along with the wireless telegraphy code books and confidential papers... Two days previously the GENA had escaped attack from SM UB-21 which sank the VICTORIA, with which she was in company, off Scarborough..."
"At about half-past six o’clock in the morning, when the GENA was off the Suffolk coast, an enemy seaplane was observed coming down towards her. Directly the seaplane struck the water she launched a torpedo, which struck the GENA amidships. The seaplane rose and made off, but another enemy seaplane came along, evidently with the idea of seeing what damage had been done to the ship, and, if necessary, to complete the work of destruction. Meanwhile, the GENA was slowly settling down, but she was armed, and her gun was brought to bear on the second seaplane. She hit the enemy fair and square with the second shot, and smashed her. Patrol boats which were in the neighbourhood came on the scene almost immediately and rescued the GENA’s crew of twenty-seven and took the wreckage of the ‘plane and her two occupants in hand. One of the latter, an officer, had an ugly gash in the head. Both were conveyed to an East Coast port, where the officer still lies suffering from his wound. The GENA’s crew, absolutely unharmed by their adventure, were cared for at a sailors’ home, and subsequently, they left for the North of England. The prompt and plucky action of the GENA’s gunners in tackling the second seaplane while their ship was sinking has given great satisfaction on the coast. The seaplane was new, so new that the varnish had hardly dried on her woodwork. She was broken into many pieces. Examination of parts of the wreckage revealed rough but strong workmanship, and rather inferior material."
(https://i.imgur.com/n9JDNzG.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/t4b75aD.jpg)
(images respectivly via wrecksite.eu and flyingmachines.ru)
And here's an intriguing epilogue to this historic first from an insurer's perspective (via the blog thewreckoftheweek.com; full text here: https://thewreckoftheweek.com/2017/05/01/diary-of-the-war-may-1917/):
"So unusual was it that Lloyd’s struggled to fit it into an appropriate category in their ‘ledger’ of war losses. In the “How Sunk” column, the standard abbreviations S (sunk by submarine) and M (mine) were clearly inappropriate, and even this distinction was outdated, since ships had been sunk by mines laid by U-boats since 1915, so arguably fitted both categories (see earlier post on minelaying submarines, introduced in 1915). The only other category available was C (cruiser or raider), which was still inadequate, but it seems that a new category was not considered necessary, and ‘raider’ was at least appropriate in intent, if not in ‘vessel type’ as such. A marginal annotation clarified matters: “German seaplane”."
Check out forum member malaula's build of the Chroszy Hansa Brandenburg G.I, the land-based cousin to the G.W's from today's news: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=5188.msg91648#msg91648
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Cody No.2 Crashes
Second Lieutenant Samuel Franklin Cody was the first pilot killed in action with 41st Squadron RFC, and the second Samuel Franklin Cody to die flying for England. His father being the Wild-West showman turned pioneer aviator who designed British Army Aeroplane No.1 (which made the first recognized powered and sustained flight in the United Kingdom on 16 October 1908), and the Cody No.5 biplane (the winning entry of the 1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition that bested submissions by Avro, Bleriot, Breguet, Bristol, Farman, Handley Page, Vickers and others). Cody Sr. died while testing his last design... falling out of his own floatplane for not wearing a safety harness - a lesson still unlearnt in England a year later, as recently reported here back on April 19 (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg253869#msg253869).
Evidently it took time for this news of Cody Jr. to circulate, as he had been killed in action back in January. The delay may be partly explained by another newspaper that harshly reported, "His fate was in doubt until, in response to a note of inquiry dropped over enemy lines, a reply came in the same way that young Cody had been killed in action. It is odd that the air appears to be the only element in which the Germans seek to maintain any sort of reputation for chivalry". A discussion over on the greatwarforum.com records that Cody was, "...flying FE8 7613 on 23 January 1917. He left Abeele aerodrome at 14:24 and was seen in combat with four enemy aeroplanes (Albatros and Roland) east of Boesinghe, after which he spiraled down in a nose dive. Ltn Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp of Jasta 18 was credited with a victory". His memorial stone next to his father's grave in Aldershot Military Cemetery (image below) also notes that S.F. Cody, Jr. "Fell in action fighting four enemy machines".
(from the Wheeling Intelligencer, 5 May 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/Y2JyRCr.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/odL7OUl.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/sL3ghPd.jpg)
(images respectively from findagrave.com and seekanddestroy.info)
Above is an image of the younger Cody seated one of his father's machines. Alas, no one here has yet to submit a build of any Cody aircraft here, though here's a WW1-era model of a Cody V from the legendary silversmithy Mappin & Webb. Fun fact: last November a family descendant auctioned this model with an estimate of £30,000-50,000 (details here: https://simpleflying.com/samuel-franklin-cody-memorabilia-sold-auction/). Perhaps 100 years from your each of our models will be worth this much!:
(http://i.imgur.com/gMEiriY.png) (https://imgur.com/gMEiriY) (http://i.imgur.com/ITnJfqO.png) (https://imgur.com/ITnJfqO)
(images respectively from Aeronautics, February 1913; and henryaldridge.com)
Check out forum member lone modeller's build of a similar Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8 of Cody's 41 Squadron, Belgium from November 1916: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=2102.msg34260#msg34260
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Aces Will Fly
Following our April 20 story on Fokkers in the U.S. (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg254206#msg254206), here's another headline promoting a post-war aerial fundraiser. Among the aviators named is Flyer No.7- Major Carl 'Tooey' Spatz (later legally changed to Spaatz), who managed to fell three enemy planes during his three-week stint with the 31st Aero Squadron before the war's end.
(from the Arizona Republican, 6 May 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/O7zljlN.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GcN0XY3.png)
"In early 1919, Spaatz was appointed to lead one of the three "troupes" of the U.S. Army Air Service Victory Loan Flying Circus. His group consisted of about twenty-five officers and fifty enlisted men. His airplanes on the tour included five JN6 Jennies, five Fokker D VIIs, four RAE SE-5s and five Spad VIIs. The team gave promotional rides and flew aerial demonstrations across the Western and Southwestern United States from early April through mid-May 1919 to raise money to retire the World War I debt." (via wikipedia)
Spaatz remained involved with aviation for decades. Taking off on New Years Day in 1929, he set an endurance record by flying nonstop for 151 hours (aided by aerial refueling). During WW2, he became commander of the 8th Air Force stationed in England and promoted the effective bombing campaign of the Axis oil industry:
"Several prominent Germans... described the oil campaign as critical to the defeat of Nazi Germany. Adolf Galland, Inspector of Fighters of the Luftwaffe... wrote in his book "the most important of the combined factors which brought about the collapse of Germany", and the Luftwaffe's wartime leader, Hermann Göring, described it as "the utmost in deadliness". Albert Speer, writing in his memoir, said that "It meant the end of German armaments production." It has been stated to have been "effective immediately, and decisive within less than a year". Luftwaffe Field Marshal Erhard Milch, referring to the consequences of the oil campaign, claimed that "The British left us with deep and bleeding wounds, but the Americans stabbed us in the heart." (via wikipedia)
He was appointed as the first Chief of Staff of the new United States Air Force in September 1947 and later was appointed to the congressional advisory board set up to determine the site for the new United States Air Force Academy.
Getting back to today's article, check out forum member Mike Norris' of a Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a similar to the one depicted: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=5164.msg91257#msg91257
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Dreadnaught Downs Zeppelin!
News from the Salonika Campaign details the end of LZ 55 (Army tactical number LZ 85), a P-class Zeppelin of the Imperial German Army that was shot down into the marshes near the mouth of the Varder River by HMS Agamemnon. Agamemnon had been patrolling with the British Royal Navy's Eastern Mediterranean Squadron for a year following the Gallipoli landings. On 5 May she encountered LZ 55 bombarding Thessaloniki (Salonika) harbour, and apparently 'broke it in half' with a 12-pounder shell.
(respectively from the Cambria Daily Leader, 7 & 19 May, 1916; and the Ottowa Citizen, 5 May 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/F0l9HNL.png) (https://i.imgur.com/ybQvrp1.png) (https://i.imgur.com/31Fawc9.png)
"The crash site soon became a tourist attraction, with a report that "a dozen Canadian nurses. They had come up ... and waded through to it. What a sight they did look, skirts up round their waists wading through mud and slime up to their knees. The metal structure of the Zeppelin was dragged by Allied soldiers from the swamps to the White Tower of Thessaloniki. There it was reconstructed so that Allied engineers could study how the Germans built airships." (via wikipedia)
Amazingly, the retrieval of this wreck and the Zeppelin crew were captured on film! Here's a link to the archival film at the Imperial War Museum: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060000196. Souvenir fragments from this airship occasionally appear at auction, including an un usual set of napkin rings (see images below).
(https://i.imgur.com/8r3vL0f.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/1nKorFr.jpg) (http://i.imgur.com/85Gbbvu.jpg)[/url] (https://i.imgur.com/UEtNPDm.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/dpYS8YY.png)
(images respectively via wikipedia, pinterest, worthpoint.com, and emedals.com)
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American 'Monster'
(from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, 8 May 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/xdteUeC.png)
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Freefalling
(from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9 May 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/2Vny3ES.png) (https://i.imgur.com/HrGDQ5r.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/aMQeBxR.png)
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Queen Elizabeth Scores
This brief blurb from the Dardanelles campaign records that the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth shot down a German airplane. The 'super dreadnaught' had joined Britain's Mediterranean fleet (including the Agememnon, which headlined here three days ago: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg254776#msg254776) on February 25, and support Britain's amphibious assault that began on April 25.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 10 may 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/Doms6iU.png). (https://i.imgur.com/cV2l0rO.png)
(image via IWM.com)
I'm not sure what the aircraft in question was but there's can't have been that many around. Here's a general description of the scene via turkeyswar.com:
"Until the Allied landings of April 25, the 1st Aircraft Squadron continued to fly over the entrance of the Dardanelles and the island of Limnos. These were not only for reconnaissance, the planes have also dropped bombs on Allied ships. Meanwhile the Allies were also forming up their air power. Fearing of losing the air superiority, the Turks attacked the Allied air base on Tenedos, an unsucessful attempt avenged by the British who bombed the Turkish air base in Çanakkale. Since the Turkish aircraft were carefully camouflaged, the bombing did not cause any damage.
The first air battle over Gallipoli took place on May 2. As they were flying a reconnaissance mission, Cpt. Erich Serno and Cpt. Hüseyin Sedat encountered an Allied plane. They fired their pistols and deterred the enemy from approaching the Turkish lines.
As the Allied landings kicked off, the Turkish aircraft squadron had only four aircrafts, one of which was a seaplane; and it was attached to the Command of Çanakkale Fortified Zone, not to the Turkish Fifth Army, which prevented the efficient employment of the squadron in the Turks' effrots (sic) agains the Allied invasion force. In the meantime, the Allies were observing the Turkish lines using a fixed balloon at an altitude of 200 meters. The balloon was attached to a British vessel anchored off Arıburnu and thanks to the intelligence it was providing, the Allied artillery was inflicting serious damage on Turkish formations. Although the Turkish aircraft did not manage to sink the ship, through their raids they forced the balloon to descend from time to time."
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New German Giant
During the Great War the British press commonly used the name 'Gotha' as a generic term to describe any large enemy bomber. The reporter's description of wingspan, engine type and crew count suggests this new 'giant' is one of the Riesenflugzeuge. Does any recognize what particular plane this might be?
(Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder, 11 May 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/IKd8fhx.png)
Just for fun, check out forum member Stevehed's 1/72 scratchbuild of a DFW R.1 that likely dates to earlier than this article, but is modeled alongside a twin-engine Gotha for perspective: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7845.msg144694#msg144694
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Submarine Sinks Zeppelin!
News often seems to come in couplets. Following upon our uncanny May 8 headline where a British battleship felled a German airship (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg254776#msg254776), here's a most unique incident when a Zeppelin was dealt its death knell via a British sub. This fateful encounter between HMS E-class E31 and Kaiserliche Marine M2-class Zeppelin LZ32 (tactical number L7) happened during the evening of 4 May.
(from the Carmarthen Journal and South Wales Weekly Advertiser, 12 May 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/FF7Nc1A.png). (https://i.imgur.com/6cWbTkF.jpg)
(image via aircraftinvestigation.info.com)
Details via wikipedia:
"While on a mission, LZ 32 was spotted by light cruisers HMS Galatea and HMS Phaeton who opened fire on the airship. Just as they were doing this HMS E31 was operating with the sea plane carrier Engadine in the North Sea in an air raid on the Zeppelin sheds at Tondern on 4 May 1916. E31 surfaced and spotted the airship, but being vulnerable on the surface, the sub dived to avoid attack. When the submarine put its periscope up, it observed that the Zeppelin was losing altitude after being hit by shells from Galatea and Phaeton. E31 then surfaced just in time to get in the fatal shot and brought the Zeppelin down. HMS E31 then proceeded to rescue seven survivors from the crew of LZ 32." (via wikipedia)
Submariner 'Stoker' McKnight, age 24 and a participant in the conflict, recorded:
“Last week was the most exciting week I have ever had in my life, we had the luck of the devil with us. Our boat, a submarine, brought down and destroyed a Zeppelin... The Zeppelin men may be brave men when they are sailing over dear old England on a dark night dropping bombs on women and children, but after we had blown them out of their old sausage machine they were glad to beg and plead with us to save their lives. We killed 11 during the ‘argument’ and brought seven back for ‘curios’.
After we had polished off the Zeppelin we made for our base so that we could get rid of the prisoners, and were sailing merrily along in the middle of the night when we espied a fast German cruiser, not a hundred yards away, making to cut us in halves. Owing to our officers giving the correct order at the correct second they were spoiled in their attempt to ram us. Our boat altered course, our bows swung round and the two boats stopped side by side with not twenty yards between us. The next thing we had to do was to jump down the conning tower, close the hatch and dive the boat. During the couple of minutes it took to do that, the cruiser was blazing shells at us, but owing to their rotten gunnery we managed to get down, and only one of the shells hit us, and that wasn’t in a vital place.” (via salfordonline.com)
According to aviation-safety.net, an offshore wind farm now occupies the site of L7's final resting place. Check out forum member MoFo's unrelated but awesome 1/144th-scale scratchbuilt Q-class Zeppelin: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11834.msg220472#msg220472
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Aldershot Smashup
Trouble in the afternoon of May 12 when sister Sopwiths collided over the 10th putting green at Aldershot Golf Course. This unfortunate incident is considered to be the first fatal 'mid-air' between two machines of the Royal Flying Corps, and the first fatality in a Sopwith. Despite both planes having fuselages fitted with large celluloid window panels apparently neither saw each other. Capt. Ernest Vincent Anderson (commander of B Flight) and his passenger Air Mechanic Henry Wifred Carter were killed when their D.1 Tractor Biplane (serial no. 324) was accidentally rammed by Lt. C. W. Wilson in another D.1 (No. 325). Wilson was returning from Brooklands and descending to land at Farnborough when he struck the other plane, which was climbing away from the aerodrome on a familiarization flight. It was said that Wilson's lower left wing seemed to catch the tip of the upper right wing of Anderson's biplane. After they had travelled about 200 yards both machines fell. Wilson was bloodied with a fractured jaw but survived.
(respectively from the Cambria Daily Leader, and Monmouth Guardian & Bargoed & Caerphilly Observer; 13 and 15 May 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/1xsFh7H.png) (https://i.imgur.com/XSHprzB.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/hPaFoCp.jpg). (https://i.imgur.com/pNwSJhz.jpg)
(images respectively via kingstonaviation.org and Flight)
"Nº 324 had just taken off from Farnborough Aerodrome when Nº 325, returning from Brooklands, flew into it, the upper starboard mainplane of the former making contact with the lower port mainplane of the latter. They separated and flew on for some 600 feet before both aeroplanes then crashed onto the nearby Aldershot Golf Course. Nº 324, which was being flown by Captain Ernest Vincent Anderson with Air Mechanic Henry Wilfred Carter as his passenger, dived in vertically. Both men were killed on impact with the ground as a result of broken necks. Nº 325, which was being flown by Lieutenant C (Charles or Christopher) William Wilson, spun in with a damaged wing. He survived the crash with a broken jaw and bruising. An inquest was held at Aldershot on 14 May 1914. Lt. Wilson did not attend or give evidence. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death on Capt. Anderson and AM Carter. Blame for the accident was not attributed." Nº 324 had just taken off from Farnborough Aerodrome when Nº 325, returning from Brooklands, flew into it, the upper starboard mainplane of the former making contact with the lower port mainplane of the latter. They separated and flew on for some 600 feet before both aeroplanes then crashed onto the nearby Aldershot Golf Course. Nº 324, which was being flown by Captain Ernest Vincent Anderson with Air Mechanic Henry Wilfred Carter as his passenger, dived in vertically. Both men were killed on impact with the ground as a result of broken necks. Nº 325, which was being flown by Lieutenant C (Charles or Christopher) William Wilson, spun in with a damaged wing. He survived the crash with a broken jaw and bruising. An inquest was held at Aldershot on 14 May 1914. Lt. Wilson did not attend or give evidence. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death on Capt. Anderson and AM Carter. Blame for the accident was not attributed." (via sussexhistoryforum.co.uk)
The Army Golf Club still exists to day, though the course has been remodeled. Alas, it seems that no one has yet to contribute a model of this plane on the forum. For further reading on the origins of 5 Squadron, here's a one-pager via Cross and Cockade: https://www.crossandcockade.com/uploads/5SqnRFC_opt.pdf
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Super-Ace Race
(from the Chattanooga News, 14 May 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/2qbjorh.png)
In honor of these legendary French duellists, Fonck and Nungesser, check out these two builds from our fellow forumites. First is chowhound's in-progress build of Fonck's SPAD C.XIII in 1/24th scale by Merit (note his clever use of a rivet roller to simulate rib stitching):
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8166.msg151980#msg151980.
Second is macsporran's 1/32-scale CSM model of Nungesser's Nieuport 17:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12582.msg235083#msg235083
For further reading on these and other great French airmen, check out forum member Bluesfan's book review of Ian Sumner's Kings of the Air:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10161.msg184413#msg184413
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Overdue Aviator Gets Stoned
Another day, another aerial daredevil survives a close call with death while flying in a foreign land...
(from the South Bend News-Times, 15 May 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/Jg0OpJQ.png) (https://i.imgur.com/YusaBMy.png) (https://i.imgur.com/0FmROaN.png)
(images respectively via eBay and oldtokyo.com)
If you're not familiar with this fellow, "Art Smith was the first stunt flyer and the originator of skywriting. He was the first American (after Lincoln Beachey) to loop the loop. He was holder of 58 medals won at aviation events. He also developed a patent for dual controls to improve the safety of instructing pilots, and, at the outbreak of World War I, was a civilian instructor for the U.S. Aviation Corps at Langley Field in VA. During the war he helped develop the army parachute." (viaairandspace.si.edu)
Like so many of the aviators reported on in these articles, Smith ultimately died doing what he loved, though this occurred almost a decade after he toured Japan's skies between 1916-17. "After the war, he joined the United States Post Office; he eventually came to fly the overnight airmail delivery route between New York City and Chicago, established in July 1925. He died February 12, 1926, near Montpelier, Ohio; he was two miles off-course when he crashed a Curtiss Carrier Pigeon into a grove of trees while flying east.he was the second overnight mail service pilot to die on duty." (via wikipedia)
And anyone who drives a Honda today may a have closer link than you think to this little chapter in Great War aviation, for Smith's exploits inspired another person who would go on to make history: "A 10-year-old bicycle mechanic named Honda Soichiro rode twenty miles from his home hoping to see his first airplane in-flight and Smith demonstrating his aerial capabilities... at the Wachiyama military airfield near Hamamatsucho. Honda could not afford the admission fee, so he climbed a nearby tree to view the exhibition. Seeing Smith in-flight was a moment that left a deep impression on a young Honda and cemented his interest in mechanical objects, with an interest in motorized vehicles leading to the creation of the eponymous company bearing his name: Honda Motor Co." (via oldtokyo.com)
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Hahn Defeats Doumer
It was an ace-versus-ace fight between two squadron leaders over France. Capitaine René Doumer, commanding officer of Escadrille Spa.76 (flying a SPAD VII), was bested by Oberleutnant Erich Hahn, the commanding officer of Jagdstaffel 19 (flying an Albatros D.III I believe). This victory earned Hahn the Hohenzollernscher Hausorden, though mere months later he too would be dead- avenged by the French ace Georges Madon of Escadrille N.38 on 4 September 1917. Doumer was one of three brothers killed fighting in the Great War. Their father, Paul Doumer, the future President of France, was assassinated in 1932.
(from the Bridgeport Evening Farmer, 16 May 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/wrw0itf.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/rwOBzQZ.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/Hhu2Jb8.jpg)
(images respectively via as14-18.net and Chronique culturelle)
(https://i.imgur.com/ybXt3gp.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/RcT7rnJm.png)
(images respectively via wingsofwar.net and theaerodrome.com {the later depicts Hahn in an unrelated Albatros D.II})
Check out forum member Epeeman's 1/32nd-scale Roden build of SPAD VII c.1: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6067.msg110242#msg110242
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British Bomb and Battle
(from the New-York Tribune, 17 May 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/rdg8s7l.png)
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Corkscrew Flip-Flaps and Capsizings
News of triumphs and tragedies from across three countries today. First, outside London, Winston Churchill (whose aerial ups-and-downs respectively headlined here on March 1: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg252849#msg252849, and May 1: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255224#msg255224) loops six times with pioneer aviator Gustav Hamel. Churchill, who suffered a forced-landing at sea just a fortnight earlier, was perhaps again lucky - five days after today's news his pilot took off on a flight... but was never seen again.
Meanwhile Germany's Fliegertruppen experiences two crashes. One notes the demise of Leutnants Fellinger and Wiegandts who allegedly broke a wing alighting. The other records the fall of Leutnants Walz and Müller, who were competing in the Prince Henry Circuit race in an L.V.G. biplane.
(respectively from Daily Capital Journal and the Seward Daily Gateway, 18-19 May 1914):
And over in the U.S., stunt pilot Lincoln Beachey is up to his usual antics in front of a massive Chicago crowd. Beachey later died while stunting at San Fancisco's Panama–Pacific International Exposition in March 1915. Coincidentally, the aviator immediately hired to replace him was Art Smith - the fellow who was just being pelted with rocks in Japan in a headline three days ago.
(https://i.imgur.com/mX9YRgz.png) (https://i.imgur.com/kHeR8tJ.png) (https://i.imgur.com/AQSy7mi.png)
Here's more backstory (with images) on this pre-war aerial competition, in which forty German planes competed from Flight magazine: https://books.google.com/books?id=rDc6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA602&lpg=PA602&dq=%22prince+henry+circuit%22+%22walz%22&source=bl&ots=FV93bmoOg6&sig=ACfU3U0eEDEg1WzBgpgo4Hq3BqGpcaR0KA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwili-Knj__-AhUFkokEHfXMB5cQ6AF6BAgXEAM#v=onepage&q=%22prince%20henry%20circuit%22%20%22walz%22&f=false
Check out forum member Piotr D.'s sehr schönes 1/33-scale card model of an L.V.G. B.I: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3510.msg59694#msg59694
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Caudron Climbs to Record Height
This minor story briefly made the rounds though it seems to have been overshadowed by the war and eclipsed by another Italian in a Caudron later that same year (as mentioned in the later LeRhone advertisement below: "World height record broken on May 15, 1916 with the aviator VITTORIO LOUVET and World Height Record with two passengers (6306 meters) beaten on 13 Sept. 1916 by the Italian aviator NAPOLEONE RAPINI." Little documentation of this event seems to be around today.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 19 May 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/4lJlMXg.png). (https://i.imgur.com/hMyCld8.png)
(image via L'Illustrazione Della Guerra e La Stampa Sportiva,, 25 March 1917)
Check out forum member FAf's recent build of the 1/32-scale CSM Caudron G.4: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13770.msg254105#msg254105
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Last Look Over the Lines
Eddie Rickenbacker was America's 'ace of aces' and commander of the 94th Aero Squadron when he made his final flight of the Great War. His autobiography records, "I was the only audience for the greatest show ever presented. On both sides of no man's land, the trenches erupted. Brown-uniformed men poured out of the American trenches, gray-green uniforms out of the German. From my observer's seat overhead, I watched them throw their helmets in the air, discard their guns, wave their hands." (via wikipedia)
(from the Richmond Palladium, 20 May 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/TyWtna7.png)
Check out forum member Mguns' build of the Revell's 1/28-scale Spad XIII, as piloted by Rickenbacker on this final flight: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=2636.msg44089#msg44089
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Macchi Glorioso
Stefano Baglietto was one of two brothers born into the family of the eponymous Italian shipbuilder to fly during the WW1 At war's outbreak Baglietto's La-Spezia-based business diversified into producing seaplanes and airships for Italy’s Servizio Aeronautico. Evidently they manufactured hulls for FBA and Macchi designs. Stefano Baglietto became a combat and test pilot. Despite being sidelined by a broken back (as reported here) he eventually recovered to continue flying. Ironically, like so many other military aviators who defied death during combat, he met his demise shortly afterward in a flying mishap (possibly in a Macchi M.7). The Baglietto firm remains in business today as a builder of superyachts. A rough translation of this article follows.
(from L'Illustrazione della guerra e La Stampa Sportiva, 21 May 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/PHdrqMD.png) (https://i.imgur.com/bDMTBWE.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/8TntAkP.png)
(image via bagliettounsognosulmare.it)
"Stefano Baglietto, assistant to the Naval Engineers, seaplane pilot, suffered a spinal fracture in an aviation accident last January while trying out a device. The hopes of recovery even in a long time are not so flattering, and this is very painful after having successfully passed more than 25 aerial battles against the enemy, earning more than five solemn commendations from the Ministry of the Navy, also bronze and silver medals. Let us point out to the example of our daring young men the deeds of Stefano Baglietto who was able to defy death for the good cause of war and who is forcibly removed from his noble enterprises. Here is the motivation of the two medals:
Bronze medal: Baglietto Stefano di Va-Bs6, assistant of the Naval Engineers (mat. 4474). Pilot of a seaplane, he bombed the enemy's rear areas and works five times, challenging the enemy artillery and demonstrating in these war actions, and in many other accomplished ones, a high fighting spirit and admirable impetus. (High Adriatic, 30 April, 12, 23, 26 May and 6 June 1917).
Silver medal: Baglietto Stefano, seaplane pilot, carried out numerous missions on effectively defended enemy territory, always tireless and with unparalleled enthusiasm despite the fact that several times he was repeatedly hit. On August 19, with a reconnaissance apparatus, he attacked an Austrian fighter aircraft, unloading five magazines a few meters away and fleeing without being able to pursue it due to the lower speed."
Check out forum member Mike Norris' 1/32-scale build of the HPH Models Macchi M.5, circa 1918: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11060.0
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American Aviator Attains Acehood
It's a story we're all familiar with - a Yankee college grad flies for France before the U.S. joins the conflict, fights his way to ace status, then (like reported yesterday), dies in a non-combat flying accident months after the Armistice. Major David McKelvey Peterson tallied six victories during his stints between the Lafayette Escadrille and the United States Army Air Service (94th and 95th Aero Squadrons). Four of these were achieved in one week (two occurring within five minutes on one day), his final win occurring on 20 May 1918, over Pont-a-Mousson (referenced here in a larger article last May 23: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg244153#msg244153). After this burst of activity, Peterson would score no further victories throughout the war's final six months. He fell to is death nose-diving during a failed takeoff at Daytona Beach, Florida in March 1919.
(from the Daily Alaskan, 22 May 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/wVWDeNK.png) (https://i.imgur.com/esC5Quh.jpg)
Peterson earned two Distinguished Service Crosses:
"For extraordinary heroism in action near Luneville, France, on May 3, 1918. Leading a patrol of three, Captain Peterson encountered five enemy planes at an altitude of 3,500 meters and immediately gave battle. Notwithstanding the fact that he was attacked from all sides, this officer, by skilful maneuvering, succeeded in shooting down one of the enemy planes and dispersing the remaining four."
"For extraordinary heroism in action near Thiaucourt, France, on May 15, 1918. While on patrol alone, Captain Peterson encountered two enemy planes at an altitude of 5,200 meters. He promptly attacked despite the odds and shot down one of the enemy planes in flames. While thus engaged he was attacked from above by the second enemy plane, but by skillful manoeuvering he succeeded in shooting it down also."
(via wikipedia)
Check out forum member Cajun's build of Revell's 1/72nd-scale Nieuport 28 from Peterson's 'Hat-in-the-Ring' Squadron: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6358.msg115992#msg115992
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Sergeant Mystère
Andre Emile Alfons de Meulemeester, also renowned as L'Aigle des Flandres, joined the Aviation Militaire Belge in January 1915 and became Belgium's second-ranked ace of the Great War. By war's end he had flown over 500 sorties, survived 185 dogfights (being twice wounded), and was twice mistakenly attacked by the British. Meulemeester is credited with eleven confirmed and nineteen unconfirmed victories during his assignments with 1ère Escadrille de Chasse (flying Nieuports), then 9me Escadrille de Chasse. He was piloting a Hanriot HD.1, when today's news was reported.
(from the Gilpin Observer, 23 May 1918)
(https://i.imgur.com/5szwYsc.png) (https://i.imgur.com/x991jo0.jpg)
(image via img.static-rmg.be)
After the Armistice the 'Eagle of Flanders' joined his family-owned brewery, which had been operating since the mid-16th century, where they produced 'Eagle Beer'. De Meulemeester died in 1973 and the brewery was sold in 1978. A fully detailed biography can be read here: https://www.vieillestiges.be/files/memorials/MABDeMeulemeester-FR.pdf
(https://i.imgur.com/LArXz9x.jpg)
Check out forum member lone modeller's 1/72-scale H.D.1 in Belgian livery (converted from an Airfix Sopwith Camel!): https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9854.msg179631#msg179631
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The Eagle and the Dove
After the armistice several British aircraft manufacturers attempted to pivot from wartime production to the commercial market. The Sopwith Aviation Company ultimately failed to survive this transition despite trying - they even built motorcycles briefly. Another idea was a two-seat civilian version of their 1916 Pup (officially designated 'Scout') that enjoyed a healthy production run of nearly 1,800 machines and saw service under ten nations. Unfortunately for Sopwith, only ten Doves found buyers. As reported here, one was acquired by Herbert John Louis Hinkler (AFC, DSM), the pioneer Australian aviator nicknamed the "Australian Lone Eagle", who served in both the RNAS and the RAF. Today's news announces Hinkler's entry into the 1919 England to Australia Flight contest.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 24 May 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/BMvIRN5.png) (https://i.imgur.com/rsxorOk.jpg)
"In early 1919, the Commonwealth Government of Australia offered a prize of £A10,000 for the first flight from Great Britain to Australia, under specific conditions. In May 1919, Billy Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia, and Senator George Pearce, Minister for Defence (Australia), in consultation with the Royal Aero Club, stated that valid aircrews must all be Australian nationals, the aircraft must have been constructed in the British Empire, and the journey must be completed within 720 consecutive hours (30 days) and be completed before midnight on 31 December 1920. The departure point must be either Hounslow Heath Aerodrome (for landplanes) or RNAS Calshot (for seaplanes and flying boats), with reporting points at Alexandria and Singapore, and final destination in the region of Darwin. Each flight was to take place under the competition rules of the Royal Aero Club, that would supervise the start, and control the competition generally." (via wikipedia)
Evidently Hinkler's Dove was wrecked before ever leaving England and he never undertook the challenge, which was famously won by brothers Ross and Keith Macpherson Smith in a Vickers Vimy IV. They were knighted for their achievement and their plane is currently displayed at Adelaide International Airport in South Australia. As a consolation prize of sorts nine years later Hinkler earned the status of being the first person to fly solo from England to Australia. Like so many other pioneers he died prematurely in a flying mishap (in 1932). One Sopwith Dove survives in the Shuttleworth Collection.
You now have the chance to recreate Bert Hinkler's first England-to-Austrialia endeavor in your very own Dove, as this fully flightworthy repro is currently available for sale (price upon request). Hinkler's misfortune aside, the seller dubs it "an ideal safety-first pleasure aircraft': https://historicandclassicaircraftsales.com/sopwith-dove. A reenactment of the winning Vimy flight was documented by National Geographic in the 1990s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhv7HGH4Qi0
It seems no one has yet to submit a model of the Dove on the forum though there are plenty of Pups to choose from. Check out Kalt's build of Eduard's 1/48th-scale version: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9695.0
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Gustav Gone
Britain's famous flyer, Gustav Hamel, is missing. Just last week Hamel was reported looping the loop with Winston Churchill (noted here May 19: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255224#msg255224). Today's news relates the Royal Navy's fruitless search for the recent applicant to their nascent Air Service, who disappeared over English Channel returning from Paris piloting a new Morane-Saulnier monoplane that he was intending to compete with that same day.
(from The Sun, 25 May 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/cFNLGJn.png). (https://i.imgur.com/s6iJZmj.png)
Louis Blériot commented that he had never seen a pilot with such natural ability. The German-born Hamel, who was a pupil at Bleriot's aviation school, obtained Aéro-Club de France's certificate no. 358, and the Royal Aero Club's Aviator's certificate no. 64 in February 1912. Over the next two years Hamel would accomplish several flying firsts and participate in numerous aviation competitions - his last, which he was en route to, being the Daily Mail's Aerial Derby of 1914:
"Hendon was fog-bound and rainy, with visibility limited to 100 yards... there was mounting concern as to Hamel's whereabouts when he failed to arrive.... (Claude) Grahame-White had no alternative but to postpone the race for a fortnight, to the disappointment of the crowds, who were slightly appeased by some displays of looping the loop in between the showers. By three that afternoon, three and a half hours after Hamel had begun his Channel crossing, there was still no news of him and the worst began to be feared. Grahame-White telephoned all the possible airfields where Hamel might have made an emergency landing, but with no success. He then alerted the Admiralty, and, under instructions from the First Lord (Churchill), the cruiser Mallard and four destroyers put out from Dover to sweep the Channel. A flotilla of gunboats from Sheerness also joined the search, accompanied by several seaplanes. No trace of Hamel or of his aircraft was found.
Grahame-White, accompanied by Hamel's faithful mechanic Gonne, had meanwhile taken the evening boat to Boulogne, where there was still a thick haze over the Channel. At Hardelot he questioned the mechanics who had refuelled Hamel's Morane-Saulnier racer earlier that day. They assured him that the machine had been in perfect order when Hamel took off for England. Five days later hopes of Hamel's survival were raised, only to be cruelly dashed when a report that he had been picked up by a trawler in South Shields turned out to be false. In their excitement at the news, crowds in the streets had formed around the newspaper boys in their haste to get the special editions. It was now assumed that, flying without a compass, Hamel had been carried off-course over the North Sea, where his reserves of fuel would quickly have been exhausted, causing his machine with its heavy engine to fall into the sea. The Admiralty issued a statement. Hamel was without question the foremost exponent in these islands of an art whose military consequence is continually increasing. His qualities of daring, skill, resource and modesty merited the respect of all those who pursue the profession of arms.' Shortly before his disappearance, Hamel had announced his next challenge: to fly the Atlantic that August. Just over a month later... a body was seen bobbing about in the sea off Boulogne. According to French reports, there could be 'no room for doubt that it was that of Gustav Hamel'". (Image and citation: Bostridge, Mark, The Fateful Year: England 1914, London, Penguin Books, 2014)
Check out forum member RLWP's scratch-built, mixed-media, 1/32nd-scale Morane-Saulnier monoplane (Type L): https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8340.0
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Flying Tank
When sharing these old news articles I endeavor to offer examples that resurrect the aircraft and personal stories from as many nations as available, while avoiding stories that are total bunk or overtly propagandistic. Today's excerpt from a larger article leans towards the fantastical, though I present it because the illustration seems inspired by the somewhat obscure German AGO Flugzeugwerke C.I/C.II two-seat reconnaissance biplanes.
Per wikipedia, "AGO was founded in 1911 in Munich as Flugmaschinenwerke Gustav Otto by Gustav Otto and a Dr Alberti. Gustav, the son of Nicolaus Otto – inventor of the four-stroke engine, was a pioneer aviator (pilot's licence No. 34) and engine-builder. As was usual in those days, a flying school was attached to the business – one of its later students was Ernst Udet". Together about eighty examples of the C.I and C.II variants were produced in 1915 (three years before this supposedly breaking-news story broke). A single-seat C.III version was also built but did not enter production.
(from the New-York Tribune, 16 May 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/akTlsrc.png) (https://i.imgur.com/uI4bLTg.png) (https://i.imgur.com/QT0rDgy.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/hm3adLI.png)
A handful of kits have been produced for these types; all in 1/72nd scale, though none recently as far as I know. Check out forum member Bolman's build log of an AGO C.I (also in 1/72). Would love to see if this was ever completed!: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3670.0
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Rees Reflects
Group Captain Lionel Wilmot Brabazon Rees, VC, OBE, MC, AFC needs no further introduction than this, so happy reading!
(from The Sun, 27 May 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/R67zcbj.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/MPMh9Kt.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/2QKM9fW.png)
Check out forum member William Adair's impossibly detailed scratch-built 1/144th-scale Airco D.H.2, serial #6015, as flown by Group Captian Rees on the day he earned his Victoria Cross: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13309.msg247524#msg247524
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Crippled Corporal Ejects Oblivious Observer
(from the Arizona Republic, 28 May 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/vdOqZmD.png)
Not enough clues to deduce which type of German two-seater was being flown in today's story (or even if this story actually happened), but have a look a forum member Mike Norris' 1/32nd-scale WNW Roland C.IIa from 1917: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7399.msg136245#msg136245
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His Blood Ran Red
Only six months after war's end news circulated internationally that African-American aviator Eugene Bullard was killed in a street fight outside a Paris late-night hotspot.
(respectively from the Broad Ax and the Harrisburg Telegraph; 29 May 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/xNzbcm2.png) (https://i.imgur.com/bvTdERl.png)
In truth, though Bullard's blood ran that night he did not die. L'Hirondelle noire (the Black Swallow), as he was nicknamed, went on to continue his colorful life. As we've learned from prior false reports here (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg249052#msg249052, and https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg252480#msg252480), one can't always trust the press for facts! Following these tall tales, a few French papers issued updates with differing details, including two translated here:
"Dixie Kid is not killed. - All the press announced that the remarkable black Dixie Kid had been punched, in Paris, during a quarrel, by an American officer. There is a misdeal. A negro has indeed been punched ad patres, but his name is Eugene Bullard (friend of Bob Scanlon) and not Dixie Kid. This one, who is 36 years old and not 45, as we have said, is in perfect health." (via L'Athelète, 31 May 1919)
"AN UNHAPPY PUNCH. Following a discussion which took place on the terrace of a cafe on the Grands Boulevards, an American officer struck a negro named Eugene Bullard, a friend of Bob Scanlon. Bullard fractured his skull on the sidewalk. Immediately the rumor spread that a boxer had been killed. It is necessary to put things back in order." (via L'Auto-velo, 29 May 1919)
(https://i.imgur.com/ichl9vW.png) (https://i.imgur.com/87k356J.png)
Bullard was made of the stuff historians thrill to exhume... and exaggerate. A descendent of slaves, he ran away from farm life at age eleven, fell in with wandering gypsies, stowed away on a trans-Atlantic steamer, toured the UK in a minstrel troupe, boxed professionally, joined the French Foreign Legion, became a fighter pilot against all odds, drummed in a jazz band, operated a Parisian nightclub, befriended countless notables, owned an athletic club, served as a spy, fought for France again in WWII, and later fought for civil rights in the United States. Each branch of his once-obscure biography seems to blossom a bit more every year.
Much of Bullard's journey falls outside our focus but today's news brings us to an acute crossroad between my two favorite topics- WW1 Aviation and the Jazz Age. So many factual and fictional Great War accounts are peppered with tales of young Yankees leaving rural life to fight overseas where they are immediately immersed in the juxtaposed horrors of war and thrills of La Vie Parisienne. We glimpsed this last New Year's Day in a spotlight on aviator Vernon Castle and his African-American musical partner James Reese Europe, whose 'Harlem Hellfighters' 369th Infantry Regiment band survived a mustard-gas attack and has been credited with introducing jazz to France: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg251050#msg251050. An evocative early depiction of this trope endures in William Wellman's 1927 movie Wings (the very first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture), featuring a naive American aviator seeking solace from the stress of war and love inside the Café de Paris and the fizz of a champagne coupe. If you've never seen Wings, this scene's opening shot alone is a gem: https://youtu.be/AO2KhMLJxq0. Below is a film still from this scene alongside a period photograph of Eugene Bullard himself drumming (believed to be with the Zig-Zag Band at Zelli’s cabaret in Montmartre).
(https://i.imgur.com/FOt9mCc.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/To07Aif.png)
(second image via une-autre-histoire.org)
Art imitating Life? Life imitating art? Regardless of the basis for this brawl, today's news depicts man living life to the fullest. To round out our Memorial Day reflection on American aviators reveling in wartime Paris, here's an effervescent rendition of the 1919 Tin Pan Alley hit How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down On the Farm? (After They've Seen Paree?), which was published just three months after the Armistice and recorded by the aforementioned Hellfighters on the French Pathé label only three weeks before today's headline: https://youtu.be/H75rZcnos1I.
How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm
After they've seen Paree'
How ya gonna keep 'em away from Broadway
Jazzin around and paintin' the town
How ya gonna keep 'em away from harm, that's a mystery
They'll never want to see a rake or plow.
And who the deuce can parleyvous a cow?
How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm
After they've seen Paree?
(https://i.imgur.com/oH1pKoe.jpg)
(image: Bullard posing in a potager with pioneer aviatrix Marie Marvingt in April 1917)
For more images and info on Bullard's aviation experience, check out forum member andonio64's in-progress build log of Bullard's conjectural SPAD XVII, emblazoned with his motto 'Tout sang qui coule est rouge' (All blood runs red): https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13138.0
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Sopwith Sideswiped
Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, who lived to be 101, might have met his maker just before the Great War commenced had he been with his car when it unexpectedly turned turtle in a hit-and-run on the main road leading southwest from his factory in Kingston-upon-Thames.
(from the Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder, 30 May 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/zdgsCjh.png)
Sopwith Aviation Co. was bustling that week. On Monday, T.O.M. himself flew in the Brooklands Whitsun Handicap air race - losing to a Bristol Boxkite. He was piloting a D.1 similar to those that collided two Tuesdays prior over a golf course a few kilometers southwest of today's smashup (as reported here: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255051#msg255051). Coinciding with today's headline, Sopwith was belatedly delivering an updated variant of their Bat Boat (Britain's first successful flying boat and amphibious aircraft) to... the Kaiserliche Marine! Evidently the German military were so impressed upon seeing Sopwith's latest at the March Olympia Aero & Marine Exhibition that they ordered one along with a Wight Navyplane. Aeronautics magazine noted in their April issue that the Bat Boat II's £2,750 price tag was 'the highest probably that was ever paid for an aeroplane'. It was delivered by Wilhelm Hillman and assigned German naval serial 44. Evidently it survived into the winter of 1916.
(https://i.imgur.com/Agg3PeO.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/yFeqoRC.jpg)
(image 1: Sopwith D.1 second from left {via kingstonaviation.org}; image 2: Sopwith Bat Boat in German markings {via aviadejavu.ru})
Both of Germany's purchases were powered by the innovative 200hp Salmson 2M7 Canton-Unne twin-row radial engine, which was about the most muscular aero mount then produced in Britain. Its manufacturer, Dudbridge Iron Works, also maintained an exhibitor's booth (adjacent to where the Wight was being displayed) at the Olympia Air Show that March. My brother and I are presently designing a 1/72-scale model of this motor (image below)... it's all wired up but we still need to sort out the pushrods.
(https://i.imgur.com/dinXYEvm.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/3CofnXV.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/KGUm6YP.png)
(Olympia image via ssplprints.com)
Check out forum member Tim Mixon's build of Joystick's 1/72 vacuform Bat Boat (Sopwith's earlier variant): https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13297.msg247338#msg247338
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Bis Zum Bitteren Ende
Outnumbered, the ill-fated occupants of this German two-seater fought four pursuit planes from the U.S. 94th Aero Squadron. As their flaming Rumpler C-type spiraled earthward the obstinate observer continued firing his machine gun to the bitter end. Among the American victors mentioned is Douglass Campbell, who flew a Nieuport 28. Campbell headlined here last May in another tag-team scenario (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg243953#msg243953) where he was co-credited with the U.S. Army's first aerial victory of the Great War. According to theaerodrome.com, Campbell downed three Rumplers during the last to weeks of May 1918. His third Rumpler victory, which occurred the day this article went to press, earned him the distinction of becoming America's first ace. Campbell's sixth and final victory, again over a Rumpler, occurred only five days hence. This would prove his last as a shrapnel injury to his back would put him out of front-line action for the rest of the war.
(from the New-York Tribune 31 May 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/sOrju8N.png) (https://i.imgur.com/uOMKMav.png)
Check out forum member guitarlute101's build of the 1/32-scale WND late Rumpler C.IV; https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=2957.msg49476#msg49476
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Aeronautics Expert and Con Artist
Here are four photogravures from a wartime book published by writer Henry Woodhouse - a famous name among aviation authorities in those days. Woodhouse was an early member of the Aero Club of America and a co-founder of the periodicals Flying and Aerial Age Weekly. He was also a convicted murderer and serial forger whose real name was Mario Terenzio Enrico Casalegno. More on this man's bizarre backstory over at history.com: https://www.history.com/news/aviation-con-man-henry-woodhouse, and wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Woodhouse_(forger)
(from Aircraft of All Nations, C.S. Hammond & Company, New York, June 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/iMsN10J.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/xru8FeX.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/Pi2ovYF.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/kgBZCA8.jpg)
Check out form member poznanmid's build of Roden's 1/72 Curtiss Model H, similar to the one depicted above: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1164.msg18214#msg18214
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Albatros... Aviatik... DeHavilland... Fokker... Martinsyde... Nieuport... Roland... Royal Aircraft Factory
Many makes of machines are mentioned crowding the clouds in today's reports of stirring exploits over the front of France and Flanders, including a narrow escape by an observer who had to climb outside his cockpit in order to steer his plane after its pilot was killed by ground fire.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 2 June 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/MibX2yy.png) (https://i.imgur.com/aawLKIM.png) (https://i.imgur.com/OqF0B4S.png)
The first column notes repeated attacks by Britain's Royal Naval Air Service on Mariakerke aerodrome in German-occupied Belgium. This base would remain a regular target though 1918, particularly after the assignment of Gotha bombers there. The first reconnaissance photo below shows how Mariakirke aerodrome looked from an altitude of 2.9 kilometers just two weeks before today's news.
(https://i.imgur.com/vk4xCao.png). (https://i.imgur.com/RPieOPa.jpg)
(images respectively via anciens-aerodromes.com and bunkergordel.be)
Interestingly, this article also details the type of bombs dropped by the RNAS: 16lb, 65lb, and 100lb. These were all high explosive designs from Britain's Royal Laboratory. Below are 3D renderings of these that I've made, which my brother and I are aiming to have ready for production in 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32 scale by summer's end.
(https://i.imgur.com/SmVTvNY.png)(https://i.imgur.com/a5fQaqt.png)(https://i.imgur.com/jhHlPQI.png)
So many airplane types to choose from regarding our forum's model contributions. Check out ebergerud's 1/48th-scale build of a the Eduard Roland C.II, which debuted in the spring of 1916: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11355.msg211146#msg211146
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Pugilist at War
Following the recent news on American expat Eugene Bullard, who boxed professionally in France before and after becoming a fighter pilot for the Aéronautique Militaire (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.60), today's picture story features another boxer-turned aviator - heavyweight Georges Carpentier. Just twelve days before the Great War's outbreak Carpentier won the European heavyweight title and a purse worth the equivalent $1,24 million today. Carpentier would be the last person to hold the 'White Heavyweight Championship' crown. He fought and won one more prize fight on July 26 before joining the fight in the air. In this capacity Carpentier earned two of France's highest honors, the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille Militaire. Paris' Sports Arena Halle Georges Carpentier is named in his honor. Here Carpentier is pictured with famous French ace Jean Navarre, who headlined here alongside his twin brother in May 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg244398#msg244398
(from the Ogden Standard, 3 June 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/Zp2na0g.png) (https://i.imgur.com/qvOx86v.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/lnviWLt.jpg)
(image respectively via iv1.lisimg.com and pinterest)
Check out forum member Stuart Malone's build of Flashback's 1/72nd-scale Voisin III, similar to the one Carpentier is perched in above: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12875.msg240240#msg240240
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Forced-Down Fokker
Here's a mid-war photo story on an eindekker that could likely be the same as the Fokker E.III that fell behind allied lines in March 1916. Below are additional images of this machine.
(from the New-York Tribune, 4 June 1916)
(https://i.imgur.com/cxBdhKb.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/TbdGYMW.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/1LbqiU2.jpg). (https://i.imgur.com/eaEkMuv.png). (https://i.imgur.com/CM8lOlB.jpg)
Check out forum member JCoatney's 1/32 WNW Fokker E.III: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3236.msg54274#msg54274
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Calshot Castle Calamity
During the reign of King Henry VIII an ashlar artillery fort was erected at the tip of Calshot Spit to guard the mouth of England's Southhampton Waters. Nearly 375 years later, Calshot Castle's defenses were augmented by the Royal Flying Corps Naval Wing Air Station, which initially housed experimental seaplanes. First to appear over the following months was a Sopwith Bat Boat (an earlier version of one referenced here last week: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255578#msg255578).
