Author Topic: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32  (Read 8320 times)

Offline Tim Mixon

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO wiosna 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #15 on: April 22, 2023, 03:01:26 AM »
Very interesting to read of the history behind the pilot and aircraft. Very nice work on the interior as well!

Offline Boch

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO wiosna 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #16 on: April 22, 2023, 10:35:56 PM »
Very interesting to read of the history behind the pilot and aircraft. Very nice work on the interior as well!


Thanks Tim


April 1914 arrives, the last spring of peace and the last weeks before the storm. Makijonek, already as a pilot, returns to 3 KAO. At the beginning of hostilities, he has the rank of senior sergeant-pilot, he is still a non-commissioned officer. Typical unit activity begins.

From the very beginning of World War I, the air squadron of the 3rd Corps, in which Donat Makijonek served, was assigned to the 3rd Army Corps under the command of General Yepanczyn. The main warfare in which he participated took place in what was then East Prussia on the route Wilkowiczki - Verzhblovo - Shtallupönen - Gumbinnen - Instenburg. The main tasks of the unit were liaison and reconnaissance flights. The unit was armed with five Nieuport-4 monoplanes, eight officers (five pilots and three observer pilots) and 117 lower ranks (mechanics, attendants, medics, convoys, etc.) served in it. Senior Petty Officer Makijonek was the only pilot who did not have an officer rank. The detachment was led by a military pilot, staff captain Georgy Myachkov. The squadron took an active part in the famous Battle of Gąbin on August 20-21, 1914, when the Russian army inflicted a crushing defeat on General Mackensen's corps. In this battle, the Germans lost about 8,800 killed and wounded, the Russian army took 6,000 prisoners.

It is here, in the skies of East Prussia, that military pilot Donat Makijonek stands out for the first time. On August 21, 1914, the squadron of the 3rd Corps was ordered to find the Russian cavalry, with which the command lost contact. The first crew of the squadron sent to search was missing (probably shot down by enemy fire). The second, who searched independently (without a pilot-observer) was Donat Makijonek. The young pilot found the cavalry and gave them their orders, but on the way back his plane came under fire from German machine guns. The shell pierced the fuel tank, and the pilot, turning off the engine so as not to start a fire, began to look for a place to land. Makijonek reached the line of his troops and landed safely. For this feat, on June 19, he was awarded the George Cross, 4th class.


Nieuport 4 owned by Donat Makijonek.

Despite the first victories, the Russian troops in East Prussia soon had to retreat. At that time, the Squadron of the 3rd Corps conducted reconnaissance flights over the cities of Koenigsberg, Allenburg, Friedland. The flights were accompanied by constant accidents and by September 1914 the unit was left without equipment, as a result of which it was declared unfit for combat and sent to the rear. In September 1914, Makijonek was sent to a flight school to train on the French Moran-Saulnier L Parasol aircraft. These machines were ordered en masse by the tsarist government in France, and later they were built at Russian enterprises (mainly at the Dux plant in Moscow).

According to the pilots themselves, these aircraft were not particularly successful. Their only advantages were the ability to carry light bombs weighing up to 70 kg and stability useful when photographing. This reconnaissance fighter was designed for a single pilot and could be armed with one machine gun: an 8.8mm Hotchkiss machine gun or 7.7mm Vickers or Lewis machine guns. However, at the beginning of its history, pilots flew combat missions armed only with handguns and revolvers. The maximum speed of the aircraft was 119 km/h. Due to the wing raised high above the fuselage, it received the name "Umbrella".


3KAO - Makijonek fourth from the left.

Makijonek successfully completed training on the new aircraft and returned to his squadron in November 1914. After a relatively quiet winter of 1914-1915, he began to take part in daily air patrols on Moran-Saulnier L and Moran-Saulnier G aircraft. On April 27, 1915, Makijonek made a reconnaissance flight on Moran-Saulnier G aircraft (tail number MS107) and found himself under anti-aircraft artillery fire. One of the bullets pierced the engine, the pilot barely managed to reach the front line and made an emergency landing near the position of the Russian troops on the Nida River (Poland). Makijonek managed to pull the aerial photography equipment from the overturned plane and hide in the nearest trench before enemy artillery fire reached the wreckage. For these selfless deeds, on April 28, 1915, Donat Makijonek was awarded the Holy Cross. George 3rd class.

