On this Day (WWI aviation news)

[PJ Fisher]

Night-Fighting Farman
Alas, despite being on a few wish lists, this seems to be another airplane that no one has posted a build on the forum!
(from Popular Mechanics, November 1917):

[torbiorn]

«Signal rockets»? Those are le Prieur rockets aren’t they? Maybe the journalists were just guessing or asked to write that.

And yes, tempting subject.

[PJ Fisher]

«Signal rockets»? Those are le Prieur rockets aren’t they? Maybe the journalists were just guessing or asked to write that..

I do believe, yes!

[PJ Fisher]

Thirty Aces Killed
(from the Flushing Daily Times, 19 November 1917):

[PJ Fisher]

Attacked By 'Arrows'
Here's a article on the early use of French flechettes.  Ongoing use of such anti-personnel ballistic weapons remains controversial today.  For more insight and images, here's a relatively recent article on WWI flechettes from The Vintage News:  https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/03/03/the-flechettes/?chrome=1
(from the Daily Capital Journal, 20 November 1914)

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[PJ Fisher]

Zero Becomes Hero When Clumsy Chump KO's Champ
(from Popular Mechanics, November 1917):

[PJ Fisher]

Extra Horsepower Required For Desert Crossing
Here's a lonely B.E.2c making its way across Egypt.
(from the Illustrated War News, 22 November 1916):

.

[KiwiZac]

Lonely? It's got lots of friends! 

So. Who's going to build a dio of this with the Roden - or LukGraph! - kit?

[PJ Fisher]

Lonely? It's got lots of friends!    So. Who's going to build a dio of this with the Roden - or LukGraph! - kit?

Haha, true!  There are so many diorama-worthy photos of WW1 planes in transit our there.  This one's a good candidate:

[PJ Fisher]

Titanic Triplane
Here's a full-page feature on Italy's Caproni Ca.41 bomber.  About fifty of these things were produced.  Alas, this seems another plane which has yet to appear in model form here on the forum.
(from Popular Scinece, November 1917):

[PJ Fisher]

Slinging and Signaling Seaplanes
Following upon a news article here from August, here's a good view of a Short Admiralty Type 184 being slung from the deck of the British Royal Navy seaplane tender HMS Ark Royal.
(from the New York Tribune, 25 November 1917):



Check forum member IanB's 1/72 Aeroclub build of a folded Short 184:  https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=6956.msg127811#msg127811

[PJ Fisher]

"...Such a Splendid Cause"
Frank Luke recently made headlines here (back on the 11th) when news of his disappearance reached the press on the same day the armistice was signed.  However, it was not until this day in 1918 when his death was formally acknowledged in Luke's homestate paper.  It was another front-page story, for Luke, the son of a Prussian immigrant, was already a locally renowned hero.  This article itemizes his remarkable string of victories that spanned the last few weeks of his 'splendid cause'.
(from the Arizona Republican 26 November 1918):


. .

Check out forum member gomidefilho's 1/100th paper-card model of Luke's SPAD 13C1:  https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9142.msg166587#msg166587

[PJ Fisher]

Ball Works Overtime, Earns Bonus
This article recounts how British airman Albert Ball was simultaneously awarded the Distinguished Service Order with Bar for multiple same-day engagements flying multiple planes morning and evening against hostile aircraft.  In one attack he reputedly broke up a formation of Roland C.IIs using Le Prieur rockets intended for observation balloons. At this time, during the fall of 1916, Ball was Britain's top-scoring ace with 31 victories.  He was subsequently sent on leave to the homefront where he was hailed a national hero.
(from the Sydney Morning Herald, 27 November 1916):

[PJ Fisher]

One-Legged Officer Flies For Germany
There's an 'eindekker' joke in here somewhere...
(from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, 28 November 1918):

[PJ Fisher]

Over the Front
This simple article from the sixteen-month-old war unwittingly touches upon all the aspects that make this microcosm of WWI aviation such an interesting history to study: the evolution of fighting tactics in a wager for month-by-month supremacy, the introduction of new technology in real time, the race for more powerful engines, ever-increasing firepower, adaptive ingenuity in the field, plus the individual struggle of man vs. man (and sometimes man vs. machine).
(from the Hickory Daily Record, 29 November 1915):