Today's news focuses on a 'special type of machine' delivered from due south across the Solent by the shipbuilding firm J. Samuel White & Company (note red dots on map below). The Wight Enlarged Navyplane (serial #128), piloted by Lieutenant Thomas Creswell with Commander Arthur Rice, was one of several aircraft circling Calshot that Thursday afternoon in May 1914 when tragedy struck. This sudden crash has been called the first fatal naval seaplane accident.
(respectively from the Midland Daily Telegraph and Cambria Daily Leader, 5 June 1914; and the Waganui Chronicle, 8 June 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/j9p119A.png). (https://i.imgur.com/YahDr2f.png) (https://i.imgur.com/mNsgudC.gif)
(https://i.imgur.com/1pFfWny.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/blRTztq.jpg)
(above left: Calshot Castle and slipway circa 1920; right: advertisement from The Aeroplane, April 1915)
(https://i.imgur.com/7QFUzM2.png) (https://i.imgur.com/czGMN9j.png)
(above left: Enlarged Navyplane, Popular Mechanics, July 1914; right: colorized imaged of Creswell and crew at Calshot the day of the accident)
Whether the crash was instigated by pilot error or some mechanical issue, let’s recall that engine trouble would occur to another Navyplane, as reported here last March: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg253029#msg253029. Conclusions from the official investigation:
"...an inquest on the body of Lieut. Creswell was held on Saturday... when brought into the hospital he was fully clothed, but the clothing was very much torn. There was extensive scalding of the shoulders, back, and both sides. There was a puncture wound on the left thigh, which might have been caused by a sharp piece of metal or wood. The cause of death was drowning, the scalding not being sufficient to cause death.
Lieut.-Commander Longmore, in command of Calshot air station, said that he had flown in the machine on the day of the accident, while Lieut. Creswell had made five short passenger flights previous to starting on the ill-fated one. The conditions for flying were good. Two hours after the accident, with the aid of derricks of the Trinity House steamer, the wreckage was hoisted sufficiently to allow of the removal of deceased's body. Nothing was seen of the body of Commander Rice. The wreckage was towed ashore at Calshot. Practically the whole of the machine was there, but was much damaged.
Mr C. Gordon Bell, who was in a motor boat with Lieut. Spenser Grey, R.N., said he saw the seaplane rise, and as it passed over them at a height of 200 ft. or 250 ft., Lieut. Creswell waved his hand to them. The seaplane then went some half to three-quarters of a mile further on, and turned to come back. Witness took his attention off the machine to watch another seaplane, but tuned back again to No. 128, and saw it at a height of 100 ft. Mr. H. W. S. Chilcott said that he saw as if to climb higher, for an instant, and then immediately commence a steady 'volplane', which rapidly increased in steepness until it became a nose dive. The machine was then dropping towards the water vertically. At this moment, about 150 ft. from the water, approximately, the machine looked to be quite whole, but immediately after the left plane commenced to buckle up and quickly collapsed, but did not become detached from the remainder of the machine. ...owing to the extremely broken-up state of the wreckage, it was difficult to slate when the damage to the seaplane was done. No signs whatever could be found on any part of the machine of either an explosion or a fire. The passenger and pilot seats were practically uninjured. The control wires, which would be in operation for an attempt to counteract the dive, were found to be intact. Of the two compressed air bottles fitted to the machine for starting the engine one was intact with gauge glass unbroken, and the other was lost. The latter's stowed position was immediately under the pilot's seat, and as this was uninjured it showed that it could not have exploded.
The breaking of the left wing was, he thought, due to excessive speed, he got into a vertical position, could not absolutely be ascertained. It was thought that the pilot was counteracting the effect of a light gust, which threw the nose of the machine up slightly, by a downward movement of his elevator, and that before he regained his normal level of flight the speed of the machine had increased to such an extent on its downward glide that the angle quickly increased until the machine was vertically nose down. They did not come across any fault in construction which would point to the initial cause of the accident. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death from drowning." (via Flight, 12 June 1914).
The body of Commander Rice, who was outlived by his father Admiral Sir Ernest Rice, was not found until 16 June, near Wootton Creek (shown on the above map southeast of Cowes). Two weeks later the Royal Navy re-formed its air branch as the Royal Naval Air Service and took over functions at Calshot from the RFC. By July's end the RNAS would pivot to a war footing and press all remaining Wight Navyplanes into service... except for one which will headline here soon. Today, a monument to Lieutenant Creswell, inset with a marble bas relief of Navyplane 128, stands at Clayhall Naval Cemetery...not far from where his passenger Cdr. Rice is buried.
(https://i.imgur.com/JoJVGcv.png) (https://i.imgur.com/H09f287.jpg)
(images via findagrave.com)
Some of you may know that my brother and I are currently designing 1/72 model of the 'Improved' version of the Wight Enlarged Navyplane. Here's a link to our 'under construction' page that includes images of the wireless unit that may have been the culprit in today's mishap: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13562.msg255106#msg255106
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Bad Deal in Biarritz
This one-sentence snippet recounts the final flight of Handley Page V/1500 #F7139, which met its demise heading home after an international goodwill excursion. It was the second time in two weeks the unlucky Major Cecil Darley had to force-land the world's biggest operational flying machine on the same seashore. Darley flew seventy night raids with No 14 Squadron RNAS (later 214 Squadron RAF) during the Great War; earning the Distinguished Service Cross. Details on today's mishap follow.
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 6 June 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/6g2YVub.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/9Q4vgjo.png)
(above: V/1500 of 166 Squadron, via key.aero)
"In spite of early proposals by Handley Page to convert the V/1500 for commercial use, none was ever civil-registered and only three ‘near-civil’ demonstrations were made. In the first of these, F7139 was sent on an officially sponsored goodwill flight to Spain, flown by Major Cecil Darley.... They left Manston on 6 May, 1919, for a first stop at Pau, intending to fly via San Sebastian and Vittoria to Madrid, but bad weather ruined the schedule and heavy rain stripped the fabric covering of the two starboard airscrews between Pau and Biarritz. At San Sebastian another severe storm prevented Darley from landing, so he returned to Biarritz, where he made a difficult landing on the shelving beach. Nevertheless, at the next attempt on 11 May, they reached Madrid in 1 hr 40 min and then flew on to Barcelona and back carrying seven passengers including Colonel Sanday, the British military attache; during the next fortnight F7139 was based at Cuatros Vientos and made several more flights over Madrid, including one for King Alfonso XIII when Darley flew over the Alcala at a height of 200 ft.
On the return flight on 29 May, the airscrews again suffered damage from heavy rain, but the Pyrenees were crossed safely at 6,000 ft en route for Pau. Then, two miles offshore at Biarritz, the starboard rear reduction gear seized, throwing off the propeller and carrying away two interplane struts and tearing a large hole in the top wing. With this severe damage, Darley was unable to hold up the right wing by means of the ailerons, but managed to retain enough control to attempt a landing on the steep beach. This time he had a cross-wind and could not prevent the machine from swinging down the slope and plunging 30 yds into the sea. The incoming tide soon broke up the wreck, but the engines were recovered later and Darley was able to save a packet of correspondence he was carrying from King Alfonso, though not the hamper of carnations intended for delivery the same day from Queen Ena to Queen Mary." (via C.Barnes, Handley Page Aircraft since 1907, Putnam)
Aside from the King's rescued correspondence, another relic from this machine survives today in the Royal Airforce Museum - its 'Pattern 253' compass, which was donated by Wing Commander R.H. Stocken. The 'Super Handley' first headlined here last December in a report on the aborted last bombing raid of the war: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg250116#msg250116. That story referenced the 3300 lb. 'S.N. Major Bomb' - the biggest produced during that conflict. Following is a 3D rendering of it that I've made in collaboration with by brother Eric.
(https://i.imgur.com/TY2jDxo.jpg). (https://i.imgur.com/XXccQzY.png)
Click here to check in on the latest 'slowgress' with forum member Rookie's four-foot wide scratch build of this plane: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11018.0
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Upside-Down Doppeldekker
This photo-essay shows what looks like an overturned Aviatik B type (or maybe an Albatros C.I?) that came to grief during the Salonika campaign.
(from Flight, June 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/FuCGTBb.png)
I'm not sure if this is the same machine as was brought down on 17 February by Lieutenant Paul de Mintéguiéga and Sergeant Adriend Fétu of N 91 S according to some references, or perhaps a different plane captured intact after a fight against Sgt Alain Terme and MdL Henri Astor, of February 1 (referenced as an Albatros). That spring a captured German two-seater was exhibited at the foot of the White Tower in the port of Salonika. This is the same spot where parts of the downed Zeppelin LZ 55 were displayed a few months later (as reported here): https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg254776#msg254776. Further details with images regarding French aviators in Saloniki can be found here: http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille507.htm
(https://i.imgur.com/q8c6iim.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/Y6O9BRd.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/dRuy8sy.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/vkX585j.png)
These fur-draped aviators definitely win France's 'best dressed' award for the Macedonian Front. Their fashion choice might be explained by this evocative article describing life in Salonika published the same month as this incident. It's a lot to read, but paints a colorful picture of city life in a lesser-known campaign of the war. The last column coincidentally talks about the fashion for furs among military officers.
(from the Kalgoorlie Western Argus, 22 February 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/ecIXLpD.png) (https://i.imgur.com/rrB9QUc.png) (https://i.imgur.com/WONaIeB.png) (https://i.imgur.com/MrzaaVn.png) (https://i.imgur.com/bZnZ0ND.png)
If you're still with me on today's long-winded post, be sure to check out forum member Tim Mixon's build of the Joystick's 1/72-scale Aviatik B.II: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13324.msg247816#msg247816
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Dives From Airplane to Save Drowning Pilot
Here's another story of French aviateurs in action - this time somewhere over the high seas six miles out. As with yesterday's news I couldn't find much backstory to the corroborate the reportage, but this could make for a thrilling scene straight out of a Hollywood action movie.
(respectively from Le Peuple and the Ely Minor, 8 June 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/Xo23zpU.png) (https://i.imgur.com/vbBSjOb.png)
Not knowing what make of hydroplanes were involved in this incident, check out forum member IanB's 1/72-scale build of an early-war French-manufactured Donnet-Lévêque (which would evolve into the FBA series of seaplanes) by Libramodels: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9061.msg165323#msg165323
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Austrians Ascendant
Aside from mention of two British air raids, today news features twin stories devoted to victories by the Kaiserliche und Königliche Kreigsmarine. The were achieved by two sequential two-seaters: Lohner type T flying boats L-47 and L-48.
(respectively from the Ogden Standard and the Denbighshire Free Press, 9 and 12 June 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/roX2nhq.png) (https://i.imgur.com/JUgEBKv.png)
First is L-47, manned by Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield and naval cadet von Strobel, which bombed various locations. According to thearodrome.com Banfield scored his first aerial victory over a balloon in June 1915, though the date is credited as later this month on the 27th. Banfield headlined here last December with news of another later victory: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg250215#msg250215
(https://i.imgur.com/g6mFbYe.jpg)
L-48, manned by Lieutenants Gustav Klasing and Johann Fritsch von Cronewald, scored a spectacular victory over the Italian dirigible Cittá di Ferrara - ultimately felling it with a hand-fired flare pistol. Further details on this encounter:
"On June 8, 1915 at 3:00 o’clock, the Italian air ship Città di Ferrara piloted by the air ship lieutenant Castruccio Castracane launched an attack on the Ganz & Co. shipyard (or the Whitehead torpedo factory?) in Fiume. The attack was looking for a victim but it caused only minor damage. Shortly after the attack the air ship was sighted coming from the north over Veglia (Krk). Klasing and Fritsch boarded their seaplane L-48 in the navy flying port in Pola in order to intercept and stop the air ship. Around 5:15 clock, the Cittá di Ferrara was sighted over the island of Asinello (now Ilovik) and immediately attacked.
The air ship tried to escape by climbing and using evasive maneuvers to avoid machine gun fire, but Klasing was able to further diminish the distance. After all the MG ammunition was ineffectually used up, they started shooting with two carbines into the air ship using special fire bullets. When the distance to the opponent was about 100 meters, they opened the fire also using the flair (sic) gun. The flair gun had finally the desired effect. A fire was burning on the bow and set the hull of the ship on fire. The Città di Ferrara went into water. The commander, an officer and five crewmen were rescued and taken prisoners by the K.u.K. Torpedoboat 4 while the two crew members in the seaplane were pleased." (via istrianet.org)
(https://i.imgur.com/K4N4CpN.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/ISbvZu8.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/LERW3uv.jpg)
Here's a link back to forum member Pete Wenman's in-progress build of the Choroszy's 1/72-scale Lohner L-47: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10024.msg182322#msg182322
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Serbian 'Storm'
Here's another article on aerial actions away from the Western Front with little back story to go on that presumably relates to a victory by Miodrag Tomić (Миодраг Томић), one of Serbia's pioneer aviators, who was piloting a Bleriot XI-2 with a Schwarzlose MG M.07/12.
(respectively from the Daily Telegram and the Sun, 10-11 June 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/w8oJHXY.png) (https://i.imgur.com/iSvWUML.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/3x2I5Rx.jpg)
Tomić attend Louis Blériot's flying school in 1912 and was a veteran of the Balkan wars the following year. He has also been credited with engaging in the first dogfight of the Great War... though that's a story for another day. More details leading to today's news:
"Tomić was ordered to form an aerial unit of the Šumadija Division on 16 August. On 22 October, he became the first Serbian pilot to face enemy anti-aircraft fire when his Blériot XI was targeted by Austro-Hungarian field batteries. The first Serbian escadrille was formed in Belgrade the same day. Tomić went on to participate in multiple combat missions, dropping explosive ordnance on Austro-Hungarian military positions and supply lines. In May 1915, a number of French pilots came to Serbia to help the country's war effort. Tomić was assigned to Požarevac airfield following the arrival of the French and flew missions over the Banat. A soldier named Milutin Mihailović was assigned to fly with him as a military observer. On 9 June, Tomić downed one German plane. Six days later, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He shot down another German plane on 23 June. In total, Tomić and Mihailović flew nineteen combat missions over the Banat between early May and late August 1915." (per wikipedia)
Here's a look at forum member torbiorn's 1/72nd-scale build of this exact airplane: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11697.msg218133#msg218133
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The Best is Yet to Come
Here's an early discussion by the aviation writer Charles Grey Grey on some notable early aces plus the development of technique and technology as the war progress. Mentioned herein are: Immelman, Hawker, Richtofen, Ball, Boelcke, and Garros.
(from the El Paso Herald, 11 June 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/edcMCyz.png) (https://i.imgur.com/w6fyp2z.png) (https://i.imgur.com/IGyYLxW.png)
Check out forum member Dave W's review of recent publication Modelling and Painting World War 1 Allied Figures, which features a 'walk-through' on Lanoe Hawker: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13374.msg248498#msg248498
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Colors & Markings
Today's brief focuses on airplane insignias of various belligerents during the Great War.
(from the Brecon County Times, 12 June 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/1ILeR9W.png). (https://i.imgur.com/kyTFPWB.jpg)
(image via history.navy.mil)
Knowing the press doesn't always get it right, I'm reminded of an article from back in January that grossly misidentified a fallen Farman:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg251337#msg251337. For a good example of unusal markings, check out forum member The_Magnificent_Squadron's build of a 1/32-scale WNW Fokker in Belgian livery:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13686.msg254137#msg254137
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Window Shopping
This advert from Palmer Tyres, which seems to have held a monopoly in outfitting the wheels of early British aircraft, shows what their London storefront looked like during the middle of the Great War.
(from Flight magazine, June 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/DdIcCMn.jpg)
Palmer's location on Shaftesbury Avenue was near some of the great old music halls in what generally is considered the heart of London's West End theatre district. Piccadilly, Stand and Leicester Square are just blocks away. Below is an amazing Kodachrome of Shaftesbury Avenue as seen from Picadilly taken around WWII. Alas, Palmer's old building looks to have been rebuilt and the site is currently occupied by a catering supply shop. A feeling of what this section of London was like during the Great War is shared in the first verse and choruses of the classic music-hall song "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary". Written before the war, it became one of the top-selling hits of 1914-15, an endures today as an evergreen wartime tune. Here's Albert Farrington's 1915 rendition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNTrwllj43o.
(https://i.imgur.com/97GzVbb.jpg)
Below is a draft 3D rendering of a 700mm Palmer tire I've been tinkering with but haven't yet perfected.
(https://i.imgur.com/R4RHabf.png)
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'First to Bomb'
At 16:30 hour on Friday the 12th, eight Breguet 14 B.2 biplanes, loaded with bombs, took off from Amanty Airdrome situated in Lorraine region in northeastern France. It was the first bomber flight over the lines for the 96th Aero Squadron and the first mission of its type in U.S. History.
(from the Greenville Daily Sun, 14 June 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/7mrHLCB.png). (https://i.imgur.com/ll2P9Sd.jpg)
(Image: bomber’s-eye view of Amanty Airdrome, c. spring 1918)
"Owing to the worn out condition of the motors, considerable time was spent in attaining a bombing altitude of 4000 meters. The objective was reached without mishap, save that two planes were forced to return because of motor trouble....100 years to the day, on June 12, 2018, the legacy USAF unit, the 96th Bomb Squadron in Barksdale AFB, with the motto 'First to Bomb', flew a B-52 commemorative training mission joined by a KC-135R tanker and French Dassault Mirage 2000D fighters with the combined formation flying over Étain." (via wikipedia)
More info with images of the anniversary flight can be found here: https://www.barksdale.af.mil/News/Article/1551095/96th-bomb-squadron-historic-flight/
(https://i.imgur.com/BoP75nM.png) (image via barksdale.af.mil)
Check out forum member Andonio64's build of Hi-Tech's 1/48th-scale Breguet XIV in French service: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9965.msg181414#msg181414
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The African Queen
This report details an encounter between a Belgian-operated Short Admiralty Type 827 that scored a direct hit with a 65lb bomb on the German gunboat Graf von Goetzen, which was guarding German colonial interests around Lake Tanganyika in what is now Tanzania. Amazingly this ship survived the attack only to be intentionally scuttled for future service by the Germans the following month. The Belgians later raised it but the ship sank again then was refloated once more by the British. It remains in regular service to this day. The Graf von Goetzen is believed to be the inspiration for the German gunboat Luisa in C. S. Forester's 1935 novel The African Queen, and John Huston's 1951 film version.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 15 June 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/2rFPIIe.png) (https://i.imgur.com/3h0htGp.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/FhJgN54.jpg)
(images respectively via: quizz.biz, docslib.org)
"The ship was built in 1913 in Papenburg, Germany. She was then dismantled and shipped to Kigoma in German East Africa in 5,000 wooden crates. The railway did not extend to Kigoma at that time, so all those boxes were carried on the backs of porters for the last part of the journey. In Kigoma, she was reconstructed and launched in 1915 under the name Graf von Goetzen, named after the governor of German East Africa. She was a warship intended to let the Germans dominate on Lake Tanganyika and she was very effective in that role, much more powerful than any other ship in the region.
However, the land part of the war in Africa did not go well for the Germans. In 1916 they were forced to retreat from Kigoma; they scuttled the ship before they left to save her from capture by the Allies. She was soon recovered by the Belgians, but she sank again in 1920, due to a storm. The British brought her up again in 1924 and put her back into service, converted for use as a ferry and renamed MV (motor vessel) Liemba, in 1927." (via en.wikivoyage.org)
Here's a four-minute BBC documentary on this ship, which is said to be the oldest ferry remaining in active service: https://youtu.be/NM2BCqS5WUc. More on Brahaeghe's carrer can be read in a 2008 Cross & Cockade article published here: https://docslib.org/doc/7632831/aim%C3%A9-behaeghe
Two forum builds with great backstories to share today. First is Old Man's incredible Short 827 conversion: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3884.msg65926#msg65926. Second is pustota's build of Short's sister plane, the Admiralty Type 830, which references the very plane featured in today's news: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13034.msg243028#msg243028
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French 'Terrorize' Karlsruhe
This fairly large (twenty-three plane) strategic raid occurred within ten months of France's entry into the Great War. Though other cities had been bombed before causing civilian casualties, this one (and another that would take shortly hereafter) evidently created some consternation within Germany, with calls for reprisals being made in the press.
(respectively from the the El Paso Herald, the Evening Herald, and the Harrisburg Telegram, 16 June 1915; and the Dominion 21 June 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/Hysihw8.png) (https://i.imgur.com/pm24d6c.png) (https://i.imgur.com/sZVcbsZ.gif) (https://i.imgur.com/QuykPoD.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/OAkliSP.png) (https://imgur.com/OAkliSP)
(image: French Bombers Attacking Karlsruhe, artist unknown, via tineye.com)
Check out forum member ClayMoreGuy's build of CSM'a 1/48th-scale Caudron G.IV similar to the swarm depicted above: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12768.msg237980#msg237980
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'Naughty' Albanian Airmen
I'd love to know anything about these anonymous 'insurgent aviators' and their actions in this still relatively early stage of the war away from Western Front. The newborn Balkan state had only declared independence from the Ottoman Empire in November 1912. Wikipedia's article on the Albanian air force states, "In 1914 the government of Albania ordered three Lohner Daimler aircraft from Austria to form an air force. As a result of the outbreak of World War I, the order was cancelled. Albania did not have the resources to start the development of a proper Air Force until the 1920s and 1930s". Who were these airmen? What were they flying? Did it even happen?
(respectively from the Ketchikan Miner, the Topeka State Journal, and the Daily Alaskan; 17 June 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/yxZboyL.png) (https://i.imgur.com/q7Aqu7w.png) (https://i.imgur.com/3Om7c4n.png)
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Fatal Fall in Yokohama
The Nippon Flying School was founded by brothers Seitaro and Teichiro Tamai and Aijiro Hara, who designed and flew their own airplanes. Reportedly their Yokohama-based airfield was destroyed by the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923. One of their pupils was Eiji Tsuburaya, who would later become the co-creator of the kaiju sensation Godzilla, and the Ultraman movies.
(from the Lakeland Evening Telegram, 18 June 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/BS5aLWa.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/VHgPIss.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/kH4qWkP.jpg)
(images via flyingmachines.ru)
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Wintgens und Höhndorf
Twin victories by German aces and friends Leutnants Kurt Wintgens and Walter Höhndorf are spotlighted today. According to the stat boards over on theaerodrome.com, Wintgens nailed a Farman two-seater; Höhndorf took down a Nieuport.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 18 June 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/2XcYq6n.png)
Both will go on to earn the Pour le Mérite, though neither will survive the war. Höhndorf actually witnessed Wintgens' death while patrolling together - just three months after this article was published. That news headlined here last September: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg248446#msg248446. Wintgens funeral was covered in a post titled 'Three Volleys for the Dead': https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg249635#msg249635
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Six Victories, Fifty-Six Bullets, One Day
This detailed report notes Rene Fonck's remarkable flying achievements. "I put my bullets into the target as if I placed them there by hand", he is known to have boasted.
(from the Pensacola Journal, 20 June 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/HVmap4g.png)
Fonck appeared though was misattributed in an article last October: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg249110#msg249110
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Birdie Shanks Bogies
This wild story tells of a British golfer-turned-aviator who's familiarity with his favorite seaside course enabled him to score holes in more than one invading German.
(from the Evening Times-Republican, 21 June 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/0wEEZRI.png). (https://i.imgur.com/VxZTFak.png)
(image: Aerial photograph, Lombartzyde, Belgium, 1917, via flickr.com)
Here's a link to the history of this 'missing link': https://golfsmissinglinks.co.uk/index.php/wales-2/benelux/belgium/1809-belgium-lombartzyde-golf-club
Check out forum member Brad Cancian's build of Flashback's 1/72nd scale Sopwith Strutter in Belgian Service: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7677.msg141047#msg141047
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Gotha Eggs
(from the Brecon County Times, 22 June 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/SCxeIyx.png)
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"Revenge at El Arish"
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 23 June 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/VGWfnjf.png) (https://i.imgur.com/LAFSOpm.jpg)
The title of today's post is taken directly from the great blog airwar19141918, here's an excerpt on their account of this action:
Following the German attacks on Port Said, the Australian Light Horse Camp and the British Aerodrome at Qantara, the RFC has been planning its revenge. Today, eleven BE2c’s from 14 Squadron set off from Qantara to attack the German aerodrome at El Arish. Two of the aeroplanes carried observers, but the others were flown as single-seaters, so that a greater weight of bombs could be taken. They approached the aerodrome from the sea at about 600ft. According to the British observers, one German aeroplane on the ground was destroyed and another damaged, and two hangars set on fire. In addition, one bomb of 20lb fell among a party of soldiers, and another of 100lb exploded in the middle of a Turkish camp.
The British aeroplanes were subjected to heavy fire from the ground and three of them were brought down. The first fell in the sea, though the pilot was rescued by a motor boat. A second fell near the German aerodrome, but the pilot Captain Richard James Tipton, set fire to his aeroplane before the Turks reached him. He was taken prisoner. The pilot of the third, Captain Helperus Andrias Van Ryneveld, was forced to land on the sea-shore, the sump in his aeroplane holed by a rifle bullet. He was seen by Lieutenant Darell Kilburn Paris, the observer in another B.E.2c, piloted by Captain Stuart Grant-Dalton, who went down and landed alongside, picked up Captain Van Ryneveld, and successfully carried his two passengers back to Qantara, a distance of ninety miles.
(https://i.imgur.com/69IyUFQ.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/teUr9s1.jpg)
(images: B.E.2 at Kantara; view of El Arish, 1916, via pinterest; The Air Raid on el Arish, 18th June 1916. the Rescue of Captain Ryneveldt, Rfc, by Captain S. Grant Dalton and Observer Paris, Imperial War Museum)
This is reminiscent of another article reported here last November: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg249480#msg249480
Check out forum member Danh4's build of the 1/72nd-scale Airfix Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c of 16 Squadron: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8357.msg154839#msg154839
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Bonnell Bests Boelcke?
This photo story suggests its subject, Geoffrey H. Bonnell of 32 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, was the airman who singularly defeated the great German ace Oswald Boelcke in combat. However, facts do not support this casual claim. Bonnel flew an Airco D.H.2 and is credited with one aerial victory during the Great War. According to RFC Communique No 59 (22 October 1916): "Lt Bonnell, 32 Sqn, engaged and destroyed a hostile machine. The destruction of this machine is confirmed by the 67th A.A. Battery". Boelcke was killed six days later during a dust up with different squadron.
(from the The Sun, 24 June 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/0bWm7ZG.png) (https://i.imgur.com/u3dbeS0.png)
Per wikipedia, here's how Boelcke's final mission actually played out:
"On the evening of 27 October, a depressed and tired Boelcke left the squadron mess early to return to his room. He complained of the racket in the mess to his batman, then sat staring into the fire. Böhme joined him, also stating the mess was too noisy. They shared a long talk, ending only when the orderly suggested bedtime. The following day was misty with a cloud layer, but the squadron still flew four missions during the morning, as well as another later in the day. On the sixth mission, Boelcke and five of his pilots attacked a pair of British airplanes from 24 Squadron RFC. Boelcke and Böhme chased the Airco DH.2 of Captain Arthur Knight, while Richthofen pursued the other DH.2, flown by Captain Alfred McKay. McKay evaded Richthofen by crossing behind Knight, cutting off Boelcke and Böhme. Both of them jerked their planes upward to avoid colliding with McKay, each hidden from the other by their aircraft's wings. Neither was aware of the other's position. Just as Böhme spotted the other plane bobbing up below him, Boelcke's upper left wing brushed the undercarriage of Böhme's airplane. The slight impact split the fabric on the wing of Boelcke's Albatros. As the fabric tore away, the wing lost lift, and the aircraft spiralled down to glide into an impact near a German artillery battery near Bapaume. Although the crash seemed survivable, Boelcke was not wearing his crash helmet, nor was his safety belt fastened. He died of a fractured skull."
Boelcke headlined here in another post last October: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg249144#msg249144
Check out forum member PrzemoL's 1/32nd-scale build depicting another DH.2 from 32 Sqn dating to autumn 1916: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3030.0
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Top Dog for One Day
It happened during Kieler Woche - Europe's largest sailing festival. Founded in 1882, 'Kiel Week' still attracts millions each June. The 1914 season was particularly special as the officially named Kaiser-Wilhelm-Canal's expanded locks were to be inaugurated by the Kaiser himself. Willhem II, who was an annual attendee aboard his Imperial Yacht, even invited the British Royal Navy who sent four 'ships of the line' and a cruiser squadron. Two days into the celebration and three days before Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria would be assassinated, pioneer German aviator Walter Schroeter of the Kaiserliche Marine made international news when he fatally fell from a newly acquired seaplane during his initial solo flight. This day was also Schroeter's first anniversary as commander of Seeflugstation Holtenau at Kiel. Schroeter had obtained his pilot's license (#244) exactly one year to the day before that.
(https://i.imgur.com/m8wYZ2v.png) (https://i.imgur.com/lfFxUvK.png)
(respectively from Der Deutsche Correspondent and the Spokesman-Review, 25 and 26 May 1914)
(https://i.imgur.com/7Qoh2I3.png)(https://i.imgur.com/QfT4zbl.png)
(image showing a German Zeppelin above the visiting British fleet; via faz.net)
These articles don't mention the aircraft type, which, ironically, arrived at Kiel with the British Fleet. It was the latest Wight Enlarged Navyplane that, along with a Sopwith Bat Boat, had been ordered by the German military after its unveiling at the March Olympia Aero & Marine Exhibition (reported here late last month: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255578#msg255578). Regarding the Navyplane: "Three of which were bought by the Royal Navy and used with the seaplane carrier HMS Argus, the other four being bought by the German Navy. However, only one of which entered service in Germany, as when war seemed likely to break out, White refused to supply the potential adversary, and the remaining three planes saw service in anti-submarine patrols". (via h2g2.com)
(https://i.imgur.com/gt08By6.png)
(text image: William Hibbert Berry, Aircraft in War and Commerce, London, 1918, p36
(https://i.imgur.com/tYGmLj2.png) (https://i.imgur.com/n0xHT0o.png)
(image: Holtenau station showing the hangars where the Wight and Sopwith were kept, spring 1914; via apt-holtenau.de)
(https://i.imgur.com/VFeskXt.jpg)
(image: Willhelm II's Imperial Yacht S.M.Y. Hohenzollern II at Kiel, 1914; via wikipedia)
Details on the marineflieger's final flight: "Schroeter took off for the first time on the occasion of the naval seaplane parade in the port of Kiel on a Samuel White biplane with a 200 hp Salmson recently bought from England. Shortly after takeoff, the biplane fell from a height of 50 m. According to a message, the pilot lost control of the machine, according to another, oversteered the machine. The true cause has not yet been discovered. Incidentally, it should be noted that not too long ago 2 English officers also died on the same type of machine. In Kapt.-Ltn. Schroeter, formerly at the Putzig station, e.g. Currently commander of the air station in Kiel, we lose one of the most capable and senior naval aviators. The loss will be felt very painfully everywhere." (via apt-holtenau.de). Evidently a memorial stone at Holtenau still commemorates the tragedy.
This quote also alludes to a story posted here three weeks ago involving another newly delivered Wight Navyplane that unexpectedly fell into the sea: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255697#msg255697. These calamities soured the British military's view of the Wight Enlarged Navyplane, which had been acclaimed in the press. Just one month earlier Aeroplane Weekly even dubbed it 'The Top Dog' on the cover of their May 7 issue). A formal investigation was made into the design's structural integrity resulting in an 'Improved Navyplane' with an even longer wingspan to offset the weight of various reinforcements. This update would see service in the Gallipoli campaign, as reported here back in February and April: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg253828#msg253828
But what happened the afternoon prior with Schroeter in this Navyplane over Kiel is arguably even more remarkable. Here's an excerpt of this gloriously maverick unauthorized double flyover (published from a newfound forgotten manuscript) from the man flying it that day - British test-pilot Eric Gordon England. Gordon England had been involved with aviation since 1908. He taught himself to fly in 1911 gaining Pilot Certificate No. 68 in three hours:
"Two weeks before the outbreak of the First World War, I was commissioned by J.S. White and Co of Cowes to deliver to the Germany Navy Air Service the then, very latest, Wight seaplane - with, I might mention, the full approval of our Admiralty.... The Germans had no machine to approach the Wight seaplane and were frightfully excited when I gave the first demonstration flight from the Naval Air Station at Kiel. A very sporting and nice little German naval officer, Kapitänleutnant Schroeter, insisted on being my passenger on the acceptance flights.
I then discovered that the Kaiser was going to open the Kiel Canal officially a few days later, and for this great event the whole of the British Atlantic Fleet was to visit Kiel Harbour. So I entered into a conspiracy with Schroeter that we would work things so that the acceptance flights would be timed to have us in the air at the time of the official opening. The plot succeeded. Schroeter, in broken English, told me he had instructions that the whole of the acceptance flight was to take place outside Kiel Harbour, over the Baltic. The official instruction had gone out that no aeroplane was to be flying over the Kaiser's yacht or the battleships, all dressed for the display, during the official opening. The only flight to take place at the time was to be made by a Zeppelin. All official aircraft were to be grounded.
Schroeter remarked: "Isn't it a pity that we will not be able to see the wonderful display of the Kaiser's yacht sailing forth through the lock gates of the Canal, at which instance the whole of the combined Fleets are to fire a Royal Salute?" I replied: "Isn't it a pity that I do not understand a word of German?" Whereupon Schroeter grinned mightily and slapped me on the back. We duly took off and headed out to the Baltic. By chance, of course, I happened to know the exact hour of the opening.
In good time, I turned and headed for the entrance to the Kiel Canal. As we came near we saw that the Royal Yacht, SMY Hohenzollern II - a most splendid vessel, gleaming white - was within a few feet of the lock gates. Then the prearranged pantomime commenced. My gallant German companion, who was seated behind me, started to pat me on the back and gesticulate violently. I looked very puzzled and kept shaking my head, but otherwise paid no attention to his antics at all. The absurd performance went on until we were right over the Kaiser's yacht. At that instant, the lock gates parted and the ship came out of the harbour. Then every battleship which lined Kiel Harbour was surrounded by what appeared to be little bits of cotton-wool. It was a sight never to be forgotten.
Schroeter made some very weird signs and grimaces to me and at that moment I spotted the Zeppelin coming over. On went full throttle, up went the nose of the machine and we climbed over the Zeppelin. So, I became the first Englishman ever to fly over a Zeppelin. All very wicked and improper. We completed the set duration of our flight and then I made one of the spectacular almost-on-to-the-slipway-landings for which, in those days, I had made myself famous on the Wight seaplane. As we moved up the slipway under power, our manœuvre scattered the Commanding Officer of the air station, his brother officers, and all the ratings who were waiting to see the inevitable fireworks. The Commanding Officer came up to me as I got down from the machine. In first-class English he started to bellow, with immense solemnity, of the wickedness I had perpetrated.
I thought there must have been something wrong, I explained, because Schroeter had made himself quite a nuisance during the flight. Now I realised what it was he had been trying to tell me. At the time, unfortunately, I had not been able to follow what he was saying, because of my lack of knowledge of the German language. I had only Schroeter's word for it subsequently, but he told me he had explained to the CO that he had done his best to make me understand, but as his English vocabulary was extremely limited he had had to address me in German. Of course, what with the noise etc, he had failed to make me understand. My own impression was that the Commander of the station was far too good a sailor not to know what had really happened and decided to accept it all in good faith." (Frederick Warren Merriam, Echoes from Dawn Skies: Early Aviators: A Lost Manuscript Rediscovered, 2021)
Neither Gordon England nor Schroeter ever flew in combat, but climbing above both the Kaiser's yacht and a Zeppelin with the world watching made the Wight Navyplane and its international crew 'Top Dog' for one day. Within twenty-four hours this plane and Walter Schroeter would both meet their demise. War would be declared within weeks. Holtenau would soon become the mother station for the Fliegerwesen der Marine, and the Kiel Canal would become the subject of British attacks. The Kiel Mutiny (Kieler Matrosenaufstand) of the German Imperial Navy's Hochseeflotte, in November 1918, would trigger the revolution that ended the German monarchy and lead to the Weimar Republic. The British Royal Navy would not return to Kieler Woche on friendly terms until 1931. Film footage from that event can be seen here: https://youtu.be/9xgFnozM7Pc. And to see a possible 'macabre souvenir' pertaining to today's news click over to the War Relics Forum: https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/imperial-germany-austro-hungary/imperial-aviator-macabre-souvenir-9978/.
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Coppens Claims Two
The legendary Belgian balloon buster Willy Omer François Jean Coppens (later also baron d'Houthulstis) is at it again during a dawn patrol scoring his second of several multiple-victory days. The 'huge enemy biplane' felled before breakfast that morning was a Hannover CL.
(from the Washington Herald, 26 June 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/6ijIOqR.png)
Coppens headlined here last July when he achieved a triple-win day: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg246494#msg246494. Though he lost a leg following his final combat weeks before the armistice, Coppens lived long enough to have witnessed America's Challenger Space Shuttle explode in 1986. His final five years were spent living with fellow Belgian ace Jan Olieslagers's only daughter.
Check out forum member andonio64's trio of 1/48th-scale Hanriots by Eduard, including one that Coppens flew to victory: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=5859.0
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The Air Pirates of Laholm Bay
This brief describes an defiant English steamship saved from a marauding German seaplane by a protective Swedish torpedo boat.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 27 June 1916)
(https://i.imgur.com/rgbeJUi.png)(https://i.imgur.com/JlIh38E.jpg)
(image: period postcard depicting Laholm Bay, via tradera.com)
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Troubled Waters
This is the second aircraft to have wrecked in two consecutive days at Seaplane Station Newhaven/Bishopstone in East Sussex along England's southern coast. Two aviators and their Short Admiralty Type 184 (serial N1685) from 408/9 Flight of 242 Squadron were lost. Teenaged Lieutenant John Frederick R. Kitchin and his observer Second Lieutenant George Cole were burning alive from a petrol fire while they drowned after failing to 'unstick' from choppy seas and crashing into a breakwater in their home harbor.
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 28 June 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/fv8DdVj.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/rRKAJHh.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/YKR9JQt.png)
(images: Newhaven Seaplane Station c.1918, a Short 184 (serial unknown) with breakwater in background; credited to H R Alderson {respectively via eastsussexww1.org.uk and tidemills.webs.com)
(https://i.imgur.com/GLU5YP3.png) (https://i.imgur.com/VBT8eVE.png)
(images attributed by Henry Ross Alderson via sussexhistoryforum.co.uk)
"...there was a fresh south westerly wind blowing, which meant taking off in the lee of the harbour wall. Lt Kitchen (sic) twice tried to unstick from the water, but each time had to abort as the harbour wall came perilously close. By the third attempt all the pilots and observers on shore watched anxiously as he eventually got off the water, but far too close to the wall. Kitchen had barely enough flying speed and the Short 184 did not rise. The crew had no chance and must have known that a crash was inevitable. They both died." (Peter Fellows, A Short History of a Local Seaplane Station).
(https://i.imgur.com/EV7VaF3.jpg)
(image: Newhaven breakwater today; via ournewhaven.org.uk)
The airmen remain eternally side by side in adjacent burial plots under matching headstones at Newhaven Cemetery. The old seaplane base, which flew anti-submarine patrols over the English Channel, saw further action in WWII, but is derelict today. A quick read on living and flying at this aviation station during the Great War can be read here: http://www.eastsussexww1.org.uk/newhavens-seaplanes/index.html
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Twin Engines Flying Aflame
A fierce fight. A fiery fall. A lucky escape. A daring salvage.
(from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, 29 June 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/7IpMUma.png)
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'Fearless' Greeks and 'Wanderlust'
Two unrelated stories merged into one news article today.
First is a spotlight on Greece's sole Great War ace. Misidentified here as 'Serg. Soukas', and nicknamed the 'Fearless Aviator', his real name was Aristeidis Moraitinis. He was untilmatley credited with nine combat victories... and with undertaking the first naval air mission in history (flying a farman) during the Balkan Wars in February 1913. Moraitinis flew for Britain's Royal Naval Air Service before joining Greece's Naval Air Service upon its entry into the war in the summer of 1917. Like so many other aces, Moraitinis' career ended prematurely though not in combat: "At noon on 22 December 1918 he took off from Thessaloniki, bound for Athens, in a Breguet 14... He never reached his destination, and it is believed that he crashed in the sea somewhere between Halkidiki and Magnesia." Fuller biography here: https://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64639 https://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64639
(from the Evening Star, 30 June 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/xsS2bjW.png)(https://i.imgur.com/hPRoDPZ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/5UYoPSu.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/y56WE47.jpg)
(profiles: A Bristol Scout and Airco D.H.9 in markings as flown by Moraitinis; via safarikovi.org)
Meanwhile, the last paragraph of today's article mentions Edgar Jean Bouligny, another obscure character from the Great War:
"His wanderlust began at an early age. At 12, he ran away from home in an attempt to fight in the Boer War. At 15, he ran away again and succeeded in getting to Mexico to prospect for gold. At 17, he paid a visit to San Francisco, where unlike most tourists to that city, he was shanghaied for about a year by a Chinese ship... from 1906 to 1912 in the U.S. Army..... In August of 1914, when he volunteered for the French Foreign Legion to fight in World War I. He was the first American to enlist in the French Foreign Legion. In fact, he enlisted before Americans were allowed to enlist, but got around this limitation by passing himself off as a French reservist. He was also the first American to be wounded in the war. During his three years in the Foreign Legion, fighting in the northwest France, he was wounded three times. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre with a silver star because he continued to fight all during the night in the trenches during the Battle of Champagne, despite a severe leg wound from a grenade explosion. In 1917, Bouligny joined France’s Service Aeronautique as part of the Lafayette Escadrille, and after he completed his training, he was assigned to fly in the Escadrille Nieuport 501 for reconnaissance and combat missions in Albania and Serbia. In October of 1918, he joined the U.S. Air Service as a Second Lieutenant." (via Geni.com)
(https://i.imgur.com/Fjk37jW.jpg)
(image: portrait of Bouligny, via geni.com)
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Karl Allmenröder Kaput
"Brothers Karl and Wilhelm Allmenröder transferred to Die Fliegertruppe (Imperial German Air Service) on 16 March 1916. Karl Allmenröder was sent for training at Halberstadt. He flew two-seaters as an artillery spotter in Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) [Flier Detachment (Artillery)] 227 before joining Jagdstaffel 11 in November 1916. After Manfred von Richthofen assumed command in January, 1917, Jagdstaffel 11 became one of the premier fighter squadrons of the German military. Allmenröder's career as a fighter ace was a short but spectacular string of single and double victories. He achieved his victories flying an Albatros D.III in the squadron's scarlet livery, with his personal markings of white nose and elevators. The Red Baron often chose Allmenröder as a wingman." (via wikipedia)
(from the New-York Tribune, 1 July 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/x8dl4SC.png)(https://i.imgur.com/LH2WeHz.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Qv1JtWE.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/cg1MCEA.jpg)
(images via sanke-cards.com, and pinterest)
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'Dead Bird' Plays Possum
Here's a fun read about one aviator's battle tactic ruse. I'm unsure if 'Mark Helson' is a real person or not, as nothing outside variants of this 1915 article were found online.
(from the New York Tribune, 2 July 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/Kl94KWI.png)
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Broken Before Dawn
More seaplane trouble. Three hours before the outbreak of one of the largest battles in all history, this two-seat Friedrichshafen FF.33 of the Kaiserliche Marine (No. 496) suffered a forced landing, about about 150 kilometers east-southeast of the neutral Danish capital of Copenhagen. The two airmen were rescued by the Danes without injury. Meanwhile by day's end, about 600 kilometers southwest, the belligerents of the first Battle of the Somme would suffer one of the war's bloodiest days with roughly 67,000 casualties.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 3 July 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/noiWUfo.png)(https://i.imgur.com/O7Hhlzs.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/dPxFC3C.jpg)
(images: two views of a similar FF.33 {via flyingmachines.ru}; view of Rønne Harbor, early 20th century {via stamps.dk})
Check out forum member The_Magnificent_Squadron's modified version of Lukgraph's 1/32 FF.33 with a Swedish connection: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13131.msg244899#msg244899
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Recollections of a German Raider
A few interesting stories in this article. The last one is particularly harrowing... were a pilot facing certain death with his machine on fire chooses to ram his opponent.
(from the Sydney Morning Herald, 4 July 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/29b2RQs.png)(https://i.imgur.com/taPBabR.png)(https://i.imgur.com/Mxvlyar.png)
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American Raiders Awarded
This decoration ceremony involves the King of Italy honoring select U.S. airmen. Interestingly, the top American mentioned here is General Eben Swift who became the first commander of what is now the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Air Force (though they fought entirely on the ground during the Great War). Swift, who was born before the U.S. Civil War, coined the division's 'All American' nickname based on diversity of states its soldiers hailed from. One soldier, from Tennessee, was the famous Sargent Alvin C. York- who became of the most-decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I.
(from the Ogden Standard, 5 July 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/mxQqBgZ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/yP8eshd.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/gob3grb.jpg)
(images via arlingtoncemetery.net and warhistoryonline.com)
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'Mad Airman' Cooped Up
'Freakish' Jean Navarre remains grounded and languishing in prison three months after his Parisian rampage (reported here back in April: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg254067#msg254067). "Military doctors declared him irresponsible for his actions, recognizing what modern psychiatrists would describe as post-traumatic stress syndrome. In a rest home for the rest of the war, Navarre never returned to the front." (via fr.wikipedia.org)
(from the Arizona Republican, 6 July 1917)
(https://i.imgur.com/Y3Ixev4.png)(https://i.imgur.com/TZDp4Sv.jpg)
(image via fr.wikipedia.org)
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Baracchini Replaces Baracca
Roughly translated: "Lieutenant aviator Flavio Baracchini was named the premiere Italian "ace". He has taken the place of poor Baracca. His promotion to captain is imminent. Last October, after having achieved five important victories, he was wounded. From the day of his recovery, which was slow and difficult, he did not make many flights, but afterwards, in a very few days, he achieved about thirty victories."
(from L'Italia, 7 July 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/ubylTUV.png)
Baracchini ranked fourth among Italian aces of the Great War, with 21 confirmed (including seven shared) and nine unconfirmed victories. He died in a laboratory accident a decade after the war ended. His personal Macchi-built Hanriot HD.1 survives today at the Italian Air Force Museum near Bracciano, Rome. Baracca made news here back in June 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg244671#msg244671
(https://i.imgur.com/ZAk2K6c.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/kaT5AMZ.jpg)
Check out forum member iancshippee's 1/48-scale Eduard build of this plane: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8633.msg158695#msg158695
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French Trench Camo Cover
Better than nothing I suppose.
(from the Monticellonian, 9 July 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/0VPAggh.png)
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Air Tactics Illustrated
(from the Washington Times, 9 July 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/6VdCuie.png) (https://i.imgur.com/3InBqgX.png)
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Farman vs. Farmer
"Birdmen... a worse torture than the sword of Damocles"! Weeks before war's outbreak, the operators of Aéroparc de Buc (including Avions Farman, Établissements Borel, and Robert Esnault-Pelterie {R.E.P}) were on defense in court for disturbing the fields of a local landowner. I'm not sure if this legal case influenced the modern application of air rights and property law based on the concept of Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos ("whoever's is the soil, it is theirs all the way to Heaven and all the way to Hell"), but discord between this aerodrome and its neighbors evidently persisted after the Armistice.
(from the Parisian, 10 July 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/jHdgWqD.png)(https://i.imgur.com/aetNvPw.jpg)
Located about 18 kilometers southwest of Paris, the airfield (also called Aéroparc Blériot), was established on a farm bought by Louis Bleriot in late 1909, following his historic Channel crossing. "On November 13, 1912, a flying school was added. The aviator develops several activities... air shows, training of civilian and military pilots and aircraft testing.... At the start of the war, the French authorities, thinking of a short conflict, dissolved the flying schools and reduced the production of airplanes. However, the Buc flight school was temporarily put back into service on March 5, 1915. On June 14, the school was militarized until July 1917. After the war, the air park returned to its original functions... (Blériot) encountered major financial difficulties in the 1920s and neighborhood disturbances during the war between the inhabitants of Buc and the air park only worsened his reputation." (via wiki1418.yvelines.fr)
Nothing remains of this airfield today, other than the stone entry gate. For more backstory click over to Forgotten Airfields: https://www.forgottenairfields.com/airfield-buc-1557.html
(https://i.imgur.com/ZFGctS0.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/QWQBeeK.png)
(images respectively via collection-jfm.fr and maquettes-papier.net)
(https://i.imgur.com/bWFHGjN.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/BKmnBt2.jpg)
(images respectively via fortunapost.com and wiki1418.yvelines.fr)
(https://i.imgur.com/k9mLcLe.png)(https://i.imgur.com/Gn9O97t.png)
(images via aerosteles.net)
Check out forum member lonemodeller's 1/72nd-scale scratchbuilt Farman MF.7 'Longhorn' similar to one pictured above: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=4717.0. And here's a link to my 1/72 scratchbuilt parasol variant of the R.E.P. monoplane also shown above: https://imgur.com/nvNcehQ
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Foreign-Legion Photo-Op Features Four Future 'First' Fliers
Twenty motley Americans on a belated two-day Paris getaway honoring the 4th of July received modest mention in a handful of newspapers today. They are volunteers fighting for the French Légion Étrangère on leave from the Western Front. Four of them are particularly noteworthy as they will one day each escape the misery of trench warfare, learn to fly, and fight in the skies. These four also happen to be in the following photograph, which was taken during their very same Parisian excursion. They are: Victor Chapman, Eugene Bullard, Edmond Genet, and William E. Dugan Jr.
