On this Day (WWI aviation news), Vol. 3

[PJ Fisher]

White Eagles
This interesting image showing a flock of forfeited Fokkers under armed guard.  The caption attributes the location as 'near the Forest of Ardennes'; however, the aircraft (at least the first two) exhibit the insignia of the not-quite-three-month-old Republic of Poland.

"Poland used a heterogenous mixture of equipment scrounged from the arms dumps of Prussia, Russia, and Austria or rushed from Allied surplus stocks. Initially, Austrian Oeffag-Albatros D.IIIs were the backbone of the Polish fighter force. These were supplemented by Fokker D.VIIs and D.VIIIs taken from Germany or her eastern allies and by French types. Nieuports and SPAD 7s left by the Czar's air force or captured from the Bolsheviks. A solitary Sopwith Camel served with the Kosciuzko Squadron, but this was the personal property of its American pilot. German and Austrian two-seaters were used in large numbers. Once the Allied advisory missions arrived, these types were supplemented by SPAD XIII fighters, Breguet XIV.A2 reconnaissance machines, and Italian Ansaldo A1 fighters." (via worldatwar.net)

"In January 1919, Greater Poland Branches at the Ławica Airport captured three Fokker D-VII aircraft. Lieutenant Norwid Kudło was the first Polish pilot. These aircraft became part of the 4th Squadron of Greater Poland, which was formed on March 25, 1919. Fokker D-VII planes also became part of the School of Pilots in Lawica. One of these planes was the personal machine of Adam Haber-Włyński. Until April 1919, the Greater Poland Army had a maximum of 10 Fokker D-VII aircraft. Further Fokker D-VII aircraft were bought in France from the stocks received by France under the Versailles Treaty. Poland also bought Fokker D-VII planes from the Germans who produced them at the Ostdeutsche Albatros Warke factory in Piła. There were about 50 Fokker D-VII aircraft in total in Poland. About 20 Fokker D-VII aircraft were used during the war with the Bolsheviks. In 1921, Fokker D-VII aircraft went to the 15th Fighter Squadron and all Aviation Schools. In Poland, planes were used until 1926. The last linear unit was the 116 Squadron from the 4th Air Regiment in Toruń. Fokker D-VII aircraft were operated at the School in Grudziądz until 1932." (via polot.net)
(from the New York Times Midweek Pictorial, 16 January 1919):



Here's a handful of postwar Polish Fokkers in 1/72 scale by forum member hadzi: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11699.0

[PJ Fisher]

Fallen 'French' Mystery Machine
It took some sleuthing to deduce the design of this supposed 'three-engined French biplane' carcass.  Weren't too many of three-engined French machines flying in those days... let alone any service aircraft flying multiple Salmson motors!  The Breguet XI prototype bomber had three engines, though they weren't radials.  The article's publication date made it too early for the Caudron C.23 long-range night bomber, which only had two Salmons.  Presumably this was a license-built Caproni Ca.3 of Italian design operating in French service with modified powerplants. Those twin petrol tanks suggest so, as do the biwheel landing gear and central pusher motor.  Below is an example of Caproni Esnault Pelterie CEP 1 Bn 2 unusually equipped with two Le Rhone 80 rotary engines plus purportedly one Canton-Unne radial.  Can anyone confirm this rare bird's identity?
(from The Aeroplane, 17 January 1917):

[Botan]

White Eagles
This interesting image showing a flock of forfeited Fokkers under armed guard.  The caption attributes the location as 'near the Forest of Ardennes'; however, the aircraft (at least the first two) exhibit the insignia of the not-quite-three-month-old Republic of Poland.

It may be a correct description. I think I once read a discussion if one photographed Fokker was Polish. Some German planes had black-white chequerboard emblem painted on them too. Also the first Fokker on photo clearly has a chequerboard painted directly on the top of hull too, which is uncommon for Polish Fokkers.

[PJ Fisher]

It may be a correct description. I think I once read a discussion if one photographed Fokker was Polish. Some German planes had black-white chequerboard emblem painted on them too. Also the first Fokker on photo clearly has a chequerboard painted directly on the top of hull too, which is uncommon for Polish Fokkers.

Good insight!

