On this Day (WWI aviation news), Vol. 2

[PJ Fisher]

'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):



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. 


(photographs via italianiinguerra.wordpress.com and roncskutatas.com {possibly the plane flown by Stanislav and Müller})



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

[PJ Fisher]

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):


(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

[PJ Fisher]

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):


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

[PJ Fisher]

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):

[PJ Fisher]

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):



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

[PJ Fisher]

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):



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. :

[PJ Fisher]

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)


(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)

[PJ Fisher]

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):






Here are some detailed 3d rendering of Boyau's SPAD: https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-spad-s-xiii-maurice-1422762

[PJ Fisher]

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):


(image via albindenis.free.fr)

[PJ Fisher]

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):



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:

[PJ Fisher]

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):



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

[PJ Fisher]

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)



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


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

[AROTH]

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):



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?

[PJ Fisher]

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?

[PJ Fisher]

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):