(from the New York Sun, 11 July 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/hfpFPBE.png)(https://i.imgur.com/XbBN1Bc.jpg)
(IMAGE: Edmond Charles Clinton Genet, War letters of Edmond Genet, the first American aviator killed flying the stars and stripes, C. Scribner's Sons, 1918)
Two would not survive the conflict. Victor Chapman is said to be the 'first American pilot to die in the war'. He had the unfortunate luck to have been twice shot down by German 'Blue Max' aces - the first being Walter Höhndorf (who grazed Chapman's head in an attack on 17 June 1916). Seven days later Chapman was felled fatally by Höhndorf's close friend Kurt Wintgens. Höhndorf and Wintgens shared the spotlight here last month: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg256046#msg256046. Edmond Genet is said to be the 'first American flier to die in after the United States declared war' (as reported here last July: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg245869#msg245869). He is believed to have lost consciousness from anti-aircraft fire and fell to earth on 17 April 1917. Our third historic 'first' is of course Eugene Bullard, who is commonly credited as the first African American combat pilot. A false report of Bullard's death headlined here recently: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255549#msg255549. Our fourth aviator, William Dugan, flew with the Lafayette Escadrille then the U.S. Army 103d Aero Squadron of the American Army, earning the rank of First Lieutenant.
So what happened with these four prospective pilots while in Paris? Insight comes from excerpts of two letters Genet posted to his parents that week, which were posthumously published in 1918:
"July 7th, 1915: ...I am in Paris for the two days. There were 21 of us came in yesterday afternoon getting here about 9.30 last night. We are... almost "broke" but getting along O. K. in spite of that fact. This is the late P. M. now and we drifted in for a while after walking around the city taking in the sights. All this morning we tried to get some money from our Consul but... there was absolutely nothing doing as far as he was concerned. We did get a few francs from some other American which will carry us through fairly well... Paris is very bright and gay now and crowded. One doesn't see very many Americans though.
July 10th, 1915: The following day, the 8th, ten of us met at the Place d'Opera and went to the Embassy to express our thanks to the Ambassador for using his influence to secure us the two days and we had as our spokesman, the father of one of the fellows, Mr. Chapman of New York, who is very wealthy and a very pleasant man. Mr. Chapman made us all go with him to be photographed for the press as it is believed it was the American press in Paris who got the Ambassador to get us the leave.... One gentleman who was at the Embassy and talked with us handed out fifty francs for tobacco but we thought it best to divide it up, each getting a dollar so we could do what we liked with our share. Mr. Chapman treated us to two Havanas apiece anyway. The following morning (yesterday) we all took the 6 a.m. train back to here — a sorry bunch but mighty glad of the visit to gay Paris.... I'm still pretty sleepy.
Our picture ought to be in the papers of the States — the Herald I should think anyway — one of these present days, and if so I only hope you see it and recognize your 'youngest'. He's sitting down in front between two others. The rest are standing behind. Directly back of me was Chapman, the son of the gentleman who treated us so finely and had the picture taken.... The boy sitting on my left side is William Dugan from Rochester, N. Y.... The colored fellow standing toward the centre of the back row (Bullard) was the life of the party."
Side Bar: Among the American ex-patriots on leave that weekend (though I'm unsure if he's in this photo) was Victor Chapman's Harvard schoolmate and fellow Legionnaire Alan Seeger, a 'soldier poet' who wrote regular dispatches for the New York Sun (the same paper that printed today's article). An excerpt from Seeger's journal records, "Notable absence of men in Paris; many women in mourning.... The visit did me good, on the whole, for with all its bringing home the greatness of the sacrifice I am making, it showed me clearly that I was doing the right thing, and that I would not really be so happy anywhere else than where I am. Seeger bled to death in no-man's land during the Battle of the Somme the next year... on the 4th of July. His nephew was the legendary folk singer and social activist Pete Seeger. Thirty-three years later Pete Seeger and Eugene Bullard were both present at what would become known as the 1949 Peekskill Riot, where Bullard was knocked to the ground and beaten by local law enforcement. This incident was captured on film: https://youtu.be/VvxR2QKdx04
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(https://i.imgur.com/bWFHGjN.jpg)
Something about this photo really appeals to me - I like it a lot!
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Something about this photo really appeals to me - I like it a lot!
Agreed! To be honest I was just searching for examples of images showing airplanes by the manufacturers mentioned in the article. But I've just looked closer and see all the top hats, and the motion-picture camera, and the reference to King Alfonso of Spain. Just did a little more research and this old 1914 movie clip must be what they were filming that day as shown in this old postcard. The Farmans can be seen queued up on the airfield at the 35-second mark:
https://youtu.be/DP25nfkt5M8
Amazing what one can find on the internet.
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Trawler Tows Failed Friedrichshafen
I swear these old stories seem to come in pairs. Only eight days ago we learned of a fallen Friedrichshafen FF.33 (No. 496) of the Kaiserliche Marine, whose crew was saved by a passing civilian steamer after alighting for mechanical trouble (reported here: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg256394#msg256394). Now another FF.33, this time Marine number 549 (photographed below), has suffered similar circumstance off the coast of Ijmuiden; about 50 kilometers northwest of Amsterdam.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 12 July 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/5SI951x.png)
Evidently two German rescue planes, possibly originating from Marineflugstation Borkum See, collected the aviators. The Friedrichshafen slipped under the waves while in tow inbound to Ijmuiden.
(https://i.imgur.com/3XVS6sT.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/WeXB1Fg.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/iKs6HX1.jpg)
(Images: via flyingmachines.ru, tvd.im, marylmartin.com)
Have a look at forum member malaula's amazing diorama depicting Seeflugstation Borkum, which includes a Friedrichshafen among other seaplanes: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8079.msg150508#msg150508
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Frightful Aerial Forts
Was there ever an eight-engined triplane? A design as described in today's story seems rather sophisticated for July 1915, when the Great War was less than one year old, and aerial tactics and technology remained nascent.
(Respectively from the Cambria Daily Leader and the South Wales Weekly Post; 13, 17 July 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/OsVddvt.png)(https://i.imgur.com/rxWcsKs.png)
Though the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company started developing their giant Wannamaker Model T in the United States in 1915 (similarly looking to the Model H biplane referenced here last month: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255640#msg255640), the only German giants I can think of that come anywhere close to matching this mystery machine are the ambitious ten-engined Mannesmann Triplane (also called the Poll Giant and the Bruning-Forssman Tri-Plane), which wasn't conceived until over a year later and was never completed, and the one-off Friedrichshafen FF.60 of 1918.
(https://i.imgur.com/q3KX960.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/NFe8EAI.jpg)
Amazingly, a wooden wheel from the Mannesmann Triplane exists in the Imperial War Museum's collection. These images show the scale of this beast:
(https://i.imgur.com/1BeqISm.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/kVQO9Pt.png)
There was a forum discussion over a decade ago about a potential model production run for the Mannesmann Triplane: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=510.0. did anything ever come of that? Meanwhile, check out Steve Hustad's amazing scratch-built Friedrichshafen FF.60, shared by Brad Cancian, which took top prize at last year's IPMS-USA National Convention: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13211.msg246571#msg246571
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Austrian Aeroplanes 'Visit' Venice
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 14 July 1915):
This is the fourth raid in less than two months conducted against Venice by the Austro-Hungarian Empire's Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche ( K.u.K.) Luftfahrtruppen, Hungarian: Császári és Királyi Légjárócsapatok). Their first occurred amidst the pre-dawn darkness of May 24, mere hours after the Italian declaration of war (reported here last year: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg244250#msg244250). Today's report records the Italians returned fire from their rooftops. Civilian injuries were minor, though evidently a woman's foot was 'pinned to the pavement' by a steel fléchette/pfeil.
(https://i.imgur.com/HXhTnqI.png)
"Here's an informative blog on the bombing of Venice during the Great War: https://riowang.blogspot.com/2016/03/bombs-in-venice.html: the synopsis: The bombings were repeated at irregular, roughly monthly, intervals until 23 October 1918. A total of forty-two runs took place, and more than a thousand bombs were dropped on Venice, mainly on the factories, the railway station and the surrounding munition stores, but because of inaccurate aiming, several bombs went astray, and fell on monuments or residential houses. Over three years, bombs killed fifty-two and wounded eighty-four people."
(https://i.imgur.com/MXbPHaF.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/n39VBA1.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/oQcMoN3.jpg)
(images: 'Protection of the facade of the Doge's Palace, Venice in 1915', via archive.nytimes.com; 'A successful air attack on Venice by Austro-Hungarian naval aircraft', postmarked November 1915, via wwitoday.com; a map recording bomb strikes on Venice from 1915-1918, via riowang.blogspot.com)
Interestingly, the very first Austrian air raid on Venice occurred three generations earlier in July 1849. This incident, involving the floating of bomb-bearing unmanned balloons over the city has been claimed by at least one author as the "first air raid in history". Details here: https://airminded.org/2009/08/22/the-first-air-bomb-venice-15-july-1849/. Venice and its lagoon were established as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. It ranks among the top fifty most-visited cities in the world.
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Three-Gun Nieuport
About 3,600 variants of the Société Anonyme des Établissements' Nieuport sesquiplane 17 C.1 were manufactured, which first flew during the winter of 1915-16. Though this popular plane was acquired by the militaries of twenty-five different governments, apparently only one survives today. I can never tell the difference between the Nieuport 17s and 21s, but today's article features an example outfitted with a cône de pénétration and twin wing-mounted Lewis guns in addition to its standard Vickers.
(from the New-York Tribune, 14 July 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/sBxAEIQ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/kFXgg6d.jpg)
(Image via ctie.monash.edu.au)
So many examples of completed Nieuports to choose from on the forum. Check out Borsos' 1/32nd-scale diorama of the Copper State Models kits with a wing-mounted Lewis: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10530.msg192959#msg192959
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Headstrong Horse Takes Down Two-Seater in Double TKO
Here's an incredible though possibly spurious tale of man vs. nature... with both losing!
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle and Monmouthshire Advertiser, July 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/eMmNOh2.png)
No information is given as to where this occurred or what make of machine was involved, but it reminds me of Dirigible-Al's recent diorama featuring a German Fokker B.II. vs. a Hungarian Grey bull: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13668.msg252809#msg252809
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Ambushed by Albatros, Fights Four Pfaltzes, Bungles Bomb
This retrospective on the exploits of Australian ace Lieutenant Leonard Thomas Eaton Taplin, DFC, recounts several close calls he had fighting in Palestine and on the Western Front. This includes being shot through the hand, having his nose splintered by a shattered Vickers gun, nearly blowing himself up, and becoming a prisoner of war.
(from the Perth Daily News, 17 July 1924):
(https://i.imgur.com/rtk8f4F.png)(https://i.imgur.com/olXOwE0.png)(https://i.imgur.com/NFkXwQg.png)(https://i.imgur.com/ya28yUp.png)(https://i.imgur.com/Zk2Tr61.jpg)
(image via airlineratings.com)
As reported, Taplin piloted Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12's and Sopwith Camels. He scored his first victory 105 years ago today. Taplin would go on to win eleven more aerial combats over the next fifty days before being put out of action by permanently by German ace Christian Mesch of Jasta 26. After Taplin's release as a prisoner-of-war in 1919, he returned to Australia and became a pioneer commercial aviator. Here's a fun read on one post-war adventure where he hitched a 550km, 3.5-hour ride by sitting on the wing of a biplane!: https://www.airlineratings.com/news/len-taplin-war-hero-worlds-first-budget-traveler/
We don't read of B.E12's in much in news. Check out forum member coyotemagic's 1/48-scale Roden B.E.12b: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=470.msg6428#msg6428. Last, here's a 3D rendering I've made of a 40lb phosphorus bomb matching the one mentioned in his mishap.
(https://i.imgur.com/nkiu8Jr.png)
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Unintended Consequences
Separate reports from distant corners of the British Empire note the deaths of two local aimen. Though they hailed from different countries and never met, on the morning of 07/07/17 they shared the sky with one-hundred other pilots of the army's Royal Flying Corps and Royal Navy's Air Service. It was a futile scramble to thwart the second daylight raid of German Gotha biplanes to reach London as part of Germany's Operation Türkenkreuz strategic-bombing campaign. Despite outnumbering their invaders five-to-one, the British flyers haphazardly managed to fell only one airplane from the flock of twenty-two Gotha G.IV bombers flown by the Imperial German Army Air Service's specialized Englandgeschwader (England Squadron), and only after it unloaded its ordnance. For 2nd Lieutenants W. G. Salmon and J.E.R. Young, their separate struggles to strike the raiding Gothas proved fatally futile.
The first raid, the Great War's deadliest, headlined here in June of last year: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg245123#msg245123. But this raid, and the British military's failure to avert it, proved more dreadful to the nation. Seventy-two bombs were dropped, killing fifty-seven people and injuring nearly two hundred. Women and children were again victims. Enraged with anti-German sentiment, East Enders rioted in response. Public paranoia rendered the German trade name 'Gotha', like 'Zeppelin', a household word. The raid also impacted history with two unintended consequences. Inadequate Home Defence coordination necessitated within weeks the restructuring of Britain's disparate air services into what would become the singular Royal Air Force; and England's King, cousin to Germany's Kaiser, was obliged to forever change his entire family's Germanic surname... which also was 'Gotha'.
Respectively from the Sydney Morning Herald and Illustrated War News; 12, 18 July 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/n9naqgI.png)(https://i.imgur.com/ApKbJLD.png)
Piloting a Sopwith Pup (#A6230, illustrated below) the twenty-two-year-old rookie Wilfred Salmon evidently soared straight into the heart of the Gotha formation with his sole Vickers gun blazing. He did not last long. Suffering from two bullets to the head he retreated, managing to guide his machine into within a few hundred yards of Joyce Green airfield, Dartford before crashing. One contemporary writer claimed Salmon was "the first man to die in action defending London since the Norman Conquest"... 850 long years earlier. Salmon had 'earned his wings' only three short days before and was still assigned to a training squadron.
John Edward Rostron Young, with Air Mechanic C C Taylor, of No. 37 Squadron, embarked from RFC Rochford, (now London Southend Airport), in a Sopwith Strutter (#A8271). They pursued the returning bombers over the Atlantic Ocean when they were struck without warning. Young 'must have been riddled with bullets' when they smashed into the sea near Malpin Light Ship; still strapped to the seat of his sinking Sopwith. Evidently Taylor, near death, was pulled from the wreck but soon died from his injuries. It is possible they were felled by British anti-aircraft fire.
On 17 July 1917, as the Illustrated War News prepared to go to press with this article, King George V issued a proclamation declaring “The Name of Windsor is to be borne by His Royal House and Family and Relinquishing the Use of All German Titles and Dignities”. Attempting to distance himself from England's first invaders since the Battle of Hastings, he renamed his house after his family's ancient royal residence in Berkshire, which remains the longest-occupied palace in Europe. Ironically, the original Windsor Castle was built by William the Conqueror - leader of the Norman invasion of England... 850 long years earlier.
(https://i.imgur.com/WiS5DY7.png)(https://i.imgur.com/O1HqNQd.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/vFhvpRa.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/ZaEG6pJ.png)
(images respectively via 'The England Squadron over London on 7 July 1917', via wikipedia; the Great War Forum; content.invisioncic.com)
(https://i.imgur.com/QevrrJJ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/8JQoVQQ.png)
(images respectively via the Royal Air Force Museum and wikipedia)
Read more about this incident over at https://greatwarlondon.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/a-flock-of-gothas-7-july-1917/. For an idea of what these aviators were up against, check out forum member Jeroenveen1's WNW Gotha: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1885.msg30806#msg30806
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"...Killed Five Times, But He Still Enjoys Excellent Health"
That's what the Germans had to say about Edmond Thieffry, Belgium's third-ranked ace of the Great War. Today's article relates to a mad dogfight near Diksmuide in West Flanders where Thieffry, flying a Nieuport, earned his ace status by felling two Albatros D.III's within two minutes. His daring dash into a gaggle of fourteen enemy planes proved more successful than poor Wilfred Salmon's similar attempt that same week (as reported here yesterday).
(from the Bendigo Advertiser, 19 July 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/ETiW8jy.png)(https://i.imgur.com/3wRQloE.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/2c5GGKg.png)
(images respectively via pinterestand erfgoedplus.be
Twice Thieffry became a German prisoner of war. His first capture in 1914 ended when he made a great escape on a stolen motorcycle in the manner of Captain Virgil Hilts aka Steve McQueen. Upon transferring from the Belgian army infantry to the Compagnie des Ouvriers et Aérostiers in 1915, Thieffry apparently had some trouble learning to fly:
"He made a decidedly inauspicious start, crash-landing more aircraft during training than any other pilot before him. Such was Thieffry's disastrous record that his officers pronounced themselves reluctant to assign him to a two-seater squadron for fear of the risk to his fellow passenger. Instead Thieffry was assigned to single-seater aircraft. Unfortunately his first flight - in a Nieuport Scout - resulted in a crash-landing and, while climbing from the wreckage, he inadvertently set off the aircraft's machine gun, causing some distress to nearby onlookers." (via firstworldwar.com).
After accumulating ten confirmed victories Thieffry crash-landed again, in February 1918 - shot down by return fire from a German two-seater over Kortrijk, in German-occupied territory. He endured the remainder of the war imprisoned once more in Germany despite attempting another escape. After returning to civilian life Thieffry continued his air exploits, co-piloting the pioneer flight between Belgium and its colony Congo. His final crash landing, during a test flight of an Aviméta 92 in Belgian Congo near Lake Tanganyika, in April 1929, proved fatal. This same lake was home other Belgian activities reported here last month: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255935#msg255935
(https://i.imgur.com/FXr9uiV.jpg)
(image via curieuseshistoires-belgique.be)
Check out forum member Squiffy's diorama of Thieffry's Nieuport 23 of 5me Escadrille in front of its hangar, similar to the photo above: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3517.msg84801#msg84801
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Critique of German Bombers
Paired with our post from two days ago that noted how the German 'Gotha' had become a household word amongst an angry British populace, here's a fairy informative (bilious headline aside) layman's survey of the principal aircraft comprising Germany's bomber fleet during the second half of the Great War.
(from the Washington Herald, 20 July 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/mORoVc3.png)
The myth that the Gotha was a rip-off of Britain's Handley Page originated in wartime reports like this. In fact, the HP O/100 became operational at the close of 1916, while the similarly configured Gotha G.II prototype was already flying that previous March. However, it is true that the British hand-delivered a 'New-Year's-Day gift' to Germany when they landed one of the first operational O/100's fully intact twelve miles behind enemy lines on January 1917. This plane was indeed studied, then given new insignia and employed against its original owner. Here's a good read on this incident that was published on its centenary in 2017: https://www.manstonhistory.org.uk/new-years-day-present-germans-handley-page-o100-1st-january-1917/
(https://i.imgur.com/bNE58Om.jpg)
(image via manstonhistory.org.uk)
For further inspiration, check out forum member Tim Mixon's camouflaged Handley Page O/100, converted from the classic 1/72nd-scale Airfix O/400 using an old resin conversion from the long-gone Rosemont Hobby Shop (I miss that place): https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13267.msg247011#msg247011
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Spotlight: James McCudden
Because this borrowed article is written in present tense it's uncertain if the publisher was aware that their subject, one the most highly decorated airmen in British military history, had already been dead for twelve days when they went to press. James Thomas Byford McCudden, VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar, MM, rose in rank from mechanic to major during his five years of service in the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force. With 57 confirmed aerial victories, McCudden ranked seventh on among the war's most successful aces. Like so many other aces, he died in a non-combat flying accident.
(From the Kalgoorlie Sun, 21 July 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/eAX9uWN.png)(https://i.imgur.com/kjRG35c.png)(https://i.imgur.com/DvOgFqx.png)(https://i.imgur.com/DW2mEZ7.png)
McCudden last received mention here back in October regarding his squadron's battle royale with Werner Voss: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg248561#msg248561. This well-known portrait of McCudden in the cockpit of his Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a, has been one of the inspirations for this 3D rendering of a Foster gun mount that I've been tinkering with for a little while now, along with a 1/48-scale draft print:
(https://i.imgur.com/RX0GO7vl.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/MG7tsSU.png)(https://i.imgur.com/rPNHuUkl.png)
Check out forum member Red Leader's 1/32nd-scale WND build of McCudden's S.E.5a: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1140.msg17549#msg17549
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Flying Fish
Though the image quality is poor, it is easy to recognize Captain Harry Gwynne's brilliantly bedazzled Nieuport 24bis of the U.S. Signal Corps Aviation Section in France. It must rank among the first planes to have its nose painted with shark teeth (here's a fun read on that history: https://www.vintagewings.ca/stories/template-trmwr-rd36f). Here's also some fantastic film footage of this particular machine taking flight (believed to be at US advanced flight training centre): https://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675043233_Nieuport-fighter-aircraft_Aircraft-in-flight_fish-head-on-engine-nacelle_World-War-I
(From the Evening Star, 22 July 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/MAMYRwC.png)(https://i.imgur.com/OH5cnzX.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/92pyCFD.jpg)
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Been working my way through the threads on this forum since joining, and finally got around to this one. What a great series of posts! Today's rang a bell with a half-century's worth of dust on it... I immediately thought "Hey, Renwal did a kit of that little plane back in the Sixties!" But when I looked it up, I found that memory, as usual these days, had it only half-right:
(https://i.postimg.cc/KjsHgR4Y/D97-D7-B23-7-E3-F-4-D6-B-A733-8-A7-C2-E6-E56-A5.jpg)
I didn't have this particular kit, although I built a lot of the other Aero-Skin offerings (and if there's anyone too young to remember, they came with sheets of color-printed silkspan and a bonus bottle of liquid cement—AKA methel ethyl ketone—which you used to attach them... much like today's Aviattic "cookie-cutter" decals, except without the free carcinogen). Why did movie-guy Howard Hawks have a Jenny painted in this exact scheme? I know he was in the USAAS, but other than that it beats me...
Dave V.
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Hey Dave, amazing memory! Thanks for sharing. This model is before my time and I wasn't aware of it. Love the idea of pre-printed wing fabric. Good stuff!
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Blue Max in Action
This publication of an official German report describes various military incidents. The last paragraph notes recent victories of three famous kampfflieger: Wintgens, Höhndorf and Althaus. All were anointed to 'Blue Max' this same month. Only Althaus would survive the war, though he would be removed from command and combat due to failing eyesight. Loosely translated:
"The flight service was busy day and night on both sides. Several hostile bombings caused little military damage, but sometimes claimed civilian lives; as in Laon, where a woman was badly injured and 3 children were killed. Our opponents lost 7 aircraft in air combat, 4 south of Bapaume and 1 south-east of Arras, next to Combles and at Rone. Lieutenant Wintgens has sunk his 10th and 11th, Lieutenant Höhndorf his 10th victory. His Majesty The Kaiser has declared his appreciation for the services of Oberleutnant Freiherr von Althaus, who remained victorious over a French biplane with Rone, by being awarded the Order Pour le Merite."
(from the Frankenberger Tageblatt, 23 June 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/MoCCQBs.png)(https://i.imgur.com/zIt4ciG.jpg)
(image via the aerodrome: Gathering at Feldflieger-Abteilung 23, celebrating the award of the Pour le Mérite to Höhndorf, Wintgens and Althaus (seated front)
Here are three well-known Sanke karten portraying each ace in their prime:
(https://i.imgur.com/XBQzX9d.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/6vHwBBJ.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/9Z8P1Vz.jpg)
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To Berlin and Back, Plus Chaput Scores
Two mid-war reports on French aerial activity today. The first features the forced landing of one Antone Merchal on the return leg of a 1,200-mile trek to Germany's capital. The second focuses on the eighth victory of ace Jean Chaput of Escadrille N.57, who downed an Aviatik C type over Fresnes-en-Woevre the day prior.
(from the Daily Star-Mirror, 24 July 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/gDmhYBU.png)
Similar to the Sanke publicity postcards shared here yesterday, here's one of Jean Chaput depicting his Nieuport (940) and noting his eight wins over enemy airplanes (plus one balloon) at that time. Chaput would double this tally before being killed in combat in May 1918.
(https://i.imgur.com/yNUAUV5.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/7ONEiND.jpg)
(images via eBay and wikipedia)
Here's an interesting thread from the forum that discusses Chaput's Nieuport and includes a period autochrome revealing its true colors: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13874.msg257048#msg257048
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If anyone wants to find out more about Jean Chaput, there's a short bio, photos and profiles of his Nieuport and a couple of SPADs that he flew, as well as photos of some of his personal items on Albin Denis's site here:
http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille057.htm
It's in French, but it's easy enough to translate stuff these days if you don't happen to speak it.
Dave V.
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Good stuff -thanks Dave!
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Ambitious Salesman Vows to Win War By August... 1919
In a gesture of either strategic brilliance or just enthusiastic marketing, this retrospectively short-sighted proposal, promulgated by the general manager and American representative for Handley Page Ltd, would have been something to witness had the war not ended one year before anticipated.
(from the Forest City Press, 25 July 1918)
(https://i.imgur.com/xc9lan6.png)(https://i.imgur.com/BovikmY.png)
Check out forum member Squiffy's build of the classic 1/72 Airfix kit of the Handley Page O/400: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3517.msg89746#msg89746
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Ready for Recon
This official British government photo shows the pilot and gunner of a Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 that looks to bear the name 'Golly II'. Over 4,000 of these machines were produced. I personally wouldn't want to be flying in one over the front so late in the war when it must have been considered obsolete.
(from the Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer, 27 July 1918)
(https://i.imgur.com/CIOZmJR.png)
Here are a few images of my attempt to resuscitate the archaic 1/72 Airfix R.E.8. Built over twenty years ago, it's patterned after a plane that served with No.34 Squadron RFC, in 1917. This was my first go at scale modelling since school days. The photos were taken in the park near my apartment in New York City. I see from my old post over on the WWI Modeling Page Gallery that I considered it "somewhat of an 'overworked canvas' as I was quite clumsy in how I went about learning the ropes. I think the challenger/vickers is one of the more successful parts of the model. Alas, the old Airfix mold has many fatal flaws and I did not correct them all."
(https://i.imgur.com/9SqFE9Q.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/w7OnR5b.jpg])(http://imgur.com/p5AQhNm.jpg)
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Felixstowe Raid
As most of you likely know, Felixstowe was home to a seaplane base for Britain's Royal Naval Air Service while Harwich harbored a Royal Navy Dockyard. Located on England's east coast in the North Sea, both were obvious targets for German attack. The unit at Felixstowe was commissioned back in August 1913 on the River Orwell at Landguard and originally named Seaplanes, Felixstowe. Its final name was RAF Seaplane Experimental Station until being disbanded in June 1919. Not sure what aircraft types were involved in this action.
(from the Clearwater Republican, 27 July 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/CyU8Ue1.png)
Though this wouldn't be Germany's last raid, here's an interesting article suggesting that Felixstowe and Harwich may have been spared from significant bombardment thanks to sympathies of... the Empress of Germany: https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/21721653.gallery-empress-save-felixstowe-german-bombardment-first-world-war/
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Air Power Compared
While this is a rather uneven assessment of the three major air forces warring over the Western Front, it does hint at the evolution in aertial tactics that materialized throughout 1917. For a more recent and realistic discussion on this transitional year, here's a good read: https://www.historynet.com/year-air-power-came-age/
(from the Tonopah Daily Bonanza, 28 July 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/eLcQYiE.png)
Amidst the British bravado this article does reference the short-lived but influential Sopwith Triplane that burst on to the scene in early 1917. Check out forum member Alexis' 1/48th scale Eduard 'Tripehound': https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3685.msg62634#msg62634
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Parschau Perishes
Leutnant Otto Parschau was one of Germany's pre-eminent Fokker Eindecker aces. Parshcau's flying and combat skills earned him the Iron Cross, First Class; and the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. While an instructor at Feldflieger Abteilung 62 (FFA 62) he influenced Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke. On 10 July 1916, Parschau was awarded the coveted Pour le Mérite. Four days following he was appointed as commander of FFA 32. One week after that... he was dead. Parshscau was shot in the chest and head during combat with No. 24 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps over Grévillers. He managed to land behind the safety of his home country's lines but soon died of his wounds. It has been suggested that Parshau was felled by future Air Vice Marshal John Oliver Andrews, flying an Airco D.H.2 (serial #5948). Andrews would also duel directly with German aces Stefan Kirmaier, Max Immelmann and Manfred von Richthofen.
(from the St. Croix Avis, 29 July 1916; and the Detroiter Abend-Post, 17 August 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/hw87qX8.png) (https://i.imgur.com/8lfBHxz.png)(https://i.imgur.com/CnoAATx.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/ar3ljrp.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/cMVxiRn.png)
Evidently Parschau's medals were auctioned recently in 2019, for a relatively reasonable €3,200.
Check out forum member Mike Norris' diorama depicting Otto Parschau and his Fokker E.1: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=5163.msg91255#msg91255
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Stolen Valor
In a sad coda to our recent story of the death of Wilford Salmon, who had been a pilot for only three days and was dubbed "the first man to die in action defending London since the Norman Conquest" (read here: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg257117#msg257117), this article reports on the court appearance and fining of five civilians who were caught pilfering the dead aviator's body amidst the wreckage of his crashed Sopwith Pup, #16230 (illustrated below). Thousands of bystanders witnessed Salmon's fall from the sky; many later lined the streets near Holy Trinity Church, Dartford for his funeral. According to crayfordhistory.org.uk, the procession was led by his brother Jack, and involved hundreds of Australian and British soldiers and munition girls from Vickers who walked his coffin to Watling Street Cemetery.
(from the Queensland Times, 30 July 1917)
(https://i.imgur.com/iSPtbpn.png)(https://i.imgur.com/M1mPSoL.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/BFkXNOJ.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/NxfrMBr.jpg)
Postscript: The embroidered RFC pilot's wings from Salmon's tunic (seen in his portrait) survive today in the collection of Ballarat Clarendon College, Australia. They are also item #83 in Ian Castle's coffee-table book 'The First Blitz in 100 Objects', published in 2020.
(https://i.imgur.com/Bg9KZ8b.png)
Check out forum member Gisbod's WNW Sopwith Pup build: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13768.msg254072#msg254072
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Working Overtime
Workers at the Royal Aircraft Factory were kept busy during the summer of 1915. Contract production of their new R.E.7 bomber/reconnaissance plane was underway with Coventry Ordnance Works, Austin, Napier and Siddeley-Deasy. Their B.E.12 made its first flight three days before this article was published. Their bizarre B.E.9 was being readied for its first flight that would happen two weeks hence. Their F.E.8 was on the drawing board. Their S.E.4a scout prototypes were undergoing testing, and their SS-Class airships were in full production. How nice for their operation to be given a rest for the first time in nearly a year!
(from Llais Llafur, 31 July 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/0np7abN.png)
Check out forum member IanB's 1/72-scale vacuform build of Scaleplane's F.E.8: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11763.msg219414#msg219414
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French Flight Defeated
It was a rough Sunday over the front for France's Aéronautique Militaire. Today's news also notes the eleventh victory of German Ace Leutnant Walter Höhndorf, who was in the spotlight just last week for his tenth victory, which earned him the 'Blue Max' (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg257270#msg257270). Höhndorf was assigned to the air unit Kek Vaux, which was stationed at Château de Vaux in the town of Fouchères, Aube, France. The following images show Höhndorf standing (back right) with his fellow kampffleiger on the steps of the Cháteau, which stands today.
(from the Richmond Palladium, 1 August 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/z5gVDjL.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/E8wdljM.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/vzAtf5C.png)
(images respectively via theaerodrome.com and montjoye.net)
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Down to Earth
These low-res images remind us how comparatively fragile early aircraft could be. I can't tell what the first plane was...anyone recognize this photo? The rooftop wreckage looks to be the back half of a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c.
(from Illustrated War News, 2 August 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/XHAjZQ5.png) (https://i.imgur.com/7YnYiUX.png)
Here's a chequered B.E.2c by forum member Early Bird Fan: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11123.0
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Bleriot Goes to War
I haven't yet been able to corroborate the details of this very early aerial action which occurred the day Germany declared war on France, but it's certainly newsworthy. Here's a great oil-on-canvas study of a Bleriot XI from 1914 by the French artist Henri Farré (who headlined here back in March: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg253054#msg253054). The original painting is in the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk VA.
(from the Newark Evening Star, 3 August 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/swMqDHS.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/UNTfNMS.png)
Check out forum member Des' 1/32-scale scratch-built Bleriot: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=2912.msg48385#msg48385
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Flying Easier Than Driving!
Anyone who's ever driven the New Jersey Turnpike around exit 10 at rush hour might agree!
(from the Perth Amboy Evening News, 4 August 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/K6Hj8lV.png)
Let's revisit forum member ianschippee's old-school Curtiss JN-4 build of the 1/48th-scale Lindberg kit:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8632.msg158694#msg158694
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Voisin Report Revised
This dogfight double-take is short on details and a search of the aviators' names proved elusive, but at least their airplanes are identified.
(from the South Wales Weekly Post, 5 August 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/HHzrZvx.png)
Though nearly 2,000 various Voisins were produced during the war the maker's name didn't appear in the papers often. That makes today an opportunity to share this killer illustration of what looks to be a Voisin IV with a 37mm cannon, painted by Edwin Frank Bayha, which graced the cover of the September 1915 issue of Scientific American.
(https://i.imgur.com/g3sDQy3.png)
This is also a good time to revisit forum member Stuart Malone's 1/72nd-scale build of the Voisin III by Flashback: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12875.msg240240#msg240240. This is the first kit I bought when I decided to focus exclusively on WW1 planes... I still haven't gotten up the nerve to start it!
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'Steel Pigeon' in a 'Sea of Flames'
Another announcement on the accidental death of a pioneer aviator. A trainee pilot clipped the wing of his Jeannin-Stahltaube while manuervering during an airshow at Flugplatz Johannisthal. Opened near Berlin in September 1909, Johannisthal has been dubbed Germany's first commercial airfield. Today its facilities are abandoned and the site is a designated nature reserve.
(from the Pine Bluff Daily Graphic, 6 August 1913):
(https://i.imgur.com/wpdJuC8.png) (https://i.imgur.com/ipnjJOs.png)
(image via www.pennula.de)
More details from the magazine Flugsport: "Unfortunately, another serious accident has recently happened, which has never happened in Johannisthal before. At around 8 o'clock in the evening of August 3rd, student pilot Brooks flew on a Jeannin steel pigeon to earn his pilot's certificate. For unknown reasons, however, the plane throttled the engine so much that the machine hung colossally through the air. Near the shed at the new launch site, the right wing of the apparatus hit the 8-meter-high mast on which the anemometer is located. Disaster seemed inevitable. With a terrible crash, the pylon and the apparatus fell to earth. The next moment, a tall column of fire erupted from the rubble and seemed to engulf the unfortunate aviator. At the greatest moment of danger, the flight instructor Rosenfeld jumped in and, with the help of a fitter, pulled Brooks, who was badly injured in the abdomen, out of the sea of flames. The unfortunate man succumbed to his serious injuries in the Britz hospital. At the moment when the pylon overturned and threatened to kill the Harlan monoplane standing on the runway with the pilot Roth at the controls, the pilot accelerated at the last moment and thus escaped a second accident."
(https://i.imgur.com/8D3pudE.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/9xXieqg.jpg)
(images respectively from berlin.de and akpool.de)
(https://i.imgur.com/WUlUCZj.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/X4xcVsA.jpg)
(images via abandonedberlin.com)
Check out forum member eclarson's build 1/32-scale WNW 'Dove of War': https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9626.msg175831#msg175831
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Just Another Day in the Sky
This single sentence from an Australian newspaper records the downing of a German aviator that could possibly be Hans Freiherr von Puttkamer, who was shot down over the lines while piloting an Albatros D.Va (D4495/17) with Kampfeinsitzerstaffel 3. Not much in the history books about this flyer but if the dates align, the S.E.5a pilot who shot him down was 2nd Lt. William Morley Kent, a Canadian of 60 Squadron Royal Flying Corps. Evidently Kent 'took a long shot at 400 yds' and Puttkamer's steed caught fire and landed behind British lines. Just another day in the sky.
(from the North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, 7 August 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/NWwfabk.png)
Here's a look at forum member drdave's two WNW Albatros builds: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8350.msg154729#msg154729
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War Machines of the Atmosphere
Three odd birds. That center image looks to be a testbed for the Salmson M9 radial that powered the Voisin pushers. Those 'aviation officers' sure are standing close to that gyrating propeller. I know I just said that Voisins rarely received press coverage, but I swear these old news subjects come in couplets!
(from Popular Science, August 1916)
(https://i.imgur.com/oaLOMIY.png)
Here's a look back at forum member lonemodeller's scratch-built 1/72 Voisin III LAS: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8617.msg158420#msg158420
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Young Blood Sky Spies
No glorious tales of battling aces today... just a good three-column read on the quiet but critical work of risk-taking reconnaissance crews. A 'two-gun, two-seater' Sopwith gets name dropped... I'm assuming it's a 1-1/2 Strutter they're surveilling in.
(from the Wilmington Daily Commercial, 9 August 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/BYf8yeN.png)(https://i.imgur.com/qAmX0UT.png)(https://i.imgur.com/7XdZhxc.png)
Check out forum member Rip Van Winkle's build of the Toko Sopwith Strutter: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12360.msg231140#msg231140
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Der Rote Kampfflieger Recollects
Today's headline bring news of the wartime memoir published by the world's leading fighter ace.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 10 August 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/jMc9nku.png)(https://i.imgur.com/YPUr2rc.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/wtsauNr.jpg)
Backstory on the book's origin (via wikipedia):
"Written on the instructions of the "Press and Intelligence" (propaganda) section of the Luftstreitkräfte, it shows evidence of having been censored and edited.... In 1920, Germany republished the book in a volume called Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life). Ein Heldenleben included additional materials written by von Richthofen, including parts of his correspondence. The book also contained materials written by family members and friends about him. In 1933, Manfred von Richthofen's autobiography was published for the third time in Germany, this time in a volume again titled Der Rote Kampfflieger. Like Ein Heldenleben, this volume includes some writings by others about von Richthofen, the full text of Der Rote Kampfflieger, some of von Richthofen's correspondences, and some autobiographical passages he wrote after the original publication of Der Rote Kampfflieger and before his death. The text of Der Rote Kampfflieger itself contains several inclusions that were censored from the original publication.
The 1933 edition of Der Rote Kampfflieger appears to paint a much more accurate portrait of von Richthofen than the 1917 edition. It contains passages most unlikely to have been inserted by an official editor: "I am in wretched spirits after every aerial combat. I believe that [the war] is not as the people at home imagine it, with a hurrah and a roar; it is very serious, very grim." In this edition von Richthofen also goes on record as repudiating Der Rote Kampfflieger, stating that it was too insolent and that he was no longer that kind of person."
Richthofen's Memoir can be read in full here: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/41159/pg41159-images.html. And here's an old thread, sans images, discussing the Rote Kampflieger's mount 425/17: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=284.msg3427#msg3427
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Rivals
This poster-worthy juxtaposition of biplanes in both British and German service reminds us of the mixed bag of rarities flying into the first anniversary of the Great War. Which one would you fly?
(from the Aeroplane, 11 August 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/MiHu4pi.jpg)
Here's a brilliant card model of the Rumpler B.1 by forum member Piotr D.: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3510.msg59694#msg59694
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I've long had a soft spot for the Gunbus, but the Tabloid and 504K both appeal also...
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I've long had a soft spot for the Gunbus, but the Tabloid and 504K both appeal also...
Agreed! Maybe Avro is the next one I take on...
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Tie Breakers?
The increasing impact of airplanes on war tactics is evident in this article from 1917. Whether this one plane was up to the job is debatable. As noted in an article shared here last November (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg249883#msg249883), only about fifty examples of the Caproni Ca.4 triplane bombers depicted here were produced. "They were used for attacking targets in Austria-Hungary. In April 1918, six Ca.42s were issued to the British RNAS (No. 227 Sqn) but were never used operationally and were returned to Italy after the war. At least three CA.42s were sent to the United States for evaluation. After the war, the Ca. 4 was replaced in Italy by the Ca.36. Despite its unstable and fragile appearance, the Ca.4 was well designed. Its size, without regard to its height, was not any larger than that of other foreign heavy bombers. With Liberty engines, it had a fast speed, similar to other heavy bombers, while its bombload had one of the largest capacities of that era, surpassed only by that of the Imperial German: Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI. If it had been flown with other engines, its performance would have suffered". (per wikipedia)
(from The Sun, 12 August 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/YD2KEXj.png)
For your viewing pleasure here's a short wartime clip of a Ca.4 taxiing and taking off: https://youtu.be/HDnIR7fiX2s
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Maybe Avro is the next one I take on...
For what it's worth, you have my vote!
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PJ, I have to tell you, this feature has become one of my favorite daily reads on the forum; I always seem to learn something new with each post. Thanks for keeping it up so faithfully!
Dave V.
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PJ, I have to tell you, this feature has become one of my favorite daily reads on the forum; I always seem to learn something new with each post. Thanks for keeping it up so faithfully!
Dave V.
Hey thanks, glad to hear. It's certainly a great learning experience for me.
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Raiders of the Thames
If this sounds like a familiar story it's because Germany has already flown multiple bombing raids over London during this summer of 1917. As we know from last month's headline 'Unintended Consequences' (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg257117#msg257117), Britain's Royal Naval Air Service was scrambling to protect England's coast from the increasing carnage caused by the Luftstreitkräfte's elusive Gothas during Unternehmen Türkenkreuz.
As with the previous assault, all thirteen raiders evaded interception during their attack. However, the story of their return flight differs from our last -where a sole neophyte quickly met his demise chasing the returning squadron in his Sopwith Pup. This time the pursuing Pup (N6440) was piloted by a persistent R.N.A.S ace. Future Air Vice Marshal Harold Spencer Kerby, recently stationed with Walmer Defense Flight, managed to clip Gotha 656/16 off Margate. The chase would keep Kerby aloft about three hours - pushing his machine's maximum endurance. This action, combined with his downing of a second Gotha ten days later, would earn Kirby the Distinguished Service Cross.
Though not known to the British press at that time, four Gothas crashed on their return landing in Belgium - a reminder of the high operational attrition rate of these early machines. The last image below depicts the Beardmore-built Sopwith Pup N6443, which was close in the production run to Kerby's steed.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 13 August 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/V4F75p1.png)(https://i.imgur.com/kiwGP6o.jpg)
(image: portrait of Kirby during the Second World War, via wikipedia)
(https://i.imgur.com/D8rQB4E.png)(https://i.imgur.com/RggnN7V.png)
(images respectively via walmercouncil.co.uk; and J.M. Bruce, 'Profile Publication 13', 1965 {via rclibrary.co.uk})
Here's a fascinating account of the fight published on this day three years ago by the descendant of an eye witness to the event: https://thewreckoftheweek.com/2020/08/13/the-gotha-in-the-thames-estuary/. And here's a bit more detail on the damage done on the British home front: https://www.southendtimeline.co.uk/2/southend-timeline-air-raid-august-1917-history-of-southend-on-sea.html. Last, check out form member IanB's build of the 1/72-scale Sopwith Pup by Airfix: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=609.msg9242#msg9242
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Farman Takes Flight
Compared to Germany's Riesenflugzeuge or Britain's Handley Page variants, France's Aéronautique Militaire isn't typically associated with heavy bombers- though they were in development during the Great War. One machine just about ready to fly before the Armistice was Farman Aviation Works' F.60 Goliath. Powered by twin Salmson 9Z radial engines, it was designed to carry a 1,000 kg payload. Though war's end stymied the Goliath's military role, the airplane's potential as a commercial civil transport was immediately exploited. Today's news snippets describes an international publicity flight. Regular aerobus service would begin in in 1920.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 14 August 1919): Approximately sixty were produced, followed by numerous variants. The type saw service with fourteen nations and remained in operation through 1931.
(https://i.imgur.com/elKLz2W.png)(https://i.imgur.com/z76Oh97.jpg)
Ever wish you could take a ride in one of these old crates? Now you can pilot one virtually with this new flight simulator: https://youtu.be/BfFWGQbHfDQ (screenshot below). And here's some original footage of the real thing in action: https://youtu.be/7I0ztDcSBFQ
(https://i.imgur.com/I1WxPu0.jpg)
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Falling into No-Mans Land
This anonymous Frenchman is frank about tumbling out of the sky and surviving... not just his crash but front-line ground fire. The occupants of a German three-seater involved in the tangle were not as lucky.
(from The Sun, 16 August 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/7IECZUx.png)
No idea what planes were involved in today's account. But here's a single-seat French fighter flown by a pilot who was quite busy in over the second half of 1916, as depicted by forum member Will Levesley: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13241.msg246606#msg246606
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Furious Fail
Coupled with this week's story of France's Farman 'Goliath' that just missed seeing service in the Great War, today we learn of the crash of Britain's sole Felixstowe F.4 Fury. Also known as the Porte Super-Baby, this five-engined triplane was the largest seaplane in the world when it first flew on the same day the Armistice was signed. Its 123-foot wingspan made it just three feet shorter than the Handley Page V/1500.
Following upon recent record long-distance flights of large multi-engined machines such the Curtiss NC-4 (headlined here in December 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?action=search2), and the Vickers Vimy (name dropped here: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255401#msg255401), the Fury was intended to trek to South Africa. Alas, on the day its journey was to commence, it never made it out of its namesake port. "...the aircraft side-slipped at low altitude and crashed at 90 mph shortly after take-off, breaking up on impact. The accident... was witnessed by large crowds of holiday makers" (via wikipedia). One of its seven-man crew drowned.
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 15 August 1919; and the Illustrated London News, 16 August 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/fZEAog2.png)(https://i.imgur.com/yiQWGor.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/wx0J3Kj.jpg)
(image via http://torikai.starfree.jp/)
To get an idea of the imposing nature of the triplane, have a look at forum member Bluesfan's pair of 1/72nd-scale Felixstowe F.5's (the hull of one can be seen in the image above) by Roden: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9913.msg180305#msg180305
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Flying Boats Fight
It is reported today that Austria's Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield, the 'Eagle of Trieste', scored two victories over the Italian Regia Marina in his Lohner M (L-16) flying boat. His Italian opponents were both manning Franco-British Aviation (FBA) types. Banfield's victories have headlined here twice before: for downing a Caproni bomber: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg250215#msg250215, and for defeating an airship: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255777#msg255777
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 17 August 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/OoE4aE1.png)(https://i.imgur.com/sb9smc0.jpg)
(image via irishtimes.com)
(https://i.imgur.com/KqwVsh5l.jpg)(http://i.imgur.com/2BUaPnWl.png)
(images: depicting similar Lohner and FBA examples; respectively via wikipedia and militaer-wissen.de)
Get a glimpse of a 1/72 FBA flying boat mixed in with other models built by forum member JamesAPrattIII: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7946.0. It would be great to see some closeups of these birds.
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Spotlight: Edmond Thieffry
Belgium's third-ranked ace of the Great War made news here just last month: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg257124#msg257124. Today's story further explores the aviator's adventures.
(from the Daily Star-Mirror, 18 August 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/Z8BaDjw.png)(https://i.imgur.com/RzkWlyn.png)(https://i.imgur.com/O2XvAVh.png)(https://i.imgur.com/CzpcqJ9.png)
Have a look at forum member Kalt's 1/48th-scale Nieuport 23 as flown by Thieffry https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7110.msg130859#msg130859
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Anti-Aircraft Guns Again
This early-war picture story, showing a Bleriot getting blown up, appeared here last August in a post titled "Archibald? Certainly Not!": https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg247089#msg247089. It was published by a Kansas, US newspaper captioning how anti-aircraft guns would 'doom' the effectiveness of 'rival forces' aircraft. Today's version was printed by a German-language paper from Minnesota, US. Here the wording significantly differs. Loosely translated:
"The German army is prepared for all eventualities of modern warfare and has at its disposal a large number of specially designed artillery pieces designed to defeat enemy aircraft. The guns are the invention of a German flying officer and have proven themselves admirably in the tests carried out. Their range is between three and five miles."
Quite a different story! This may explain why it's a Bleriot in the crosshairs and not a Taube.... Perhaps someone can identify the guns types in this picture?
(from the Der Nordstern, 19 August 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/FPchihK.png)
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Operation 'Red Trek'
Only fifteen days after the Great War's conclusion, Britain launched a Baltic campaign as part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. One facet of this operation was the August 1919 'Scooter Raid' - an attack by Royal Navy coastal motor boats and Royal Air Force aircraft on the Bolshevik Baltic Fleet at its home base. This news that a 'machine was damaged' could relate to a Port Victoria Grain Griffin based on the recently commissioned aircraft carrier HMS Vindictive that fell into the water.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 20 August 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/Rm9SKLT.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/f7JbOBx.jpg)
(image via wikipedia)
The Griffin was an offshoot of the Sopwith B.1 Cuckoo (which made news here back in April: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg254474#msg254474)
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Flying Accidents
This list of random air calamities within one week reminds us of the high casualty rate of airmen in non-combat flying. Plane types unknown.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 21 August 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/bc9XBfA.png)12
And this was just a partial list. Here's an accounting of aviators lost on just this one day (via wingsofwar.org)
An extract from The London Gazette, dated 17 October 1917, records the following:
16 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON MONDAY AUGUST 20TH 1917
Lt. Bamford, J.L. (Joseph Lamont) 17 Squadron RFC
Flt Off. (Prob) Code, L. (Lawrence) Cranwell Central Depot and Training Establishment RNAS
Sgt. Colwill, R.W. (Reginald Wilfred) 31 Squadron RFC
Flt. Sub Lt. Cook, C.B. (Cecil Barnaby) Dover Naval Air Station RNAS
AM 2 Edmonds, A. (Albert) RFC
Sgt. Findlay, C. (Charles) 59 Training Squadron RFC
Sgt. Handley, E. (Ernest) Wireless and Observers School RFC
Flt. Lt. Hunt, A.S. (Alfred Stanley) RFC
2nd Lt. Jordan, H.S.L. (Hugh Stewart Latimer) RFC
2nd Lt. Payne, C.B. (Cecil Brannon) 21 Squadron RFC
Lt. Purgold, L.J. (Louis Joseph) RFC
Sgt. Rodgman, A.G.B. (Arthur George Banfield) 43 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Turner, H.D. (Herbert Deacon) 70 Squadron RFC
2nd Lt. Winser, F.E. (Frank Edward) 43 Squadron RC
AM 2 Winstone, A.E. (Alfred Edwin) 6 Squadron attached 18th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery
2nd Lt. Young, H.F. (Harold Farquhar) 43 Squadron RFC
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Perry & Parfitt
Because flying was still a fledgling endeavor during the First World War, much of the news reported here involves various aviation 'firsts'. Following yesterday's report on the high non-combat casualty rate among Britain's Royal Flying Corps, here are a few more 'firsts' - from an early-war incident involving a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.8 (serial number 625).