[PJ Fisher]

Friedrichshafen Found
Another mystery machine in need of identification!  Based on the reportage I'm guessing this adrift seaplane might have been a Friedrichshafen F.19.  It is surmised that the aircraft was 'connected with the raid on Cuxhaven' (which headlined here two years back: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg251267#msg251267).  According to the great and wise oracle (wikipedia):

"Built in small numbers, the aircraft first flew in 1914 and saw service during the early months of World War I, mostly conducting maritime patrols over the North Sea, although they did attack British ships participating in the Raid on Cuxhaven at the end of the year.  The British... {tenders positioned} north-east of Heligoland to hoist out their floatplanes on the morning of 25 December. The Germans had been alerted to the possibility of an imminent attack on their North Sea ports and were launching Zeppelins to search for any attackers that morning. A FF.19 on patrol spotted the Harwich Force after they had begun to move westward and had to return to Heligoland to deliver its report since it lacked a radio. The base alerted L.6 via searchlight to the presence of the British ships. As the Zeppelin attempted to close the range on the British, the carrier Empress, the slowest of the carriers, was lagging behind. It was unsuccessfully attacked by a FF.19 with six 4.5-kilogram (9.9 lb) bombs from an altitude of about 2,000 feet (610 m) and then by a Friedrichshafen FF.29 with two 10-kilogram (22 lb) bombs that landed closer, but failed to inflict any damage before the airship could attack.  Later that morning, after the carrier Riviera had recovered the only aircraft to return to the carriers, {one who didn't return headlined here in January 2023: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg251186#msg251186}, the Harwich Force was again attacked by FF.19s from Heligoland. One aircraft dropped five bombs on destroyers and the other attacked a cruiser with two bombs, none of which hit their targets. During this operation one FF.19 remained airborne for five hours and 52 minutes."

Might anyone have further info on this incident?
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 18 January 1915):

[PJ Fisher]

Albatros Apprehended
News from the Eastern Front of a captured German plane.
(from the Australian Town and Country Journal, 19 January 1916):

[PJ Fisher]

White Warbird
"On no front, not on the sun-scorched plains of Mesopotamia, nor in the frozen Mazurian marshes, nor in the blood-soaked mud of Flanders, does the fighting man lead so arduous an existence as up here on the roof of the world."

This is journalist E. Alexander Powel's 1917 description of the 'White War' between Austria and Italy - a conflict spreading along the Dolomites and Alps, often at an altitude above 2,000m.  And ascending all that allegedly flies an Austrian aviator as he's 'assailed' by allied anti-aircraft guns.  I suspect this picture story, which appears to show a Bleriot XI, is apocryphal.  Was the Kaiserliche und Konigliche Luftfahrtruppen ever equipped with Bleriots?  How many Bleriots were still in service anywhere in 1916?  Interestingly the Alps were famously traversed by a Bleriot XI (piloted by Swiss pioneer aviator Oskar Bider) before the Great War.  The following 1913 photo of his exploit show him piloting his monoplane... at the exact same angle as the baby Bleriot aloft in this photo.  Hmmmm...
(from the Bendigonian, 20 January 1916):



Further reading: Melting Glaciers Have Exposed Frozen Relics of World War I
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/world/europe/italy-glacier-wwi-artifacts.html

[PJ Fisher]

Poison Voisin?
A celebrated cricketeer and Coldstream Guard, Esme Fairfax Chinnery earned Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate #210 piloting a Deperdussin monoplane in April 1912.  Thereafter he transferred to No.4 Squadron Royal Flying Corps.  On the first day of the 1913 Army Manoeuvres that September he and future Air Marshall sir Patrick Playfair survived a crash landing in a stalled Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2a (serial #227).  By September 1914 Chinnery had crossed the Channel with the British Expeditionary Force and promoted to Captain and Flight Leader.  Alas, he was the first of several No.4 Squadron's pilots to fall in the new year of 1915... though ironically in this instance as a passenger.  Flight magazine delivers the details while faulting shoddy factory work:

"A Voisin biplane with two aviators fell in Paris at the Pont de Grenelle on January 18th, owing to the breaking of the controls.  The accident was attributed to a broken control wire, but one report from a reliable source states that a brazed joint in the control pillar gave way, and the whole thing came adrift in the pilot's hands.  He endeavoured to reach the Seine with rudder control only, but struck the bank only a few yards from the water which might have saved them both. The petrol tank took fire, and the passenger, Captain Chinnery, was burned to death.  The pilot, named La-Porte, had both legs broken, and received internal injuries to which he succumbed in the Boucicaut Hospital. The first Voisins of the big type were fairly well made, but one learns that in the later ones, probably owing to pressure for delivery, the workmanship is appalling, and the detail design is distinctly dangerous.  In fact, they have been described to the writer as veritable death-traps."
(from the Cambria Daily Leader, 21 January 1915):


