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

[Brad Cancian]

Hi PJ - that's a beautiful build you've done there! Stellar work, especially given it is a Veeday kit!  That's some modelling right there!

Cheers,

BC

[PJ Fisher]

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

Dutch

Brilliant!

[PJ Fisher]

Hi PJ - that's a beautiful build you've done there! Stellar work, especially given it is a Veeday kit!  That's some modelling right there!

Cheers,

BC

Thank you! Worst Kit Ever...

[PJ Fisher]

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):


(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

[PJ Fisher]

Aeroplanes Inferior to Birds
Who let this grump in to the party?
(from the Horsham Times, January 1917):

[PJ Fisher]

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):


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. 

[PJ Fisher]

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):

[PJ Fisher]

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):



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

[PJ Fisher]

King-Hall, Cutler, Curtiss, Königsberg
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):




(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

[Dutch522]

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!")

[PJ Fisher]

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

[PJ Fisher]

GERMANY'S AERIAL FLEET
(from the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miner's Advocate, 13 January 1916):

[PJ Fisher]

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):


(image via aegeanwar.com.; more on their activities here:https://aegeanairwar.com/articles/the-french-seaplane-squadron-at-the-dardanelles)

[PJ Fisher]

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):




(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

[PJ Fisher]

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):