In June 1916, together with the observer Szpakov, Makijonek discovered a large group of infantry and reported this to the command, unfortunately, this priceless information was disregarded, it ended in a heavy defeat of the tsar's army, known in history as the "summer disaster of 1915".


Morane - Umbrella and Donat Makijonek

In December 1915, the 3rd Corps Aviation Unit (3KAO) was transferred to the Wierzbowiec airfield near Proskurów. On the eve of the New Year, Tsar Nicholas II signed an extraordinary order, in which Makijonk was also mentioned among the outstanding aviators, which gave him the title of "military aviator". Donat himself found out about it after Christmas, when the belligerents again moved against each other. If earlier the pilots performed mainly reconnaissance activities, this time the tasks related to bombing dominated. On February 14, 1916, Makijonek dropped 16 bombs on a German grouping near the villages of Podhajce and Biłkornice. While returning to the airport, the engine stopped working and he glided the last 15 kilometers.

On February 17, 1916, the detachment made the first night bombing on the Western Front (in the Russian sense of the West). Two crews were assigned to the flight. Makijonek with observer Głubkowski on Morane - Umbrella and senior non-commissioned officer Vasily Yanchenko with observer Shiryajew on Nieuport 10. To avoid enemy artillery fire, they glided over the target with engines switched off (maybe that's why the idea for Po-2 :)?). They dropped 12 bombs over the target on the Buczacz railway station. After the bombing, they turned on the engines and returned to their own airfield, escaping as quietly and quickly as they had come. They returned unscathed, landing among fires and car headlights.

On February 19, Makijonek repeated the night outing with similar success. This time, however, the Pole and Janczenko set off alone for the rally. These flights brought the two pilots closer together, they shared courage and mastery in piloting, they were to experience many more adventures together with Janchenko, but let's not anticipate the facts. At the beginning of April, the tsar visited the active army, and a special aviation unit was established to protect him. Its ranks included the best, including Makijonek. He had to patrol the area of Chotin-Ruchotin-Szydłowce and participate in air battles, which, however, did not bring any result. On July 30, 1916, he was promoted to second lieutenant.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, the miniature is taking shape. I prepared the side covers of the cockpit and assembled the rear part of the fuselage. The cockpit covers and the base of the wing, which is also the floor, had to be painted in the color of plywood. Today I tested the oil accelerator from AK, great thing.



Best regards
Lukasz
« Last Edit: April 23, 2023, 12:06:55 AM by Boch »

Offline Radarman

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO wiosna 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #17 on: April 23, 2023, 12:34:45 AM »
Another enjoyable update. Thanks very much.
                                                  Kevin
We are all victims of history!

Offline RichieW

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO wiosna 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #18 on: April 23, 2023, 01:28:49 AM »
Great history lesson and some superb modelling. It's coming along beautifully.

Richie

Offline Boch

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO wiosna 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #19 on: April 23, 2023, 05:56:40 AM »
Another enjoyable update. Thanks very much.
                                                  Kevin
Thank you Kevin.

Great history lesson and some superb modelling. It's coming along beautifully.

Richie

Thanks Richie

Offline pepperman42

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #20 on: April 23, 2023, 08:24:07 PM »
Nice progress.

Steve

Offline Borsos

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #21 on: April 24, 2023, 06:09:33 AM »
Great interior on your Nieuport!
Andreas
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"Ein Berg in Deutschland kann doch einen Berg in Frankreich nicht beleidigen. Oder ein Fluß oder ein Wald oder ein Weizenfeld."
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Offline gedmundson

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #22 on: April 24, 2023, 06:24:13 AM »
Very nice work on your Nieuport.
Cheers,
Gary

Offline Tim Mixon

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #23 on: April 25, 2023, 12:21:31 AM »
Really nice work!  So cool to have such detailed history to read with your build. Very interesting. 