Via greatwarlondon.wordpress.com: "The British Expeditionary Force arrived in France in mid-August 1914. Part of the force was the first overseas wartime contingent of the Royal Flying Corps. Sadly, two of London’s first Great War casualties were among these airmen: E.W.C. Perry and H.E. Parfitt. Their deaths on 16 August was later part of a major controversy over the attitude of the RFC to its pilots’ safety.... When the BEF set out to France, the RFC actually set out ahead of them, beginning their journey and assembly on 13 August. The serviceable aircraft of 2, 3, 4 and 5 Squadrons set out form (sic) the south of England – also not without incident as Lieutenant R.R. Skene and Air Mechanic R.K Barlow were killed taking off near Dover. The aircraft that did make it to France gathered at Amiens.... Perry and Parfitt were among the last to take off from Amiens on 16 August. As they took off in their BE8 (number 625), the aeroplane stalled at about 150 feet from the ground – losing speed from climbing too quickly or with too little power. The aircraft turned over on its side and fell to the ground, where it caught fire. Both men were killed. They were the first British airmen ever to die in a theatre of war; Perry was also the first British officer fatality of the war....
The sad deaths of these two young men came to a kind of prominence two years later when Noel Pemberton Billing... used their case as an example to attack the Government. Billing had served in the RNAS early in the war, including in a raid on a Zeppelin base in 1914, but resigned his commission in order to publicly criticise the conduct of the air war... he accused the authorities of ‘criminal negligence’ over a series of accidents and incidents that had caused the deaths of air crew. He was particularly critical of Royal Aircraft Company aeroplanes..." (read this interesting story in full here: https://greatwarlondon.wordpress.com/2014/08/17/londons-first-casualties-in-france-august-1914/.
(respectively from the Denbighshire Free Press and the London Times, 22/27 August 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/wNp1Ulo.png)(https://i.imgur.com/0mIHPZc.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ZPwWvjM.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/S1viEW6.jpg)
Today Perry & Parfitt's crash site is an otherwise generic traffic roundabout, save for a small stone plaque flanked by flags. Alas, the airplane depicted on the plaque is misidentified as a B.E.2c:
(https://i.imgur.com/XPYVpub.png)(https://i.imgur.com/81Bjlz9.png)
About twenty years back I scratch-built a 1/72-scale model of Parry & Parfitt's machine. It was tough finding a 3-view drawing of it back then, and I didn't get the nose contours quite right. I recall applying the unusual early camouflage using brushed pastel chalk... not particularly successful, though it was a fun learning experience. My notes from this old build over on the WWI Modeling Page:
"The B.E.8 was the fourth and final rotary-powered Bleriot Experimental tractor plane to be developed by the Royal Aircraft Factory. The prototype first flew in August 1913, and limited production began soon thereafter.
Built by Vickers and originally intended for the Central Flying School at Sitapur, India, BE.8 625 was impressed to the Royal Flying Corps upon the outbreak of war. It received a hastily painted camouflage on 8 August 1914, and was among the first British planes sent to France, arriving with 3 Squadron at Amiens on 14 August. 625 was also among the first British planes to be 'struck off charge', when on 16 August it stalled at 150 feet, crashed and caught fire- killing Lieutenant Evelyn Walter Copland Perry and Air Mechanic H.E. Parfitt. Perry, an experienced test-pilot and aircraft designer who personally trained Air Marshall Hugh Montague Trenchard how to fly, earned the unfortunate distinction of being the first British officer killed on active service in France. The last B.E.8 was withdrawn from front-line service by end of June 1915, though the type lingered on a few months more in various training units.
This scratch-built model incorporates wings, wheels and seats from Roseparts, with the engine and propeller by Aeroclub. Primary reference: J.M. Bruce, The B.E.8 and B.E.8a, Air Pictorial, Vol. 24 #11, Rolls House Publishing Co. Ltd., 1962."
(https://i.imgur.com/o8XHKHf.png)(https://i.imgur.com/TIAgKG6.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/JiASMwK.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/DfODyHY.jpg)
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'Aeronautical Ambition' Model Competition Inhibition
This week's theme on the high attrition rate of aircraft in non-combat incidents continues on the home front in the US. Today's disaster struck multiple model aircraft on Long Island, NY, on an Hempstead Plains Field... later known as Hazelhurst Field... later known as Roosevelt Field... and later partly known as Curtiss Field. This forgotten airfield made the news here in July 2022, regarding another real-life non-combat wartime mishap: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg245945#msg245945. Alas, all aviation activity there ceased in 1951. Evidently one of the disused hangars became a nightclub in the 1960s. Today the site is home to 'Roosevelt Field Shopping Mall' and has been enveloped by chain stores.
(from the New-York Tribune, 23 August 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/nNMFa8c.png)(https://i.imgur.com/ieMAZEd.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/I8yyq2G.png)
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Backseat Driver
Wish I knew more about this thrilling incident that earned Dudley Charles Eglington the Military Cross. He was flying as observer in this unidentified British two seater. Guessing it was likely an Airco DH.4, a Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 or a Bristol F.2b?
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 24 August 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/X39cpZ8.png)
Let's look back at forum member LT1962's 1/32 WNW Bristol Fighter: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10966.msg202084;topicseen#msg202084
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Seasick Schneider
Yet another non-combat casualty this week - this time it was a sputtering Sopwith Schneider (serial #3726) flown by Flight Sub-Lieutenant John McLarty of the Royal Naval Air Service. Unlike our recent story of the free-falling Frenchman who lived to tell his tale (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg257929#msg257929), this nosedive proved fatal.
This veteran plane is referenced in F. Mason's The British Fighter since 1912, Putnam: "Early Schneiders had a triangular fin, as witness this revealing view. No. 3726 {image below} with warping wings, an early Sopwith Schneider at Calshot in 1915. Note the triangular fin, the absence of ailerons and the upward-firing Lewis gun fitted in an aperture in the top wing." The incident occurred at Southampton Water near Calshot Castle, which was the scene of another seaplane crash in June: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255697#msg255697. Though McLarty did not survive the fall his Sopwith was retrieved, repaired and returned to service.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 25 August 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/ZUSM4ja.png)(https://i.imgur.com/qXKgzlw.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/7LFDrw9.jpg)
(images respectively via inverclydeww1.org and flyingmachines.ru)
Calshot's Schneider Hangar exists today and is home to a paddle-board retailer.
(https://i.imgur.com/SQAskvn.jpg)
(image from advertiserandtimes.co.uk)
Checkout forum member Bughunter's build log of his 1/48 Sopwith Schneider by Special Honny: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10756.msg197677;topicseen#msg197677
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Three's a Crowd
This retrospectively naive picture story from the first month of the Great War provides perspective on how Europe's militaries envisioned the role of the airplanes.
(from the Illustrated War News, 26 August 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/a1pn8HD.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/I1mgjuY.jpg)
(image via wikipedia)
That looks to be an early Breguet; similar to the surviving R.U1 in the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (shown above). While those two observers seem to enduring a tight fit in the front cockpit, Breguet himself managed to squeeze eleven passengers in one of his planes for a pre-war record:
(https://i.imgur.com/AY4OxsI.jpg)
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Aviators at War
Here's a discussion of the progress of Italian aviation during the first two years of the war, including a critique of the Fokker monoplane, mention of the death of pioneer aviator Marcel-Georges Brindejonc des Moulinai, and commentary on French aces. Loosely translated:
"No weapon of war has progressed so far as the airplane, since we talk about war. Italian aviation has made itself and will be honored thanks to the powerful flying machines that the industry of our country offers. What we record is the most convincing demonstration of our assertion. At the Mirafiori airfield the pilot Antonnaci of the S.I.T. (Italian Transaerea Society Turin) established the other day the Italian height record with two passengers, carrying on board the eng. G. Marsaglia and the mechanic Ressi. Antonacci, a well-known and much appreciated aviator piloting a military series S.I.T. biplane, equipped with an Isotta-Fraschini 150 HP engine. Coming out of the workshops of the old and well-known Isotta-Fraschini factory in Milan, creator of the first Italian aviation engine, it reached a height of 5850 meters, employing to perform this splendid performance, which returns to the great honor and pride of our aviation, the time of one hour and twenty-eight minutes.
This apparatus, which for some time had already won the admiration of the technicians, was equipped with the unsurpassed Zenith carburetor, of which Eng. Corbetta of Milan with a branch in Turin, and which greatly contributed to the need for the new record. But Antonacci's performance also established the triumph for a new Italian propeller, the Italia brand, manufactured in the S.I.T.. In this brilliant test of our aviation, the engineer Gualtiero Cattaneo, who is responsible for the new and appreciated Italian aviation engine, and Mr. Alberto Triaca, technical director of S.I.T., which by establishing the new Italian height record with two passengers with one of its biplanes, certainly couldn't have better celebrated the 4th anniversary of its foundation, which fell on Saturday 19 August. Finally, by presenting our congratulations to the Turin company, we will say that even in the official communiqués, Generalisimo Cadorna repeatedly mentioned the Voisin-Sit biplanes for the marvelous flights performed by numerous squadrons over the enemy.
The German press has repeatedly proclaimed the excellence and superiority of the Fokker. It is but a very exact copy of the French monoplane Morane-Saulnier, copy made in Geris, near Schwerin, by a builder of Dutch origin, who gave his name to the apparatus. Since the beginning of the war, the Fokker has undergone only minor modifications, which consist in an increase in width, and in the opening drilled in the planes to allow the pilot vertical views. The engine used on the Fokker is like the actual apparatus and an even more complete reproduction of a French type, the. Gnome. These engines were manufactured by the Oberrurso company! (Hesse Nassau), The German builder copied everything from «Gnome» - even the arrangement of the plate bearing the brand, the factory and the Greek serial letter 'Delta'. The Fokkers can climb up to 4,000 meters, therefore less than the Aviatiks. The only German monoplanes, which easily reach 5600 meters they are still copies of the Morane and known in Germany and at the front under their French name.
The French airmen whose names have often appeared in official communiqués for their exploits in this war are different. All of them have distinguished themselves in difficult actions shooting down, after fierce duels, German aircraft and are adorned with the War Cross with the Palm, the Military Medal and the Legion of honor. Here are the names of those who have shot down at least 5 machines:
Second Lieutenant Guynemer: 14
Second Lieutenant Navarre: 12
Second Lieutenant Nungesser: 8
Sergeant Chainat: 8
Adjutant Lenoir: 7
Second Lieutenant Chaput: 6
Sergeant De Rochefort: 6
Second Lieutenant Heurbeaug: 5"
(from L'Illustrazione della guerra e La Stampa Sportiva, 27 August 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/rFdGYSd.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/tkzVNRg.png)
Have a look at Tim Mixon's 1/72-scale Blue-Rider vacuform kit of an Italian-licensed Farman:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13272.msg247062#msg247062
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Shot to Pieces Approaching Paris
(from the Rock Island Argus, 28 August 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/6nuK7Ab.png)(https://i.imgur.com/HJz5jUc.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/iHZ10qe.png)(https://i.imgur.com/Fiiver0.jpg)
(image via historyextra.com)
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Balloon Buster Burns
His flying career lasted only nine days. But from his first fight until his fiery death, Louis Bennett Jr., an American Ivy Leaguer fighting with Britain's No. 40 Squadron, RAF, became an ace twice over. His first victory, on his initial day of combat, was against a formidable Fokker DVII. Like his countryman Frank Luke (who first headlined here in November 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg249952;topicseen#msg249952), Bennett was a born 'balloon buster' - destroying nine Drachen kite balloons (including four in just one day). On 24 August, after destroying two balloons during his final flight, Bennett's S.E.5a (Serial no. E3947) burst into flames when it was hit by ground fire. He survived the fall but died of his injuries soon after being rescued from the wreckage. Bennett never received any medals for his actions.
(respectively from the Wheeling Intelligencer and the West Virginian, 29 August 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/xiuyLR8.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/CurCyFZ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/dBEQitH.png)(https://i.imgur.com/94trKkX.jpg)(http://i.imgur.com/dU8LEOxl.jpg) (https://imgur.com/dU8LEOx)
(images via news.lib.wvu.edu)
Bennett's mother commissioned multiple memorials in his name, several of which can be seen here: https://ww1sacrifice.com/2016/02/09/lieutenant-louis-bennett/. Another is a renowned artwork installed at Westminster Abbey. "In 1922 a stained glass window was unveiled... to members of the Royal Flying Corps who died during the 1914-1918 war. It was given by Mrs Louis Bennett of West Virginia USA, especially in memory of her son, Lt. Louis Bennett junior. He was born in Weston in 1894 and was killed on 24th August 1918 while serving with no. 40 squadron of the Corps in France. The window overlooks the grave of the Unknown Warrior in the nave and is by the artist Harry Grylls (1873-1953). The theme of the window is flying men and wings, illustrated by passages from the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel. At the top is a figure of St Michael, patron saint of airmen, trampling the devil angel."
(https://i.imgur.com/nhrLgGIl.png)
(text and image via westminster-abbey.org)
In the summer of 1927, just weeks after returning from his famous solo Atlantic flight, Charles Lindbergh visited my family's home town of Wheeling, West Virginia and publicly laid a wreath on Bennett's memorial there (footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6-oBgarmOU&t=4s). More on Bennett's story can be read on this 2017 forum thread: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8818.msg161337#msg161337. And to see an S.E.5a in action here's forum member gisbod's 1/4th scale flying model: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7210.msg132828#msg132828
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Spotlight: Billy Bishop
It's been a while since Britain's leading Great-War ace headlined here (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg247867;topicseen#msg247867), so here's a quick update on the Canadian lone-wolf 'birdman'.
(from the Tacoma Times, 30 August 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/XIGqBJR.png)(https://i.imgur.com/dMQ9Unp.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/KY5CeuL.png)
If you've ever been to Billy Bishop airport in Toronto, Canada, this replica of his Nieuport greets you as you ascend the escalator. Here's a model of this machine by forum member jeff shreve: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3326.msg56037#msg56037.
And, as I discovered two days ago, while you're waiting to take off you can also enjoy a cold can of 'Billy Bishop Brown' ale (lest we forget).
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Falling Leaves
In another aviation first, Paris burned (a little bit) from an aerial raid this week. Bombs and propaganda leaflets were dropped upon the city from a sole German Taube monoplane... though apparently not quite according to plan. Though the material impact was negligible the event made for great headlines: 'Gay Capital is in Terror', 'New War Menace'. 'Europe a Cauldron of Fighting Demons', 'Possibilities of Greater Menace', Here's a summary on the events of today's news from psywarrior.com (full story here: https://www.psywarrior.com/GermanWWIPSYOP.html):
"...in late August 1914 the German First Army was about to cross the River Marne on its way to Paris. The Army has as one of its assets the 11th Military Group of Aeroplanes stationed at nearby St. Quentin. Flight officer Lieutenant Hiddessen was apparently an ardent nationalist with a strong belief in Germany's eventual victory. He was ordered to bomb Paris on 30 August. As the flight crew prepared his Taube reconnaissance aircraft, they placed a rubber bag full of sand (to add weight) and printed leaflets in the cockpit. Hiddessen dropped the first bomb to be dropped on Paris at exactly 12:45 p.m. He dropped four bombs, and then threw the leaflet bag from his cockpit. It had a six-foot long forked banner in the German national colors trailing behind. Pedestrians found the bag on the ground and immediately took it to the local Prefecture of Police where it was labeled: 'Corrupt information thrown on to the streets by strangers in an aeroplane...'.
When opened, the pouch was found to contain a number of printed three-line leaflets. The text was: 'The German Army is at the gates of Paris; it only remains for you to surrender. (Signed) Lieutenant von Hiddessen.' ...Hiddessen misunderstood his mission. He should have taken them from the pouch and thrown them overboard at convenient intervals so that the German note was spread far and wide over Paris, and then finally drop the bag overboard as a final gesture of German supremacy and arrogance.
After a few days, by 6 September, these visits of enemy aeroplanes became, for a week or two, quite a matter of course, and although on several occasions not only did they do damage to buildings, but even killed some unfortunate children and old men. The people of Paris were determined not to be frightened. As a matter of fact, Parisians gradually acquired the habit of regarding the visits of German aircraft as a form of entertainment, and particularly amusing was the literature, which the tactless, foolish Germans thought, would be good policy to drop upon Paris from their machines. It is inconceivable to imagine that any sane people could have expected to seduce the patriotism of the Parisian by dropping upon him, accompanied perhaps by a bomb, a printed appeal... "
(https://i.imgur.com/zH0priW.png)(https://i.imgur.com/3t1uA3I.png)(https://i.imgur.com/HNcsglh.png)(https://i.imgur.com/KrGqLJY.png)
(from the Public Ledger, the Albuquerque Morning Journal, the Grand Forks Daily Herald, and the Harrisburg Telegraph; 31 August 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/zOJgkiO.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/bZQHajF.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/mxCxkgd.jpg)
(images respectively from psywarrior.com, geographicalimaginations.com, and fly.historicwings.com/)
And here's further reading on Lt. von Hiddessen: http://fly.historicwings.com/2012/08/you-can-do-nothing-but-surrender/. Check out this build of a Copperstate Taube kit by forum member andyw: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=4317.msg74473#msg74473
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Barlow's Bomb
I'm guessing a simple game of pub darts inspired the shape of this 'ideal aerial bomb' invented by American Lester Pence Barlow. A 1916 NY Times report declared that researchers had "found a bomb of high explosive power which was said to excel in destructiveness any similar weapon known here or in Europe".
(respectively from Popular Science, September 1917; and the New Britain Herald, 12 September 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/FbTteZf.png)(https://i.imgur.com/623Wd4M.png)(https://i.imgur.com/6h6jW5Q.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/sTVAEJg.jpg)
(images respectively via ivanpwheaton.blogspot.com and the Handbook of Aircraft Armament, Bureau of Aircraft Production, Air Service, U.S. Army, 1918)
More details via globalsecurity.org:
"Barlow offered its exclusive use to the United States Government. Experts estimated that the bomb has a fatal destructive radius of at least 100 yards. With the use of minimum explosive charges, at elevations of 200 to 2,000 feet, the tests were said to be most satisfactory. The Barlow bomb was six feet in length, and five inches in diameter, and shaped like a torpedo. In addition to a charge of TNT, it contained a new and secret combination of gas. Subsequently, the term "Barlow Bomb" was applied to a mixture of liquid oxygen with a fuel.
The Barlow bomb was destined never to cut any figure in our fighting in France. The production was slow, because of the necessity of constant experimentation to simplify a firing mechanism which was regarded as too complicated by the experts of the War Department. Finally, in June 1918, [some time from the 8th to the 15th of June 1918] when 9,000 of these bombs and 250 sets of release mechanisms had been produced, a cablegram came from the American Expeditionary Forces canceling the entire contract. The reason assigned for abandoning the bomb was that certain British bombs, the 25-lb Cooper bomb, was regarded as better, because of cheaper construction and the hazard of the missle (sic) functioning was regarded as less by the officers on the other side."
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Air Armada
Though this illustration is rather fantastical, the strategic aerial formation it envisions more or less did evolve between the end of the Great War and WWII... not including the long columns of highly flammable dirigibles.
(from the Illustrated War News, 2 September 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/JLx44zK.jpg)
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Funeral for RFC's First Recon Flyer
It has been a little over a week since Gilbert William Mapplebeck DSO spun out of control to his death while piloting a French Morane-Saulnier Type N monoplane for No 2 Reserve Air Squadron over Joyce Green Airfield on the Thames east of London. Excerpts from the official record of the incident in the House of Commons:
The accident appears to have been due to the machine "spinning" on a heavily-banked turn, the pilot not having sufficient speed and height to regain control before hitting the earth. It is the fact that the French have largely, but not entirely, discarded this type of machine, as also have we. Both they and we continued to use a few as single seaters. Conclusion.—The accident was due to an unfortunate error of judgment on the pilot's part. There is no evidence as to the alleged faulty attachment of the belt. Nor in the opinion of the Committee did such faulty attachment, assuming it existed in anyway, contribute to the accident. It may be mentioned in passing that many pilots prefer not to use a safety belt. Tins type of machine was not one fit to be used by an inexpert flier, and had Captain Mapplebeck not been a pilot of experience the Committee would have considered it negligence to allow him to fly it." (via aviation-safety.net)
The previous August Mapplebeck was in the air over France flying the Royal Flying Corps' first wartime reconnaissance mission for No. 4 Squadron. During the year bookended by these events, the 22-year-old pilot was reportedly involved in Britain's first night-time airplane raid, was shot down over the lines, and survived on the lamb disguised as a French peasant until escaping to freedom and ultimately rejoining the fight. All good stories for another day.
(respectively from the Abergavenny Chronicle and the Evening Star, 3/15 September 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/KoMFCJF.png)(https://i.imgur.com/dwT4k4E.png)(https://i.imgur.com/bW4Hrtu.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/q2dSJmO.jpg)
(portrait via greatwarlondon.wordpress.com; aerial view of Joyce Green via military-history.fandom.com)
Here's a great build of a Morane-Saulnier Type N in RFC service (still on strength a year after this event) by forum member lcarroll: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12313.msg230328#msg230328
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Flying 'War Car'
Here's a photo spotlight on the world's first four-engine airplane - Igor Sikorsky's 'Russky Vityaz' (previously named the 'Bolshoi Baltisky' in its two-engine form. Sikorsky was Chief Engineer of the aircraft division for the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works (Russko-Baltiisky Vagonny Zavod or R-BVZ) in Saint Petersburg. Though described as 'new', this giant plane, which sort of did resemble a railroad car, first flew over a year before this article's publication. In fact, it had already long been destroyed... and in the most unusual of ways: "While parked on the runway on 23 June 1913, the aircraft was crushed by an engine that fell off a single-seat Morane-Saulnier aircraft during a landing. Sikorsky decided not to repair the seriously damaged Russky Vityaz and began working on his next brainchild — the Ilya Muromets" (quote via wikipedia).
(from the Day Book, 4 September 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/4z73d7r.png)(https://i.imgur.com/6dYALdN.jpg)
Here's a stunning 3D rendering of this plane by a modeller named Yasutoshi Mori (more images here: https://rafalec.artstation.com/projects/w8Bxd9):
(https://i.imgur.com/u438POT.jpg)
Sikorsky was last reported here fleeing Russia during the revolution: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg245490;topicseen#msg245490
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Homage to an Enemy
This trio of 'flowers for the fallen' articles varies only in their attention-getting headlines. Stories such as this certainly occurred during the war's early years, though I suspect they occurred less frequently (if at all) as the war progressed and the bloodiness only increased.
(respectively from the Brownsville Herald, the Ogden Standard, and the Rock Island Argus; 5 September 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/0HkUvkX.png)(https://i.imgur.com/bwOGjAj.png)(https://i.imgur.com/9ypL9ak.png)(https://i.imgur.com/Ow8sWPW.jpg)
(image: artist's conception from the Illustrated London News)
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Great stuff, PJ, as always... RE: No. 167—the "Aerial Fleet"—I was interested to see that the illustration was by Norman Wilkinson (later OBE/CBE), one of my favorite 20th century marine painters, and the official originator of dazzle camouflage in the Great War. A few other people claimed to have come up with it, but the British courts legally declared Wilkinson to have developed it, working out of a workshop in the basement of the Royal Academy. He also painted a mural in the first-class smoking lounge of Titanic, and a different one in that of her sister-ship Olympic.
Dutch
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Great stuff, PJ, as always... RE: No. 167—the "Aerial Fleet"—I was interested to see that the illustration was by Norman Wilkinson (later OBE/CBE), one of my favorite 20th century marine painters, and the official originator of dazzle camouflage in the Great War. A few other people claimed to have come up with it, but the British courts legally declared Wilkinson to have developed it, working out of a workshop in the basement of the Royal Academy. He also painted a mural in the first-class smoking lounge of Titanic, and a different one in that of her sister-ship Olympic.
Dutch
Hey Dutch, thanks for sharing all this backstory! I wasn't familiar with this artist... now I'll have to read up and hunt for any old articles on 'dazzle' camo! I wonder if this painting still exists and if it is in color.
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He did a lot of marine historical paintings, some from life—among others he witnessed and sketched the D-Day landings from a Royal Navy ship not far offshore. A wonderful site is ArtUK, which has some neat Great War paintings if you poke around a bit. They have 158 pieces by Wilkinson here:
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/actor:wilkinson-norman-18781971/page/9
... if you scroll down about halfway through them they have Olympic's mural, it's called "Approach to the New World (Olympic)", also some paintings he did of the Dardanelles and a few other WWI subjects (including one of a "Balloon Ship", apparently a ship that could deploy a kite balloon, which is a new one on me).
Dutch
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So many good ones! This particular WWII composition is killer:
(https://i.imgur.com/Ivl6PNI.jpg)
Glad to see the painting of HMS Hector... it'll come in handy for a pending news article on that balloon the RNAS brought to the Dardanelles. From what I've read it provided more effective service than the gaggle of airplanes they initially had on the Ark Royal, which were a everlong struggle to keep airworthy.
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That is a nice one! If you're a painter there's a lot to learn from studying his work. He also did one of Ben-my-Chree in the Dardanelles, but unfortunately it doesn't show any of the seaplanes...
dv
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Fast Fiat
Turin-based Società Italiana Aviazione SpA was a subsidiary of the Fiat group that specialized in the construction of military aircraft during the second half of the Great War. In 1918 it evolved into Fiat Aviazione. The Fiat 'BR' made its first flight by the end of that year, being powered by Fiat's massive A.14 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled 700 hp engine; though it did not see service before the armistice. The BR was one of a handful of machines claiming the unofficial world airspeed record during the war era, including the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.4, the Curtiss Wasp, and the Nieuport-Delage NiD 29V, among others.
(from the Daily Ardmoreite, 6 September 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/AdHocfc.png)(https://i.imgur.com/kN4ajMt.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/xswIIXO.jpg)
Interestingly, during this period Fiat also held the unofficial land-speed record with their S76 "Beast of Turin". This machine, which literally breathed fire, managed 132.37 mph... faster than most airplanes of the era. Take a virtual ride in this recently-restored beast here: https://youtu.be/bsdWgmp4TaQ?si=4KzC9PHw4epD9r20.
(https://i.imgur.com/eszNkbz.jpg)
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Barker's Elbow
(from the Evening Star, 7 September 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/BasLZYN.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/LsV30dM.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/HoRWvkW.png)
(images respectively via wikipedia and flickr)
The second image above depicts Barker alongside fellow Canadian super-ace Billy Bishop, who was just in the news last week: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg258457;topicseen#msg258457. Barker headlined here last November in an article recounting his epic final battle: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg249546;topicseen#msg249546. Here's a link to forum member Mike Norris' build of Barker's Sopwith Camel: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=645.msg225611#msg225611
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Greek Aviation
I'm always looking for stories from or about different nations to round out what's interesting to read, particularly when aero rarities are involved. Today's news offers a spotlight on the Kingdom of Greece's military with the last paragraph mentioning their progress in aviation. Having made tenuous territorial gains in the recent Balkan War, Greece remained neutral during the first half of the Great War even during allied operations in the Dardanelles. However, politics within the kingdom were deeply fractured and "...by September 1916 the country was effectively a battleground in the war. The Bulgarians occupied eastern Macedonia, while relations with the Allies were marked by deep hostility and mistrust."
As noted below, Greece's Royal Hellenic Navy was furnished with a few planes by the Sopwith Aviation Company- namely their Admiralty Type 806 (variously known as the 'Pusher Seaplane', the 'Gunbus', the 'S PG N', and the Greek Pusher), which emulated Geoffrey De Havilland's F.E.2 design for the Royal Aircraft Factory.
(from the Albury Banner and Wodonga Express, 8 September 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/cmPJCGj.png)(https://i.imgur.com/5xGLEVG.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/ygbikS1.jpg)
(images via kingstonaviation.org)
Here's a scratch-built land version of this plane, along with a much fuller backstory, from the forum's lone modeller: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=2837.msg47042#msg47042
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One-Man Air Force
He may not be universally remembered in the century since his pioneering achievements, but Benjmamin Delahauf Foulois was an achiever of many aviation firsts.
Foulois became the US military's first dirigible pilot. After the death of his fellow US Signal Corps Aeronautical Division aviator Thomas Selfrige (the first person ever to die in an airplane accident) in September 1908, Foulois claimed to have become "the entire United States Air Force". In July 1909 he completed the first military acceptance test of an airplane (a Wright 'Model A' Flyer), which is believed to be the first ever filmed in flight (viewable here: https://youtu.be/e14Yk0bimYg?si=p9P_xAS2zjPeJQl3). On his first blip as navigator to Orville Wright, Foulois set three world records: 10-mile cross-country distance, top speed of 42.5mph, and highest altitude: 400ft. After crashing on his fourth flight that day, Foulois was inspired to have the first safety harness installed on an airplane. Reportedly he also inspired the installation of the first wheels on an airplane (rather than catapult skids), and the first wireless. Foulois was the US Military's third solo pilot and first pilot instructor. A monument erected at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas records the ‘Birth of Military Flight’, when Foulois piloted the US Army’s first aircraft in active military service.
This pioneer aviator was also involved in the US military's first use of airplanes in action...which headlined here last April: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg253946#msg253946. Fast forward to this day in 1917 and we have a report that Foulois has been assigned senior command of the US Army's aviation force.
(from the Bisbee Daily Review, 9 September 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/dbENaTC.png)(https://i.imgur.com/hQhTlxj.png)(https://i.imgur.com/7olgvI4.png)[(https://i.imgur.com/DpE2rg3l.png)
(portrait by Robert E. Cuningnham, US Air Force Art Collection; images via picryl.com)
Evidently Foulois’ stong-headedness put him at odds with his fellow pioneers, pariculalry Billy Mitchell. His future decades in service with the militart were not without conflict and scandal. In 1963, Foulois appeared on the television quiz show I've Got a Secret, where he gave a fascinating account of his early carreer. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/r17UvTxYNqo?si=JgFpwJGqDZL5zGwh. Have a look back at forum member Chris Johson's build of the 1/32nd-scale WNW Salmson 2.A2 in US Army Air Service: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=4638.msg81301#msg81301
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'Bold Among the Bold'
It's an epically heroic story that could inspire a pulp-fiction cover or action-movie scene. Piloting a dying Nieuport 17 and facing his own certain death in the sky above Belluno, Sergente Arturo Dell'Oro González of 83ª Squadriglia chose to ram his enemy- taking them with him straight to the ground. His tricolored cowling may have been the last thing ever seen by his Austro-Hungarian adversaries (Kpl. Field Pilot Franz Stanislav and Reserve Lieutenant Lt. i.d.R. Leopold Müller in Br. C.I 69.20 of Flik 45). For his deed, Dell'Oro was awarded the Medaglia d'Oro, Italy's highest military decoration. Stanislav and Müller were also credited with a victory.
(from the Washington Herald, 11 September 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/TeCvGnd.png)
The official rationale for his medal (translated): "A very daring fighter pilot, tirelessly flying over the high peaks of Cadore, bold among the bold, rather than giving up victory, he hurled himself at an enemy aircraft and shot it down with the impact, crashing together with the vanquished; a very high example of courage and admirable self-sacrifice." This rare ramming incident occurred almost three years to the day after Russian aviator Pyotr Nesterov's similar deed, as mentioned here on September 10th last year: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg247938#msg247938. Nesterov was also flying a French machine against an Austrian two-seater.
(https://i.imgur.com/nGPU2cB.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/oGfwXRM.jpg)
(photographs via italianiinguerra.wordpress.com and roncskutatas.com {possibly the plane flown by Stanislav and Müller})
(https://i.imgur.com/zBQ65rb.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/tQXheO0.jpg)
Here's an example of a Nieuport in Italian service, shared by forum member ermeio: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6142.msg111826#msg111826
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Evolution of an Idea
Today's early-war article brings us a mix of interesting news, poor journalism, and outright misinformation. One story they did get right was Britain's acquisition of the 2-1/2-month-old Curtiss 'America', which mothered a lineage of flying boats including the H-4, H-12, H-16, some of White & Thompson's designs, and the Felixstowe series. A replica of this machine is currently flying. Also interesting are these rotogravures of a Vickers F.B.5, the world's first operational purpose-built fighter plane, and a German 'armored' 'pfeil' two seater.
(from the New-York Tribune, 12 September 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/tk3ShnW.png)(https://i.imgur.com/wS4WWsJ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/BRZHWXk.png)(https://i.imgur.com/swvFGRt.png)(https://i.imgur.com/fQRji2Y.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/sWvPMew.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/GJTKiY2.jpg)
(images respectively via nbcnews.com and wikipedia)
Have another look at forum member Naimbs' newly minted F.B.5 in 1/48th scale: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13980.msg257868#msg257868. And here's a peek back at fellow member poznamid's H-12 in 1/72: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1164.msg18214#msg18214
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Hero of the Hour
This two-page story juxtaposes the winner and losers of the historic aerial combat that earned William Leefe Robinson the Victoria Cross when he became the first British pilot to shoot down a German airship.
(from the Illustrated War News, 13 September 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/81Sp2gd.png)(https://i.imgur.com/09sQsKt.png)
Check out forum member markleecarter's in-progress build the 1/72 Airfix's kit of Robinson's B.E.2c. Would be great to see the finished project: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7310.0
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Forced to Fight, Denied Flight
Less than four months prior to this publication, the United States congress passed the Selective Service Act of 1917, which authorized the federal government to raise a national army through conscription. This initially required all males aged 21-30 to register to potentially be selected for military service. Americans of African origin then comprised only about 10% of the population but black men were drafted at a rate of about 13%. Despite the US military's call to fight 'over there' in the name of liberty, service remained segregated to Americans blacks throughout the Great War and they were not permitted to fly in the fledgling U.S. Army Air Service. Of the handful of colored people among any nations that did manage to become pilots Eugene Bullard has become the most famous. He's headlined here a few times before:
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg256724#msg256724
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255549#msg255549
- and possibly here: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg252193#msg252193
The US remained segregated through WWII, though black airmen were able to contribute to the fight. The U.S. Air Force did not fully integrate until forced to do so by a presidential executive order on 26 July 1948.
(from the Richmond Planet, 14 September 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/SwBz3BR.png)(https://i.imgur.com/rZoUNeo.png)
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American Airmen Atone
As a couplet to yesterday's report on ethnic minorities serving in the Unites States military, here's a blurb on Jewish pilots that were admitted into the USAAS. Payne Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established in 1917 after the United States entry into World War I. It was the first airport constructed in the states of Mississippi.
(from the Columbus Comercial, 15 September 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/agFr7AZ.png)
The first units stationed at Payne arrived in April, 1918, being transferred from Kelly and Ellington Fields, Texas. However, only a few U.S. Army Air Service aircraft arrived with the squadrons. Most of the Curtiss JN-4 Jennys (sic) to be used for flight training were shipped in wooden crates by railcar. Payne Field served as a base for flight training for the United States Army Air Service. In 1918, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction with a student capacity of 300. After completion of their primary training, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training. In all some 1,500 pilots trained at the field during its operation.
Fun Fact: Payne Field, "was located in one of the worst malaria belts of the United States".
More info on the contriubutions of Jewish aviators during the First World War can be found here: https://www.crossandcockade.com/store/Product.asp?cat=51&id=760
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Peppered with Steel
The siege of Antwerp involved the use of a German airship on the night of 25/26 August. Ten Belgian civilians were reported killed. This must have been one of the first deployments of the dirigibles in this capacity. The event generated much press. Deltiologists might also recognize this particular press photo in color from a postcard that was distributed during the Great War. "Wish you were here!..."
(from the Imperial Valley Press, 16 September 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/om4iDpa.png)(https://i.imgur.com/C9oMqNN.jpg)
Original prints of this postcard are currently available on eBay ranging from $2: https://www.ebay.com/itm/355039817142?hash=item52aa05adb6:g:mcoAAOSwB5dk6jQg&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0OfcnqUG5%2FYqj3zhUeMSSEZIlEj3%2BR2Wra622pF4DGCLMI0nB1WkNKnCQ68Noxn9hGetFKmKrsl28qyEEpDKkoU8vMjjx5lCUvBYKzDkqw4n63aJVU%2B4WttiVi0h0cvgXy4BQpPrn19Hd%2B2Kz6yvYR83mltffvid2n2B%2FB2WxJp%2BJzpNNfsUq6q6%2FBBSTLKWGTY3dRKW2mSOq9lkLEWWXDIHjmqESEIQX%2BfKwCCJnabspHRPEzVcZtnKl8DtwhTcPnjwE5JEnJ09%2FWg5bUKWkAM%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR56w4o7XYg
Here are some other views of the damage. A close look shows that the newsprint has been doctored to replace the standing civilian at right with a sentry on alert. :
(https://i.imgur.com/ooJc3yW.png)(https://i.imgur.com/PZgKeTV.png)
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Japanese Bomb Germans
A most unusual headline! Concurrent with yesterday's picture story on the Siege of Antwerp, today's news regards the Siege of Tsingtao (also known as Qingdao). This time Germany, which occupied the port city on China’s east coast as a colony, was on the receiving end. This nominal one-paragraph report actually documents history’s first seaborne airstrike - involving French-built Farmans stationed on the seaplane tender Wakamiya of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Converted from the British merchant steamship Lethington, which was captured in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War, Wakamiya was recommissioned as the first Japanese aircraft carrier in August 1914. Read more here: https://thediplomat.com/2019/11/historys-first-seaborne-airstrike-took-place-in-east-asia/
(from the Medford Mail Tribume, 17 September 1914)
(https://i.imgur.com/uATwtDE.png)(https://i.imgur.com/SKd0mty.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/p4VNVh8.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/9PfIieG.jpg)
(images via wiki mediacommons)
Sidebar: if you've ever enjoyed a Tsingtao beer with Japanese food, you can thank the presence of German brewers in this colony. The first Tsingtao beer was served on 22 December 1904. "After the colony fell under Japanese military control, the operation was sold to the Dai-Nippon Brewery, which in 1949 was split into Asahi Breweries and what later became Sapporo Brewery." (via wikipedia)
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The Serpent and the Skull
France's fifth-leading ace was reported MIA this week. Algerian-born 'balloon buster' Maurice Jean Paul Boyau was credited with thirty-five aerial victories. During his last two days of life he managed to down four Drachens. For bravery in action he earned the Médaille Militaire and the Légion d'Honneur. Germany's Leutnant Georg von Hantelmann is credited with Boyau's defeat Southwest of Conflans.
Both rivals were known for the distinguished markings on their aircraft. Boyau scored his first ten wins in the Nieuport shown below (he was piloting a SPAD S.XIII during his final flight). Hantelmann's Fokker D.VII sported a totenkopf momento mori. Two days after this encounter Hantelmann shot down American ace Joseph Wehner - wingman to Frank Luke (America's leading balloon buster).
(from the Bendigo Advertiser, 18 September 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/cRReyJI.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/k95GRcj.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/xFBYoho.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/0biDX3q.jpg)
Here are some detailed 3d rendering of Boyau's SPAD: https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-spad-s-xiii-maurice-1422762
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Fantastic Dance
This early-war reconnaissance recollection reminds us that even in the days before air-to-air combat became a daily ritual, aviators still faced great peril from gunfire... on the ground. The aviator in question is likely French Sous Lieutenant Alphonse-Flavien Poiré, who obtained his pilot's license in 1912 and served for two years in the Russia's military, ultimately becoming general inspector of aviation and was assigned as receiving pilot of the Russian aviation company Anatra. Following the revolution Poiré fled to France. Like so many other aviators he survived the war only to die in a peacetime airplane crash soon afterwards. He was test piloting a four-engine Caudron. Full bio here: http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille582.htm
(from Lais Llafur, 19 September 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/2DoeSqf.png)(https://i.imgur.com/nl2CGZT.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/LSehc3g.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/uRtzsp2.jpg)
(image via albindenis.free.fr)
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Zeppelin Victor Posthumously Vanquishes Gotha
British air hero Reginald Warneford, who scored the first victory of a heavier-than-air aircraft over a lighter-than-air dirigible, achieved another victory while the war was still on three years after his untimely death (as reported here in June of last year: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg245240#msg245240).
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 20 September 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/ONTpzi8.png)
As noted here recently (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg257117;topicseen#msg257117), the British public's disdain for Germanic names became ferocious as the war progressed. Unsurprisingly amidst such sentiment, the city council's proposal was indeed approved and Warneford's name lives on in London today:
(https://i.imgur.com/IfS3MnN.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/VSHtSkk.png)
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Double-Crossed?
A case of mistaken identity... and not just the insignia but also the airplane name. This allegedly sneaky 'Elberstadt' looks to be a C-type two-seater by Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke. Evidently the reporter was unaware of the new balkenkreuz (beam cross) insignia that Germany's Luftstreitkräfte formally adopted after an IdFlieg directive in the spring of 1918. This update replaced the curvy tatzenkreuz markings.
(from the Mountain Home Republican, 21 September 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/53zGiOUl.png)
Halberstadts don't seem to make the press too often. Here's a great example of a CL.IV in 1/48th scale by forum member von Mertens: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8291.msg153699#msg153699
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Fahlbusch Falls
While we're on the theme of German two-seaters, here's a report on Leutnant Wilhelm Fahlbusch - a lesser known reconnaissance pilot who partnered with his observer Hans Rosenkranz to earn ace status. They achieved five victories flying their LFG Roland C.II Walfisch with Kagohl 1. One week after their final victory Fahlbusch and Rosenkranz were outgunned by another two seater. Sopwith Strutters of No. 70 Squadron Royal Flying Corps sent the duo down in flames over Malincourt, France. This was the first victory for future aces Captain Bernard Beanlands and Captain William Sanday, who shared credit.
(from the Fayette Falcon, 22 September 1916)
(https://i.imgur.com/f0G42mdl.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/WenIRgSl.jpg)
What was Beanlands fate? As par for the course he was killed in a flying accident only six months after the Armistice. Just last April, Beanland's medals were auctioned by Spink & Sons. Have a look: https://www.spink.com/lot/23001000397
(https://i.imgur.com/rVcB3nul.jpg)
Here's a great rendition of the 1/32 WNW Roland C.II by forum member NinetythridLiberator: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6861.msg125965#msg125965
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Double-Crossed?
A case of mistaken identity... and not just the insignia but also the airplane name. This allegedly sneaky 'Elberstadt' looks to be a C-type two-seater by Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke. Evidently the reporter was unaware of the new balkenkreuz (beam cross) insignia that Germany's Luftstreitkräfte formally adopted after an IdFlieg directive in the spring of 1918. This update replaced the curvy tatzenkreuz markings.
(from the Mountain Home Republican, 21 September 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/53zGiOUl.png)
Halberstadts don't seem to make the press too often. Here's a great example of a CL.IV in 1/48th scale by forum member von Mertens: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8291.msg153699#msg153699
Just wondering if the plane in the picture is an AEG G type............maybe?
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Just wondering if the plane in the picture is an AEG G type............maybe?
Good question! I'm not entirely sure. I was thinking it was a Halberstadt C.IX. The wingspan does look fairly big though... do you think it may be a AEG G.V? Though that plane has three-bay wings and this one only two. Anyone else know?
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Four Frenchmen Felled
Identities unknown but interestingly all four airplanes were shot down by ground fire. A similar story was report on the 19th.
(from the Daily Gate City, 23 September 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/tasbhIC.png)
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Just wondering if the plane in the picture is an AEG G type............maybe?
Good question! I'm not entirely sure. I was thinking it was a Halberstadt C.IX. The wingspan does look fairly big though... do you think it may be a AEG G.V? Though that plane has three-bay wings and this one only two. Anyone else know?
Kinda looks like an AEG G.IV, or thereabouts.......
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Sorry, been meaning to chime in:
(https://i.postimg.cc/wBVBdWNG/39-BFEFAD-414-C-4-C27-9178-6850-DE7-D7400.jpg)
It was an AEG G.III shot down somewhere behind American lines in 1918. In his caption Leo Opdyke wondered whether the pictures taken by the American officer in the foreground fiddling with the camera were still in existence... maybe the one in the paper was one of his?
Dutch
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Poetry Under Pressure
Not sure of his exact identity but this Russian airman's smooth maneuvering displayed grace under potential fire. Possibly it may be the pioneer pilot and avant-garde futurist playwright Vasily Vasilyevich Kamensky who saved the day.
(from the Emmett Index, 24 September 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/1sqcxkx.png)(https://i.imgur.com/evrJVNO.jpg)
(image via en.topwar.ru).
Today's news might have been the inspiration for Kamensky's 1916 poem:
An Aviator's Call
Cacophony of souls
Ffrrrrr
Motor's Symphony
It is I – it is I –
FuturistSongFighter
And pilot aviator
Vasily Kamensky
with an elastic propeller
whisked up into the sky
and left as a visiting card
for droopy coquette-death
feeling sorry for her
a hand-sewn tango cloak
and stockings
With pantaloons
More on his unusual bio here:
https://en.topwar.ru/99306-pevec-samoleta-poet-i-aviator-vasiliy-kamenskiy.html
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It was an AEG G.III shot down somewhere behind American lines in 1918. In his caption Leo Opdyke wondered whether the pictures taken by the American officer in the foreground fiddling with the camera were still in existence... maybe the one in the paper was one of his?
Dutch
Could well be! The angle of crash and landscape seem to match. Thanks for sleuthing.
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Blood on Fire
Blindon Blood was burning as his biplane stalled and spun into the grass field of Hounslow Heath Aerodrome yesterday. Earlier this september No. 24 Squadron was formed here under the command of future-VC Major Lanoe Hawker. This was the Royal Flying Corps' first single-seat fighter squadron. Variously equipped with Bristol Scouts, Vickers F.B.5's, and later Airco D.H.2's. It also counted on strength one of only four Royal Aircraft Factory SE4a's (likely serial #5612), which Captain Blood was piloting.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 25 September 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/YCn0UvG.png)(https://i.imgur.com/zIP33Gq.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/7qzcNBH.jpg)
(images: S.E.5a #5611, via flyingmachines.ru; Hounslow Heath c.1919, ukairfieldguide.net)
If this story sounds familiar, it's because a similar incident occurred earlier this month, as reported here: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg258617#msg258617. As for the cause of this crash, Flight magazine connected the dots: "Captain Blood appears to have made the same mistake as Captain Mapplebeck (case I.), and to have turned his machine at a low speed, thus causing a spin, and having insufficient height to recover crashed". Also as reported here recently (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg257469#msg257469), the S.E.4a prototypes were undergoing testing earlier in this summer.
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'V' is for Vincent
I'm forever fascinated by early aviation rarities... the obscure, the forgotten, the what-ifs; the has-beens. Following yesterday's news on the rare S.E.4a, here's a picture story another odd bird - the Burgess-Dunne tailless hydroplane. More than just a rich man's folly, this was the progeny of a lineage of unconventional swept-wing flying machines stemming from John William Dunne's D.1 glider and powered D.4 that hopped in 1908. Dunne's D.5 was "certified as the first fixed-wing aircraft ever to achieve natural stability in flight, with one of the official witnesses being Orville Wright". Also per wikipedia: "Many of Dunne's ideas on stability remain valid, and he is known to have influenced later designers such as John K. Northrop (father of the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber)."
Dunne was in the employ of Britain's Army Balloon Factory (that evolved into the Royal Aircraft Factory) before forming Blair-Atholl Syndicate Ltd, which produced his D.8 in small numbers. The Royal Flying Corps acquired one D.8 on strength at Farnborough in the spring of 1914. D.8 production was licensed to Nieuport in France and Burgess in the United States. Various Burgess-Dunne models were used by the US Signal Corps and the US Navy. One was the Canadian Aviation Corps' first and only warplane when the Great War erupted.
(respectively from the Wilmington News Journal and The Sun, 14/26 September 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/HtNFFVe.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/XpNAFGP.png)(https://i.imgur.com/AZAacXw.png)(https://i.imgur.com/gnzdWxZ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/47It00H.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/Y8o812k.png)
The subject flying-V was newly acquired by Vincent Astor of New York, who was twenty-years old when his father, the richest man aboard the Titanic, drowned in April 1912. Being a member of the New York Yacht Club, the young Astor's 'HydroAeroplane' fittingly complemented the private steamship Noma, which he had recently inherited. As noted, one of Astor's first flights was from his custom-built floating hangar in Marblehead, Massachusetts to Ferncliff - his family homestead in Rhinebeck, NY (mere miles from Cole Palen's future aerodrome). Wouldn't it be fun to see a replica in flight there today? More on this particular machine: https://www.massairspace.org/virtualexhibit/vex2/bd-7%20flight%201915.pdf.
