On this Day (WWI aviation news)

[PJ Fisher]

Chivalry for an Ace Who Survived Only Four Months
(from the Providence Evening Tribune, 8 July 1918):

[PJ Fisher]

Italian Air Instructor Breaks Own Rules, Pays Ultimate Price
The story goes that he initiated a nosedive at just 300 feet but could not pull out in time.  He crashed on the same airfield later used by Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post, and where Charles Lindbergh would begin his legendary TransAtlantic solo flight in 1927.  Gianfelice Gino's name lives on as the the honorary title of the Sons of Italy Lodge No. 878, in Freeland, Pennsylvania.

(from the Evening Tribune, July 1918):


(Banner image from the History of Freeland, PA website)

[PJ Fisher]

Fighting in the Air (part 1 of 2)
(from Popular Science, July 1917):


(to be continued tomorrow)

[PJ Fisher]

Fighting in the Air (part 2 of 2)
(from Popular Science, July 1917):

[Rookie]

Very interesting articles Paul, thanks for posting them!

Willem

[PJ Fisher]

My pleasure. Glad others are enjoying too.

[PJ Fisher]

Spotlight: Guynemer vs. Boelcke
Check out the tweaked spandau he's using for a walking stick.
(From Popular Science, July 1917):

[PJ Fisher]

No Parachute? No Problem.
Simply act like a 'drunken man or little child' right when you're about to hit earth.
(from the Warsaw Daily Times, 13 July 1917):

[PJ Fisher]

Captured Illinois Airman Escapes Germans Five Times.  Brooklyn Ace's Tenth Victory.  French Squadron Commander Goes Missing. Romanian Airman Killed.
Host of updates today from the Sunday Star (14 July 1918):

[PJ Fisher]

Friendly Fire: Shot Down and Lived to Yell About It
WWI aviation histories commonly cite how, during the war's early years, soldiers on the ground would shoot at any anything flying overhead.  Here's an intriguing article confirming such incidents did occur.
(from the Roundup Record-Tribune, 16 July 1915):

[PJ Fisher]

Hauptmann Wilhelm Reinhard Killed
Here's a snippet on the German ace and successor to Manfred von Richtofen as leader of Jagdgeschwader 1, who was killed during a test flight nearly two weeks earlier.  Isn't that how George Peppard met his end in the 'Blue Max'?
(from the Calgary Daily Herald, 16 July 1918):

[PJ Fisher]

Ruse de Guerre - Disguised German Airplanes Attack American Observation Balloon
(from the Easton Free Press, 17 July 1918):

[PJ Fisher]

Action in the Dardanelles
Here are two possibly related stories from separate sources of allied travails in Turkey, featuring a needy Nieuport.
(respectively from the Macon Beacon and the Nome Daily Nugget, 18 June 1915):

[PJ Fisher]

Mick Mannock Posthumously Awarded the Victoria Cross
Amazing post-script to this story from wikipedia:

"Mannock's Victoria Cross was presented to his father at Buckingham Palace in July 1919. Edward Mannock was also given his son's other medals, even though Mick had stipulated in his will that his father should receive nothing from his estate. Soon afterwards, Mannock's medals were sold for £5. They have since been recovered and are now owned by Lord Ashcroft; they are on loan to the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon. The Death Plaque was sold by his niece in September 2014 for £26,400 to a private buyer".

(from the Glasgow Herald, 19 July 1919):





p.s. Check out forum member ondra's 1/144th scale scratch-built model of Mannock's SE.5a: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8583.msg157996#msg157996

[PJ Fisher]

Entwined Airplanes Fall 6000 Feet; 'Vaccinated' Pilots Walk Away Unscathed
(from the Mitchell Capital, 20 July 1916):