All the best,
Tim

Offline Boch

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #24 on: April 26, 2023, 07:26:39 PM »
Hello,

Thank you all very much for your kind words.

The last few days have been a hard - and here, unfortunately, I have to call it that - fight. Struggling with fitting the hull covers properly. The model is rich in details, basically everything looks ok, but it is demanding. Traps in every possible place are so treacherous that it is sometimes difficult to judge where the edge ends and where the trap begins. There was a lot of sanding, puttying and all over again. I had to make the division lines smooth, and then engrave the lines. I got boned. You have to think a few steps ahead of the instructions here, because there may be a surprise later. For example, when attaching the cockpit covers, you need to cut out the engine cover from the frame and fit its fastening before gluing the first one. A real puzzle. The manual itself also has errors. According to reviews, a model for beginners? So as a live - I am a very beginner.

 

Meanwhile, the last fittings before the painting.


Regards
Lukasz

Offline jeroen_R90S

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #25 on: April 27, 2023, 05:26:41 AM »
I loved your build thread on LSP for the Spitfire, it'll be a tall order to best that, but you sure are on your way!

Offline KiwiZac

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #26 on: April 27, 2023, 06:50:45 AM »
The photograph showing your current progress betrays none of the trouble you've been having, Lukasz - I think you're on the right track!

I loved your build thread on LSP for the Spitfire
I'm on LSP but there are so many Spits I'm afraid Lukasz' one has melded with them in my mind! Can either of you please give me a link?

Offline Boch

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #27 on: April 27, 2023, 03:49:09 PM »
I loved your build thread on LSP for the Spitfire, it'll be a tall order to best that, but you sure are on your way!

Thanks :)

The photograph showing your current progress betrays none of the trouble you've been having, Lukasz - I think you're on the right track!

I loved your build thread on LSP for the Spitfire
I'm on LSP but there are so many Spits I'm afraid Lukasz' one has melded with them in my mind! Can either of you please give me a link?

Thank you verry much.

Link to Spitfire:
https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/96415-132-tamyia-supermarine-spitfire-ixc-en315-zx6/

Offline PrzemoL

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #28 on: April 27, 2023, 05:15:15 PM »
You surprised me, Boch. I have built myself the early version of Ni17, and it was a verrrry fine model, indeed, no treacherous traps that I can remember. Me, I only complained about the seemingly unnecessary split of the fuselage into so many parts. Yes, filling and sanding was necessary but surely not beyond measure. Also, the instructions are alright - and generally, when building and painting WW1 multiplane a/c models I tend to treat the instructions only as a hint and generally I plan the build on my own, testfitting many times. ;-)
All in all, it makes me wonder if Ni21 kit and its instructions may be so diiferent than Ni17...

Still, what you show here is a stellar build, and I am looking forward to see your next installments. ;-)
Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul,
Ash nazg thrakatuluk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.

Offline Boch

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Re: Nieuport 21 N2453 - Donat Makijonek - 7 IAO spring 1917 - CSM 1/32
« Reply #29 on: April 27, 2023, 07:12:51 PM »
You surprised me, Boch. I have built myself the early version of Ni17, and it was a verrrry fine model, indeed, no treacherous traps that I can remember. Me, I only complained about the seemingly unnecessary split of the fuselage into so many parts. Yes, filling and sanding was necessary but surely not beyond measure. Also, the instructions are alright - and generally, when building and painting WW1 multiplane a/c models I tend to treat the instructions only as a hint and generally I plan the build on my own, testfitting many times. ;-)
All in all, it makes me wonder if Ni21 kit and its instructions may be so diiferent than Ni17...

Still, what you show here is a stellar build, and I am looking forward to see your next installments. ;-)

Thanks a lot Przemek. So the conclusion is simple. I still have a lot to learn :)