Fun Fact: Astor loaned his yacht Noma to the US Navy for anti-submarine duty in 1917. It subsequently changed hands and names several times and wound up being requisitioned by Italy's Regia Marina during World War II. It was bombed and sunk off Sicily by the Royal Air Force in 1941, refloated by Italy, then sunk again for good by the RAF in 1943.
And here's a post from forum member phs Paddy regarding a card model of this machine: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=216.msg2634;topicseen#msg2634
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Speaking of Seaplanes...
(from the Illustrated War News, 27 September 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/tR3HAPm.png)(https://i.imgur.com/WlvBlYg.png)
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Cloud Car Captured!
Of all the aero rarities that have headlined here, today's subject ranks among my very faves... the Zeppelin Spähkorb (also Spähgondel)! I can't wait to attempt a 3D rendering of this flying 'spy basket'. Basically a dirigible's tadpole, it trailed below its mothership on a 1000-meter-long retractible umbilical cord that doubled as a suspension cable and telephone line. The idea being that the gigantic hydrogen-filled airship could safely maneuver hidden above the clouds while this minuscule observer's gondola could discretely dangle in the clear sky below to direct navigation and bombing. Its aluminum shell featured a sliding moonroof and electric lighting, and offered just enough room for one prone person on a mattress. Today's specimen participated in the largest airship raid of the Great War.
"...on the night of 2/3 September 1916, Army Zeppelin LZ 90 appeared over Essex. She encountered problems with the winch, which began to run free, allowing her Spähkorb to drop uncontrollably. Hovering over the parish of Mistley, the crew of LZ 90 tried to recover the situation, stopping the winch by thrusting a metal bar into the teeth of the gear-wheels. Unable to recover the Spähkorb, the crew restarted the engines, cut its cable and moved off. At that point a local man heard what he described as 'the thud of a falling body. About an hour later the crew jettisoned the now useless winch as they passed over Poslingford in Suffolk. The following morning the bailiff at Abbott's Hall Farm near Horsley Cross discovered the Spähkorb lying in the field with several hundred yards of cable trailing along the ground. After the authorities had made a complete study of the Spähkorb, which measured just over 14 feet in length, it went on exhibition in September and October with other Zeppelin relics to raise money for charitable causes, chiefly the Red Cross." (Ian Castle, The First Blitz in 100 Objects, Pen & Sword Books Limited, 2020)
This amazing relic survives in the collection of the Imperial War Museum. Has anyone seen it in person?
(respectively from the Cambria Daily Leader, 28 September 1916; The Sphere, 14 October 1916; Scientific American, 23 December 1916; and Popular Mechanics, January 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/cIsIEju.png)(https://i.imgur.com/2eL2Dog.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/6FaeCU0.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/0dBjPQy.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/yM2GI5F.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/URxfCww.jpg)
Grab some popcorn and enjoy this inspiring scene of a cloud car in action from Howard Hughes' 1930 epic war movie Hell's Angels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTAuT6ZMZXM
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The War in the Air
This full-pager features a half-dozen French warbirds (including one captured Fokker repainted with roundels). SPAD, Voisin, Caudron, Letord, Salmson... has anyone here built models of them all?
(from the New-York Tribune, 29 September 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/JgAJ1SB.png)
Here are corresponding builds by our fellow forumites:
- SPAD (Roden, 1/32), by kensar: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12592.msg235212#msg235212
- Voisin V (Hi-Tech, 1/48) by Saso Krasovec: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1123.msg17174#msg17174
- Letord Let.4 (scratchbuilt) by Skyhook: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12538.msg234380#msg234380
- Caudron R.XI... anyone?
- Fokker D.VII (Eduard, 1/72) by MihaelSteiber: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12284.msg229706#msg229706
- Salmson 2 A.2 (Gaspatch, 1/48) by Ssash0: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6244.msg113814#msg113814
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I've always loved the cloud-cars too, but the thought of them gives me the willies. I find myself wondering whose wife you had to get caught with in order to get assigned the job of Spähgondel-Pilot...?
Dutch
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I've always loved the cloud-cars too, but the thought of them gives me the willies. I find myself wondering whose wife you had to get caught with in order to get assigned the job of Spähgondel-Pilot...?
:o :o :o
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Mission of Mercy
Unusual warbirds seem to be this week's motif. Continuing this theme, today's tale involves an actual bird:
(https://i.imgur.com/pMQoBRw.png)(https://i.imgur.com/8oF7lwX.png)(https://i.imgur.com/nEOCWmn.png)
This news report offers no names, but the '22 miles in 22 minutes' quote matches that attached to a photograph of this pigeon (catalogue #: Q 12260) in the Imperial War Museum collection. I'm not sure if the note I've included (Q 12214) relates to this same incident or is just part of the IWM's online mini exhibit (https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-incredible-carrier-pigeons-of-the-first-world-war), but it helps paint the picture of how these pigeons served in desperate situations. Thinking of the legendary Cher Ami, who only three days following this article saved the lived of nearly 200 men (earning the Croix de Guerre), I wonder if this particular Royal Air Force pigeon was named or won any medals?
Has anyone here built the Roden pigeon-loft lorry? Dave W reviewed that release back in 2020: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11836.msg220514#msg220514
Side Bar:
- More on Cher Ami's story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cher_Ami
- Here's a whole website devoted to pigeons in combat: http://www.pigeonsincombat.com/thepigeoneerswebpage.html
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Birdman Becomes Jailbird
Meet Leutnant Otto Thelen - an observer spotting in a two-seater piloted by Leutnant Julius Schulz Flieger Abteilung 5. The duo were brought down in November 1914 by Lieutenant Louis Strange of No. 5 Squadron, who had recently survived one of the 'strangest' aerial mishaps of the Great War (headlined here in May 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?action=search2). The artful aviator, Thelen, made the news as for his short-lived jail break with fellow fugitive Hans Keilback. A public announcement was made following the discovery of their escape on September 24th:
"The people of Bedfordshire have been asked to keep their eye out for two German officers who escaped from Donington Hall near Leicester last weekend. It is believed that they left Derby on a Midland train heading south. A £100 reward has been offered for information which may lead to their arrest. The two men are described as follows:
- Otto Thelen, German Flying Corps: age 25, height 5ft 5in, stiff build, weather-beaten features, somewhat sallow complexion, grey eyes, fair hair (blonde), prominent scar in left part of forehead caused by a burn, clean shaven, believed wearing knickers and stockings, or grayish trousers, speaks English with a foreign accent.
- Hans Keilhack, Naval Ober Lieutenant: age 23 years, height 5ft 10in, stiff build, black hair, very large piercing blue eyes, prominent cheek bones, finger missing from one hand, clean shaven, believed wearing knickers and stockings speaks English with a foreign accent."
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 1 October 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/xD16y5w.png)(https://i.imgur.com/pZKov0y.png)
(image via digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de)
Though Thelen's wartime airtime was brief he kept the British quite busy for years as a prisoner of war. We might encounter him in the news again, because this was the first of at least four breakouts (one source claims seven) he made during the conflict! It has been suggested that Thelen's reputation as a 'serial escapee' was such that it inspired the British to repatriate via Holland in 1917. His patriotism must have been passionate because his 'maximum security' prison was the Georgian country house Donington Hall. Compared to the frontline trench existence, this posh setting, which included a cash allowance, seems like easy living for war prisoners. This situation was noted with anger among some British citizens. Read more in this BBC article: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-25154771
(https://i.imgur.com/AcPJBYX.jpg)
(image via www.bbc.com)
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Three in Three
Georges Guynemer headlines again with this relay of a French dispatch reporting him achieving three victories (and one crash landing) in one day (likely his actions over Erches and Laucourt from 23 September). A quick review of his stat board over at the aerodrome.com suggests that France's number-two ace was officially credited with just two wins on this day... both being Fokker monoplanes. Still 'plucky' nonetheless!
(from the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin 2 October 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/vcdINnw.png)(https://i.imgur.com/jJEz38m.jpg)
(image: "Sergeant Guynemer lands in Spad VII S115 in September 1916. Although its career was short-lived, his four successes and his survival in a crash on September 23 left Guynemer sold on the fast, sturdy new fighter." (Service Historique de l’armée de l’Air B88/526; via historynet.com).
Past headlines on this aviator can be read here:
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.0
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg253245#msg253245
And here's a look back at forum member Fernando Torre's build of the 1/72 Eduard kit for Guynemer's SPAD VII (though the images don't appear on my browser): https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1383.msg22270#msg22270
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Worse than Mustard Gas
An Austrian biplane brought down over Brindisi has been found to be stowing more than just wartime essentials. Bottles of brandy and wine, and ... 'a loaf made of some vile substance'. This contraband could well be a pungent batch of the Austrian variant of the Germanic delicacy Leberkäs (liver-cheese). It is unreported if the prisoners were forced to confess as to the identity of this newsworthy mystery meat.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 3 October 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/sevwc6c.png)(https://i.imgur.com/d3qVLo7.jpg)
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Pistol Fight
This dramatic impression of an early-war aerial combat depicts a T.B.8 taking on a Taube, with a monoplane closing in from above. Another rare bird. About fifty Bristol T.B.8's were produced for the RFC and RNAS. Used mostly as trainers, a handful crossed the Channel after the outbreak of war. The type remained in service at least into 1915. Read more here: https://www.baesystems.com/en/heritage/bristol-tb8-and-gb75
(from The Sun, 4 October 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/msHSnPy.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/m9EdSLl.jpg)
Alas, no models of the T.B.8 exist, but here's a look a forum member xmald's masterful Jeannin Stahltaube by Wingnut Wings in 1/32: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10907.msg200613#msg200613
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Wild Boy
Sergent Paul Joannes Sauvage was credited with eight confirmed and six probable aerial victories. He originally flew for Escadrille N 65, then became one of the first pilots to be issued a the SPAD VII. He became the youngest French ace on October 2nd at age 19 years and 239 days. Today's report notes this victory in the sky south of Le Transloy. Another of France's teen aces, who inherited the 'youngest' title twelve days after Sauvage's death in 1917, headlined here last September: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg247695#msg247695
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 5 October 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/xSPdTRj.png)(https://i.imgur.com/yqNCGNL.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/2vcwmNO.jpg)
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Alsace Attacked
...not the region in France but the French dirigible named after it. I'm not too familiar this aircraft but have read that it was born from a larger airship named "Pilâtre de Rozier". Evidently that ship's size was unmanageable so it was halved to make make two smaller airships (one keeping the original name): Both gasbags were shot down by the Germans.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 6 October 1915)
(https://i.imgur.com/aNYpz8A.png)(https://i.imgur.com/DkUPeof.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/vH4WDrf.png)(https://i.imgur.com/f0lsq1b.png)(https://i.imgur.com/gnOzzPe.jpg)
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Paired with our front-cover shootout scene from three days back, here's another cover illustration. This one depicts a full-frontal Morane-Saulnier Type H with pistol-wielding pilot. Unsure if this illustration depicts a specific aircraft. Britain's Royal Flying Corps operated a handful of Morane monoplanes at the start of the war. One Type H saw service in France with Nos. 4 and 12 Squadrons. The serial number on the rudder of this plane appears to read '317', though apparently that number was assigned to a B.E.2 (of No. 4 Squadron).
(from the Illustrated War News, 7 October 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/E8VgfJs.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/pUABxcW.jpg)
I couldn't find any completed builds of the Type H here on the forum, but he's a groovy sterling-silver model of one by Mappin & Webb, which was auctioned by Bonhams at the RAF Museum, Hendon, in 2009. More here: https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/17254/lot/223/a-fine-silver-model-of-a-morane-saulnier-type-h-monoplane-1915/. Another early aircraft by this Sheffield-based silversmithy was shared here in May: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg254739#msg254739. Mappin & Webb made a specialty of producing scale-model airplanes at least as early as 1912, as evidenced by this advertisement from The Aeroplane magazine:
(https://i.imgur.com/zZlaE99.png)
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Am I correct in remembering that it was a M.S. Type H that Fokker bought and disassembled, and used as inspiration for his design of the first Eindekker? Sure looks to be a family resemblance in thar somewheres...
Dutch
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Am I correct in remembering that it was a M.S. Type H that Fokker bought and disassembled, and used as inspiration for his design of the first Eindekker?
Yep. The M.5K (which the Eindecker evolved) from was was basically a copy of Type H, excepting the fuselage was welded steel vs. wood...
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Am I correct in remembering that it was a M.S. Type H that Fokker bought and disassembled, and used as inspiration for his design of the first Eindekker?
Yep. The M.5K (which the Eindecker evolved) from was was basically a copy of Type H, excepting the fuselage was welded steel vs. wood...
That explains the similar look!
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Bulgarian Bombs Serbians
Serbia's ancient city of Niš was struck by a lone aviator. Based on the date of this report the plane was likely an Albatros C.I acquired from Germany, though they might have still had a Bleriot on strength still. Would anyone here know for sure?
(from the Newark Evening Star, 8 October 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/jIWlAY2.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/Uohekaf.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/NCeOxdH.jpg)
Bulgaria operated about 100 aircraft during the Great War. An inventory of these can be read here: https://www.nevingtonwarmuseum.com/bulgaria-airforce-order-of-battle.html. Here's some general backstory via aeroflight.co.uk:"
"Bulgaria entered the First World War with only the most meagre of air arms: the Bulgarian Army Aviation Corps comprised one Aeroplane Squadron with 5 aircraft, one Balloon Squadron and an aircrew training school with only 2 aircraft. In addition, three German-crewed Fokker E.IIIs were available to defend Sofia from air attack. Both the Aeroplane and Balloon units deployed with the Bulgarian Army during October 1915 as it advanced into Serbia and Macedonia, providing useful reconnaissance information. By November 1915 worsening relations with Romania required to relocation of the Balloon Squadron to the north east border region alongside the Third Army, while the Aeroplane Squadron moved to the Salonica (Thessaloniki) front with the Second Army near the river Struma. By April 1916 deliveries of new aircraft allowed the formation of a second Aeroplane Squadron to support the First Army on the Salonica front close to the river Vardar."
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Swiss Balloonist Shot
Paired with yesterday's obscure aerial altercation, today's news notes the death of the Swiss aviator, Walter Flury, who was attacked by German airmen just weeks before the end of the Great War.
(from the Cordova Daily Times, 9 October 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/Ute1uDd.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/eKLuliy.png)
(image via tokensofcompanionship.blog)
"When he was called up for the recruit school towards the end of the First World War, Flury decided to train with the balloon troops and quickly rose to the rank of lieutenant. On September 30, 1918 Balloon Pioneer Company 2, to which Flury also belonged, was ordered to the Swiss border for its first mission. She was stationed near Pruntrut in the Ajoie. On October 7, Flury was sent to his observation post in a tethered balloon near the village of Miécourt, where he rose to an altitude of over 1,000 meters. After a few minutes, two German fighter planes approached, which Flury announced with horn blasts and ordered the captive balloon to be pulled in. When Flury was still 600 meters above the ground, the fighter pilots began to circle the balloon and shoot at it. Flury died instantly; he was found with the binoculars still in his hands. Since Flury was shot down on Swiss soil, the incident triggered a diplomatic incident between Switzerland and the German Empire. In 1919, the family of the dead man reached an agreement with the German Reich to pay compensation of 80,000 CHF. The German shooter was given a three-month suspended prison sentence." (via wiki.stadtgeschichte-grenchen.ch)
(https://i.imgur.com/Gm8KmqP.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/DSuZ5CF.jpg)
Though Switzerland was famously neutral during both world wars, around 3,000 Swiss soldiers died during active service between 1914-1918... mostly due to illness or accident and more than half by the 1918 influenza epidemic. After the Armisitice a cenotaph commemorating Flury's death was erected at the crash site, which over time returned to woodland. It is now a geocaching destination on a hiking trail. A memorial ceremony was held there on the 100th anniversary: https://www.canalalpha.ch/play/le-journal/topic/13699/le-lieutenant-flury-est-mort-a-miecourt-il-y-a-100-ans
(https://i.imgur.com/QHLrtyq.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/RFKp6su.jpg)
Side bar: You may also notice the neighboring headline noting Alexandra Feodorovna has been killed. "Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine at birth, was the last Empress of Russia as the consort of Emperor Nicholas II from 1894 until his forced abdication in 1917. A favourite granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, she was, like her grandmother, one of the most famous royal carriers of haemophilia and bore a haemophiliac heir, Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia. Her reputation for encouraging her husband's resistance to the surrender of autocratic authority and her known faith in the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin severely damaged her popularity and that of the Romanov monarchy in its final years." (via wikipedia)
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Where do you find this wonderful stuff, PJ...? I'm loving it, in any event.
RE: the last post but one, the Cross & Cockade journal for Winter 2022 had a really good article on Bulgarian Nieuports---captured, remarked with vaguely German-style crosses, and sent back into action---and their pilots, an aspect of the Great War I was completely unfamiliar with.
Dutch
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Where do you find this wonderful stuff, PJ...? I'm loving it, in any event.
RE: the last post but one, the Cross & Cockade journal for Winter 2022 had a really good article on Bulgarian Nieuports---captured, remarked with vaguely German-style crosses, and sent back into action---and their pilots, an aspect of the Great War I was completely unfamiliar with.
Dutch
Hey, this would make for a cool build theme - captured planes with foreign markings.
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Hey, this would make for a cool build theme - captured planes with foreign markings.
I love this idea. A mate recently won an award for an RFC-marked Albatros which I found quite attractive!
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Boelcke to Balkans
Germany's pioneering flying ace continues his tour of Eastern Front operations.
(from the Queensland Times, 10 October 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/Mmg2XKQ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/ObANAqE.jpg)
(image: from left- Oberleutnant Hans Joachim Buddecke, General Otto Liman von Sanders, Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke in Turkey)
Details on this excursion:
"On 10 July 1916, Boelcke left on a tour of the Balkans. He travelled through Austria-Hungary to visit the Ottoman Empire. From his diary notes, the journey seemed a combination of military facility inspections, a celebrity tour, and a holiday. He kept attendance at formal social obligations to a minimum, but had to oblige such important hosts as Enver Pasha and Otto Liman von Sanders. Making his rounds of the Turkish flying units supported by the German Military Mission, Boelcke again met his friend Hans Joachim Buddecke. After a three-day beach vacation at Smyrna, Boelcke reached the quiescent Gallipoli battlefield on 30 July. When he returned to Constantinople, he learned that in his absence, the French and British airmen had taken air superiority from the Germans on the Western Front.[75]
On his hastened return trip, Boelcke visited Bulgaria and the Russian Front. He was visiting his brother Wilhelm at his unit in Kovel, when a telegram arrived from Lieth-Thomsen:[76] "Return to west front as quickly as possible to organize and lead Jagdstaffel 2 (Fighter Squadron 2) on the Somme front."
The Smyrna waterfront made headlines here last April: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg253828#msg253828
Here's a cool 1/33rd-scale model of one of Boelcke's mounts by forum member ninetythirdliberator: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13574.msg251296#msg251296topic=13574.msg251296#msg251296
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I love this idea. A mate recently won an award for an RFC-marked Albatros which I found quite attractive!
can you share a pic? that would be neat to see!
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Super Terra-Aerial Dreadnaught
Because... why not?
(from The Aeroplane, 11 October 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/nwOGFWa.png)
Fun Fact: The word 'tank' (shown in quotes above) was newly coined when this advertisement went to press. "The name 'tank' came from British attempts to ensure the secrecy of the new weapons under the guise of water tanks. During the First World War, Britain began the serious development of the tank. Ironically, the Royal Navy led the way with the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, establishing the Landships Committee in early 1915. The military combined with engineers and industrialists and by early 1916 a prototype was adopted as the design of future tanks. Britain used tanks in combat for the first time in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916." (via iwm.org.uk)
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'Sea Hawks at Work'
Some thrilling anecdotes from RNAS pilots defending attacks from both air and sea. No aircraft are identified, but the account of the submarine bombing could pertain to an incident from that summer when a Wight Converted Seaplane flying from Cherbourg sank the German U-boat UB-32 with a single 100 lb bomb. Evidently this was the first submarine to be sunk in the English Channel by direct air action.
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 12 October 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/iE1qYgz.png)(https://i.imgur.com/SeRi2Xs.png)
Another rarity, the Converted Seaplane was J.S. White & Co.'s answer to the Short Bros.' popular Admiralty Type 184. General proportions and performance were similar, though the Wight incorporated the same unusual double-cambered airfoil design as most of their other aircraft, (including my favorite the A.1 Improved Navyplane). It received a lukewarm receptions amongst RNAS crews and only thirty-seven machines were completed out of an original order of fifty. The plane was commemorated as the subject of a postal stamp in the 1990s (one's available on eBay for £2.17: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110759299707). According the M. Goodall's the subject-matter expert, the original builder's scale model (probably the only build of this plane ever made) for this type still existed as of the 1970s. Not sure what it's made of or scale it is, but the level of detail looks rad.
(https://i.imgur.com/LS2KWYQ.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/tfdUps7.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/bcR3cJ2.jpg)
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7:1 Kill Ratio
Tough times this month for the French and British over the Western Front. According to this relay of a War Office report the Germans dominated the skies. A peek over at the Aviation Safety Network database gives an good indication of who and what was falling to earth in the fall of 1916: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/dblist.php?Year=1916&sorteer=datekey&page=3.
Meanwhile, a US airman has a lucky escape in southern California. The location isn't mentioned but it could well be the Signal Corps Aviation School; also then known as Rockwell Field, which was based near San Diego and also not too far from where the future famous 'Top Gun' training center was. Here's a thorough history of this airfield: https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/v52-3/pdf/2006-3_air.pdf
(from the Montpelier Examiner, 13 October 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/qoMdOzg.png)(https://i.imgur.com/XjeYzNI.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/6oGHm56.jpg)
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Front Row Seat
Colorful yet naive, describes this report of an American journalist writing about his experience in the air at a time before the US had entered the war and really understood have much the combat playbook had changed. Notably his pilot appears to be none other than Norman Spratt, the British test pilot who held both speed and altitude records in 1914. He is also credited as having participated in one of the first 'dogfights' of the Great War, on 28 August 1914, when Spratt, flying an unarmed Sopwith Tabloid, forced down a German Albatros C.I.
(from the Evening Capital News, 14 October 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/ucchToP.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/AU1I3fJ.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/xvaKrXO.png)
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Had to shake my head over the figures quoted for the vast aerial armada the US was going to send across the Atlantic; we never reached more than a fraction of it. But as a former woodworker what really caught my eye was the casual mention of the three million feet of black walnut & mahogany that were going to get sawn up into props; if you could get it now (which you can't, in those days when they said "mahogany" they meant Cuban mahogany, which is unobtainable now unless you want to chop up antique furniture) you'd be looking at a cost of somewhere well in excess of US$50M just for the raw material...
Dutch
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No Prize for Second Place
The Daily Mail's 'Great Atlantic Air Race' was wholeheartedly resuscitated after the Armistice. This challenge began in 1913, when the newspaper's proprietor, Lord Northcliffe, offered a £10,000 prize (roughly $1.15m today) for the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic by a heavier-than-air aircraft. It would be awarded to "the aviator who shall first cross the Atlantic in an aeroplane in flight from any point in the United States of America, Canada or Newfoundland to any point in Great Britain or Ireland in 72 continuous hours."
The first plane to cross was a Curtiss NC-4, crewed between New York State to Lisbon, which headlined here in May 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg250981#msg250981. Though it made history, because that crossing took 19 days, no prize was awarded. The winner would prove to be John Alcock & Arthur Brown in a converted Vickers 'Vimy' bomber on June 15. Check out forum member lone modeler's post on on that plane: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6274.msg114357#msg114357.
So what of the other contestants? Notable entries included Sopwith's famous test pilot Harry Hawker who, with navigator Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve, made the first attempt nearly a month earlier... but ditched their single-engine Sopwith 'Atlantic' in the ocean after its Rolls Royce engine overheated 1130 miles from Ireland. Next in line to fail were Majors F.P. Raynham and C.W.F. Morgan in their Martinsyde 'Raynor'. Another 'also ran' was Sidney Pickles in a Fairey.
And then there was Rear Admiral Sir Mark Edward Frederic Kerr and his crew in the world's largest operational airplane (another converted bomber)- the Handley Page V/1500. Today's article notes the second reincarnation of this big bird after being twice robbed of its intended duties. With a custom-built runway at Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, as their point of embarkation, Kerr had his V/1500 shipped from Britain by sea in over 100 crates. Their plane was reassembled and flying by early June, Kerr's team seemed able to win the prize after Hawker's failure. Alas, while awaiting parts to address cooling issues with their four Rolls Royces, Kerr's team learned of Alcock's & Brown's achievement.
What to do with a disused giant bomber when there's no prize for second place? Kerr was "ordered to quit the transatlantic attempt, but to instead tour the aircraft in the United States. Kerr attempted to arrange his visit to New York with the arrival of the (British airship) R-34 on its east to west flight.... During the flight, Kerr exchanged wireless messages with the R-34. The team left Harbour Grace for New York on 4 July 1919. On the way to New York, the engine started to overhead (sic). There was a loud crack, the engine stopped, and as piece of metal went through the fuselage., which forced them down. In Parrshoro, Nova Scotia, they landed heavily on a small racetrack and destroyed the fuselage and damaged the tail." (via planecrashgirl.ca). They had no choice but to 'throw up the sponge'. Repairs were made and by the time of this article's publication, they did succeed in delivering the first ever air-mail parcel from Nova Scotia to the United States.
(from the Evening World, 15 October 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/0LLOl8c.png)(https://i.imgur.com/upqpTPF.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/8nW0eR0.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/gWti0ii.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/oTGTpX1.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/3lGHL3E.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/1dF9toj.jpg)
The final fate of this machine is unknown to me though a few relics are extant. At a centennial commemoration in 2019, the navigator's seat was presented to the Ottawa House By the Sea museum in Parrsboro. For further good reading, here are two websites:
- https://conceptionbaymuseum.com/2020/07/03/the-handley-page-atlantic-at-sea-level/
- https://planecrashgirl.ca/2019/10/31/kerr-in-harbour-grace/
- https://www.aerosociety.com/news/the-great-transatlantic-race/
(https://i.imgur.com/FXGBQwV.png)
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Had to shake my head over the figures quoted for the vast aerial armada the US was going to send across the Atlantic; we never reached more than a fraction of it. But as a former woodworker what really caught my eye was the casual mention of the three million feet of black walnut & mahogany that were going to get sawn up into props; if you could get it now (which you can't, in those days when they said "mahogany" they meant Cuban mahogany, which is unobtainable now unless you want to chop up antique furniture) you'd be looking at a cost of somewhere well in excess of US$50M just for the raw material...
Dutch
No joke! I've done a bit of carpentry and to think of all those old-growth forests that were leveled to feed the war industry alone...
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Sad Intelligence
There has been an fatal smashup involving four officers and two Bristol F.2b Fighters. One pilot, Benjamin Stewart Buckingham Thomas, was previously shot down by anti-aircraft fire and survived. He and his observer, 2nd Lieutenant C. E. Sparks, were killed whilst flying homebound from a dawn patrol on 4 October when they collided with 2nd Lieutenant D. R. Philips in the second 'Brisfit'. All involved were buried side by side in Grevillers British Cemetery, which lies a few kilometers west of Bapaume.
(from the Carmarthen Weekly Reporter, 16 October 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/LEzbgKz.png)
Thomas' medals were auctioned by Spink not too long ago. Their cataloging tells a bit more of this aviator's story, including a couple of combat reports: https://www.spink.com/lot/22001000529. Have a look at forum member tcraftpilot's late-war Bristol Fighter, from No 1 Squadron: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6869.msg126032#msg126032
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Pilots of the Purple Twilight
Another evocative early-war dogfight scene, with a little poetry thrown in.
(from The War Illustrated Album deLuxe, vol. 1, 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/d40b5fK.jpg)
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Mad Mercedes
Our story from two days ago noted how British pilot Benjamin Stewart Buckingham Thomas was shot down by an anti-aircraft gun but survived). Assuming it was German and not friendly fire, here's a look at what might have been the culprit. Looks like they are storing the explosive ammunition right under the pilot's seat. Convenient.
(from the Souvenir Album of the Great European War, 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/Uic6gl8.jpg)
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Recompensa Valiosa
Pioneer aviator Lieutenant Garcia Santiago Campuzano first flew in 1911 and joined the French Foreign Legion in 1915. At the time of this report he was piloting a Caudron G.6 with Escadrille C.74.
(from the Ogden Standard 19 October 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/kaHcrbw.png)(https://i.imgur.com/TDVfQV7.jpg)
Some interesting background on this lesser-known Great War aviator and Cuba' involvement in the conflict, which included training in the United States:
"Then, during the First World War, and as proposed by senator Colonel Coronado, a member of the Cuban Senate, a group of thirty three Cubans, under the command of Captain Francisco Terry Sanchez, departed to Galveston, Texas in the United States, on the school ship "Patria" of the Cuban Navy, to train as pilots at the University of Texas at Austin, and as mechanics at Kelly Field in San Antonio, in order to structure the Cuban Escadrille and to enter combat duty in Europe.
September 14, 1917 is created this escuadrilla to fight in France, with the name of "Le Escuadrille Cubaine", organized by Santiago Campuzano. Lieutenant Campuzano received the French Medal of Valor while organizing the 2nd Squadron, adding prestige to the Cuban Army. May 15, 1918 a new law authorizes the executive to form an aviation school and to form the Cuban air escuadrille. On May 18th of 1918 by Decree No. 1181, Cuban President General Mario Garcia Menocal ordained the organization of the Aviation Corp and the Aviation School. July 25 Menocal formalizes the "Escuadrille Cubaine" by decree. In August 1918, Captain Terry who saw combat duty with the Lafayette Escadrille was to command Squadron 1, formed by 10 pilots and 20 mechanics and Lieutenant Santiago Campuzano was to be in charge of Squadron 2. In September 6,1918, the 30 men of the Squadron N°1 arrive at the airport Kelly in San Antonio, United States to begin their training. There it is known like Squadron N°322. But the war finished before could be embarked. In April of 1919 the Escuadrilla Cuban returns home." (via urrib2000.narod.ru. Read more here: http://www.urrib2000.narod.ru/Mil1-1-e.html)
Here's a look back at forum member xan's build of another Caudron from C.74: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8102.0
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P.S.
I coincidentally came across another, clearer image of that AEG from the other week:
(https://i.imgur.com/q9irGRU.png)
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Boelcke Wounded?
Continuing this week's antiaircraft sub-theme, here's a report claiming that the legendary German aerial tactician, Oswald Boelcke was injured by an exploding French artillery shell.
Boelcke has headlined here a few times, most recently October 10, when he was reported as still touring the Eastern Front: (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg259692;topicseen#msg259692). In reality, he was already back in the sky over France continuing a string of combat victories since early September. This article is fairly accurate in citing the world's leading ace as having totaled about thirty-two confirmed victories leading into the second week of October. Can anyone confirm that Boelcke was actually wounded by ground fire? Regardless, he has only eight days more to live as on October 28 he will be killed in a mid-air collision with his best friend, Erwin Böhme. In the mean time, several more enemy planes will fall to his guns, bringing his final total to forty wins.
(from the Hawaiian Gazette, 20 October 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/yN9OOb8.png)
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'When Sausages Blazed in the Sky'
A veteran of the 1916 Mexican Punitive expedition, 'Balloon Boy' Sam Moore was floating alone in his observation ballon when eight enemy aircraft closed in. His parachute provided his only chance to escape. Moore bailed from his 'blazing sausage' and lived to fight another day... flying eleven combat missions in the Pacific Theater during WWI.
(from the the Chattanooga News, 21 October 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/sxDLAxm.png)
Here's a full account of Moore's experience; published in the May 1963 issue of Air Force magazine: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/1963/0563balloons.pdf. And here's the announcement of the Siilver Star he received: https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/81178
The U.S. Mexican Expedition headlined here last April: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg253946#msg253946
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M'urica!!
I suppose they've always been a proud bunch. This article notes the most successful combat day to date for the relatively green U.S. Army Air Service. Even though they were still almost entirely reliant of British and French aircraft, this modest milestone marks significant improvement of Signal Corps' inauspicious inaugural combat operations two years earlier in Mexico (see link in yesterday's post).
(from the Evening Leader, 22 October 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/5KX3Yo0.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/ELBBUzG.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/PNbBvZa.png)
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'Outpost of the Skies'
Paired with this week's post on the American balloonist Sam Moore, here's a full-page story on 'gasbags' under French operation.
(from War Illustrated, October 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/Gwwvyrl.jpg)
A French Caquot-type 'Elephants of the Sky' headlined here in December 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg250765#msg250765
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Frisian Fail & Frightful Sight
From the same day the Jagdstaffel 17 was established by the German Luftstreitkräfte, we have two reports on minor actions in the North Sea, which included an ineffectual bombing raid off Norway's coast. Though it may seem like just another day in wartime Europe, to encounter a fleet of eight giant Zeppelins must have been memorable.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 24 October 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/Fw4KDO3.png)
This provides a great opportunity to spotlight forum member kensar's newly minted 350th scale model of Takom's LZ38 of 1915. One of the fun facts in his post is that a quarter-million cows were slaughtered to produce this thing: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=14118.msg259920#msg259920
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Neue Doppeldecker
Put your Google translators to work and you can learn about Rumpler's latest reconnaissance airplane, which looks to me to be a B.1. The upper wing clearly shows the influence of the Taube's contour, as noted in the article. Rumpler built nearly 200 of these for the Luftstreitkräfte, plus twenty-six seaplanes versions for the Imperial German Navy.
(from Der Deutsche Correspondent, 25 October 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/Tn8bqXM.png)
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Hydravion Inconnu
For a second day in a row we are treated to a photo story of an uncommon warbird. I'm not sure of this three-float machine's identity but it looks to be Paul Schmitt type perhaps?
(from the Denbighshire Free Press, 26 October 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/FkCvrkp.png)
Here's a great scratch-built Paul Schmitt P.S.7 in 1/72nd scale by forum member smperry: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10960.msg201928#msg201928
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Crashed into Mast
Raise your hand if you've seen this image before. I certainly have encountered it over the years in various surveys but I never knew the full backstory until catching this article. It's a true tale of a Fairey Hamble Baby floatplane of the RNAS which got snagged in the mists in a mid-September fog. Based on an earlier announcement in the London Gazette, this article notes the three heroes who scaled a monumental Poulson mast on Horsea Island, Portsmouth, and saved the involuntarily perched, unconscious pilot - Commander E. A. de Ville).
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 27 October 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/h19lnWX.png)(https://i.imgur.com/BxycMTj.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/yOv59yh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/9DKyT90.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/jhH3rNL.jpg)
(images from the Daily Sketch, 15 December 1917)
"Fairey Aviation built a number of Sopwith Baby floatplanes at its Hamble works. A variant of the Sopwith Baby was built by the Fairey Aviation Co., Ltd. On 23 October 1916, Sopwith Baby No.8134 was sent to the Fairey works for repair, and the opportunity was taken to rebuild the aircraft to incorporate a number of modifications. The most significant was the Fairey Patent Camber Gear, which was a form of trailing edge flap used to increase lift. On the Fairey-built aircraft, the entire trailing edge of each wing was hinged along the rear spar, lowered by rotating a handwheel in the cockpit. A differential device ensured that the flaps could still be actuated as ailerons; thus, lateral control was maintained. In this modified form, the aircraft was known as the Fairey Hamble Baby. Production Hamble Babies differed in appearance from those built by Sopwith and Blackburn. The planform of wings and tailplane were changed: the wings had increased span and reduced chord, had rounded tips, and the tailplane had a characteristic shape different from the semi-circular outline of the Sopwith original. A new and angular fin, Fairey-designed main floats of new form, and an enlarged tail float were fitted, and the engine cowling was modified.[1] Parnall also produced Hamble Babies, which had some detail differences from the Fairey produced aircraft. The last 74 aircraft were produced by Parnall as landplanes and known as the Hamble Baby Convert." (via wikipedia)
For an idea of what the Hamble Baby looked like up close, check out forum member PrzemoL's Sopwith Baby, also dating to October 1917: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10939.0
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That last post just plain gives me the willies... I hope those Jacks had had their daily tot of rum (or two...) before they climbed that mast.
And that picture is, in fact, a Paul Schmitt, a cropped version of that very photo appears in the Harleyford Marine Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War on pg. 196.
A melancholy digression, Steve Perry was my oldest and best buddy from the WWI List, and sadly he went West six months after posting that 1:72 scratchbuild. One of the most generous souls I've ever met, which I'm sure many other Forum members who knew him from the WWIMML can confirm.
Ave atque vale SP.
Dutch
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What a terrifying situation!
And Dutch, I'm so sorry for your loss.
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A melancholy digression, Steve Perry was my oldest and best buddy from the WWI List, and sadly he went West six months after posting that 1:72 scratchbuild. One of the most generous souls I've ever met, which I'm sure many other Forum members who knew him from the WWIMML can confirm.
Didn't know him but just checked his gallery on the WW1 Page. I never thought, when it was new, that it could also one day serve as a memorial page of sorts. One reason why I like highlighting others' work when I can link them to an article. The internet is forever!
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Navy Airmen Fight... on Land
Led by the plucky Commander Samson, these RNAS 'motor heroes' know how to keep busy - be it at sea, sky or solid ground.
(from the War Illustrated, October 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/XiXcN9U.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/8Y91x2K.jpg)
'Captain Kettle' has headlined a few times now for his various early-war exploits:
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg251298#msg251298
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg252019#msg252019
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg251469#msg251469
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"We know you well..."
I was lamenting that it might be a 'slow news day' as the one aviation-related article I read for this date in history includes no names or aircraft makes. Another aerial action destined to remain anonymous. Though we can infer the date as Tuesday, October 26, nothing matching the brief description here is listed in the Aviation Safety Network's incident database (an incomplete but valuable reference). Thankfully, a little internet sleuthing (and a second cup of coffee) has revealed that today's story must bring news of the 3rd aerial victory of the soon-to-be-famous, future first French ace Jean Navarre. On October 26 he was piloting his new Morane-Saulnier N 'Bullet' monoplane with Escadrille 12, when he forced a German LVG C.II to land near Jaulgonne (Aisne). As noted, the aircraft and its crew were captured intact. It has been recounted that upon meeting Navarre, one of the captured proclaimed, “We know you well on our field, and your little monoplane is dreaded by all. We prefer to have been shot down by you rather than another.”
(from the Llangollen Advertiser, 29 October 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/14LzHyV.png)
Though the information provided by this regional Welsh newspaper is sparse, today's victory proved to eventually become 'well known' among the public. The LVG's capture may have helped inform this November 1916 article published in L'Aérophile: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6552671j/f3.item
In addition to the following images you can read and see more about the 'Sentinel of Verdun' here: https://donhollway.com/jeannavarre/.
(https://i.imgur.com/xQscNIn.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/gpA9dwB.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/lnV3YyC.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/Ddy0lpe.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/8TNQOw5.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ZtMa8Cg.jpg)
Here's a wonderful build commemorating this man and machine, featured on another forum: https://aviation-ancienne.forumactif.com/t7746-1-48-morane-saulnier-type-n-jean-navarre-novembre-1915:
(https://i.imgur.com/KQSSxjs.jpg)
And here's a link to a great build of Navarre's 'Bullet' on this forum by Umlaufmotor: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13285.msg247236#msg247236
Navarre's peronality and antics made for good press. Though unintentional, he's probably the most frequently featured aviator in our 'On this Day' series:
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg243671;topicseen#msg243671
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg254067;topicseen#msg254067
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg248078#msg248078
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg256508;topicseen#msg256508
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255670;topicseen#msg255670
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg244398;topicseen#msg244398
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What Could Have Been
Metz, which stands in the Alsace-Lorraine territory, has been a coveted strategic asset between France and Germany for centuries. Under the 1871 Treaty of Frankfurt, Metz was annexed into the newly created German Empire. Controlling this city's railway station, which was directly linked to Berlin, was actually written into Germany's Schlieffen Plan. As such, Metz was remained a strategic military target throughout the Great War (and again in WW2).
The nearby Toul-Croix De Metz Airfield was acquired by American Expeditionary Force in April 1918. Several US aviation units spent time there, including the 1st Aero Squadron (image below). Today's report likely pertains to ongoing support of the Meuse–Argonne offensive that was a bloody part of the final Allied advance of the conflict, which stretched along the entire Western Front.
(from the Arizona Republican, 30 October 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/h2qG3D6.png)(http://i.imgur.com/5zlj0y6.jpg) (https://imgur.com/5zlj0y6)[(https://i.imgur.com/sYQHfau.jpg)
(the second photo from the album of famous photographer Edward Steichen, via archive.artic.edu)
What if?: Had the war continued past the November 11 Armistice into February 1919, Billy Mitchell (often considered the father of the US Air Force) might have made military history with the first planned large-scale paratrooper operation:
"Mitchell... had already employed aircraft in mass formations to clear the skies of enemy aircraft and to strafe and bomb enemy troop positions and supply lines. In September 1918, he had commanded more than 1,400 Allied aircraft, an unprecedented total, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The next month he approached Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, with an idea to break the trench stalemate. Mitchell proposed using British-made Handley Page bombers, as well as Italian-built Capronis, to drop infantrymen plus medium-size machine guns behind enemy lines. He argued that such a surprise attack would catch the Germans manning the trenches in a deadly vis —Allied infantry would attack from the front while the paratroopers would attack from the rear. The Germans would undoubtedly break and flee, and mobility would finally be restored to the battlefield after nearly four years of stalemate.
Mitchell said, “We had a plan, which we were going to try this spring if the war had not stopped, and it would have worked, too. We were going to send our men over the German lines in airplanes and drop them down in parachutes and let them attack the enemy in the rear, while our men were attacking the front.” He said he planned to use the 1st Infantry Division—12,000 men—to be dropped at Metz. His plan was superior to those being drawn for a major ground offensive against Metz, because that city was guarded by “division after division of the crack troops of the German army, anticipating our move.” Using the ground plan, Metz would eventually have fallen, Mitchell argued, but at tremendous cost—yet another bloodbath for which the Western Front had become infamous." (Phillip S. Meilinger, Billy Mitchell’s Parachute Plan, Air Force Magazine, 2014)
Read more on this 'could have been' situation here: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/2014/August%202014/0814mitchell.pdf. An earlier application of the concept paratrooper operations headlined here last January: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg252040#msg252040
That looks like a Bréguet XIV in the background of todays article. Check out this 1/48 Hi-Tech build of a similar Bréguet in French service by forum member andonio64: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9965.msg181414#msg181414
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Transylvania Thriller
On this All Hallow's Eve, enigmatic news emerges from a remote corner on the Eastern Front of the capturing of a 'remarkable' yet unidentified flying aircraft. The mysterious pilot, named only 'Beatche' remains elusive to online searches. Who knows what sort of Transylvanian 'two-seater' this might have been? Perhaps these arcane antique postcards might shed some light.
(from The Herald, 31 October 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/QvBZkde.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/8QPRoPb.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/lk9ljwe.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/seFY0HL.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/8jOsAWG.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/dohwGvI.jpg)
Happy Halloween!
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Junkyard Jackpot
Here's another well-known wartime image of an RAF repair depot, 'somewhere in France' (I forget where exactly). How many different airplane types can you spot? Wouldn't this make for a fun collaborative diorama? I'd take on the wingless Armstrong Whitworth FW.8 in the foreground.
(from the International Film Service, 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/jTwlsWO.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/cfyWrD1.jpg)
(clear image via the RAF Museum collection)
Here's an airworthy FK.8 by forum member FAf: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12539.msg234411#msg234411
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Sad Coda to a Busy Year
Next to Navarre, Oswald Boelcke seems to headline here most often. Here are two stories featuring the fabled fighter pilot that were published exactly one year apart to the day. The first notes the first German ace's sixth victory (over a French two-seater). Fast forward 354 days and we read of Boelcke's accidental death. In that timespan had notched thirty-four more kills, codified the Dicta Boelcke, helped organize the Jagdstaffel, undertook his 'ace chase' against Immelmann, saved a drowning French child, earned the Pour le Mérite, became the youngest captain in the German military, became the world's leading ace, took a forced holiday, and toured the Ottoman Empire (as reported here recently: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg259692;topicseen#msg259692).
(respectively from the Evening Star and the Minneapolis Tidende, 2 November 1915/16):
(https://i.imgur.com/Qmx4yQa.png)(https://i.imgur.com/YWaqZjm.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/RyNjbMN.png)
The second article, loosely translated from Danish, "Berlin, 30th Oct. - Captain Boelcke, greatest hero among the globe, is dead. During a sortie on Saturday he collided with another Aeroplane and died, falling behind the lines. Before
his death he shot down his 40th Aeroplane."
Another recent post on this airman: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg259929;topicseen#msg259929
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Are You Real?
I wonder how many 'balloon riggers' are out there in the workforce today...
(from the Birmingham Age-Herald, 3 November 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/9Qv8zSn.png)
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Dead Zeppelin
These images show the wreckage of a Zeppelin though I'm not 100% certain yet which. Perhaps LZ 72, which was shot down outside London in October 1916? Anyone know?
(respectively from the St. Landry Clarion and the International Film Service, 4 November 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/aTYNXmB.png)(https://i.imgur.com/2pM2Epq.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/D1Zu4D7.jpg)
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Just catching up, and was fascinated by the photo of Boelcke in the post from two days ago. I'm deep into the early German aces at the moment, reading Van Wyngarden's Osprey book and doing online research with an eye towards doing either the WnW E.I or E.II as my next project... looking closely at the line of pilots, it was easy to recognize the bespectacled Kurt Wintgens standing three places back:
(https://i.postimg.cc/Y08MhzKC/3-C06-AD2-C-BF5-D-4-A9-C-A5-A7-2826-E2-FF2-A4-B.jpg)
The taller guy with the moustache standing in front of Boelcke might be pre-War aeroplane designer and test-pilot Walter Höhndorf, but it's hard to tell since there's a shadow that's keeping you from seeing whether he's wearing the Pour le Merit.
Great post, and as always thanks for putting the effort into this series!
Dutch
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Good catch! Love to learn all this stuff. Thanks for sharing.
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Italy's 'Guynemer'
Today's pictorial feature spotlights Lieutenant Flavio Torello Baracchini, one of Italy's leading air fighters. At the time of this article the ace had already notched twelve victories with the newly formed 81a Squadriglia..
(from the Fargo Forum, 5 November 1917)
(https://i.imgur.com/M7y5Avp.png)
Baracchini last headlined here in a 1918 article published after he had enjoyed a sting of fifteen aerial victories within 6 weeks:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg256659#msg256659
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Herald of the Gods
Named after the Greek deity, HMS Hermes was launched as a cruiser in 1898, and initially commissioned for service on the North America and West Indies Station. In 1913, "work began to modify her to accommodate three seaplanes... to evaluate the use of aircraft in support of the fleet. Her forward 6-inch gun was removed and a tracked launching platform was built over the forecastle. A canvas hangar was fitted at the aft end of the rails to shelter the aircraft from the weather and a derrick was rigged from the foremast to lift the seaplane from the water. The guns on the quarterdeck were removed to allow for a seaplane to be stowed there in another hangar. A third aircraft could also be carried amidships, exposed to the elements. Three storage lockers were fitted with a total capacity of 2,000 imperial gallons (9,100 L; 2,400 US gal) of petrol in tins." (via wikipedia)
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 6 November 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/mkWQjWU.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/xeut2oW.png)
(image: the Hermes in its original configuration; Library of Congress collection)
(https://i.imgur.com/dhe11nt.jpg)
(image: Short Admiralty Type 81 'Folder' in the slinging process; via wikipedia)
On 30 October, "...she arrived at Dunkirk with one load of seaplanes. The next morning, Hermes set out on the return journey but was recalled because a German submarine was reported in the area. Despite zigzagging at a speed of 13 knots... she was torpedoed by U-27 at a range of 300 yards. Hermes sank off Ruylingen Bank in the Straits of Dover with the loss of 21 of her crew. Her wreck lies upside down in approximately 30 metres of water. In January 2017, two English divers were charged with failing to declare items removed from the wreck of Hermes, in contravention of the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986." (via wikipedia). Read more here: https://www.coastalheritage.org.uk/Hermes.html
(https://i.imgur.com/WxJxaT0.jpg)
(image via coastalheritage.org).
Here's a model of the ship (scale and maker unkown) show the launch pad on the foredeck and the canvas hangar aft:
(https://i.imgur.com/jQPWHgt.jpg)
The fate of the HMS Hermes received brief mention here last January in post discussing the sinking of another seaplane tender, Ben-my-Chree: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg251469#msg251469. Though this iteration of the HMS Hermes had a rather inauspicious career, its name and purpose was would soon be reincarnated as Britain's first purpose-built aircraft carrier (in the modern sense) in 1919:
(https://i.imgur.com/sQAtXq4.jpg)
(image via reddit)
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Sopwith Sinks
As covered here before the British Admiralty was hard at work throughout the Great War developing a seaplane that could effective carry and deliver a torpedo. By early 1915 at least three competing firms produced long-span tractor airplanes, including Short Bros. (namely their Admiralty Type 184), White & Co (with their Wight Admiralty Type 810), and Sopwith Aviation with their Admiralty Type 860. All three employed some of the most powerful engines available in Britain at the time, primarily the 200hp Salmson 2m7, and the 225hp Sunbeam. Sopwith employed both motors in the 22 machines they constructed for the Royal Naval Air Service.
The Short proved by far the most successful of the three and actually achieved the first successful sinking of an enemy ship in combat (reported here in August 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg247358;topicseen#msg247358). A Wight also scored a torpedo hit against an enemy vessel in combat (reported here last month: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg259726#msg259726). Sopwith's creation was not as impactful, though it did remain in service into 1916, while the company moved on to other designs. Their torpedo-carrying Cuckoo debuted during the conflict's final month, though it saw no combat service.