(image via thebignote.com)

[PJ Fisher]

Mid-Air Maintenance
This looks to be a Parseval semi-rigid airship.  But are they really replacing a propeller?
(from The War of the Nations; No. 12, Vol.1, 1915):

[guitarfool]

I somehow doubt it, unless they happened to be carrying a spare propeller on board. Maybe a drive shaft problem?
You can do in-flight repairs in a dirigible craft. Not so easy to do on an airplane!

[PJ Fisher]

I somehow doubt it, unless they happened to be carrying a spare propeller on board. Maybe a drive shaft problem?
You can do in-flight repairs in a dirigible craft. Not so easy to do on an airplane!

haha True!

[PJ Fisher]

Manufacturing Monocoques
This streamlined fuselage lineup looks to be a string of LWF Model V biplanes.  130 examples of this type were built; most serving domestically in the United States. The Czechoslovakian Air Force (Československ letectvo) acquired twenty-eight second-hand airplanes, a few of these were subsequently operated third-hand by the Soviet Glavvozduhflot Air Force upon capture.

The Lowe, Willard & Fowler Engineering Company was founded in December 1915. Within months Fowler and Willard left and the acronym was repurposed to refer to 'Laminated Wood Fuselage' or 'Linen, Wire and Fabric'.  By the time of today's publication Lowe had also departed the company.  It underwent bankruptcy in 1924.

Fun fact: A modified Model V became the first airplane to fly using the famous 400 hp Liberty L-12 motor.
(from the Australian Town and Country Journal, 23 January 1918):

[PJ Fisher]

Winged Warriors Fight at Heaven's Gate
If you were one of the 14,000 citizens of Keokuk (Iowa's southern-most city) and caught today's front-page story you would have been introduced, possibly for the first time, to the thrills of air combat.  Of course the war was barely six-months old and aerial combat had yet to be codified.  The article includes mention of two future airmen of note - Vice Admiral Richard Bell Davies VC, CB, DSO, AFC (who first headlined here last January. https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13750.msg262001#msg262001); and Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Edmund Charles Peirse KCB, DSO, AFC.  Their deeds one day prior to this publication will earn them both the DSO.

Fun fact: One of Keokuk's residents was nine-year-old Howard Hughes.  Fifteen years on he will produce and direct the legendary WW1 air-combat epic 'Hell's Angels'.  Perhaps today's news inspired him?
(from the Daily Gate City, 24 January 1915):





Today you can get a glimpse of some Hell's Angels action in full color thanks to this brilliant build by forum member KitRookie37: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13110.msg244361#msg244361

[PJ Fisher]

Rat Dropping
There's a stowaway aboard the world's largest operational aircraft on an epic historical 'first' flight.  'Old Carthusian' (serial #J1936) was with a trio of brand-new Handley Page V/1500 bombers delivered to No. 166 Squadron during the final weeks of the Great War with a special mission to bomb Berlin (as reported here in December 2022: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12930.msg250116#msg250116).  One month after the Armistice this particular 'Super Handley' was assigned to make the first flight from England to India.  The multi-week through route departed from England with layovers in Rome, Malta, Cairo, and Baghdad, before reaching Karachi.  Somewhere en route a four-legged critter hitched a ride and was heard 'nibbling' (possibly on the mail being carried aboard?) for some time.  In five months' time Old Carthusian will be in the skies over Afghanistan for a bombing raid on Kabul.
(from the Herald of Wales, 25 January 1919):

[url=https://postimages.org/]
Following is an image of an original air-mail photo-postcard (showing a different machine) that was auctioned somewhat recently for AUD $6,000.



Bonus: here's some archival film footage of an HP alighting in Calcutta:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGeBmDjKxJk&t=2s

[PJ Fisher]

Billy Bishop
This post-war photo portrait spotlights the great Canadian ace.  For those who may not know: "After the war, Bishop toured the principal cities in the United States and lectured on aerial warfare. He established an importing firm, Interallied Aircraft Corporation, and a short-lived passenger air service with fellow ace William Barker, but after legal and financial problems, and a serious crash, the partnership and company were dissolved." (via wikipedia)
(from The Sun, 26 January 1919):