Today's report notes the failure of one of Sopwith's rarities (serial #851) over the waters near Sopwith's sheds at Woolston. The disaster claimed the life of Sopwith's design engineer and acting flight observer, Reginal Alston - the first death of a Sopwith employee. Pilot, and Sopwith's chief mechanic, Victor Mahl (pictured here in the cockpit of #851 and beside it on the slipway) survived. Mahl died five months following, evidently also while testing seaplanes, though not from a crash but rather... appendicitis.
(from the Glamorgan Gazette, 7 November 1914)
(https://i.imgur.com/90hpY3g.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/dI11qvI.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/mKKiK9h.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/7Ht4lWx.jpg)
Brief mention of the Sopwith Admiralty Type 860 appeared in the same article on the Ben-my-Chree linked to yesterday: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg251469#msg251469
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Reclaimed 'Cripple'
This forlorn R.E.8 from the Royal Aircraft Factory looks to be on it way to be either restored or cannibalized for parts. I see the censor has redacted the machine's serial number from its tail fin.
(from the Illustrated War News, 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/7IL90b7.png)
Check out forum member IanB's rendition of Airfix's old-school R.E.8 in 1/72: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7688.msg141326#msg141326
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Aerial Acquiescence?
I'm unsure of the make of this plane... Lloyd C.II maybe?
Assuming this 'most remarkable' photo is real and not plain propaganda, it almost seems this aviator is waiving hello rather than surrendering. Cases of mid-air capitulations were indeed documented during the Great War (including one rather rude incident that headlined here in July 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg246344#msg246344). While I'm somewhat doubtful of this doctored silhouette it does appear that the French captor truly existed. Online info on Lieutenant Rémy Grassal, an aerial observer, is somewhat sparse. Nothing else pertaining to this alleged submission is recorded - particularly not in Grassal's posthumous full-page biography published in La Guerre aérienne illustrée during the war(see below).
(from the Fulton County News, 8 November 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/XMFfavZ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/2GZvByW.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/iXxUZeY.png)
(image via gallica.bnf.fr)
(https://i.imgur.com/VJkkzsV.jpg)
"I stare Death in the face every day." Grassal is said to have stated. He wrote in one of his last letters, “Don’t forget that I am hand-holding a little the host of heaven".
Grassal's aforementioned bio notes that on his last day, 2 February 1916) he, "leaves on a two-seater piloted by Sergeant Grivotté to protect reconnaissance planes. At 3,000 meters above Péronne, he encountered a Fokker. Grassal immediately engages the combat. We hear the crackling of the two machine guns. Suddenly those who, from below, follow the phases of the encounter, see the French two-seater suddenly dive as it leaves, deprived of direction, spinning, in a frightful fall... The disabled plane will crash into enemy lines. It was only two months later that we learned that Sergeant Grivotté had had a bullet pierce his head. His observer, Remy Grassal, doomed to certain death by the tragic end of his pilot, was himself hit by several bullets. He died the same day as a result of his injuries and his fall.".
There is no mention of the two-seater type Grassal fought their enemy 'Fokker' in. The Aviation Safety Network website lists a single comparable crash for this same date - a Voisin two-seater downed by the German flyer Rudolf Berthold. The Aerodrome page for Berthold notes that this was the future air ace's very first victory, which occurred over Chaulnes. Péronne and Chaulnes are less than 16 kilometers apart; however is is recorded in 'Above the Lines' that Berthold's victims this day were Corporal Arthur Jacquin and Sous lieutenant Pierre Segaud. So Grassaal's vanquisher remains a mystery.
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Drachen Hunter
French aviator Marcel Léopold Bloch earns ace status in today's news for downing his fifth German kite balloon while avoiding 'sham sausages' east of Bapaume. Everything I've read about balloon busting suggests it was a dangerous business. The multiple bullet wounds Bloch repeatedly sustained underscores this. The citation with Bloch's Médaille Militaire, awarded three months earlier, reads:
"Remarkable pilot having a high point of perception and duty. His bravery proven to all, he has distinguished himself during the course of combats, by attacks on balloons on 26 and 29 June, 1 and 3 July 1916, returning each time with his plane riddled by bullets. On 3 July 1916, charged with destruction of a balloon, he accomplished his mission after having received two severe wounds."
I'm not sure if he was flying his Escadrille N.62 Nieuport armed with Le Prieur rockets, or his new SPAD VII on this day. Bloch also earned the Légion d'honneur, the Croix de Guerre (worn in portrait below), the Russian Order of Saint George, and the Order of Saint Anne.
(from the South Bend News Times, 10 November 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/2UkEtmy.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/TwyiLfi.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/Ru2Pjh8.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/XmsEWRO.png)
(Profile via http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille062.htm)
(https://i.imgur.com/4tixFLW.png)
More on Bloch's bio here: https://www.as14-18.net/Bloch
Check out this tiny Nieuport also from N62 by forum member 1/144_Nut: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10118.msg183532#msg183532
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Cheating Death
For a third consecutive day the spotlight remains focused on French aviators. Today's subject is the pioneer pilot known for looping-the-loop in his Bleriot who would become a wartime ace. Maxime Lenoir, who flew with Escadrille N23 and was noted for his bravery, has been reported missing. Lenoir was among the first pilots to be issued the new SPAD VII (as was Marcel Bloch, who headlined yesterday). Lenoir emblazoned his particular mount with the motto Trompe le Mort. Alas, no one can deceive death indefinitely. Though unknown at the press time, Lenoir had already been killed in action on October 25. The Germans erected a simple wooden cross near the spot where the wreckage of his SPAD crashed into the earth.
(from the South Wales Weekly Post, 11 November 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/uozUd3j.png)(https://i.imgur.com/EtYqc7y.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/werHoIJ.png)[img]https://i.imgur.com/qAdg4xI.jpg[/img
Here's a 1/48 scale build of one of Lenoir's earlier airplanes with N23, by forum member Borsos: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6913.msg127013#msg127013
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Ten Minutes to Destiny
Published one day after the Armistice, here's an amazing tale of luck and pluck. On the run from Fère-en-Tardenois with no fuel, an over-boiling engine and a jammed machine gun, Lieutenant Donald Hudson became an ace status by defeating three German planes in exactly ten minutes in his new SPAD XIII. Hudson was recognized with two previous and one subsequent victory to this August incident. Included among his six kills are four Fokker D.VII's Who knows where the skies would have taken him had the war lasted longer?
(from the Washington Times, 12 November 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/aUsxwvw.png)(https://i.imgur.com/J3D8psH.jpg)
After the war Hudson took himself to the skies over South America where he, "began a series of record-setting flights; for instance, his use of the Wasp made him the only triplane pilot in South American history. On 17 April 1920, he took off from El Alto near La Paz and flew across the Andes for the mountain chain's first aerial crossing. Another flight took him to Lake Titicaca and set a South American altitude record of 8,294 meters (27, 211 feet) above sea level. Another high level flight like that, on 19 May, resulted in Hudson landing the Wasp with a mechanic passenger rendered unconscious by cold and the altitude. On a flight between Oruro and La Paz, Hudson crashed the Wasp near Sica Sica. The destruction of the plane seems to have ended his influence, as he was then investigated by Bolivian authorities. (via wikipedia)
Check out forum member epeeman's build of the 1/28th scale Revell kit of a SPAD XIII in American markings:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3756.msg63773#msg63773
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Loop Crazy
Meanwhile back in the States...
I wish I could find an action shot of this Ivy-Leaguer who served overseas with the U.S. Army Air Service. Despite his dizzying feat Lieutenant George Torrence Overholt doesn't seem to have made it into the history books quite yet. Interestingly his daughter-in-law just died only six months ago.
(from the Martinsburg Evening Journal, 13 November 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/juuvWe5.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/crJW12C.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/odES52T.png)
(second text: 'Yale in the World War', volume 2, page 395
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Aboard an Airship
What a thrill that must have been to experience.
(from the Illustrated War News, 14 November 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/yHVqlmB.jpg)
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Colonial Contributions
Early during the Great War, British citizens developed a fundraising scheme where each dominion and territory was called upon to donate in support of increasing the Royal Flying Corps' aircraft supply. "Each section of the Empire was asked by the Over-Seas Club to present an airplane to the Royal Flying Corps, to be named after the district which contributed the money towards its purchase. At the same time an appeal was made by the Patriotic League of Britons Over-Seas, of which H.M. The King is also Patron, to British subjects resident outside the Empire to make a joint gift to the Royal Navy." (via airminded.org). This flock of disparate donations would eventually become known as The Imperial Aircraft Flotilla. Has anyone here built a model related to this war effort?
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 15 November 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/OULcfAr.png)(https://i.imgur.com/IVUUZ4W.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/3G8ApPb.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/hh4KaPS.jpg)
Do any of you have the corresponding decal sets by Blue Rider or Avalon? Check out forum member Jamo's review of the Avalon printing here: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9684.0. Here's how the Blue Rider set looks:
(https://i.imgur.com/Jcm5OBG.jpg)
Here's an interesting three-part series on this subject from 2014 via airminded.org: https://airminded.org/2014/06/21/the-imperial-aircraft-flotilla-iii/
Check out forum member dirks' build of a similar presentation F.E.2b: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=962.0
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Missing Sopwith
Be on the lookout!
(from the Barre Daily Times, 17 November 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/brF2pp4.png)
P.S. In case you feel the reward is a bit cheap... $10 equates to a little over $300 today.
Here's a priceless Sopwith built by forum member rhallinger from back in 2012: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1242.0
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Is everything okay PJ? It feels strange not to have seen an update from you for so long!
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Hey, thanks for checking in! Been busy travelling (nothing exciting) but will post again once I am back to my computer. Cheers!
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Capitaine Courageous
Two international reports bring news of a most-daring one-man bombing raid against Germany that involved a treacherous crossing of the Alps. French flyer Louis Robert de Beauchamp flew from Ameins to Munich to Venice in order accomplish his noteworthy mission, which occurred on morning of 17 November.
(respectively from the Cambria Daily Leader and the Richmond Virginian, 18 November 1916; and the South Wales Weekly Post 25 November 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/dkl9pYv.png)(https://i.imgur.com/kLNjsxV.png)(https://i.imgur.com/ylGLbUh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/I7XHZb2.png)
Read a little more on Beauchamp's historic 'Munich-Venice Express' via this Cross & Cockade snippet: https://www.crossandcockade.com/uploads/Beauchamp.pdf
I'm not sure exactly what type of machine Beauchamp was piloting that day, but here's a rendition of a Nieuport 16 he flew a few month earlier. Brough to you in 1/48th scale by forum member Borsos: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6913.msg127013#msg127013
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'Parallel Supermen'?
This windy retrospective of the beloved French ace Georges Guynemer seems to suggest that he tangled with Germany's revered top-scorer Manfred von Richtofen in a long-awaited matchup on his final mission... though clearly this was not the case.
(from the Evening Current, 19 November 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/29fG2Oo.png)(https://i.imgur.com/kzvnBod.png)(https://i.imgur.com/0OYaz5X.png)
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Some Heroes
Anglo-Aerophiles may know most of these chaps. How many faces do you recognize?
(from the The War Illustrated Album DeLuxe, 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/sddIAgo.jpg)
The names Samson, Marix and Gray have certainly headlined here before. Following are anecdotes that help color in the portraits of some of these lesser-known heroes:
Walter Bertram Wood
"... used his Nieuport 17 fighter to... set an Albatros reconnaissance aircraft on fire... '...I make straight for the leader of their patrol.... I hear a faint pop, pop, pop and at the same time a number of small holes appear in my bottom planes. Jolly good shooting for he is still a 100 yards off.... I start turning, spinning, and diving away until I am behind him.... I get him in my sights.. Pop, pop, pop. About 20 rounds I fire at him.... A small light appears in his machine. Hurrah! he's on fire. I have hit his petrol tank. Now the whole machine is a mass of flames. Down it crashes and flaming pieces fall off during the descent. Poor bugger! I hope a bullet hit him first: but it can't be helped..."
Sydney Sippe
During a crash "...was thrown forward with some violence and his nose came into collision with one of the steel tubes. The nose came off worst, and a piece of flesh was removed from the inside of his thigh. A well-meaning friend rushed up with a flask of whisky, which he thrust into the pilot's mouth, and so Sydney Sippe arrived home to his mother with a broken nose, a bleeding thigh—and slightly intoxicated."
Alfred Horace Gerrard
"...Gerrard flew Farman MF.11s and F.E.2Bs as a night bomber pilot, crashing and injuring his back on one occasion when his undercarriage fell off. During the Second World War.... Following a plane crash in which he was badly injured, he almost had an arm amputated, but persuaded his doctors to save it so that he could continue sculpting. In the austerity years after the Second World War, Gerrard kept the [Slade School of Fine Art] supplied with raw materials for sculpting by salvaging stone, wood and metal from bomb sites"
Gerald Gordon Bell
"...had numerous engagements with hostile aircraft, invariably displaying marked gallantry and leadership of a high order, notably... when he, accompanied by another pilot, attacked a formation of twelve enemy scouts; he shot down one in flames and drove down others out of control, only breaking off the engagement when all his ammunition had been expended."
Arthur Henry Leslie Soames
"...took part in the very first British deployment of aircraft to a theatre of war, as part of the British Expeditionary Force... and piloted a B.E.2a biplane to Boulogne. The aviators were greeted by French well-wishers after touching down... On 7 July 1915 Arthur tested an experimental high-explosive bomb and its fuse. He retreated at least 80 metres away and stood behind a tree for protection. However, he was struck by a fragment of the bomb and died soon afterwards."
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Farman Alighting
Britain's Royal Naval Air Service operated a misfit gaggle of aircraft in the Dardanelles through much of 1915 and into 1916. A handful of French pushers were employed, primarily the Voisin III, and Farman types HF.20 and HF.27. Looks like it could be a Farman MF.7 receiving much attention on the beach at what may be Tenedos, though I am uncertain.
(from the International Film Service, 21 November 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/qZRt8LR.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/oUlArzt.jpg)
(image: an aerial view of the Dardenelles from an RNAS pusher.
Here's another look back at lone modeler's scatch-built 1/72-scale MF.7: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=4717.msg83208#msg83208
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Poor Butterfly
I do believe this 1/2-page photo story depicts mechanics of No. 18 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps attempting to salvage an F. E. 2B. overturned in a gale at Lovieville Aerodrome.
(from the Illustrated War News, 22 November 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/5ZSb78h.png)
Need more pushers in your life? Have a double dose of FE.2b's via forum member PrzemoL: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11810.msg220172#msg220172
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Time to Celebrate
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone around the world!
(https://i.imgur.com/zKuSTSB.jpg)
Meanwhile, this article celebrates the 'new music' enjoyed among American GI's at the Great War's conclusion.
(from the El Paso Herald, 23 November 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/fEhZDNa.png)
Much like the nostalgic English music-hall chestnut "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary", "Sidewalks of New York' predated the Great War but resonated with millions serving far from home. They are still remembered today. Take a rest from the frontlines for a few minutes to enjoy this period recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhSoLIDRBow
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"The Night Raiders"
An ode to Gothas... and their 'orgie of mechanical butchery'... with a chaser in the spirit of 'Keep Calm & Carry On'.
(from the Llanelly Star, 24 November 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/yv3u9AD.png)
Check forum guest modelmaker's Gotha build from way back in 2012: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=188.0
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Ad Astra
Just two weeks after the Armistice this snippet of stats showing the evolution of British aircraft performance during the war years was published.
(from the Wheeling Intelligencer, 25 November 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/9qamqM7.png)
Coincidentally five generations of my family grew up in the city where this article went to press... I wonder if any ancestors might have read about 'Haviland Fours' on this day in 1918, as the town reeled from the Influenza pandemic while preparing for Thanksgiving, which would occur in two day. Here's a great build of the old 1/72 Airfix Airco D.H.4 by forum member Brad Cancian: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12604.msg235408#msg235408
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Lunatic Hero
He was the first person to pilot an airplane from England to Ireland... but he crashed in the sea 200 feet before his destination. He was the first Brit to transmit radio signals from an airplane.... though one fellow pilot called him 'a holy terror'. The OED credits him with the first written use of the term 'joystick'... his mechanics dubbed him a 'lunatic'.
Though Robert Lorraine, a society stage celebrity, had already been a certified pilot for four years when the war broke out, upon acceptance in the the Royal Flying Corps he immediately crashed two airplanes and so was given an observer assignment. But the 'actor-airman' persevered. After convalescing from a grievous combat wound, by the spring of 1915 Lorraine was officially an RFC pilot. Two months after his appointment as commander of B Flight, No 5 Squadron, the 39-year-old flyer was maneuvering a Vickers F.B.5 'Gunbus' when the events of today's news unfolded.
(from the North Wales Chronicle, 26 November 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/uktc1Xi.png)(https://i.imgur.com/YswBece.png)
Lorraine's inconsistencies continued throughout the war - he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Wing Commander while running a drama society. After facing court martial for allegedly being drunk on duty he reverted to rank of major and became Commanding Officer of 211 Squadron RAF. Lorraine finished the war having earned the Distinguished Service order and Military Cross. Soon thereafter he married hero-pilot Reginald Warneford's cousin Winifred Lydia Strangman. Lorraine's best man was Duncan Pitcher who had been in charge of the RFC radio-control weapons that led to the first powered military drone aircraft, which headlined here last April: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg254281#msg254281
Read more of this intriguing character:
- https://www.apw.airwar1.org.uk/loraine.htm
- https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/robert-bobbie-loraine-mc-actor-airman/
Check out forum member lone modeller's Vickers F.B.5 and F.B.9 Gunbuses: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1886.msg30772#msg30772
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"Only the Beginning"
Hoarfrost clutched the wind-whipped stony fields around Belfort Aerodrome that Saturday morning. Temperatures hovered near 3° centigrade while mechanics of Britain's Royal Naval Air Service prepped four freshly uncrated Avro 504 two-seaters, which had arrived in darkness seven days previous. Their maiden flight: a secret mission that would test the limits of their operational endurance; requiring the addition of a second fuel tank, and the invention of one of the first operational bomb racks. Each plane would omit its observer in order to carry the needed petrol and four 20lb Hale bombs (the only aerial bomb available to British forces at the start of the Great War). To preserve confidentiality, all crew involved were required to eat, sleep and work within the cement-floored airship shed on loan from the French Aéronautique Militaire. Though no airships had yet raided England, the Churchillian doctrine of 'killing the hornet by striking its nest' inspired this preemptive raid against the Germany Zeppelin factory at Friedrichshafen.
One of these four fledgling warbirds never left Belfort's makeshift airfield. Avro #179 (the very first of its type constructed for the Admiralty) snapped its tail skid - preventing it from joining what has been called history's 'first long-range strategic bombing raid' and 'one of the finest air exploits of the war'. The remaining three airplanes of 'Avro Flight', piloted by Squadron Commander E. F. Briggs, Flight Commander J. T. Babington, and Flight Lieutenant S. V. Sippe (mentioned here just three days ago: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg260912#msg260912) were aloft by 10:00am. It would be a four-hour round trip as they were ordered to follow the Rhine towards their target then skirt around neutral Switzerland before skimming the Bodensee... at an altitude of 10 feet!
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 27 November 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/s7PlVBz.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/LHfb4xn.png)(https://i.imgur.com/D7pdIbe.png)
(images of Avro Flight via the IWM Collection)
(https://i.imgur.com/DMnDUsD.png)
"They arrived over their objective at about noon, and, although under a very heavy rifle, machine-gun and shrapnel fire from the moment they were sighted, they all three dived steeply to within a few hundred feet of the sheds, when they released their bombs—in all eleven." (London Gazette, 1 January 1915). "Coming directly over the works they loosed their bombs, and the crash of the explosions mingled with the roar of firing guns, the sharp bark of rifles and the tat-tat-tat of machine-guns—all of which the Germans turned upon the daring aviators, who swept round in wide circles, their planes riddled by the bullets. When the third airman emerged from the cloud-bank he saw that his commander was in trouble: his machine was dropping. An unlucky bullet had pierced the petrol tank, the engine petered out, and the gallant pilot knew that he would have to descend. He kept his head, however, and maintained control over his mount until he had brought it to a graceful landing near the devastated works. A crowd of Germans immediately surrounded him, and their appearance was so threatening that the Commander drew his revolver, thus keeping at bay the angry foe, who did not know that the revolver was empty! In due course a German officer came up and Commander Briggs surrendered, not a little mortified that his successful attack should have come to such an inglorious end." (via heritage-history.com).
"This is only the beginning", Briggs is said to have exclaimed to his captors. One month later the RNAS would strike again with their famous Christmas-Day Cuxhaven Raid: (reported here last January: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg251267#msg251267)
There's so much more to this story. For further reading:
- https://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/thread.php?threadid=9619
- https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=wood&book=airmen&story=raids
- https://ww1blog.osborneink.com/?p=3021
And click here to see photos of Brigg's captured Avro: https://www.facebook.com/avroheritagemuseum/posts/on-this-day-104-years-ago-the-avro-504-launched-a-daring-bombing-raid-over-germa/895239527342371/
Forum member Tim Mixon brings one of these Avro raiders to life with his build of the old 1/72 Airfix kit: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13395.msg248653#msg248653. And to accompany him, here's an updated 3D rendering of the 20lb Hale Bomb I designed last spring presented as how it would have looked like falling from that overcast sky in 1914. Hoping to have these 3D resin prints ready for sale soon. Today the site is home to the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin_Museum_Friedrichshafen.
(https://i.imgur.com/Ev1zTUZ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/fdoh2Av.png)
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Forced Down on First Flight
Fate dealt Belgian aviation pioneer George Mestach a bad hand when a blizzard obliged him to land behind German lines on his inaugural mission with the Compagnie des Aviateurs. He, his observer, and their Bleriot XI-2 were put out of the war. Mestach was repatriated following the armistice. He died serving the nascent airline industry in the Belgian Congo in 1920.
(from the The Sun, 28 November 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/Bq9ofEs.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/LegLRW3.jpg)
Mestach was particularly renowned across North America for prewar aerial exploits in his 50hp Borel-Morane monoplane. Both man and machine survived multiple crashes, including one involving the continent's first fatal mid-air collision. Though Mestach met his fate over one-hundred years ago this plane endures today in the Canada Air and Space Museum. It is the oldest extant aircraft to have flown in that country.
(https://i.imgur.com/yPnAhZx.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/BirhVeo.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/rzqa1tg.jpg)
(images via ingeniumcanada.org)
I'm intrigued by rare aeroplanes including the short-lived Borel make. A dozen or so Borel monoplanes saw wartime service with the Royal Naval Air Service. I've been tinkering for a little with with rough drafts of the airframe and engine. Some day I'll get around to building an actual physical model again but for now this is fun enough.
(https://i.imgur.com/ezb81cv.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/byLx3nw.png)
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Converted Cunarder Campania Collides with Courageous-Class Cruiser
It was a self-inflicted wound when the unanchored Royal Navy aircraft carrier ingloriously slammed against HMS Glorious during an unexpected squall. Recommissioned in the spring of 1915, Campania's, "two forward 4.7-inch guns were removed in favour of a 160-foot flying-off deck. Two derricks were fitted on each side to transfer seaplanes between the water and the two holds. The amidships hold had the capacity for seven large seaplanes. The forward hold, underneath the flight deck, could fit four small seaplanes, but the flight deck had to be lifted off the hold to access the airplanes. The remains of the four {Fairey} Campania aircraft and seven {Sopwith} 1½ Strutters that she had on board when she sank are still entombed in her wreck". (via wikipedia)
The ill-fated ship never saw combat.
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, .29 November 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/fLxxBwH.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/1lj2EKc.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/eXhHkav.jpg)
(images via naval-encyclopedia.com)
The Fairey Campania was the world's first aircraft specifically designed for carrier operations. Here's another look at a 1/72nd-scale scratch-built example shared by forum member Skyhook: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12504.msg233885#msg233885
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Take the Money and Run
This guy was truly a smooth operator...
(from the New-York Tribune, 30 November 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/OTMZ41v.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/SVccERZ.jpg)
"After the war's end, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to build any aircraft or aircraft engines. Despite the strict disarmament conditions in the treaty, Fokker did not return home empty-handed: he managed to smuggle six goods-trains' worth of D.VII and C.I military aircraft and spare parts out of Germany across the German-Dutch border. Author Weyl says that Fokker used 350 railway wagons and made sure that each train was too long to fit into the railway sidings where trains were normally checked for contraband. Weyl quotes Fokker himself as saying that he paid 20,000 Dutch guilders in bribes. The trains included 220 aeroplanes, more than 400 aero engines and much other material. This initial stock enabled him to quickly set up shop, but his focus shifted from military to civil aircraft such as the very successful Fokker F.VII/3m trimotor.
Fokker describes his escape from Germany as a harrowing tale in which he protected as many workers as possible and escaped with less than a quarter of his net worth. Fokker also failed to pay taxes to German authorities, and actually owed more than 14 million Marks. Fokker's autobiography tells a similar story, but focuses on the rampant corruption, hyper-inflation, economic meltdown, and violent revolutionary forces of the pre-Weimar days." (via wikipedia)
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***BREAKING NEWS***
Albert Ball KILLS Max Immelmann!!??
Must have been a quiet newsroom (or a wild party) in southern Wyoming when this fantastical duel-to-the-death 'exclusive' was dreamt up!
(from the Laramie Republican, 1 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/i0cETcI.png)(https://i.imgur.com/zEoyXOW.png)(https://i.imgur.com/vTHyaBb.png)
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'Rumpler' Revealed
Compared to yesterday's tall tale, here's an informative full page worth reading. Translation below. Does anyone recognize the exact make of this airplane?
(from Le Miroir, December 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/IcXa2xe.png)
"The Rumpler is the most widely used aircraft currently in the German army. Of mixed type, it is used for bombardment and cruising as well as for various reconnaissance. Its armament consists of one or two machine guns. He was recently shot down on the French front. Its engine, which is fixed and water-cooled, of the Mercedes type, had been dismantled at the time the photograph was taken. Here is the nomenclature of the essential parts of the device. (The engine was removed at the front. Numbers indicate main parts):
1° fuel tank
2° tubes showing the quantity of gasoline contained in the tank
3° oil tank
4° spacer maintaining the fuselage clearance
5° spacer maintaining the wing support clearance
6° wing supports
7° sliding support pins
8° wing support observer
9° pilot’s seat
10° wing control wheel
11° toothed wheel meshing with the steel cables
12° warping cables
13° rudder pedals
14° rudder cables
15° electrical appliances box
16° pressure gauge indicating oil pressure
17° aluminum bottom of the plane
18° squares for bombs"
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Beardmore Aero-Engines
William Beardmore & Co. became involved in aviation in 1913, when it acquired British manufacturing rights for Austro-Daimler aero-engines. It also built several aircraft types under license, including the Sopwith Pup, Nieuport 12, and Wight Admiralty Type 840, among others.
(from Flight magazine, c. 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/m4KJuNK.png)
"The Beardmore 120 was a six-cylinder, water-cooled aero engine that first ran in 1914... The engine featured cast iron cylinders and mild steel concave pistons. Produced between August 1914 and December 1918, the design powered many World War I aircraft types, including:
- Airco DH.1
- Airco DH.3
- Armstrong Whitworth F.K.3
- Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8
- Bristol T.T.A.
- Cody V
- Martinsyde Elephant
- Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2
- Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5
- Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.7
- Vickers F.B.14
- White and Thompson No. 3" (via wikipedia)
Here's a brilliant 1/32 scale model of the 160hp Beardmore by none other than Des: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3479.0
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One-Legged Lord Lost
Auberon Thomas Herbert, 9th Baron Lucas joined England's House of Lords in 1907. Herbert resigned his government cabinet post to join the Royal Flying Corps in May 1915. Despite having lost a leg during the Boer War, Herbert was cleared to fly.
In November 1916, the forty-year-old Captain was piloting a Beardmore-powered (see yesterday's post) Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b in formation with No. 22 Squadron when he and his observer ran into trouble. "Importantly this was a day when a very strong south-westerly was blowing (65 mph).... Evidently 22 Sqn was tasked to carry out an urgent photo-recon of new diggings which had been observed north-east and east of Bapaume – these would appear to be the RII & R III lines, being dug on account that German 1 ARMEE had been prized off the heights of Picardy. Lord Lucas & Lt. A. Anderson were on a 160hp Beardmore FE2b, but the three escort look to have been 120hp machines. The other escort mention were DH2s from 24 Sqn."
In the normal course of things, if the FEs kept a close formation they were unlikely to have been attacked. One would suspect they adopted a ‘diamond formation, with 7026/photo machine leading with the others layered above and behind, thus allowing the gunners to cover the blind spots of the machines above and behind them. But clearly the very strong wind and horse-power disparity played havoc and the formation lost close cohesion, whereupon and on que, between 8 & 9 HA scouts dived down out of the clouds with three of the FEs each attracting three assailants. The three of course were brought down piecemeal between Etricourt and Bancourt. However, the Jasta Boelcke abschusse listing pulled together by Karl Bolle in 1919, which evidently leaned upon the then existent KTB, tells us that Ltn E Koenig garnered credit for ‘FE-DD 7026’ with one dead and one wounded crewman [Lord Lucas & Anderson], whilst Offz.St. Muller was awarded credit for the ‘FE-DD’ of ‘Capt Pemberton & Lt Cook’ (FE2b 6374 – Capt AJ Pemberton MC kia & 2Lt LC Cooke pow) whilst Ltn R Theiller from Jasta 5 evidently received credit for the third missing FE (FE2b 6374 2Lt WE Knowlden pow wia & 2Lt BA Ordish pow).. (via R. Gannon, theaerodrome.com)
Herbert died of his wounds the same day. His body was buried in a war grave at the village of Ecoust-Saint-Mein.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 4 December 1916).
(https://i.imgur.com/UPg2jfW.png)(https://i.imgur.com/TprXm1l.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/8Jw78ey.jpg)
(image: this well-known picture illustrates the defensive action taken during this dogfight, via wikipedia)
Anderson penned a recollection of the incident while a prisoner of war:
“We left the aerodrome a second time and reached a certain height we could see no sign of the formation, so we made for the lines and picked up three of our escorts... We went in over St Pierre Vaast Wood and started taking our photos with two of our machines sitting on our tail and the third a little under us. It was then I noticed how strong the wind was which was blowing approx from the SW and kept blowing us further over. After taking our third photo I saw we had drawn rather far away from our escorting machines and so I signaled to Lucas to turn around and we turned into the wind. It was then as we were half way around that one EA came out of the clouds for our tail. We had to turn to meet him but as we were firing at him two more machines dropped out of the clouds on to our tail firing steadily. The first burst blew half of our service tank away, so Lucas swung her around and put her nose down for the lines. I fired away over the top plane but they did very good shooting and our machine was simply riddled with bullets. Suddenly the machine started side slipping violently and at the same time the engine stopped dead. Looking down I saw that Lucas was bending down in his seat and thinking he was working the switches, I put out my hand to shake him, but then I discovered he was hit through the back of the head and was unconscious.
At this time me must have been at 6000 ft, and so I set to work on trying to get his left foot off the rudder bar, as she was still side slipping. This I eventually managed to do but at this time we were only at about 3000 ft and the German machines were still on our tail firing away. I saw that with a head wind and no engine we could not hope to reach the line as we were then about over Haplincourt, so to avoid the machine guns (we were also being fired on from the ground) I put her down very steeply. Unfortunately Lucas half slipped from his seat and when I tried to land I found I could not flatten out enough, the under carriage was swept off and she crashed on the wing. I was thrown clear and Lucas was brought in a few minutes later but never regained consciousness and died about 4pm. He had been hit through the back of the head and also the left leg." {presumably his one good leg}
Interesting side notes:
- "The rest of 22 Squadron took a bit of a beating as well, and two others were lost. Captain Alan John Macdonald Pemberton and 2nd Lieutenant Leslie Clude Leech Cook were attacked by enemy aircraft in 5250 and shot down. On landing they crashed into an enemy kite balloon on the ground which burst into flames."
- While in Herbert was in service his country estate, Wrest Park, was converted to military hospital. It is now a a Grade I listed country house
- Lord Lucas' F.E.2b (#7026) happened to be one the presentation aircraft (Presented by the Government of Johore No.2), which were featured in an article here two weeks back: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?action=search2
Paired with yesterday's post, here's another great 1/32 scalebuild of a Beardmore motor mounted in an F.E.2b by forum member Kong: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12329.msg230566#msg230566
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Bombes Aériennes
(from the Birmingham Age-Herald, 5 December 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/NpEtcSQ.png)
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Cramped Cockpit
Four days back we were treated to a pilot's-eye view of German Rumpler; today let's squeeze into a French Farman two seater in Belgian service. Talk about tight fit... that instructor and pupil are in a real nuts-to-butts predicament.
(from the Illustrated War News, 6 December 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/MbDmcN1.jpg)
Here's a view of a slightly more capacious Farman M.F.11, shared by forum member ermeio: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7365.msg135756#msg135756
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Many thanks for that picture. I’m building an MF11 right now, and was skeptical how close the seats had to be in order to fit in the nacelle (resin kit). That picture confirms the tight arrangement! Unless it’s some special trainer version with the student sitting in the instructor’s lap…
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Many thanks for that picture. I’m building an MF11 right now, and was skeptical how close the seats had to be in order to fit in the nacelle (resin kit). That picture confirms the tight arrangement! Unless it’s some special trainer version with the student sitting in the instructor’s lap…
I wanna say I've seen images of a Farman tandem seat looking like a gourd-shaped bench that they straddle. I also find this photo interesting because it shows how the glass in the windscreen is held on from the inside flanges.
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I wanna say I've seen images of a Farman tandem seat looking like a gourd-shaped bench that they straddle. I also find this photo interesting because it shows how the glass in the windscreen is held on from the inside flanges.
With a backrest in between? Must otherwise be uncomfortable for the aft man when driving uphill…
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Belgian 'Bamino' Dead
With only two confirmed aerial victories, fighter pilot Pierre Louis Marie Braun ter Meeren of Belgium never made it to ace status before meeting his fate while doing his duty.
(from the Evening Star, 7 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/FApHjWz.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/tUrWopD.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/KAiY3oQ.jpg)
A simple memorial page to this aviator can be found here: https://bel-memorial.org/photos_bruxelles/schaerbeek/BRAUN_TER_MEEREN_Pierre_Marie_2848.htm
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Road Rage
This is the earliest published record of a ground strafing by airplane that I have encountered so far. Ironically, though the term originates from the German word 'strafen' (to punish), from the slogan 'Gott strafe England', this incident involves a British aircraft machine-gunning a German motor car. Belgium's skies and roads were hectic with activity during the 'Race to the Sea' in the Fall of 1914, just before the Western Front settled into its stalemate of trench warfare. Though the British had both the RFC and RNAS (including there armored-car unit) operating there, the aircraft type is unknown.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 8 December 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/b9NRo6J.png)(https://i.imgur.com/u311DVm.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/lBcABtg.jpg)
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French Energy
Adjutant René Pierre Marie Dorme was flying high as the winter of 1916/17 approached. Today news marks Dorme's defeat of a Fokker E.III - his seventeenth kill in an 'Increvable' streak that began just five months earlier. Two weeks hence he would be severely injured in action while flying his Nieuport 17. This would halt his flying time for a quarter of a year. After convalescing Dorme would go on to become an ace all over again in his new SPAD VII. Speaking of his victory status: "Dorme had 23 aerial victories officially confirmed. Unconfirmed claims amount to 19 more listings. Dorme was notoriously lax in filing combat claims, sometimes only doing so when prompted by wingmates. The haphazardness of his victory list has led to speculation that he scored as many as 43 victories, or perhaps even 70 victories." (via wikipedia)
(from the South Wales Weekly Post, 9 December 1916; and L'Image de la Guerre, January 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/ZvlFbJi.png)(https://i.imgur.com/yrEBI5E.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/0iRMc7c.jpg)
Learn more on this flying ace in video-bio (en Francais) by Aero Mastecrlass on youtube: https://youtu.be/LVmUSIdh8jE?si=_-n72uLxigovAp3F
Forum member kendyman brings Dorme's Nieuport to life with his build of the 1/48-scale model by Eduard: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=318.msg3817#msg3817
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Over-Doped
Not all war casualties occur on the battlefield!
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 10 December 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/Y2gU7dF.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/0IEUhix.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/MDbocab.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/YmZ672K.jpg)
"Without the application of dope, fabric coverings lacked durability while being highly flammable, both factors rendering them far less viable. Typical doping agents include nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate butyrate. By the 1910s, it was recognised that, while the practice was highly beneficial, certain types of doping agents posed a risk to workers' health... While acetate and nitrate-based dopes were believed to pose little risk by themselves, the volatile compounds to dissolve them prior to application were poisonous. The medical profession across several nations became aware of this threat just prior to the First World War, and promoted the need for adequate workplace ventilation as a mitigating measure in factories where doping was performed. In the United Kingdom specifically, studies were performed into the potential health impacts of various dopes, concluding that those produced to Royal Aircraft Factory specifications rendered them less liable to result in illness than several others." (via wikipedia)
The dangers (and potential joys) of over-doping headlined in our 4th-ever 'On This Day' post: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg241444#msg241444
And here's some interesting background on the etymology of 'dope': https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/dope
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Time to Celebrate
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone around the world!
(https://i.imgur.com/zKuSTSB.jpg)
PJ, what's the source for this delightful cartoon? I'd love to share it next year on Facebook :)
Mestach was particularly renowned across North America for prewar aerial exploits in his 50hp Borel-Morane monoplane. Both man and machine survived multiple crashes, including one involving the continent's first fatal mid-air collision. Though Mestach met his fate over one-hundred years ago this plane endures today in the Canada Air and Space Museum. It is the oldest extant aircraft to have flown in that country.
How wonderful! I hope you do realise the physical model, that would be fantastic too see.
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Time to Celebrate
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone around the world!
(https://i.imgur.com/zKuSTSB.jpg)
PJ, what's the source for this delightful cartoon? I'd love to share it next year on Facebook :)
Mestach was particularly renowned across North America for prewar aerial exploits in his 50hp Borel-Morane monoplane. Both man and machine survived multiple crashes, including one involving the continent's first fatal mid-air collision. Though Mestach met his fate over one-hundred years ago this plane endures today in the Canada Air and Space Museum. It is the oldest extant aircraft to have flown in that country.
How wonderful! I hope you do realise the physical model, that would be fantastic too see.
Hey there KiwiZac that image is from a vintage prewar postcard. I think that particular one I skimmed off eBay. But here's a better-quality version of the same card: https://www.deviantart.com/yesterdays-paper/art/Turkeys-DO-Fly-647262487. And here's one of a flying turkey dropping food like bombs: https://www.ebay.com/itm/305132557131
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"A Course in Aviation for 15 Cents a Month!"
This parade of December issues suggest how much fun enthusiasts must have had during the golden age of pulp aviation. Has anyone ever read any of these old magazines? 'G-8 and his Battle Aces' looks awesome/ridiculous. Of course, Model Airplane News remains in print today: https://www.modelairplanenews.com/
(https://i.imgur.com/jor1wEm.png)(https://i.imgur.com/YDyMo8f.png)(https://i.imgur.com/6oLzEbE.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/rfRvb2L.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/gA5VaWG.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/eyC6zCw.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/noXvMeO.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/QygVt6A.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/So7MkzT.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/tWR860j.jpg)
I see that the the issue of 'Lone Eagle' offers 'complete scale model plans of the DeHavilland 5'. Check out forum member Danh4's build of the Libramodels vacform D.H.5: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6766.msg124176#msg124176
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Love it! Not old enough to remember the original pulps, but "The Best of Flying Aces" enjoyed a brief resurrection when I was about 12. I've got this issue still, although sadly my others have vanished...
(https://i.postimg.cc/RZncp9m4/455-B1-D62-1-E9-D-404-B-A105-ACF4-CB1-BED42.jpg)
There was some great stuff in it: plans for a solid-wood JU-86 (sans death-ray, unfortunately); a learn-to-fly course in the form of comic strips (the FAA must have loved them); and on and on. A lot of the stories in the original pulp magazine were by Arch Whitehouse, RFC combat observer & later one of the great early WWI historians, as well as USMC naval aviator Maj Donald Keyhoe, who became famous in the 1950s for writing some of the first serious treatments of the UFO phenomenon and founding NICAP, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon.
Dutch
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There was some great stuff in it: plans for a solid-wood JU-86 (sans death-ray, unfortunately)...
But is your death-ray powerful enough to stop these Sky Leopards?
(http://i.imgur.com/jFZeIrW.jpg) (https://imgur.com/jFZeIrW)
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Bombing Machines
Though similar in composition, this cacophony in the clouds is not as overdramatic than yesterday's magazine covers yet still conveys the thrills of aerial combat.
(from the Pictorial History of the Great War, 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/pg4I8LR.jpg)
And speaking of thrills, check out forum member Michael Scarborough's incredible AEG diorama: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9583.0
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Thanks for the turkey link PJ, and man are there some fun model ideas on those book and magazine covers!! Almost enough for a group build...
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Aerodrome Attack
Located northeast of Ghent, vliegveld Oostakker initiated operations in July 1917 and by October become hame to the Gothas bombers Kasta 17 and 18
(from the Barre Daily Times, 13 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/gle7qSj.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/yiHsgkq.jpg)
(image: the airfield's remnants, circa 2009, via forgottenairfields.com).
Here's a page dedicated to this abandoned airfield: https://www.forgottenairfields.com/airfield-oostakker-88.html
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Victory and Defeat: First and Final Flight
Despite all of the fanciful, fictional magazine covers shared this week we mustn't forget that early air combat was stressful, glorious, frightening, and deadly. Benjamin Stuart Walcott no doubt experienced this all during his single day of combat. The ivy-league American had joined France's Service Aeronautique in June and was posted to Escadrille Spa.84 in late October.
"On December 12, 1917 Walcott flew his first combat patrol. Over the Champagne sector, he engaged a German bi-place {sic} aircraft over enemy lines and succeeded in shooting it down. As he headed back for friendly territory, he was jumped by three enemy Albatross {sic} scouts and was shot down and killed near Saint Souplet. Initially buried by German troops at Leffincourt, his remains were moved to the Lafayette Flying corps Memorial just West of Paris in 1928". (uswarmemorials.org)
(from the Taxoma Times, 14 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/ELII2Xz.png)(https://i.imgur.com/tiIIZHi.jpg)
...formed on January 3, 1917 in Lyon Bron. Squadron N 84 adopted a fox head during the 1st quarter of 1917. The design was proposed by soldier Gaston Meunier, an armorer, to Capt. Paul Gastin, the squadron commander, who adopted it for his unit . The choice of the canine seemed obvious because the 84 had two foxes as mascots at the time... The N84 became SPA 84 on March 10, 1918 when it received its SPAD VII and XIII aircraft.
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My goodness, what a story. Thanks for sharing PJ, you always find such gems. Speaking of: how fascinating to see the abandoned Belgian aerodrome!
(https://i.imgur.com/ELII2Xz.png)(https://i.imgur.com/tiIIZHi.jpg)
I need to show this to my friends who fly WW1 aircraft and see if any are keen to wear this garb themselves ;D
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With Escadrille Spa.84's official mascot being the fox... Lt. Walcott clearly took his uniform seriously.
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Air Raid on... Los Angeles?
Just another day in the City of Angels.
(respectively from the Evening Capital News and the Arizona Republican; 15, 17 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/D42rQ34.png)(https://i.imgur.com/iGjPHaf.png)
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Shades of Speilberg's 1941... if only Lt. "Wild Bill" Kelso had been around with his faithful P-40.
Dutch
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Shades of Speilberg's 1941... if only Lt. "Wild Bill" Kelso had been around with his faithful P-40.
Dutch
Ha! I forgot about that flick
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First U.S. Camo?
Here's a quirky paint scheme on what looks to be a Thomas-Morse S-4. Anyone recognize this image? Would love to see a better-quality version.
(from the Evening Star, 16 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/zV1Oacf.png)
I don't think we've encountered one of these in the news here before... check out forum member kensar's amazing 'Tommy' builld: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10684.0
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Parasols on Parade
Today's news bring us another aeroplane type we don't often see in the period press... a lineup of Morane-Saulnier Type P's (MoS 21) in service with the Royal Flying Corps. The serial numbers have been redacted by wartime censors; I'm assuming this flight was with No.1 or 3 Squadron.
(from the Birmingham Age-Herald, 17 December 1916)
(https://i.imgur.com/MioMEkm.png)
Here's a teaser article on French Moranes in British service by Trevor Henshaw from the August 2016 issue of Cross & Cockade: https://www.crossandcockade.com/uploads/Moranes.pdf. And here's a clean build of a Type P, this one in Russian service, from the old 1/72 Joystick vacuform kit by forum member harbarnold99: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11916.msg221750#msg221750
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Follow the Fleet
Introduced in summer of 1915, America's revered Curtiss JN's were certainly obsolete by European standards at the time this enthusiastic photo-story went to press. 6,813 examples were produced; none saw combat service in Europe. Coincidently, the Curtiss JN was designed by Englishman Benjamin Douglas Thomas, formerly of the Sopwith Aviation Company, who also designed the Thomas-Morse S-4 that headlined here two days ago.
(from the Washington Times, 18 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/sHukcW8.png)
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Santa Swaps Sleigh
Peace to everyone around the world!
(from the Bismarck Tribune, 25 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/FuQNKao.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/tVUyfl7.jpg)
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Tough Russian
Little detail to work with today but here's an amazing story of a Russian aviator who's airplane was hit 140 times and he emerged unscathed.
(from the Spanish American, 26 December 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/jA4gY78.png)
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Torpedo Evolution
Two articles, published year and a day apart, discuss the development of aerial torpedos. The pictorial features two RNAS seaplanes - the Short Admiralty Type 184 (designed to carry a 14-inch torpedo) and a real rarity... the Wight Twin. Based on the failed Admiralty Department Seaplane Type 1000 of 1916 (the largest British aircraft then built), the Twin was developed to meet an Admiralty requirement for a long-range aircraft capable of carrying the heavier 18-inch torpedo required to sink larger warships. It shared the same double-cambered wings, floats designs and Salmson 2m7 radials as the Improved Navyplane of 1914. Alas, the Twin proved inadequate for carrying both a torpedo and a full fuel load and so less only a couple were produced.
(respectively from the Illustrated War News, 26 December 1917; and the Abergavenny Chronicle, 27 December 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/9gUvthu.png)(https://i.imgur.com/0qUejsD.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/njCiDsS.png)
I've never seen a model of the Wight Twin, but here's a great scratchbuild of the similar Twin Blackburn in 1/72 by forum member Lone Modeller: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10639.msg195183#msg195183
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I absolutely love the bizarre aircraft they were thinking up in the early days of the Great War. So can we expect you and Eric to tackle the Twin Wight as your next project? Heck, you've already got the engines figured out... :)
Dutch
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Good thought and true - we do indeed have the engines, floats and basic wing structure already conquered! And the twin fuselages are borrowed from a third Wight tractor design (the Admiralty Type 840) which also had the same engine and floats; much work is already behind us... including the torpedo.
So many dreams so little time... at least I'm starting to figure out how to add more realistic backgrounds to our 3D renderings. Here's one of the torpedoes (14in) I designed a few months back in a new environment I sourced online last weekend:
(https://i.imgur.com/IBwA1PU.png)
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Stunning!
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Stunning!
Thank you!
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Mark of the Death's Head
From the roof of the sky comes a personal recollection by the American journalist and author, 'Mrs. Deems Taylor', who took a loop over wartime London. The artist's rendering and her description of her 'blip' suggest she was flying in a rare bird - a night-fighting B.E.2e of No. 50 Home Defence Squadron, RFC.
(from the New-York Tribune Magazine, 28 December 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/rdR8zji.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/dRW5R2H.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/lqPlAJ6.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/eK6z8dP.png)(https://i.imgur.com/GP7B7xQ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/P33DaPH.png)(https://i.imgur.com/NlMSOvF.png[/img[img]https://i.imgur.com/nbJHVOA.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/nbJHVOA.jpg)
Jane Anderson continued her career as a war correspondent during WW2... only this time as a fascist propagandist with a radio broadcast under the alias 'Georgia Peach'. She was indicted in abstentia for treason in the summer of 1943. More on her story: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Anderson_%28journaliste%29
Today's tale is a fun find for me because this rare bird could well the very same machine I built a model of twenty-odd years ago. It was my first attempt at building a resin kit (Czechmaster 1/72 with Blue Rider decals). I recall I was so excited to photograph it as soon as the paint dried took I it the the park outside my NYC apartment in subfreezing temperatures. By the time I returned home I realized the resin wings had curled up and the rigging had slackened... the wrong kind of wing warping! Visible in the pictures, it retains the same limp look today....
(https://i.imgur.com/9ejKHYM.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/ao4gfAX.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/3r74O6B.jpg)
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Fascinating story and fantastic model. I have bought blue rider decals of a plane of that unit and was hoping to convert an Airfix kit. Yours is a great inspiration!
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I have bought blue rider decals of a plane of that unit and was hoping to convert an Airfix kit. Yours is a great inspiration!
Give it a go! Would love to see an in-progress conversion post of that!
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SEAPLANE CENTERFOLD!
Paired with this week's post on the naval development of the aerial torpedo, here's a two-page pictorial on the development of seaplanes up to 1915. Which numbers are your favorites?? Mine of course is #31 (Wight Enlarged Navyplane), followed by #12 (Borel Bo.8 Hydro-monoplane). Some of these I don't even recognize. Come to think of it... this could make for a good trivia game since we don't have the descriptions to go with the images. Can anyone identify them all?
(from The Aeroplane, Supplements iv-v, 29 December 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/vII8V8J.jpg)
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Let’s see now:
9. early Curtiss?
10. a Curtiss, dunno which model - edit google says F
13. Sopwith Batboat
15. Breguet
17. a Caudron?
18. Nieuport (IV?)
19: Bleriot XI hydroplane
20. Morane-Saulnier hydroplane
26. Henri Farman (HF 21 perhaps?) 28 looks like HFs too
33.Short ??? looks like a predecessor of the 184
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SEAPLANE CENTERFOLD!
Paired with this week's post on the naval development of the aerial torpedo, here's a two-page pictorial on the development of seaplanes up to 1915. Which numbers are your favorites??
Without a doubt 10 and 21: the Curtiss boats have a key place in New Zealand aviation history (and Sir Peter Jackson has one on display at Omaka), and I've long had a soft spot for the Tabloid...albeit I prefer mine with wheels!
Follow the Fleet
Introduced in summer of 1915, America's revered Curtiss JN's were certainly obsolete by European standards at the time this enthusiastic photo-story went to press.
(https://i.imgur.com/sHukcW8.png)
I wonder if we'll see this photo recreated - in spirit if not direct colour scheme matching - with the upcoming, much anticipated Lukgraph and potential other kit releases?
First U.S. Camo?
Here's a quirky paint scheme on what looks to be a Thomas-Morse S-4. Anyone recognize this image? Would love to see a better-quality version.
(from the Evening Star, 16 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/zV1Oacf.png)
I too would be fascinated to see more photos...and for someone (not me!) to do a model of this camo!
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Let’s see now:
9. early Curtiss?
10. a Curtiss, dunno which model - edit google says F
13. Sopwith Batboat
15. Breguet
17. a Caudron?
18. Nieuport (IV?)
19: Bleriot XI hydroplane
20. Morane-Saulnier hydroplane
26. Henri Farman (HF 21 perhaps?) 28 looks like HFs too
33.Short ??? looks like a predecessor of the 184
Right on! … and extra rations to the bloke bold enough to go up in #1.
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Prisoner in Palestine
This silhouetted desert bird appears to be the Albatros D.II (D636/17) flown by Oberleutnant Gustav Adolf Dittmar of Fliegerabteilung 300 unit, which force-landed near Weli Sheikh Nuran, Palestine on 10 October 1917. "The aircraft had been shot down, practically intact, into AIF Light Horse lines near Bersheeba by a Bristol fighter aircraft flown by Lieutenant R. Steele a Canadian pilot with No 111 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps. No 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, members recovered the machine and moved it to their airfield where repairs, including a bullet holed radiator, were carried out returning it to flying condition." (via AWM.gov.au)
(New-York Tribune, 30 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/TE6hO9b.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/72VtX7E.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/yQCP3v0.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/92c7Xo6.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/qi4yvyd.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/nIjOF0a.jpg)
(images via the Australian War Memorial and Facebook Australian Light Horse page)
I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the particular Bristol Fighter that clipped Dittmar's Albatros was serial# A-7194. Click the link below this image and you an see archival film footage of this exact plane (startiing around the 14-minute mark:
(https://i.imgur.com/TRBN6mb.jpg)
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C188261
Bonus: a spectacular diorama of this machine was recently shared by forum member Mike Norris: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=14144.msg260251#msg260251
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"No 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, members recovered the machine and moved it to their airfield..."
"Recovered"? Is that another term for "Scrounged"...? :)
Dutch
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"Recovered"? Is that another term for "Scrounged"...? :)
Dutch
ha!
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Party Like it's 1918!
Grab a copilot and have fun tonight, everyone!
(from the Birmingham Age-Herald, 16 December 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/u7Chh1P.png)
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Glückliches Neujahr
(https://i.imgur.com/kPiV351.jpg)
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OK, the horseshoe I get, but maple seed pods (as a kid we called them "maple helicopters")? And a mushroom...?
And I'm pretty sure that's what my cats were up to last night, just BTW.
Dutch
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OK, the horseshoe I get, but maple seed pods (as a kid we called them "maple helicopters")? And a mushroom...?
And I'm pretty sure that's what my cats were up to last night, just BTW.
Dutch
...clearly it was the mushroom that enabled them to concoct this hallucination! As for the maple helicopter... they were simply copying the French
(https://i.imgur.com/COElC2A.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/CSz1lOo.jpg)
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OK, the horseshoe I get, but maple seed pods (as a kid we called them "maple helicopters")? And a mushroom...?
...clearly it was the mushroom that enabled them to concoct this hallucination! As for the maple helicopter... they were simply copying the French
(https://i.imgur.com/COElC2A.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/CSz1lOo.jpg)
Okay, I'm going to need to see more info on this!!
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Ah, yes, the dreaded Gyroptère! I was just doing some research on this after seeing it in a back issue of WWI Aero I recently aquired. Not sure what you've got, PJ, but this Wikipedia article gives at least a brief overview:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocopter
Astonishingly, in best Monty Python style, it "fell over and sank into the swamp" before it was able to take to the skies... :P
Dutch
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Astonishingly, in best Monty Python style, it "fell over and sank into the swamp" before it was able to take to the skies... :P
hahahaahah
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Start of Something New
On New Year's Day, 1914, Antony Habersack Jannus became the world's first commercial airline pilot when the St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line was inaugurated. Their fleet comprised two Benoist air boats and roundtrip fare was the equivalent of about $300 today. "The airline continued to make flights until May 5, 1914, five weeks after contract termination. From start to finish, the airline covered over 7,000 miles, 172 flights, and 1,205 passengers" (via wikipedia)
(from the Tampa Bay Times {commemorative issue}):
(https://i.imgur.com/SfNfgvq.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/niX6Ezr.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/NJfaEKz.jpg)
Here's a good read on the subject: https://www.tampapix.com/jannus.htm. Tony Jannus headlined in November 2022, with news of his final fatal in Russia during the war: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg249584#msg249584
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Alighting in the Holy Land
It's unintentional but these articles really do seem to provide weekly themes by presenting themselves in pairs. Partnered with our post on a German plane landing in Palestine four days back, today news notes the very first plane ever to visit Jerusalem. French pilot Marc Bonnier and mechanic Joseph Barnier arrived in a Nieuport IV monoplane. Their December 31 touchdown was a waypoint in a challenge organized by the Parisian newspaper Le Matin and the Air National League to fly from Paris to Cairo. These photos of the moment show some of the 'bewildered populace'!
(from the Sydney Morning Herald, 2 January 1914):
(https://i.imgur.com/hY02Xkm.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/mdt5XDx.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Kxclarg.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/IkxHUyx.jpg)
Here's a fun build of another Nieuport from a different pre-war aerial competition by forum member Lone Modeller: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13818.0
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Crippled Caudron
There's a lot going on in this picture. Even the dog is curious as to how this Caudron survived!
(from Aircraft in War and Peace; Robson, William A.; Macmillan, London, 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/lzafIwW.png)
There are a number of brilliant Caudron builds here on the forum. Here's one by xan: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8102.msg150977#msg150977
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Double TKO
No identities given in today's report of a double knockout in the sky. Just a good reminder as to how dangerous flying in what must have felt like infinite space could be. I've paired this unrelated but evocative period painting the story just for fun.
(respectively from the Daytona Daily News, 5 January 1916, and the Pictorial History of the Great War 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/AzoPTjQ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/5tGV7hT.jpg)
(image: artist unknown)
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Ah, yes, the dreaded Gyroptère! I was just doing some research on this after seeing it in a back issue of WWI Aero I recently aquired. Not sure what you've got, PJ, but this Wikipedia article gives at least a brief overview:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocopter
Astonishingly, in best Monty Python style, it "fell over and sank into the swamp" before it was able to take to the skies... :P
Dutch
I wonder if Stephen aka "lone modeller" is at all interested in tackling this one in 1/72... ;D
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Boelcke Bags a B.E.
Twenty-four-year-old Oswald Boelcke scores his first victory of the year. Victims are the crew of a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c (serial #1734)over Harnes. Boelcke will continue his well-documented rush of over thirty victories that ended with his death nine months later.
(from the The West Virginian, 6 January 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/xdcWm2T.png)(https://i.imgur.com/g3fFfVO.jpg)
(image via flickr.com)
Here's a model of B.E.2c #1741; just a few serial numbers away from today's subject plane, which I built circa 2002. That old 1/72 VeeDay kit was a bear. I recall the build, my second WW1 plane as an adult, being a fun challenge though I was trying several new techniques simultaneously and the outcome not as convincing as some of my other works from that time. I think all of the details: weathering, woodgrain, ribtape, strut tape, shading... were all just drawn on with pencils. Still happy with some of the elements, such as the cockpit interior, in retrospect.
(https://i.imgur.com/3aoc7n7.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/Ny1XdAD.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/BB4th9N.jpg)
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P.J., that's a stunner, your workmanship reminds me of Brad's... it's got the same beautifully clean appearance.
But RE: the pride & joy of the Royal Aircraft Factory, I just read The Pilot's Psalm last night in Arthur Lee's No Parachute, one of my favorite Great War flying memoirs:
The B.E.2c is my bus; therefore I shall want.
He maketh me to come down in green pastures.
He leadeth me where I wish not to go.
He maketh me to be sick; he leadeth me astray on all cross-country flights.
Yea, though I fly o'er No-Man-'s Land where mine enemies would compass me about, I fear much evil, for thou art with me; thy joystick and thy prop discomfort me.
Thou preparest a crash for me in the presence of mine enemies; thy R.A.F. annointeth my head with oil, thy tank leaketh badly.
Surely to goodness thou shall not follow me all the days of my life, else I shall dwell in the House of Colney Hatch forever.
It sounds a lot better if you recite it after several gin & Frenches, of course :D
Dutch
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Hi PJ - that's a beautiful build you've done there! Stellar work, especially given it is a Veeday kit! :o :o :o That's some modelling right there!
Cheers,
BC
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P.J., that's a stunner, your workmanship reminds me of Brad's... it's got the same beautifully clean appearance.
But RE: the pride & joy of the Royal Aircraft Factory, I just read The Pilot's Psalm last night in Arthur Lee's No Parachute, one of my favorite Great War flying memoirs:
The B.E.2c is my bus; therefore I shall want.
He maketh me to come down in green pastures.
He leadeth me where I wish not to go.
He maketh me to be sick; he leadeth me astray on all cross-country flights.
Yea, though I fly o'er No-Man-'s Land where mine enemies would compass me about, I fear much evil, for thou art with me; thy joystick and thy prop discomfort me.
Thou preparest a crash for me in the presence of mine enemies; thy R.A.F. annointeth my head with oil, thy tank leaketh badly.
Surely to goodness thou shall not follow me all the days of my life, else I shall dwell in the House of Colney Hatch forever.
It sounds a lot better if you recite it after several gin & Frenches, of course :D
Dutch
Brilliant!
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Hi PJ - that's a beautiful build you've done there! Stellar work, especially given it is a Veeday kit! :o :o :o That's some modelling right there!
Cheers,
BC
Thank you! Worst Kit Ever...
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Sailors of the Air
Multiple Daring Deeds by Royal Navy airmen today. A seaplane battle and the sinking of a submarine off the Belgian coast, and foremost - what some call aviation's 'first combat search and rescue' in Ottoman Bulgaria. Richard Bell-Davies' has been awarded the Victoria Cross for his epic rescue of fellow flyer Gilbert Smylie while he exploded the flaming carcass his downed plane with the carefully coordinated long-distance explosion of an aerial bomb using a pistol! The two managed to squeeze into the cockpit of a single-seat Nieuport 10. I wondered if this inspired the scene in the 1938 version of 'Dawn Patrol', when Erroll Flynn rescues David Niven in similar circumstance.
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 7 January 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/DW4atvL.png)(https://i.imgur.com/iiKsmJh.png)(https://i.imgur.com/u8BI1qA.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/KKwTULw.jpg)
(image: Kenneth A. McDonough (1921–2002), 'Richard Bell-Davies, VC, Rescues Gilbert Formby Smylie at Ferrijik Junction, Bulgaria, 19 November 1915', from the collection of the Fleet Air Art Museum.
More images and history on the rescue at Ferrijik Junction here:
- https://afterburner.com.pl/19th-november-1915-the-first-csar-operation/
- https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/combat-search-rescue-royal-navy/
Check out forum member Dave W's post describing the 1/48 scale Special Hobby kit of the Nieuport 10: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11942.msg222384#msg222384
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Aeroplanes Inferior to Birds
Who let this grump in to the party?
(from the Horsham Times, January 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/Gw0HTGf.png)
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The Lads Who Fought and Won
Here's a full-page pictorial dedicated to some lesser-remembered American airmen who hailed from their nation's capital. Recognize any names?
(from the Sunday Star, January 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/744cQOK.png)(https://i.imgur.com/x4A3czv.jpg)
Thought I'd pair it with some vintage sheet music... self=proclaimed the "first and only original aviation war song success"!. Here's a artist's Bleriesque vision of Americans joining the cause in Europe.
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Victor's Review
I wonder who penned this relatively early-war 'combat report' of sorts. Any thoughts?
(from the Anderson Daily Intelligencer, 10 January 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/WJyq4cd.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/Fz5cAXg.png)(https://i.imgur.com/PjdbzhI.png)(https://i.imgur.com/cE3gk0l.png)
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Aviation Reparation Illustration
This sketch illustrates the types and numbers of various machines surrendered to the allies according to the agreed terms of the armistice. It's fairly well known that the Fokker D.VII was explicitly mentioned and that large numbers were confiscated.
(from The War of the Nations WW1, 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/Gl1rfIV.png)
Fun Fact: Two other specific products Germany was forced two surrender as war reparations were: Aspirin... and Heroin! Both were registered trademarks of the Bayer pharmaceutical company. Control over the manufacture of Aspirin was such a big deal that there was even an international espionage incident regarding its production. Though not related to WW1 aviation, if you're looking for an interesting read, here's a page on The Great Phenol Plot of 1915: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Phenol_Plot
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King-Hall, Cutler, Curtiss, Königberg
Today's four-sentence snippet reveals an interesting little facet of Great War Aviation. This British Admiralty, under the command of Rear-Admiral Herbert King-Hall hired a private civilian, Denis Cutler of South Africa, to pilot his personal flying boat on behalf of the British Empire in the search for and potential bombing of, the elusive cruiser SMS Königsberg near the Rufiji delta German East Africa (now Tanzania). The airplane proved impotent or war purposes in the tropical heat, but the story is no less remarkable:
"In terms of the agreement reached between King-Hall and Cutler, the Admiralty would pay the sum of £150 per month for the hire of the aircraft and cover the full risk of the aircraft (£2,000) in the event of it being damaged as a direct result of enemy action.... On 19 November, Cutler took off and headed in what he believed to be a south-westerly direction. Not having been issued with a compass, he did not know that he was flying in a more southerly direction than he had estimated and thus he reached the shore some distance south of the delta. The futile initial search depleted his fuel and he was forced to abandon the mission and head out to sea to avoid capture. He made a forced landing at Okusa Island, 30 miles (48km) south of Nicoro...
Repairs to the seaplane were made quickly, but the cooling radiator for the Curtiss Ox engine needed to be replaced. In desperation, the cruiser, HMS Fox, was despatched to Mombasa where a Model- T Ford automobile was commandeered for its radiator. The radiator was duly removed from the automobile and fitted onto the seaplane. This was possibly the most expensive radiator ever to be used on a Curtiss seaplane!" (via http://samilitaryhistory.org/)
(from the Cambria Daily New {I think}, 12 January 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/icXf1pI.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/RShrJSF.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/reIrup2.jpg)
(image: 'ACTIVITY OF THE EMDEN, KONIGSBERG, AND KARLSRUHE LIGHT CRUISERS', presently for sale: https://curtiswrightmaps.com/product/activity-of-the-emden-konigsberg-and-karlsruhe-light-cruisers/
For more, read this well-written account, 'THE HUNT FOR THE KÖNIGSBERG, 1915 - The South African Connection', by Alan Sinclair: http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol171as.html
And here's a great build by lone modeller of another private plane that was put into service in East Africa... this one for the Germans: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6756.msg123890#msg123890
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Sounds like the African Queen of the air... wonder if he had a psalm-singing old maid riding shotgun?
Dutch
("Oh, no... not the gin, Miss!")
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Sounds like the African Queen of the air... wonder if he had a psalm-singing old maid riding shotgun?
Dutch
("Oh, no... not the gin, Miss!")
great movie
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GERMANY'S AERIAL FLEET
(from the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miner's Advocate, 13 January 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/7c7tWNP.png)(https://i.imgur.com/cLR9Fzk.png)(https://i.imgur.com/eRoFTyR.png)
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Aqaba Adventure
Here's a thrilling tale of two unlucky airmen on the run in enemy territory on a mad overland dash to return to the sea in hopes of rescue.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 14 January 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/xC7GB9F.png)(https://i.imgur.com/wdXJq4B.png)
(image via aegeanwar.com.; more on their activities here:https://aegeanairwar.com/articles/the-french-seaplane-squadron-at-the-dardanelles)
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Cold Snaps
Twin wintry pictures of planes in snow make news today. Some of you may recognize the latter - Pfalz D.III 1370/17, which was captured December 1917.
(from the War Pictorial, January 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/f1swVMH.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/c03rFpf.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/f0YAm7t.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/GZzmqmG.jpg)
(images respectively via ww2aircraft.net and 000aircraftphotos.com)
"Pfalz D.III 1370/17 is one of the most familiar examples of the type, yet misconceptions about its true coloration remain commonly circulated in many publications. Vzfw. Hecht of Jasta 10 was flying this machine when he was captured behind British lines on 27 December 1917. His aircraft was one of the first two D.IIIs to fall intact into Allied hands, and together with Hegeler's D.III 4184/17 of Jasta 15 (captured on 26 February 1918), it became the subject of detailed technical reports. Official RFC documents on file at the Public Records Office make it clear that 1370/17 was basically finished in typical silbergrau overall. The nose, struts, and wheel covers were painted in Jasta 10 chrome yellow as one would expect. However, the two bands on either side of the fuselage cross, and that on the upper wing, were definitely black. The entire tail unit (with the exception of the national insignia) was painted deep green as a personal marking of the pilot,- Richthofen himself specified that aircraft tail sections were the best spot for personal colors, and several D.IIIs of Jasta 10 were so marked. The green tail is confirmed by original paint on the extant rudder of this aircraft, which is held in storage by the RAF Museum. D.III 1370/17 was given the British Captured Aircraft number G.110. The similarity of the fuselage stripes to those seen in the one poor quality photo of the D.III reportedly flown by Voss has led this author to speculate in the past that Voss' D.III may actually have been 1370/17, in an earlier configuration. This remains an unconfirmed speculation; readers should note that Voss' D.III had only a yellow nose and the black stripes, and did not have a green tail when he flew it." (J.Herris, Pfalz Aircraft of WWI /Centennial Perspective)
Check out forum member drdave's build of the WNW Pfalz D.III: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1392.msg22435#msg22435
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Instructing Americans
Looks like the latter airplane is Letord; anyone recognize the first contraption? The same from an odd angle maybe?
(from the War Pictorial, January 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/7lpi7nI.jpg)
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I'm guessing this is a doctored picture. Presumably it was thrilling enough to spark an aviation interest in the minds of some Nebraska citizens back when the Great War was still young.
(from the Dakota County Herald, 17 January 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/ATai3Cw.png)
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"Pfalz D.III 1370/17 [...] Official RFC documents on file at the Public Records Office make it clear that 1370/17 was basically finished in typical silbergrau overall. The nose, struts, and wheel covers were painted in Jasta 10 chrome yellow as one would expect. However, the two bands on either side of the fuselage cross, and that on the upper wing, were definitely black. The entire tail unit (with the exception of the national insignia) was painted deep green as a personal marking of the pilot[/i]
That scheme sounds really appealing, I'll have to mentally store it for later!
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That scheme sounds really appealing, I'll have to mentally store it for later!
i was surprised no one here has posted a model of this plane. But here's a 1/24th build someone did of it: https://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=3384
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Gertrude vs. Gotha
Poor Miss Hinds. I'm not entirely sure but I do believe the first two images below relate to the same fallen airplane she illicitly documented. Perhaps one of these photographs may have been hers? I feel bad for the souvenir-hunting chap in the second article as well. I mean... if an enemy aerial bomb exploded near your home wouldn't you want to keep a fragment? Far less an offense than forcing your precious little children to pose next to an unexploded bomb in the backyard (third image)!
(respectively from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 18 January 1918; and Flight Magazine, 10 January 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/OKVzvWE.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/kgBx9fn.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/ffQ532e.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/EsVkopp.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/nTkmUOF.png)
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The VC Prisoner
Second Lieutenant Gilbert Insall had been missing in action for weeks when his awarding of the Victoria Cross was published in the London Gazette. News of his survival, as a prisoner of war, is reported today. Some backstory:
"Insall could not personally receive his VC in 1915, however; he and Donald had fallen wounded into captivity on 14 December 1915 after engaging Hauptmann Martin Zander and his gunner. While in captivity, he was promoted to lieutenant, on 1 April 1916. Insall escaped on his third try, on 28 August 1917, and made it home over the Dutch border on 6 September. His VC was presented by the King on 27 September 1917. He returned to duty as the Flight Commander of "A" Flight, 50 Squadron, with the temporary rank of captain, on 11 January 1918." (via wikipedia)
Insall succeeded in escaping captivity on his third attempt and returned to service. His RFC uniform is now in the collection of the Imperial War Museum (image below).
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 19 January 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/sJiy4Qx.png)(https://i.imgur.com/uJjXRA2.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/48ihAv4.jpg)
Side bar: In addition to Insall's distinguished military service in both World Wars, he is also credited with the 1926 discovery of Woodhenge - the 3,000-year-old neolithic timber circle monument just a couple miles from the more renowned Stonehenge while piloting a Sopwith Snipe. A painting depicting his discovery is also in the Imperial War Museum:
(https://i.imgur.com/Z6yhBYy.jpg)
Check out ScottJ's recent contribution to the forum - his build of a wartime Sopwith Snipe by Eastern Express in 1/72 scale: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=14020.0
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Ace New Yorkers
Paired with our recent report on American aviators hailing from their nation's capital (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg262096#msg262096), this half-page spotlights aces from the Big Apple. Some home addresses are provided, in case you want to post a letter or pay a visit!
(from The Sun, 20 January 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/el9E5fr.png)
Two of these airmen have headlined here before. One is James Meissner (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg243323#msg243323). Second is America's top ace and New York transplant, Eddie Rickenbacker, including an early article before he anglicized his name:
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg242309#msg242309
- https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255278#msg255278
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Gunned Down From the Ground
(from the Evening Star 21, January 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/b96TZrp.png)
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Fokkers Overated?
This writer sounds a bit 'crabby' in their attempt to downplay the dreaded 'Fokker Scourge', which had been underway since August 1915. Just one week prior to this article's publication, "RFC HQ issued orders that until better aircraft arrived, long and short-range reconnaissance aircraft must have three escorts flying in close formation. If contact with the escorts was lost, the reconnaissance must be cancelled, as would photographic reconnaissance to any great distance beyond the front line. Sending the B.E.2c into action without an observer armed with a Lewis gun also became less prevalent. The new tactic of concentrating aircraft in time and space had the effect of reducing the number of reconnaissance sorties the RFC could fly." (via wikipedia)
(from The Register, 22 January 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/UpzCemB.png)
"The term "Fokker Scourge" was coined by the British press in mid-1916, after the Eindeckers had been outclassed by the new Allied types. Use of the term coincided with a political campaign to end a perceived dominance of the Royal Aircraft Factory in the supply of aircraft to the Royal Flying Corps, a campaign that was begun by the pioneering aviation journalist C. G. Grey and Noel Pemberton Billing M.P., founder of Pemberton-Billing Ltd (Supermarine from 1916) and a great enthusiast for aerial warfare." (via wikipedia)
Here's a look back to forum member Greg7AC's 1/72 build of the classic Revell kit of the Fokker E.III: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=5556.msg99691#msg99691
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Sink the Goeben!
“The air was stiff with German fighters. They were attacking our bombers and several got shot down. It was one long confused mêlée dogfight. The one thing which mattered was the Goeben. All the RNAS 'planes in the Aegean were attacking her; quite a lot of RFC 'planes from Palestine – fully 70 aircraft.” (Matti E. Mäkelä, Auf den Spuren der Goeben, via https://www.greatwarforum.org).
The Battle of Imbros was the culmination of Britain's four-year failed endeavor to put the Moltke-class battlecruiser SMS Goeben and its companion ship the light cruiser SMS Breslau out of the war. This operation, which involved coordinated aerial bombardments from No.2 Squadron and the seaplane carrier HMS Ark Royal, was an antecedent of sorts to the WWII battle over the German battleship Bismarck involving Britain's next-generation aircraft carrier of the same name. Today's story suggests that the Royal Navy had the upper hand though their multi-day seaplane attack proved ineffective and the elusive Goeben, renamed Yavûz Sultân Selîm as the flagship of the Ottoman Navy, survived to fight another day. The Breslau, renamed Midilli, sank after striking five mines en route to Mudros.
More on the air battle:
"All available 2(Naval)Wing aircraft are ordered to the RNAS bases at Mudros on Lemnos and the nearby island of Imbros where the cruisers are headed. ‘Camels’ escort DH4s and a ‘Strutter’ bombing the ships as a wireless telegraphy equipped ‘Strutter’ shadows them. A ‘Camel’ claims two seaplanes downed. Breslau manoeuvring to avoid anti-aircraft shells being fired from Goeben, has her stern shattered by a mine, takes a direct hit from a bomb, hits more mines and eventually sinks. Goeben retreats hitting its third mine and is approached at the entrance to the Dardanelles by two bomb-carrying ‘Baby’ floatplanes escorted by a Greek pilot in a ‘Camel’. They are promptly engaged by ten enemy seaplanes three of which are driven down by the ‘Camel’ but the pilot of ‘Baby’ N1445 is killed. The pilot of ‘Baby’ N1424 {image below} at a second attempt drops his 65lb bombs but misses the ship and is then forced to land with engine trouble near a Turkish destroyer. He manages to taxi the machine around the Cape and beach the machine to await rescue. ‘Baby’ N1201 drops 2x65lb bombs on a submarine spotted 20 miles south west of Lemnos." (via kingstonaviation.org)
"Turkish destroyers which attempted to help her before she went under were kept at a distance by British ships with the aid of aircraft which observed for their fire. The Yavuz, meanwhile, with fine determination, continued her journey towards Mudros, but she struck a mine on the way and her commander thereupon decided to go back. He failed to find the gap he had made in the minefield off the Dardanelles and struck another mine going in. As the Goeben entered the Straits two bomb-carrying Blackburn ‘Baby’ seaplanes... appeared over her, but they were promptly engaged by a formation of ten enemy seaplanes. In a sharp fight, three of the enemy seaplanes were driven down by the ‘Camel’ pilot (Commander A. Moraitinis), and one of the Blackburn ‘Baby’ seaplanes... {serial B1445 noted above; piloted by Flight Sub-Lieutenant William Johnston of No.2 Squadron} fell in flames." (via airwar19141918)
(article foreshadowingly from the Bismarck Tribune, 23 January 1918):
(https://i.imgur.com/v2BYX3W.png)(https://i.imgur.com/w2rvV2s.png)(https://i.imgur.com/UrNU4vT.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/15OlZ6p.jpg)
(iimages: Matti E. Mäkelä, Auf den Spuren der Goeben, via https://www.greatwarforum.org)
(https://i.imgur.com/4WL3ZKY.png)
(image: one of my favorite images of the Great War, via kingstonaviation.net)
And here's my digital depiction of a Royal Laboratory Light-Case Mk.I 65 lb. bomb as employed by the RNAS in this battle. I've gotten better at rendering some of the smaller details, such as the stamped text on the main body near the lug. The fins are shown thicker than they would be in real life - this is about the minimum required to make a successful print in 1/32 scale.
(https://i.imgur.com/SxeXhat.png)
Side bar:
The Royal Navy's obsession with the Goeben had world-changing consequences. This comparatively minor battle stymied the careers of the two British admirals charged with its pursuit. But the course of history had already had already been influenced in 1914, when Britain's breaking of their contract to supply two new battleships to the Turkish government, bookended by Germany's gift of the Goeben and Breslau, brought the once-neutral Ottoman Empire into alignment with the Central Powers. The subsequent closing of all shipping through the Dardanelles led to the strangling of possibly 90% of Russian sea trade that led to food shortages and exacerbated conditions that caused the 1917 revolution and foothold of communism. The extension of the Great War into the Middle East and the subsequent restructuring of former Ottoman territories after the armistice resulted in the establishment of several new nation states (including Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Mandatory Palestine) and set the stage for much of the current tensions in that region. Germany's General Ludendorff "stated in his memoirs that he believed the entry of the Turks into the war allowed the outnumbered Central Powers to fight on for two years longer than they would have been able on their own". Winston Churchill, who was sacked from his position as First Lord of the Admiralty in 1915 due to the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, later lamented, "by forcing Turkey into the war, the Goeben had brought 'more slaughter, more misery, and more ruin than has ever before been borne within the compass of a ship'" (via wikipedia).
Fun Facts: Historian Barbara Tuchman witnessed the pursuit of the Goeben first hand as a child and later devoted a chapter to it in her classic book of 'The Guns of August'. The Goeben / Yavûz survived afloat until 1973, being longest-serving dreadnought in any navy. It was scrapped after preservation efforts failed. Only a few parts of this fateful ship remain, such a this propeller outside the Istanbul Naval Museum:
(https://i.imgur.com/TjG5Y8D.jpg)
(image via wikipedia)
I've you've managed to endure all this and still want more, have a peek at forum member IanB's 1:72 Eduard Sopwith Baby... similar in contour to the Blackburns flown in this fateful battle: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7966.msg147585#msg147585
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I always enjoy these posts, but this one really caught my attention. I keep toying with the idea of getting back into aviation art, and there was enough material for about four paintings in this one.
Keep 'em coming, PJ, and thanks for putting the time & effort into this thread!
Dutch
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I always enjoy these posts, but this one really caught my attention. I keep toying with the idea of getting back into aviation art, and there was enough material for about four paintings in this one.
Keep 'em coming, PJ, and thanks for putting the time & effort into this thread!
Thanks! Yes, this would have been an amazing spectacle... multiple types of aircraft and ships involved, cannon fire everywhere, the sea riddled with mines, a submarine or two lurking about. And, yes, you should definitely start up again. You should also post some of your previous work!
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The Great Air Exhibit
...and speaking of posting artwork - if anyone has time today (the year of course is 1917), stroll on down to Grosvenor Gallery on New Bond Street to enjoy a charity exhibit of 'aircraft pictures past and present'! The show has been curated by 'bright young thing' Kathleen Pelham Burn Moore, Countess of Drogheda CBE CMG. Nicknamed the 'Flying Countess', she is cited as being one of the first women to fly as an airplane passenger. Following the war she was appointed Companion, Order of St. Michael and St. George and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
(from the Illustrated War News, 24 January 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/bW9sJsu.png)(https://i.imgur.com/ZhmWjxM.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/MCus2BE.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/yxvKrzc.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/IaGpx0C.png)
Fun Fact: "Turtle Bunbury describes her as 'an enigmatic cigarette-smoking 20th century lady famous for dabbling in the occult'". (via wikipedia)
Does anyone recognize the model she is holding in the first photo? A Curtiss or a Felixstowe maybe? That definitely looks like a Twin Blackburn down below. I know I just shared a link to Lone Modeller's build a few weeks back but how often does one get a chance to encounter this rarity in the news? So here it is again: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10639.msg195183#msg195183
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Errant Tarrant
It's your dream to build the world's biggest biplane. So, what do you do when your dream proves underpowered and overweight? Just add a third wing and two more engines! What could possibly go wrong...
(from the Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder, 25 January 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/6G47CYd.png)(https://i.imgur.com/TRBYnCo.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/LeaTse2.jpg)
(images respectively via wikipedia and flyingmachines.ru)
Though elements of its design, such as the monoque fuselage, seemed quite modern (see above), the Tabor's amended form must have seemed questionable during development. Admiralty Air Department mathematician Letitia Chitty was tasked with checking the structural strength of this giant triplane, with a wingspan only 10 feet shy of a Boeing B-29. "In her own words. 'Mr. Tarrant was an inspired timber merchant who dreamed of a super-Camel. It hadn't a chance. It was too big, too heavy - that wasn't its fault, but Grade A spruce had by now run out and it had to be built of American white wood (tulip wood). In my language 3,500 instead of 5,500 lb/sq in.' Tragically, her mathematical analysis was not heeded." (via wikipedia). The Tabor crashed on it's first flight.
(https://i.imgur.com/4FvhXSB.jpg)
A model of this rarity has yet to appear on this forum but here's an inspiring 1/72-scale scratch build in by MaratGN over at the Secret Projects forum:
(https://i.imgur.com/fa9bMON.jpg)
Want more on the Tabor? Watch this video over at Rex's Hangar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-oONPvIBt8
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Two unrelated photos published on the same day in different papers spotlight aces from separate countries who never knew each other. First is the renowned flyer Billy Bishop, who had recently been discharged from the Canadian Expeditionary Force and was just to being a North America lecture tour. Second is German Leutnant Hans Christian Friedrich Donhauser, of Jasta 17, who had just died thirteen days earlier in a peacetime aerial accident, In late 1918, Donhauser either claimed or was credited with shooting down Quentin Roosevelt (son of former president Theodore Roosevelt) in combat earlier that summer. This assertion has since been dismissed and it has been suggested that a pilot by the name of C. Graeper of Jasta 50 was the actual victor. Donhauser scored all nineteen of his credited victories in the last six months of the war.
(respectively from The Sun and the New-York Tribune, 26 January 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/gLfEuA6.png)(https://i.imgur.com/YKLIfG0.png)
Fun Fact: Donhauser, "at 94 pounds, he was the smallest aviator in the German air force". (via wikipedia)
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War Wounds
Interesting article on a lesser-known pilot of the renowned Lafayette Escadrille. Lawrence Scanlan received multiple injuries during the Great War - even before he entered the aviation sector. "LAWRENCE SCANLAN, called Larney, of Cedarhurst, Long Island, was studying electrical engineering at the outbreak of the war. He abandoned his studies to join the French Foreign Legion. He was severely wounded in the leg and foot on June 16, 1915. He lay wounded for fifty-six hours on the battlefield before being rescued by a stretcher-bearer. He survived this injury and enlisted into French aviation on 8 February 1917. He attended flight school from 24 February - 1 September 1917 in Avord and Chateauroux, then served in the Lafayette Escadrille." (via www.uswarmemorials.org).
We've read plenty reports here recounting heroic deeds and gallant deaths, but not too many stories spotlight the lingering physical and emotional injury these subjects suffer in the line of duty. Today's news reminds us that while only a few rejoice in glory many quietly sacrifice.
(respectively from the Evening World, 27 January 1919; and the The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 29 November 1921):
(https://i.imgur.com/nlh6huj.png)(https://i.imgur.com/4mXDMnc.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/p2jaQ4v.jpg)
(I was unable to find any war-era images of this aviator; however, his character was portrayed by actor Danny Devine in the 1958 motion picture 'Lafayette Escadrille' starring Tab Hunter. Here's a still from that movie depicting several member of the cast sizing up an airworthy Bleriot featured in the film. An extra ration of rum goes to anyone who can identify the actor on the far right!
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Clint Eastwood
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Clint Eastwood
yep yep!
https://youtu.be/Bjiyq726gCo?si=A6cHNQTnhA--AQmN
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End of a 'Grand, Whirling Delight'
On the same morning the crew of the RMS Titanic steamed out of Belfast Harbour to begin sea trials another crew of two were on the field at Hendon Aerodrome about to set out on a different 'maiden' voyage. Gustav Wilhelm Hamel and Eleanor Trehawke Davies took wing in a Bleriot monoplane headed towards Paris. This flight would make Miss Trehawke Davies, the passenger of this two-seater, the first woman to cross the English Channel by air.
Her partnerships with Hamel and other pioneer pilots earned her several other distinguishing 'firsts'. Later in 1912, she and Hamel would win an altitude competition, and the London Aerial Derby. In January of 1914, Trehawke Davies became the first woman to 'loop the loop' (against doctor's orders)... seven times in on flight! As noted in this article, after the outbreak of war, Miss Davies presented her Bleriot to the RNAS to augment it's force of 39 planes, 52 seaplanes, 6 airships and 2 captive balloons (stats per naval-encyclopedia.com). I haven't been able to deduce which serial number may have been allotted to her machine. Might anyone know?
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 28 January 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/sXAAHOM.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/A0F57hQ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/Juh9x2y.jpg)
(images respectively via wikipedia and pinterest)
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Demise of the First S.E.5
Frank W. Gooden was the Royal Aircraft Factory's chief test pilot and one of a trio of designers of what would evolve into one of the Great War's great fighter planes. Gooden was testing the prototype when the wing structure failed and he fell to his death. Nearly eighty examples of the S.E.5 were produced before being supplanted by the S.E.5a, which featured an upgraded motor. The S.E.5a remained in service into the 1920s.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 29 January 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/RnMI2Dk.png)(https://i.imgur.com/iL6gexH.jpg)
(image: Gooden in the cockpit of A4561 at Farnborough, 20 November 1916, via X)
Here's an S.E.5a in unusual markings by forum member bjgsar: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=865.msg12961#msg12961
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DH vs HP for USPS
Two Americans go to war over differing plans to utilize two types of surplus British bombers! Scores of American-made D.H.4 light bombers were sold by the United States Army following the Armistice of November 1918. One-hundred were acquired by the US Postal service and retrofitted for airmail delivery, "...denominating them as the DH.4B. In 1919, the DH-4B was standardised by the US Post Office, being modified to be flown from the rear cockpit with a 400 lb (180 kg) watertight mail compartment replacing the forward cockpit. The airmail DH-4B were later modified with revised landing gear and an enlarged rudder. DH-4s were used to establish a coast-to-coast, transcontinental airmail service, between San Francisco and New York, a distance of 2,680 mi (4,310 km), involving night flight, the first services starting on 21 August 1924. The DH-4 continued in Post Office service until 1927, when the last airmail routes were passed to private contractors." (via wikipedia)
Meanwhile, the much larger Handley Page O/400, also produced in America, was also being entertained as a mail machine. "Benjamin B. Lipsner was the driving force behind day-to-day procedure in the early days of Airmail service. He was the primary organizer of the Army service and he established the daily routines that lead to the Washington-New York route being, for the most part, reliable... Lipsner rejoiced when, at the conclusion of the war, the army promised the Post Office Department twelve Handley Page bombers. (via postalmuseum.si.edu)
(from the Brecon Country Times, 30 January 1919):
(https://i.imgur.com/AKFa4xg.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/5u9AnD1.jpg)
(image: 'deHavilland DH-4 at the Omaha, Nebraska, airfield', via postalmuseum.si.edu)
(https://i.imgur.com/kHJKKUH.jpg)
(image: 'Lipsner... hands Max Miller the mail he was assigned to fly to Chicago on September 5, 1918.', via postalmuseum.si.edu)
Apparently the fate of these Handley Pages did not go as suggested in today's news, as Lipsner's plans were blocked by Otto Praeger, who "was the Washington, D.C., postmaster from 1913 to 1915 and was the Second Assistant United States Postmaster General from 1915 to 1921. He was responsible for implementing airmail from 1918 to 1927" (via wikipedia). "Praeger, however, decided that there was no place in the service for aircraft of such size. Parts from the Handley Pages were used to modify the DH-4s for service. This incensed Lipsner, and he cited it as one of the reasons that he parted company with the Airmail Service." (via postalmuseum.si.edu)
(https://i.imgur.com/hGmJfyK.jpg)
(image "Otto Praeger circa 1920", via wikipedia)
Six months following the publication of today's report, "...angered by Praeger's insistence that they fly their routes on time even in zero visibility weather or be fired – a policy that had resulted in 15 crashes and two fatalities in the previous two weeks alone – U.S. Airmail Service pilots begin a spontaneous strike. After Praeger and the United States Post Office Department received much negative comment in the press, the strike ended in less than a week when the Post Office Department agreed that officials in Washington, D.C., would no longer insist on pilots flying in dangerous weather conditions". (via wikipedia)
(https://i.imgur.com/8Tbq3Oo.png)
To watch archival film footage of these rival American-made British designs being built and flying, let's revisit Rookie's post from last year: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13247.msg246666#msg246666
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I like the idea of building the classic Airfix Handley-Page as a What If? US Mail machine! How fascinating!
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I like the idea of building the classic Airfix Handley-Page as a What If? US Mail machine! How fascinating!
Now you talkin'!
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As noted in this article, after the outbreak of war, Miss Davies presented her Bleriot to the RNAS to augment it's force of 39 planes, 52 seaplanes, 6 airships and 2 captive balloons (stats per naval-encyclopedia.com). I haven't been able to deduce which serial number may have been allotted to her machine. Might anyone know?
From Royal Navy Aircraft Serials and Units 1911-1919, Sturtivant & Page.
'Bleriot Parasol type XI-BG tractor monoplane presented by Miss Trehawke Davis 8.14 & numbered 903. (70-hp Gnome)
Allocated Eastchurch 25.8.14; [Delivered] Eastchurch ex Sandgate 20.9.14; [Aeroplane Depot Dunkerque (at St. Pol)] 27.9.14; 3 Sqdn Ostende by 8.10.14; Deleted 22.10.14. (unsuitable for either Eastchurch or Dunkerque)'
[ ] to expand on abbreviations.
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From Royal Navy Aircraft Serials and Units 1911-1919, Sturtivant & Page.
'Bleriot Parasol type XI-BG tractor monoplane presented by Miss Trehawke Davis 8.14 & numbered 903. (70-hp Gnome)
Allocated Eastchurch 25.8.14; [Delivered] Eastchurch ex Sandgate 20.9.14; [Aeroplane Depot Dunkerque (at St. Pol)] 27.9.14; 3 Sqdn Ostende by 8.10.14; Deleted 22.10.14. (unsuitable for either Eastchurch or Dunkerque)'
Brilliant!
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Night Fight
I just love this structured yet dynamic composition by the artist Geoffrey Watson depicting 'A Rearguard Action' between a German airship and two British fighter planes in darkness above the searchlights of (presumably) London. It truly does evoke a loneliness among the combatants, as suggested in the caption.
(from The Aeroplane, 31 January 1917):
(https://i.imgur.com/cqzJhiH.jpg)
Has anyone here ever played or seen the WW1-based video game Battlefield 1? 100 years later, this is one of the closest ways one can get to simulating the experience of those night fighters. Here are a few screen shots of a pre-dawn Zeppelin raid on steroids, posted by a gamer on Youtube:
(https://i.imgur.com/cDlQ4Jy.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/KI0QwxK.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/HXlI17K.png)
And here's an intense nine-minute clip of the gameplay: https://youtu.be/3CJRhXP5f1o?si=rtrMlkkmo094Gv0T
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Twenty-Four Fellows on a Fokker
(from Slipstream Monthly, February 1924):
(https://i.imgur.com/H6y1muO.jpg)
This great photo, demonstrating the wing-loading potential of the Fokker D.VIII in a jovial but primitive way, appeared in a 2008 Smithsonian Magazine article where they applied computer analysis to determine the effectiveness of Sopwith and Fokker designs:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/what-the-red-baron-never-knew-22968921/
Have a look at forum member LT1962's Mikr Mir Fokker E.V/D.VIII: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12305.msg230164#msg230164
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Kahnt Kaput
Paired with our post from two days back here's another evocative example of 1910's aviation art along side news of the death of German aviation pioneer Oswald Kahnt. The poster depicts a fictional aerial armada of Kahnt's gossamer Grade eindekkers flyinh in formation around Leipzig's newly erected Völkerschlachtdenkmal. Kahnt's Flieger-Schule was based at Lindenthal near Leipzig, Germany's second-oldest airfield officially approved for powered flight. He was killed test piloting a new Gotha. I'm not sure which type he was flyinh but I believe Gotha's prototype G.1 made its first flight on the same day Kahnt made his last- 30 January 1915.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 2 February 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/20eZXek.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/HQei7Rv.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/CcI0BNW.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/I0QajpU.jpg)
(image via akpool.de)
“On Saturday, January 30th, the well-known flight instructor Oswald Kahnt had a fatal accident in Gotha. He had climbed to considerable altitude in a biplane in gusty weather. The apparatus plunged steeply to earth. The fuel tank exploded, causing the machine to burn completely and the plane to die instantly." (via Flugsport, March 1915)
"Oswald Kahnt was the official representative of the Grade aircraft works in Leipzig. In 1911, Kahnt began training military pilots at the officers' flying school in Lindenthal. Oswald Kahnt was a co-founder of the Lindenthal-Leipzig Airfield Association and opened the first private Saxon flying school in Lindenthal in 1911. Kahnt designed the “Falke” monoplane and set up a workshop for aircraft construction. On May 18, 1912, Oswald Kahnt transported airmail for the first time in a powered aircraft in Leipzig.
In 1913, Oswald Kahnt gave up his company in Lindenthal and went to aircraft construction at Gothaer Waggonbau AG . In May and June 1914, Oswald Kahnt took part in the triangular flight Berlin – Leipzig – Dresden. On February 3, 1915, Oswald Kahnt, chief pilot, had an accident while testing a new aircraft. A street in Lindenthal is named after him." (via architektur-blicklicht.de)
Here's a look at forum member PrzemoL's build of the 1/32-scale Gotha g.1 by Wingnut Wings: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10523.msg192849#msg192849
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Farmans and Airships
(from the Souvenir Album of the Great European War, 1914)
(https://i.imgur.com/oTCEnaX.jpg)
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Attack on Albania
Among other activities, Austrian airplanes have raided ports along the Albanian coast.
(from the Daily Gate City, 4 February 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/0X9kAOZ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/JdSj5Be.jpg)
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Pégoud Strikes
Celebrity aviator Adolphe Pégoud is again fêted in the international press today for one-man bombing raid on a German ammunition dump. The article claims he was flying a monoplane though I believe he had just joined Escadrille MF25 on January 21st, which would have been outfitted with Maurice Farmans. A true pioneer pilot, Pégoud "...became the first man in Europe to descend from an aircraft in a parachute. Less than a month later, he became the first pilot to perform a loop and, during World War I, he was the first French pilot to score five victories. {and} The first ace to be killed in aerial combat". (via the aerodrome.com)
(from the Brecon County Times Neath Gazette, 5 February 1915):
(https://i.imgur.com/pDEsAaJ.png)(https://i.imgur.com/lSth6HN.jpg)
Above is a a primer on Pegoud's aerial expolits from the March 1936 publication Lives of the Aces in Pictures (via ageofaces.net).
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Frenemies
...plus a prize Rumpler! Good but grainy images show the machine gun and helmet used by a German gunner who died in combat against French foes. As mentioned in the article, the pilot survived, the airplane captured intact, and the dogfight ended with a handshake on the ground. The victorious French is named only as 'Gilbert'... any know his true identity?
(respectively from the Cambria Daily Leader and the Illustrated War News, 6 February 1916):
(https://i.imgur.com/DA7jiom.png)(https://i.imgur.com/qcSfLFx.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/qPTKG5b.jpg)
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Steel Birds Snarl and Hum
Oklahomans were treated to this combat story from a German perspective on this day in 1915. This well-written telling of coordinated aerial attacks while the Great War was still young enmeshes the classic conflict narratives.. man vs. man, man vs. machine, man vs. nature.
(from Tulsa Daily World, 7 February 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/KzXmywBT/02-07-1915-Thrilling-Battle-Tulsa-Daily-World-1.png) (https://postimg.cc/d79b2WWQ)(https://i.postimg.cc/yNNPjsPT/02-07-1915-Thrilling-Battle-Tulsa-Daily-World-2.png) (https://postimg.cc/jDGPdVBW)(https://i.postimg.cc/nLcZQQz9/02-07-1915-Thrilling-Battle-Tulsa-Daily-World-3.png) (https://postimages.org/)
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First Flight = First Kill
(from the Bismarck Tribune, 8 February 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/Dwd81yPx/02-08-2928-Down-Plane-First-Flight-Bismarck-Tribune-1.png) (https://postimg.cc/gxjzWp5h)
(https://i.postimg.cc/XNsShZnR/02-08-2928-Down-Plane-First-Flight-Bismarck-Tribune-2.png) (https://postimg.cc/SjYvYx2d)(https://i.postimg.cc/ryPZx5Vw/02-08-2928-Down-Plane-First-Flight-Bismarck-Tribune-3.png) (https://postimg.cc/6TChN24k)
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Into the Mist
A lone Hanriot HD.1 slipped into the clouds over the north sea of Sangate. Experienced test pilot SLt René Vertongen was never seen alive again. One account claims he was en route to N° 1 Squadron at de Moeren airfield with the delivery of this plane (serial #10). Another notes he was flying from France to Great Britain "with a royal mailbag, when he was surprised above the sea by a storm". The 40-year-old flyer's body washed ashore at the French Fort-Lapin (Sangatte) on April 14.
(from the Daily Capital Journal, 9 February 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/QxfyCtQF/02-09-1918-Vertongen-Missing-Daily-Capial-Journal.png) (https://postimages.org/)
(https://i.postimg.cc/FKwqnxPP/aviateur-008.gif) (https://postimages.org/)
(image via 1914-1918.be)
Here's a brief bio on this aviator: https://www.1914-1918.be/lieutenant_vertongen.php
Have a look at forum member gbrivio's build of the Edouard 1/48 Hanriot: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9639.msg176154#msg176154
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Know Your Enemy
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 10 February 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/hvjTrbq6/02-10-1915-Know-Your-Planes-Cambria-Daily-Leader.png) (https://postimg.cc/R6kWCthL)(https://i.postimg.cc/gcQtv4jH/Screenshot-2024-02-10-at-8-34-05-AM.png) (https://postimg.cc/s1PJzYpM)(https://i.postimg.cc/dV8GzV4f/711-Tf-Vd-E1l-L-SL1024.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/ts416p0d)
Lots of planes depicted in these old posters. Here's a look at forum member kensar's scratchbuilt Avro 504: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11980.0
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Zeppedemic!
"Everybody has it".
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, February 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/4yZQLQrw/02-05-1915-Zepidemic-Abergavenny-Chronicle.png)[url=https://postimg.cc/HJqYztWg](https://i.postimg.cc/LXXJHyrn/1-5bbf6ab46bdaf29060c4650f2a070a07.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/YGnFjY2m)
(https://i.postimg.cc/RZg3j5Dj/s-l960-1.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
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A Tragic First
Lieutenant William Frederick Nelson Sharpe was among the first three members of the short-lived Canadian Aviation Corps where he piloted the one an only aircraft of that air force - the tailless, swept-wing Burgess-Dunne biplane. By the turn of 1915 Sharpe was with the Royal Flying Corps in England. He crashed during a routine exercise near Shoreham, West Sussex on February 4. This unfortunate incident made Lt. Sharpe the first Canadian aviator to die during the Great War.
(from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 12 February 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/SQZmpcD3/02-12-1915-First-Canadian-Air-Casualty-Abergavenny-Chronicle.png) (https://postimages.org/)
(https://i.postimg.cc/k4LYDzdh/Screenshot-2024-02-13-at-6-53-39-PM.png) (https://postimg.cc/FdgVBPzj)
(image: an MF.11 (serial unknown) reputedly at Shoreham, 1915)
A memorial plaque stands today in Ottawa:
(https://i.postimg.cc/VvxyQ56v/IMG-8678.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/SYf1cScb)
(image via ottmem.blogspot.com)
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"Cool Audacity"
Who knows if this Taube tale of tall or not, but it's a fun read.
(from Llais Llafur, 13 February 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/FRdxpMsN/02-13-1915-Cool-Russian-Llais-Llafur.png) (https://postimg.cc/BL3DQwKV)
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Master Tacticians
Whatever your tactics are.... happy Valentine's Day.
(from the Illustrated War News, 14 February 1917):
(https://i.postimg.cc/PqdmMFCP/02-14-1917-Air-Tactics-Illustrated-War-News-1.png) (https://postimg.cc/v4SgYhLs)
Here's a V-Day card for those unsung two-seaters... though not sure if my tactic would be a 'ukulele arrangement'.
(https://i.postimg.cc/FHqsGYW8/6f4c83bef9ab74e9f47d9d770b11627c.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
And here'a a look at forum member TimDEFR's build of a 1/32 CS Nieuport 17 as flown by André Herbelin, who scored his first aerial victory two weeks before this article was published: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13044.msg243203#msg243203
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Downed in Dunkirk
Can anyone identify what type of machine this wreckage once was?
(from the Western Mail, 15 February 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/RVDdb3Yt/02-15-1918-Downed-in-Dunkirk-Western-Mail.png) (https://postimg.cc/Mv11nGqZ)
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Yes.
Not me, I'm just saying there will be someone who can ;D
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Probably Rumpler C.IV C.6787 of the C.6675 - 6824/16 production batch.
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brilliant!
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That's impressive!
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Repeat Offender
Last October the imprisoned German aviator Otto Thelen headlined here in a post titled 'Birdman Becomes Jailbird' for an attempted breakout from Donington Hall (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg259427#msg259427). Today he's in the news again for sentencing after a second jailbreak; this time from Holyport prison camp.
(from the Aeroplane, 16 February 1916):
(https://i.postimg.cc/mZQc9KSK/02-16-1916-Thelen-Sentenced-The-Aeroplane.png) (https://postimages.org/)(https://i.postimg.cc/rwPy7LTn/thelen.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
(image via essexregiment.co.uk)
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Pour le Mérite Recipients
For those willing to wade through this old German typeface you'll recognize the names of a number of notable fliegers!
(from the Norddeutsche allgemeine Zeitung, 17 February 1917):
(https://i.postimg.cc/63BX3CkP/02-17-1918-Wintgens-Pour-Le-Merite-Norddeutsche-allgemeine-Zeitung.png) (https://postimg.cc/67bSb45V)
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Air Raid on Czernowitz
Reports on aerial attacks from French and Russian forces against the Austrians on the Eastern Front today.
(respectively from the Hobart Mercury, 8 February 1916; and the Llangollen Advertiser, 18 February 1916):
(https://i.postimg.cc/MZ0mdTSr/02-18-1916-Chernowitz-Bombed-Llangollen-Advertiser.png) (https://postimages.org/)
(https://i.postimg.cc/5N6W8Zcy/02-18-08-1916-Czernowitz-Batte-Hobart-Mercury.png) (https://postimg.cc/gnF7Wt2b)
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Really enjoyed that German article, being deeply immersed in the history of the Eindeckers it was cause for reflection that almost all the "rock stars" of the Fokker Scourge era were dead by the time it was published; Boelcke, Immelmann, Wintgens, Walter Höhndorf, Ernst Böhme, Otto Parschau; all have daggers after their names. And Buddecke wouldn't last more than a few days after he returned to the Western Front from fighting for the Ottomans.
Dutch
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Really enjoyed that German article, being deeply immersed in the history of the Eindeckers it was cause for reflection that almost all the "rock stars" of the Fokker Scourge era were dead by the time it was published; Boelcke, Immelmann, Wintgens, Walter Höhndorf, Ernst Böhme, Otto Parschau; all have daggers after their names. And Buddecke wouldn't last more than a few days after he returned to the Western Front from fighting for the Ottomans.
Very insightful observation. A reminder of the high attrition rate even among the best pilots.
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"Where Dead Men Now Lie"
...and speaking of high attrition rates along the Western Front - this aerial observer's photograph, published the same week and nearly 5,000 miles away from the article on German aviators from two days back, shows the devastation of the front lines.
(from the Birmingham Age-Herald, 19 February 1917):
(https://i.postimg.cc/FFCmW8V6/02-19-1917-Above-the-Trenches-Birmingham-Age-Herald.png) (https://postimg.cc/bdnKd6M0)
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Load Up
Another Farman crew keeping busy.
(from the New Britain Herald, 20 February 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/d3QMtctZ/02-20-1918-Taking-on-Bombs-New-Britian-Herald.png) (https://postimg.cc/62PbYSZB)
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Hunting with 'Lady Maud'
Australia's top flying ace recounts some of his many thrilling missions. "Robert Alexander Little, DSO & Bar, DSC & Bar.. had an official tally of forty-seven victories. Born in Victoria, he travelled to England in 1915 and learned to fly at his own expense before joining the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Posted to the Western Front in June 1916, he flew Sopwith Pups, Triplanes and Camels with No. 8 Squadron RNAS, achieving thirty-eight victories within a year and earning the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Distinguished Service Cross and Bar, and the French Croix de guerre. Rested in July 1917, he volunteered to return to the front in March 1918 and scored a further nine victories with No. 3 Squadron RNAS (later No. 203 Squadron RAF) before he was killed in action on the night of 27 May, aged twenty-two." (via wikipedia)
(from the Melbourne Herald, 21 February 1917):
(https://i.postimg.cc/kG3ZCvcT/02-21-1917-unting-with-Lady-Maude-Melbourne-Herald-1.png) (https://postimg.cc/7G9XM7jz)(https://i.postimg.cc/J48gdKtn/02-21-1917-unting-with-Lady-Maude-Melbourne-Herald-2.png) (https://postimg.cc/nMd0X44b)
I couldn't find any models of 'Lady Maud' on the forum but here's Brad Cancian's brilliant build of 'Blymp', the Sopwith Triplane which Robert Little would be switching over to in just a few weeks after today's report was published:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=2507.msg40770#msg40770
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Tin 'Plane
I'm glad to have stumbled across this report on Canadians stumbling across an abandoned Junkers. I assume it's the same J.I serial (586/18) that is preserved at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa?
(from the The Copper Era and Morenci Leader, 21 February 1919):
(https://i.postimg.cc/QdKz0rd4/02-21-1919-Tin-Plane-The-Copper-Era-and-Morenci-Leader.png) (https://postimg.cc/Xr3xYmFd)
(https://i.postimg.cc/xTWQ5z2R/J35901-YOW-Musee-Air-20120224-153114-Reserve-Junkers-JI.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
Check out forum member michaels' build of the 1/32 WNW Junkers J.1: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=1351.msg21512#msg21512
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Dog is My Copilot (Redux)
Don't know about you all but I'd feel lucky to have this chap as my wingman.
(from the Evening Star, 23 February 1919):
(https://i.postimg.cc/7Ywt6cKL/02-23-1919-Evening-Star-1.png) (https://postimg.cc/WtYwY9LR)
Here's another canine headline from back in August 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg246885#msg246885
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"Made in the U.S.A."
Here's another rare bird that didn't seem to live up to the hope's of its designer... though it was praised in this article as being 'steady as a cook stove'.
(from the New-York Tribune, 24 February 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/J79mFSQc/02-24-1915-Heinrich-Armored-Aeroplane-New-York-Tribune-1.png) (https://postimg.cc/hhbHzy6f)
(https://i.postimg.cc/c1Vh8csL/02-24-1915-Heinrich-Armored-Aeroplane-New-York-Tribune-2.png) (https://postimg.cc/4nQVDV7D)
Albert Sigmund Heinrich, in partnership with his brother Arthur, built a small number of airplanes in the pioneer days. He holds a modest historical claim of being the first man to pilot an American monoplane. Here's an image of him in the cockpit on the eve of the great war.
(https://i.postimg.cc/2yrZcvtm/image.png) (https://postimages.org/)
(image via wikipedia)
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Blinded By Blood
Italians in action today.
(respectively from the Daily Kennebec Journal and the Imperial Valley Press, 25 February 1916:
(https://i.postimg.cc/85Z6YF0t/02-25-1916-Blinded-By-Blood-Daily-Kennebac-Journal.png) (https://postimg.cc/Q9WC9MsT)(https://i.postimg.cc/tJvpN02B/02-25-1916-Barbieri-Awarded-Medal-Imperial-Valley-Press.png) (https://postimg.cc/8fv2TY8v)
(https://i.postimg.cc/GtkV2gmm/Achille-Beltrame-Leroica-gesta-del-capitano-Salomone-il-ritorno-da-Lubiana-con-i-compagni-uccisi.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/SYxD1r9B)
"On 18 February, "in response - as Cadorna's bulletin stated - to the multiple violations of the law of nations with unjust insistence perpetrated by the enemy since the beginning of the war, a squadron of six of our Caproni left for an incursion on Ljubljana. Facts Despite strong enemy anti-aircraft fire, our planes were able to reach about fifty kilometers from Ljubljana without incident. But, following the alarm given by the Monte Santo observatory, some very fast Fokkers, rising from the Aisovizza airfield, chased the squadron and having reached it, not daring to face it, they attacked the last aircraft, piloted by the brave captain ORESTE SALOMONE, who had distinguished himself so much in the Libyan war, who had as companions two officers, captain LUIGI BAILO and lieutenant colonel ALFREDO BARBIERI.
The penultimate Caproni, having noticed the attack, prepared to rush to the aid of his companion, then to the officers who were piloting him it seemed that the attacked aircraft had disengaged itself and resumed its route towards Ljubljana, and since the sonorous roar of the propellers and the deafening roar of the engines had not allowed them to hear the crackle of the Fokker machine guns, they did not imagine the tragic fight that had taken place so quickly.
Captain Salomone was wounded in the head by the enemy's first shots, then Bailo and Barbieri were hit and killed, one after the other. The Solomon, left alone, headed towards Italian territory, refusing to surrender to the enemy aviators who, having run out of ammunition, signaled him to land. Despite the pain that the wound caused him and the blood that ran down his face and obscured his vision, although the bodies of his two dead companions made the maneuver difficult and tiring for him, supported by superhuman energy, he managed to escape the shots of the anti-aircraft batteries and land on Italian territory.
The other five Caproni, who arrived on Ljubljana and faced the fire of the enemy batteries and the attacks of numerous Austrian planes, lowered themselves onto the city and, through gaps in the clouds, threw several dozen grenadines and bombs. An aircraft, hit by shrapnel which damaged its engine, flying at low altitude, managed to return to its base on the sea side. Another, attacked by a swarm of Austrian fighters and the pilot having been fatally hit, landed disastrously near Biglia and was partly destroyed. The surviving officer, the Roman lieutenant MARCO AURELIO RIPAMONTI of the 19th Guide Regiment, was taken prisoner. The other aircraft returned unharmed. The heroic Captain Solomon was awarded the gold medal a few days later."
(Major Roberto Mandel, "La Guerra Aerea", 1931.
Here's some further history as found on wingsofwar.net:
"In February 18, 1916 Italians planned an attack on Ljubljana. It must have been a reprisal for an attack on Milan in the days before. Between 7.30 and 7.45, 10 Ca3 were taken off, armed with several torpedoes bombs of 90 mm and 162 mm, from Aviano and Comina fields. After a short time, three of Ca3 returned to base for engine problems. Of the others, only five reached the target and they dropped 36 bombs on the railway and the city. Three-engine, faced fierce and determined AA reaction. All planes returned with signs of shot on fuselage.
Ca3 piloted by captain Ercole Ercole and lieutenant Gino Laureati the engine had hit by a shot and returned to base with only two motors.
Less fortunate Ca3 piloted by captain Visconti and captain Turilli. Their plane suffered an engine failure at the central engine, and so after dropping their bombs on the railway they decided to return to base. With the plane losing altitude, they were attacked by Fokker AIII flown by Captains Kostrba and soon three other AIII and two other biplanes. With the machine gun jammed, chap Visconti was killed while he was shooting with is pistol. Trimotor hit several times hovered near Merna where captain Turilli was captured. This was the first Caproni Ca3 shot down in aerial combat.
On the same day, during a previous sortie, Kostrba Captains and peers Bernath had attacked another Ca3 piloted by captains Luigi Bailo and Oreste Salomone with Lieutenant Colonel Alfredo Barbieri as an observer. The two hunters rushed Ca3 diving towards the rear. The blasts killed Bailo trying to shoot with a rifle and LT. Col. Barbieri brandishing a machine gun. Salomone head injuries did not give up and managed to bring "Aquila Romana" ("Roman Eagle" this was the name given to the bomber) beyond the front line landing in friendly territory. This story was much celebrated in Italy and it was dedicated a cover of "Domenica del Corriere" to celebrate the heroic exploit of Captain Solomon, the first Italian pilot to get the Gold Medal for Military Valor."
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Cheap Flying
(from the Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder, 26 February 1919):
(https://i.postimg.cc/QtKhjYbP/02-26-1919-Cheap-Flying-Herald-of-Wales-and-Monmouthshire-Recorder.png) (https://postimg.cc/gXpfDD1q)
No model type is given here but this article must be referring to the one-off Blackburn Sidecar. A real rarity! A handful of companies (including the Royal Aircraft Factory and Sopwith), experimented with airplane designs built around the ABC Motors Ltd. Gnat motor, which evidently proved only minimally more reliable than their notorious Dragonfly.
(https://i.postimg.cc/50ZhmwzF/Blackburn-Sidecar-1919.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/ZBxsbvVT)
(image via wikipedia)
Here's a view of the ABC Gnat motor:
(https://i.postimg.cc/4xNxc5PL/ABC-Gnat-859128975.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/JGv8Vj9Z)
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Madridian Monoplane
Amidst their warring neighbors neutral Spain maintained a modest aerial program through the 1910s. Here's a loose translation of today's spotlight on the Escuela Catalana de Aviación: "The sports editor of "La Publicidad", from Barcelona, Mr. Feliú, when undertaking, at the Catalan School of Aviation, one of the preparatory flights for his Immediate "brevet".."
(From La Publicidad, 27 February 1917):
(https://i.postimg.cc/3Nzv5FyF/02-27-1917-Screenshot-2023-12-08-at-11-15-13-PM.png) (https://postimg.cc/QKktc5JF)
(https://i.postimg.cc/cC4mFFZr/Hedilla-Anzani-Copy.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
(https://i.postimg.cc/436QZDxY/Pingui-Bleriot-Xi-Copy.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
(images via leandroaviacion.blogspot.com)
Learn a little more about the Catalan student aviators here: https://leandroaviacion.blogspot.com/2016/11/1917-primeros-alumnos-aviadores.html
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'Quickfiring' Fee
This touch of farfetchery from Western Australia suggest that Royal Aircraft Factory's F.E.2s participated in the first raid on Zeebrugge and Ostend. This particular plane looks to be the prototype F.E.2, designed by Geoffrey DeHavilland way back in 1911. Here it is seen kitted with a Maxim machine gun. The prototype underwent much modification and actually crashed nearly a year to the day before this article was published:
"During a trip to the South Coast piloted by Royal Aircraft Factory test pilot Ronald Kemp on February 23,1914, it spiralled into the ground from 500 ft. at West Wittering, seven miles from Chichester, Sussex, due it was said, to the absence of fixed fin area to offset the increased keel surface of the new nacelle. Passenger E. T. Haynes, a civilian scientist at the Factory, was killed and the aircraft destroyed." (via flyingmachines.ru)
(from the Kalgoorlie Sun 28 February 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/sgywnq8c/02-28-1915-Sopwith-Gunbus-Kalgoorlie-Sun.png) (https://postimg.cc/3dSXNS34)
(https://i.postimg.cc/qRTLvR8T/RAF-FE2-1912.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Fs307mHF/Royal-Aircraft-Factory-F-E-2-with-Maxim-gun-RAF-Museum1.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
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Buried Alive
I was unable to corroborate this report about a French pilot meeting a bleak fate, along with the witnesses to this potential war crime. Possibly propaganda, it's a reminder as to how merciless mankind can be.
(from the Evening Time Republican, 1 March 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/6QCvQxLJ/03-01-1918-Aviator-Buried-Alive-Evening-Time-Republican.png) (https://postimg.cc/rdFmhbPQ)
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State of the Art
An invalided Torontonian aviator, Lloyd Faulkner, reveals the latest tech flying over the western front in this interview excerpt. Referenced herein are Handley Page, Sopwith, Nieuport, and SPAD (misspelled 'Spat'!).
(from the Northern Argus, 2 March 1917:
(https://i.postimg.cc/Zn0wyq5D/03-02-1917-Pup-Northern-Argus-1.png) (https://postimages.org/)
(https://i.postimg.cc/KjdDkrVR/03-02-1917-Pup-Northern-Argus-2.png) (https://postimg.cc/kRvbL87m)
More of Faulkner's story over at The Aerodrome archive: https://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-32400.html
Here's a great build of a speculative SPAD in RFC service by forum member RAGIII: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12641.0
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Femmes Fight Fallen Fokker!
Amazing story from the Polish front today, just in time for International Women's Day.
(from the Sydney Mail 3 March 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/rwsX15fQ/03-03-1915-Polish-Women-Capture-Germans-Sydney-Mail.png) (https://postimg.cc/3dsc705v)
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Champion of Eagles
Tenente Silvio Scaroni was Italy's second-ranking ace of all time and the second-ranking pilot of the Hanriot HD.1 (behind Belgium's Willy Coppens). Following the demise of Count Francesco Baracca in June 1918, Scaroni became Italy's L'asso Degli Assi; maintaining that status until his death at age 83 in 1977.
(from L'Italia 4 March 1919):
(https://i.postimg.cc/SNcNw532/03-04-1919-Itlaian-Ace-L-Italia.png) (https://postimg.cc/gnkWhMYm)
Rough translation:
"'The coveted title is the pride of Silvio Scaroni from Brescia, who is documented as having shot down twenty-five enemy aircraft. He is therefore the absolute champion of that glorious host of eagles who they have undermined our unconditional supremacy of the air. First of the first among the living "aces"... he is surpassed only by Francesco Baracca who also commands the admiration and gratitude of all Italians: because never as in Silvio Scaroni have heroism and modesty found a more perfect marriage."
Check out forum member andonio64's build of Scaroni's Hanriot: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=5859.msg144564#msg144564
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Unidentified Floating Object
Despite this derelict seaplane reported as having a British propeller and Gnome motor, the type of machine remains elusive to me. A peek over on the Aviation Safety Network reveals nothing exactly matching this description near this article's publication date. However, there is an entry for a White & Thompson No.3 Flying Boat (serial #1199) that was knocked into the sea by anti-aircraft fire on Tuesday, February 16. This seaplane is recorded as having been "forced to land in the Wester Schelde near Deurloo. Towed to Vlissingen by a Dutch torpedo boat". This would make for a fairly long time on open seas and the W&T was powered by an Austo-Daimler water-cooled engine, so I'm not sure if these two incidents match. Might anyone have a clue as to this aircraft's true identity?
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 5 March 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/G3kK7PdL/03-05-1915-Derelict-Seaplane-Cambria-Daily-Leader.png) (https://postimg.cc/3Wx2WvkV)
(https://i.postimg.cc/t48cLhvB/3fb8fe7a-5fe1-fee7-7cee-6653bfb1dffa.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
The No.3 Flying Boat clearly has a Curtiss influence. I've long wanted to build a model of this rarity.
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Wrecked and Rescued
Paired with yesterday's post of a derelict British flying boat, today's story recounts the fate of two unlucky/lucky German naval airmen adrift in a snow storm in the North Sea. The second article paints a particularly vivid picture: "...it was dark, with much frost and fog, rockets were seen some miles away. They made very slow progress for want of wind, but soon after daybreak, when the fog lifted, they saw a seaplane on the water... One of her floats was smashed, and a wing was torn and broken. On one side she was submerged and two men were clinging to the side farthest from the water. They were in a terrible state of exhaustion and had to be lifted into the boat.
(respectively from the Denbighshire Free Press, 6 March 1915; and the Malaya Tribune, 27 April 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/qRjnhHYg/03-06-1915-Germans-Adrift-Denbighshire-Free-Press.png) (https://postimg.cc/0MKrFF9q)(https://i.postimg.cc/vZ25ZsJB/03-06-04-27-1915-Rescure-of-German-Airmen-Malaya-Tribune.png) (https://postimg.cc/DSsSxtyk)
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Fünfzehn Flieger
This snippet suggests the Germans have been busy in the skies along the Western Front.
(from the Detroit Times, 7 March 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/W1PJqZFh/03-07-1915-Germans-Bag-15-Planes-Detroit-Times.png) (https://postimg.cc/vc3mpcvs)
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Welcome back, PJ, missed ya! Really enjoyed these posts, and the best part was being presented with an aeronautical mystery, which required two ice cubes, three fingers of Larceny, and a pleasant hour's rummaging about in my Great War aviation library. Tough assignment, but once more into the breach and all that. Anyway, sometimes the oldies but goodies are the ones you should check first, so I started with my precious original copy of Jane’s 1919, moved on to the Putnam books, and finally ended up leafing through what’s probably my favorite all-around favorite WWI aviation book, the Harleyford Marine Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. It was listed under Norman Thompson (the company was renamed from White & Thompson Ltd. in October, 1915), and you’ve got a good eye, it says The Company held licence to build Curtiss aircraft, and while they both had the typical configuration of Curtiss flying boats, they were completely re-designed with e.g. R.A.F. No. 6 Section wings in place of Curtiss wings...
(https://i.postimg.cc/W3Yb1HKP/temp-Imagewj-Z9g1.avif)
And that top bird is only one serial number off yours.
Dutch
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Hey thanks Dutch! Bourbon and books... two critical tools for proper research. I've been mad busy the past week or so but finally made time to catch up with the daily news (and a glass of Bruichladdich). Great pics you found. Nice port-mounted Lewis gun on that second one. I'm also a fan of White & Thompson's 'Bognor Bloater', possibly the most streamlined British fuselage of the entire war... held back by B.E.2 wings and motor.
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Le Cinquième de Pinsard
French Flyer Amand Pinsard achieved ace status this week when he shot down a German Rumpler while piloting, I believe, a Nieuport 17 north of Laval, France. The lieutenant had been leading the newly formed Escadrille N78 for just under three months.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 8 March 1917):
(https://i.postimg.cc/0NN3BGcc/03-08-1917-Pinsard-s-5th-Cambria-Daily-Leader.png) (https://postimages.org/)(https://i.postimg.cc/7YB9jdh7/s-l1600.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
The ever-adventurous Pinsard survived multiple newsworthy encounters before and after this article. Some early stories: "In October {1914}, he participated in a bombing raid that attempted to kill the German Kaiser. ...in November 1914... he pioneered the use of an aircraft to place an espionage agent behind enemy lines.... On 8 February 1915 he fell into German hands and was held prisoner of war when his plane was forced down behind German lines.... Thirteen months and several attempts later, Pinsard tunneled under a 12-foot-tall prison wall to freedom on 26 March 1916. It took him another two weeks to cross the lines into neutral Switzerland and to repatriate himself on 10 April.
His reward for his daring escape was retraining as a fighter pilot and an assignment to France's foremost fighter squadron, Les Cigognes. By July 1916, he was flying a Nieuport with Squadron N26. On 7 August, in a pioneering close air support role, he made no fewer than six firing passes on German troops attempting to counterattack a French unit. Then he and his three wingmen went on to strafe a train loaded with German troops. He was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur for this action.
On 1 November 1916, he opened his victory roll in air combat. After a winter's layoff, he resumed his winning way on 23 January 1917, flying as Commanding Officer of Squadron N78." (via wikipedia)
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Incendiary Souvenir
Has anyone ever written a book on WW1 German bombs? I'd like to learn more about them. The one featured in today's news is somewhat similar looking to one of several incendiaries in the collection of the Imperial War Museum (image below). They were originally wrapped with cordage covered in flammable tar. The last image is more recent 3D rendering of one that I made. Still need to dial in the smaller details.
(from the Australian Town and Country Journal, 9 March 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/sgg4TnbT/03-09-10-1915-Yarmough-Bomb-Australian-Town-Country-Journal.png) (https://postimg.cc/ZCXNRLbN)(https://i.postimg.cc/9Fh4pJrs/a38eaa79c9d44c94f6b0c6456cb9c9a0.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
(image via twitter.com)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Zq2LbnSG/Bomb-German-incendiary-000000.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)(https://i.postimg.cc/mPfhn0v5/Bomb-OGI-Zeppelin-cone-1-32-v2.png) (https://postimg.cc/mPfhn0v5)
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"New Terror of the Skies"
Despite a touch of artistic license with the cover art this article offers an comprehensive understanding of the impact of air power upon traditional military strategy when the Great War was still just eight months old. Included is a recounting of the fledgling RNAS raids on Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Friedrichshafen.
(from Stead's Review, 10 March 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/ydWxJ3FB/03-10-1915-How-Aeroplane-Has-Changed-War-Stead-s-Review-0.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/PpsT9x3F)(https://i.postimg.cc/zDKptxLs/03-10-1915-How-Aeroplane-Has-Changed-War-Stead-s-Review-1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/K4cn4rDf)
(https://i.postimg.cc/5jG61w76/03-10-1915-How-Aeroplane-Has-Changed-War-Stead-s-Review-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/5jG61w76)(https://i.postimg.cc/JH3gT3tP/03-10-1915-How-Aeroplane-Has-Changed-War-Stead-s-Review-3.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/JH3gT3tP)(https://i.postimg.cc/JtqC5mJm/03-10-1915-How-Aeroplane-Has-Changed-War-Stead-s-Review-4.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/JtqC5mJm)
Here are two past headlines referencing two early RNAS raids:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg251298#msg251298
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg261014#msg261014
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How to Bust a 'Gasbag'
Way too much math for me. But here's a handy guide to keep with you in case ever needed.
(from the Globe and Sunday Times, 11 March 1916):
(https://i.postimg.cc/yxvbw9Vr/03-11-1916-Bomb-Droppers-Globe-and-Sunday-Times-War-1.png) (https://postimg.cc/bSSgnZSQ)
(https://i.postimg.cc/zBSD6JVP/03-11-1916-Bomb-Droppers-Globe-and-Sunday-Times-War-2.png) (https://postimg.cc/JD0WBC3b)
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Don't Tell Mama
This two-sentence account is rather fascinating. It reminds us that French civilians were partly petitioned during the Great War, and that news before internet, television, and radio, could be tough to come by. Hard to believe today that the mother of one of France's greatest aces was entirely oblivious to his notoriety for years! The story also suggests a maternal view of war that is often overlooked among military historians but that certainly resonated during this conflict. Coincidentally, during the same week Charles Nungesser engaged in his first dogfight (April 1915) the number one musical hit over in America was the pacifist protest song 'I Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Soldier', which recounts the potential tragedy of war from a mother's perspective. Madame Nungesser became a doyenne of sorts among airmen's mothers and made the press a few times amidst her son's great adventures and his ultimate journey into the great unknown (see second article from 1927).
(from the Lakeland Evening Telegram, 12 March 1917):
(https://i.postimg.cc/L4gWqTT2/03-12-1917-Nungesser-s-Mom-Lakeland-Evening-Telegram.png) (https://postimg.cc/XX3Lm9mz)
(https://i.postimg.cc/PrxPzCCX/Screenshot-2024-03-11-at-9-40-14-PM.png) (https://postimg.cc/vDJYGH7k) (https://i.postimg.cc/HLddCrbR/img.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/mPX0Y2Xy)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Dwvmrfzr/Set-of-three-1915-U-S-anti-war-sheet-music-I-didn-t-raise-my-boy-to-be-a-soldier-RSZ-1-1200x.webp) (https://postimages.org/)
Have a listen to the Peerless Quartet's version of 'I Didn't Raise by Boy to be a Soldier', which topped the charts in May 1915: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6WwsiJ5co8
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A friend of mine has a small collection of original Nungesser memorabilia (including his wedding album, to an American heiress), and in one or the other of the scrapbooks he owns is a pair of photos of CN's mother’s home in Paris, which she maintained as a shrine to his memory after his disappearance:
(https://i.postimg.cc/kXsyYtMD/temp-Image-NBC0qp.avif)
(https://i.postimg.cc/qRcKt9zg/temp-Imagex-Wo-FXJ.avif)
Poor lady. As a father of three, I can’t begin to relate.
Dutch
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Wow, great pics!
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Daytime Drama
This two-page pictorial featuring Airco D.H.4's is a fun read.
(from the Illustrated War News, 13 March 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/gJW4rYTf/03-13-1918-Day-Bombers-Illustrated-War-News-1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/f38YrhZK)(https://i.postimg.cc/XNLPpz0p/03-13-1918-Day-Bombers-Illustrated-War-News-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/DmW6N50T)
Here's a 3D rendering I've made of a 230lb High-Explosive Royal Laboratory Bomb, as being admired by this aircrew.
(https://i.postimg.cc/gchnzBtR/Untitled-design-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/CdFFJJgL)
And here's a link to forum member Brad Cancian's 1/72 Airfix DH.4 from No. 110 Squadron: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12604.0
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Make a Run for the Border
(from the Grand Forks Herald, 14 March, 1917):
(https://i.postimg.cc/VN84HCZs/03-14-1917-German-Downed-By-Dutch-Escapes-Grand-Forks-Herald.png) (https://postimg.cc/0zVpzbqh)
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Pesce Volante
Today's spotlight is on Italian aerial activity along the Adriatic.
(from the New Britain Herald, 15 March 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/g2M0jh7c/03-15-1918-Two-Types-of-Italians-New-Britian-Herald.png) (https://postimg.cc/mPH46PRK)
This Macchi 'flying fish' appears to be an L.2/M.3 type. I couldn't find any builds for this on the forum, but here's an amazing 1/144th-scale M.5 recently shared by William Adair:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=14056.msg259031#msg259031
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Grenfell Fells Four
Piloting his new Morane N Bullet (serial #5068) British airman, Eustace Osborne Grenfell MC DFC AFC, earned ace status in a quadruple victory. His victims included three Fokkers and an Albatros. In a likely attempt to assuage linger fears of the Fokker Scourge, today's article report of his actions from 17 January "...in a forty-minute dogfight over the Houthoulst Forest, he drove down a Fokker Eindekker, forced another to land, put another one out of control, and drove down an Albatros two-seater." (via wikipedia)
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 16 March 1916):
(https://i.postimg.cc/763tQJ6j/03-16-1916-Grenfell-Decorated-Cambria-Daily-Leader.png) (https://postimg.cc/k65y24Wy)
(https://i.postimg.cc/9FCKshvs/Avro-500-E-O-Grenfell-pilot.png) (https://postimages.org/)
(image: appears to be Grenfell aside what appears to be an Avro 500, via london-medals.co.uk)
Read more on Grenfell's contributions to the British military through two world wars over at the London Medal Company, where some of his personal effects are presently for sale: https://london-medals.co.uk/the-unique-and-exceptional-great-war-western-front-fighter-ace-17th-january-1916-multiple-victory-military-cross-india-north-west-frontier-waziristan-1924-distinguished-flying-cross-and-biggin-hill-commanding-officer-s-home-service-november-1918-air-for
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Nose-Down Nieuport?
This grainy photo appears to contradict its caption that French ace Georges Charles Marie François Flachaire downed a German aircraft into a barbed-wire morass. Unless this sesquiplane is a Fokker M10 or some other obscure German type, this looks like a Nieuport 10/17 to me. Flachaire's combat victory closet to this report's publication date occurred four months earlier in November 1916 over Manancourt. Has anyone seen this image before?
(from the Queenslander, 17 March 1917):
(https://i.postimg.cc/jjmXvN7Q/03-17-1917-Caught-in-the-Wires-The-Queenslander.png) (https://postimg.cc/xkGM1Xgc)
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Count Down
"It's really not a pretty sight: seeing such a giant bird rushing into the depths, hopeless and mortally wounded." Fokker pilot and future German ace Hartmuth Baldamus wrote bittersweetly about his first aerial victory. "The only consolation is the probability that the crew was already killed in flight, because I had fired... at point blank range with two machine guns..." The losers in this brief battle was French nobleman Jacques Decazes de Glucksbierg and aviator François Lefebvre, whose Caudron was sent flaming into the ground near Nauroy. "We ourselves perhaps do not have an idea of the brevity of the time such an incident lasts. The chase lasted only 60 - 75 seconds. Shots: 3 seconds only! The fall of the plane, some 45 seconds". (quotations: Hottenroth, JE (ed.), Sachsen in großer Zeit , Volume I, 1920, ed.; via http://www.lesamisdenauroy.fr/Nauroy-43-Combat-aerien.html)
(from the Topeka State Journal, 18 March 1916):
(https://i.postimg.cc/TwgBd2nm/03-18-1916-Count-Down-Topeka-State-Journal.png) (https://postimages.org/)(https://i.postimg.cc/s2GLY41r/9327277db2e6db5388f0d1be5385f49f.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/cKZTZYQ9)
"...several residents of Beine in Marne witnessed the aerial combat which took place in the direction of Nauroy. A French plane was forcing a German plane to land and return to its lines, when a small enemy Fokker which was flying over the French plane attacked it unexpectedly. Two minutes later, the latter was in flames and fell to the ground. The next day, another tricolor airplane rushed to the scene of the battle and dropped two wreaths to pay homage to the unfortunate heroes.". The event was immortalized in a stained-glass trytich within the walls of a local church.
"One hundred years later, on the morning of March 15, 2016, Escradrille SAL 28 from Saint-Dizier air base 113, to which the two unfortunate pilots, Count Jacques Decazes and François Lefebvre, belonged, came to remember in Beine- Nauroy of this heroic act... On this occasion, two {Dassault} Rafales flew over the village, before separating" (quotations via http://frontdechampagne.over-blog.com/)
Click the above links for more images and backstory!
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Wonder Weapon
(from The War Illustrated, 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/Z5ZbX72b/00-00-1916-Anti-Aircraft-Guns-warillustratedal0004hamm-0299.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/4mLR95Xq)
Fun facts: "The French 75 mm field gun is widely regarded as the first modern artillery piece. It was designed as an anti-personnel weapon system for delivering large volumes of time-fused shrapnel shells on enemy troops advancing in the open. After 1915 and the onset of trench warfare, impact-detonated high-explosive shells prevailed. By 1918 the 75s became the main agents of delivery for toxic gas shells. The 75s also became widely used as truck mounted anti-aircraft artillery. They were the main armament of the Saint-Chamond tank in 1918.
In 1915 Britain acquired a number of "autocanon de 75 mm mle 1913" anti-aircraft guns, as a stopgap measure while it developed its own anti-aircraft alternatives. They were used in the defence of Britain, usually mounted on de Dion motor lorries using the French mounting which the British referred to as the "Breech Trunnion". Britain also purchased a number of the standard 75 mm guns and adapted them for AA use using a Coventry Ordnance Works mounting, the "Centre Trunnion".[21] At the Armistice there were 29 guns in service in Britain." (via wikipedia)
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Wolf Cub
The exploits of the Imperial Germany Navy's SMS Wolf (IV) are fairly renowned. Today's cover pictorial marks the return of the armed merchant raider's 451-day voyage - the longest of any warship during the Great War. "On 30 November 1916 the Wolf left her home port of Kiel with a crew of 348 men. Escorted by the SM U-66 from Skagerrak to the North Atlantic, she passed north of Scotland and turned south going around the Cape of Good Hope, where she laid some of her mines, into the Indian Ocean. She dropped mines at the harbors of Colombo and Bombay, then entered the waters of South Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
With the help of the "Wölfchen" (Wolf Cub), a Friedrichshafen FF.33e two-seater seaplane, she located and seized enemy vessels and cargo ships. After transferring their crews and any valuable supplies (notably coal, but also essential metals of which the German war effort had much need) to the Wolf, she then sank the vessels. The Wolf destroyed 35 trading vessels and two war ships, altogether approximately 110,000 tons." (via wikipedia)
"Fregattenkapitän Karl August Nerger also relied on a Friedrichshafen FF.33E floatplane dubbed Wölfchen (Wolf Cub), which provided invaluable over-the-horizon scouting and participated in five captures. On June 16, 1917, the biplane stopped the 567-ton, four-masted schooner Winslow by dropping a bomb in front of the U.S. ship. The pilot then landed Wölfchen alongside Winslow and—pistol in hand—ordered its captain to steam toward Wolf." (via historynet.com)
(from the Hamburger Fremdenblatt, 20 March 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/qMRSMMyf/03-20-1918-Wo-lfchen-Hamburger-Fremdenblatt.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/ThzCtxtQ)(https://i.postimg.cc/nz9tHgzJ/STEINFABECK640.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/k6CHsjK1)
(https://i.postimg.cc/KYrXp2s9/wolf-internal1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/NyMPLWtT)
(image via squadronshop.wordpress.com)
(https://i.postimg.cc/QC6h43VL/Wolf-voyage.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
(image via wikipedia)
Just weeks before today's story was published, a motion picture was filmed of the Wölf's return to Kiel Harbor. Luckily this footage survives; the Wölfchen can be spotted at the 9:18 mark: https://www.europeanfilmgateway.eu/detail/S.M.%20Hilfskreuzer%20Wolf/barch::bd08cecbe7b53236f26fddcb84312674
Here's a look back at forum member Alexis' build of the this wasserflugzeug: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12174.msg227127#msg227127
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Bavarian Big Bird?
A vague post-war report from a German-language newspaper in Wisconsin, USA, suggests that Rumpler-Luftfahrzeugbau GmbH, is building a flying machine capable of transatlantic flight. Loosely translated: "Berlin. The Rumpler aircraft factory in Bavaria, which also supplies the famous Tauben, has a huge aircraft under construction that will be used to fly across the ocean."
Not sure what the source of this story was but the pending Treaty of Versailles would restrict Germany from manufacturing aircraft. After a failed attempt a automobile manufacturing Rumpler would fall into receivership by 1923... though not before producing their intriguing Tropfenwagen. If you've ever seen Fritz Lang's classic movie 'Metropolis', you might recognize it! Considered by some sources to be the world's first streamlined production car it clearly was inspired by flight aerodynamics. Rumpler ultimately was acquired by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, which would evolve into BMW. The first German airplane to cross the Atlantic (east to west) would be the Junkers W 33 Bremen, nearly a decade later in 1928.
(from Nord Stern, 21 March 1919):
(https://i.postimg.cc/L6zXqySp/03-21-1919-Rumpler-Nord-Stern.png) (https://postimages.org/)
(https://i.postimg.cc/1XHQpKS7/Screenshot-2024-03-21-at-6-44-30-PM.png) (https://postimg.cc/ZvC2mpC6)
(image via vorkriegs-klassiker-rundschau.blog)
(https://i.postimg.cc/CLCRrb7S/Screenshot-2024-03-21-at-6-32-35-PM.png) (https://postimg.cc/1ftRfnbj)
(image via zwischengas.com)
See the Tropfenwagen in action in this period Pathe newsreel: https://youtu.be/FoCMB0Ugwls?si=ci81Da_x0cjgv8yL
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Big Breguet
I'd love to do a build of this rarity, which looks to be a Bre.5 or similar derivative. Has anyone here done one?
(from the Western Mail, 22 March 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/rp4h3Hd9/03-22-1918-Breguet-and-Nieuport-Western-Mail.png) (https://postimg.cc/McWbjdmc)
(https://i.postimg.cc/qqMHxH0T/Untitled-design-2.png) (https://postimages.org/)
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More on Macchi
Following our March 16 headline on the Macchi flying boat here's another boasting the merits of the flying boat's advanced speed.
(from the Alaska Daily Empire, 23 March 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/CKptpjGp/03-23-1918-Macchi-is-Fastest-in-World-Alaska-Daily-Empire.png) (https://postimg.cc/bZLLQSVm)
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Pistol Packin' Pusher
The Short Brothers S.81 Gun-Carrying Pusher Biplane Seaplane was erected at Royal Naval Air Station Eastchurch in May 1914. Assigned serial number 126, it joined 'E' Flight in the flypast at the Spithead Royal Review later that summer (which headlined here back in August 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg246655#msg246655). Throughout the first year of the Great War it was used as a platform for numerous gun tests. The Vickers 1-1/2-pdr quick-firing gun, Lewis gun, 6-pdr Davis recoilless gun were all fired in flight by #126, which was powered by a twin-row 160-hp Gnome rotary. The Graphic of Australia must have been looking for page fillers on this day in 1916, because this pre-war, one-off, 'Modern Hydroplane' had already been deleted five months prior!
(from the Graphic of Australia, 24 March 1916):
(https://i.postimg.cc/nhqBXkCk/03-24-1916-Short-Pusher-Graphic-of-Australia.png) (https://postimg.cc/yDYk50hg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/XNwBxfRh/1294559-large-vik-Q6-please-credit-palette-fm.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
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Teal vs. Taube
For forty-five fraught minutes the British merchant steamship Teal zigged and zagged through the currents off Noordhinder Bank while a German warplane buzzed overhead. The two-man 'Taube' (as the press tended to identify every German plane in the Great War's early days) made multiple attempts to sink the coaster vessel. Luckily, the attackers' salvos of 'bombs, bullets, and darts' all missed their mark and the ship and its cargo of baking ingredients reached London safely. However, the German's ultimately nabbed the Teal thirteen months later when it was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by the submarine UB-27.
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 25 March 1915):
(https://i.postimg.cc/9Qw24z4y/03-25-1915-Taube-on-Teal-Cambria-Daily-Leader.png) (https://postimg.cc/Bj3kkSBv)
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Stand to Your Glasses
No old news today. Instead, a tribute to the fallen:
We loop in purple twilight
We spin in silvery dawn
With a trail of smoke behind us
To show where our camrades have gone
In flaming Spad and Camel
With wings of wood and steel
For mortal stakes we gamble
With cards that are stacked for the deal
We stand 'neath resounding rafters
The walls around us are bare
They echo the fields laughter
It seems that the dead are all there
So stand to your glasses steady!
This world is a world full of lies
Here's a toast to the dead already
Hurrah for the next man to die
Here's how it was sung:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2p_MkmKqP8
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Crumpled Rumpler?
(from the Sydney Mail, 27 March 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/qR9tmKLb/03-27-1918-Turkish-Skeleon-Sydney-Mail.png) (https://postimg.cc/bD9Nrs4k)(https://i.postimg.cc/h4fHKzBG/Screenshot-2024-03-27-at-8-43-33-AM.png) (https://postimg.cc/LhFyTshd)
(image via blogs.deakin.edu.au)
I don't have any specifics on this skeletonized bird, though it looks to align with an image shared in this blogpost on aerial surveillance: https://blogs.deakin.edu.au/dialogic/2022/09/
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Wind Beneath Their Wings
"In July 1914, 3.3 million women worked in paid employment in Britain. By July 1917, 4.7 million did. British women served in uniform as well in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. In fact, the last known surviving veteran of World War I was Florence Green of the RAF, who died in 2012." (via theworldwar.org)
(from the Australian Town and Country Journal, 28 March 1917):
(https://i.postimg.cc/4ygcmLKk/03-28-1917-Women-Workers-Australian-Town-and-Country-Journal.png) (https://postimg.cc/62MqPhLY)(https://i.postimg.cc/brKDnmV9/image.png) (https://postimages.org/)
Read more about 'Women in WWI' here: https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/women#:~:text=In%20July%201914%2C%203.3%20million,RAF%2C%20who%20died%20in%202012.
And here's more on the Women's Royal Air Force: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Royal_Air_Force_(World_War_I)
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Dangerous Business
Three tragic incidents headline today from the British home front. The first involves a rookie pilot who fatally crashed through a church roof. "Second Lieutenant Kenneth Wastell landed his De Havilland DH6 aircraft in Hemingford Meadow to ask for directions. Aiming for a night out in St Ives, he most likely intended to leave his plane at Wyton Airfield. Having been given guidance, he turned the plane around, revved up the engine, took off and crashed into the Parish Church spire. The Board of Enquiry that followed could find no evidence of any fault in the aircraft. Evening mist or blindspots caused by the biplane's wings were suggested as causes. Inexperience was another possible factor. Kenneth, only 19 years old, was killed in the crash". (via stives100yearsago.blogspot.com)
Read the full story at this brilliant site: https://stives100yearsago.blogspot.com/2020/11/st-ives-photo-album-1910-to-1919.html. And, here's a Youtube clip on this story, showing some surviving fragments of this plane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AQvGCcU__A.
(respectively from the Abergavenny Chronicle, 29 March 1918; the Cambridge Independent Press, and the Hunts Post, 31 March 1918):
(https://i.postimg.cc/5yDjZPsy/03-29-1918-Dangreous-Business-Abergavenny-Chronicle.png) (https://postimg.cc/vxLQnvFw)
(https://i.postimg.cc/mgz4hYT3/3-Parish-Church-St-Ives-1918-without-spire-marked.png) (https://postimg.cc/4YgqSh7n)(https://i.postimg.cc/cJ3dkQj1/19180330-St-Ives-Steeple-Catastrophe-web01.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/94W3rqCs)
(https://i.postimg.cc/26VjdsDJ/19180330-Demolition-of-St-Ives-spire-web01.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/Q9ZrhnVk)
(images via (via stives100yearsago.blogspot.com)
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Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Herr Boelcke
Two months after awarding the coveted Pour le Mérite to Oswald Boelcke, Kaiser Wilhelm posted a letter of congratulation to the pioneering fighter pilot for his continued dominance in the air. Boelcke felled four French planes during this month of March (three Farmans and a Voisin)
(from the Connecticut Western News, 30 March 1916):
(https://i.postimg.cc/cCzVnk2G/03-30-1916-Kaiser-Credits-Boelcke-Conncticut-Western-News.png) (https://postimg.cc/7Jgsv9qK)(https://i.postimg.cc/Xv8W9wRv/Untitled-design-2.png) (https://postimages.org/)
(image via wwitoday.com)
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Still Missing
Four months following the Armistice, the family of American observer Lieutenant K.P. Strawn are still hoping to find him alive.
"September 12th was the start of the St. Mihiel offensive and it is here the unit discovered the Germans could still exact a bloody price. The 11th and 20th were assigned to barrage patrols so the bombing assignments were carried out by the 96th. By the end of that first day, they had lost three flyers and eight aircraft. Friday the 13th was no better for the squadron when they lost two out of three aircraft after bombing German troops west of Metz. On the 16th, an afternoon raid cost the 96th four more aircraft and crews, only one crew, that of Lt. Charles Codman and his observer Lt. S. A. McDowell, surviving and being taken prisoner. Five more aircraft were shot down on the 18th. In less than a week, the squadron had lost over half its crews, a rate of loss not equaled by any other American Air Service outfit during the war." (via warnepieces.blogspot.com)
It would ultimately be learned that Lieutenant Strawn and his pilot, 1st Lieutenant Newton Rogers, were never POWs; they died in combat when their airplane went down in flames back on September 16.
(from the Evening Star, 31 March 1919):
(https://i.postimg.cc/W3jYyFj9/03-31-1919-Airman-s-Fate-Mystery-Evening-Star.png) (https://postimg.cc/FfWxdKYc)
(https://i.postimg.cc/K86JdbGX/96th-Aero-Squadron-103-G8-P29.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/CR4GqWnJ)
(image a Breguet XIV of the 96th Aero Squadron, via wikipedia)
The 96th Aero Squadron headlined here last June: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg255905#msg255905
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Well, that wraps up a second year's worth of news. Thanks for reading along. Anyone up for another round?
Paul
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Absolutely, PJ. This has become one of my favorite parts of the forum. And I've said it before, but thanks for putting in the relentless effort to do it... it's greatly appreciated.
Dutch
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Right on.