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British Air Forces 1914 - 1918, Images of War
- Thread starter Smithy
- Start date
dinomartino1
Well-Known Member
From 2014
Valuable World War 1 history recovered from rubbish tip
Items of Robert Little Australian ww1 ace.
The story here
http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2014/04/07/3979788.htm
Large amounts of historical artefacts end up on the rubbish dump, a friend of mine is a rubbish collector for the Perth city council and found a grouping of ww1 medals in a bin.
We where both of the mind they should be with the family, a google search of the name on the medals revealed they belonged to Marcus Martin a famous modernist architect in Australia of the 1920s to 5os, he served on the western front and reenlisted in WW2
I came across the website of another famous architect who trained with him in the 1930s and was still alive so I contacted him to see if he knew the contact details of any family members and he put me in touch with Marcus's nephew
a well known retired Australian football player who lives about twenty minutes away from me in Perth. By all accounts he was a very friendly and well liked man who had no children of his own, his nephew had fond members of him as he doted on all the children in the family.
He was very happy to get the medals and he had no idea they even existed or how they ended up in a bin.
Valuable World War 1 history recovered from rubbish tip
Items of Robert Little Australian ww1 ace.
The story here
http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2014/04/07/3979788.htm
Large amounts of historical artefacts end up on the rubbish dump, a friend of mine is a rubbish collector for the Perth city council and found a grouping of ww1 medals in a bin.
We where both of the mind they should be with the family, a google search of the name on the medals revealed they belonged to Marcus Martin a famous modernist architect in Australia of the 1920s to 5os, he served on the western front and reenlisted in WW2
I came across the website of another famous architect who trained with him in the 1930s and was still alive so I contacted him to see if he knew the contact details of any family members and he put me in touch with Marcus's nephew
a well known retired Australian football player who lives about twenty minutes away from me in Perth. By all accounts he was a very friendly and well liked man who had no children of his own, his nephew had fond members of him as he doted on all the children in the family.
He was very happy to get the medals and he had no idea they even existed or how they ended up in a bin.
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dinomartino1
Well-Known Member
'ROBERT ALEXANDER LITTLE'.
c.1920
Next of kin plaque showing on the obverse Britannia holding a laurel wreath, the British lion, dolphins, a spray of oak leaves and the words 'HE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR' around the edge.
CAPTAIN R A LITTLE'S AVIATION CERTIFICATE. ISSUED BY ROYAL AERO CLUB 27 OCTOBER 1915
Sopwith Triplane propeller with clock : Captain R A Little, Royal Naval Air Service
Propeller from Capt R.A. Little's Sopwith Triplane single seat fighter serial N.5493. Little was credited with shooting down 13 enemy aircraft in this aircraft. The propeller was damaged by his own gun when the synchronising mechanism failed to work correctly. The holes have been expertly repaired.
The propellor was manufactured by Lang Propeller Co of Hamm Court Lane, Addlestone, Weybridge, Surrey, one of the leading makers of propellors during WWI. From 250 produced in 1914, the Company made fifteen thousand by 1918. The firm went into liquidation in 1922
Little flew N5493, named ‘BLYMP’, the nick-name of Little’s son.
On 27 May 1918, he was flying a Camel at night in search of Gotha bombers and was attacking the machine that was caught in a searchlight beam when he was struck by a bullet from the Gotha’s gunners or from the ground. It passed through both thighs, causing him to crash-land. He bled to death before help arrived. Little’s total score was at least 47 destroyed or out of control (OOC) and many more forced to land or driven down. He was the most successful Australian fighter pilot of the war. The centre of the propeller of the Triplane was turned into a clock by Captain Little's fellow airmen shortly after his death and was presented to his widow.
MISS VERA FIELD FROM DOVER WHO LATER BECAME CAPT R A LITTLE'S WIFE.
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dinomartino1
Well-Known Member
Captain Robert Alexander (Alec) Little, our greatest fighter ace, has fallen off our radar of almost all Australians.
Alec always wanted to fly, descendants say. He was 14 when the showman Harry Houdini, best known as the great escapologist, became an Australia celebrity as the first man to fly in Australia, at Diggers Rest just outside Melbourne.
Rejected with hundreds of others for the four vacancies at Point Cook Military Flying School, he sailed for England in July 1915, at his own expense.
He paid a hundred pounds to learn to fly at Hendon in northwest London, then volunteered for the Royal Naval Air Service. He quickly earned the ire of his superiors: ‘As an officer is not very good, and has a bad manner’ was one comment on his service file. He also earned a reputation for luck, racking up a startling number of forced landings, some due to poor flying or inattention. Another file annotation: ‘Has a trick of landing outside the aerodrome.’
Assigned to pilot seaplanes, which did not appeal, he was threatened with loss of his commission unless he shaped up. He did so. He was having more success with his courting of Vera Field, a young woman from Dover.
Alec later joined some bombing raids from Dunkirk in a Bristol Scout. He escaped seaplane duty after the Navy decided to contribute squadrons to Western Front duty during the Somme offensive. He was assigned to Naval Eight squadron.
Notwithstanding health concerns including measles, a month in hospital with pleurisy (he married Vera during convalescence) and nausea from the castor oil fumes from rotary engines, he quickly proved himself a formidable combat pilot, claiming four victories in his Sopwith Pup by the end of 1916.
The fighting which followed the Arras offensive of 1917 confirmed him as one of the war’s great aces. In July he claimed 14 victories in his Sopwith Triplane which flaunted his son’s nickname—Blymp—boldly beneath his cockpit.
He fought so effectively on the Lens-Arras front that his fellows nicknamed him ‘Rikki’ after the lethal cobra-killing mongoose in Rudyard Kipling’s hugely popular The Jungle Book. He enjoyed hunting solo, often being the last to return.
Postwar, his former Commanding Officer eulogised him in the squadron history Naval Eight: ‘Little was just an average sort of pilot, with tremendous bravery. Air fighting seemed to him to be just a gloriously exhilarating sport…he never ceased to look for trouble, and in combat his dashing methods, close range fire and deadly aim made him a formidable opponent, and he was the most chivalrous of warriors. As a man, he was a most lovable character.’
‘likeable and friendly with a strong sense of fun; he was a great talker.’ A brilliant shot, he often wandered with colleagues on the fringes of the grass airfields, seeking other game. He collected wildflowers.
His service record changed dramatically to speak of a ‘brilliant fighting pilot…exceptional courage and gallantry…flight leader of great daring’ and more.
His armourers calculated that he fired an average of forty-four rounds per aerial victory. The audacity with which he would, single-handed, attack large enemy formations brought the advantage of surprise. Twice he actually struck enemy aircraft in his eagerness to close the range.
He pushed his luck and aircraft to the limit, preferring to fire at cricket-pitch range, often noted as diving faster than colleagues who had justified concerns for the Triplane’s fragility. He’d been known to land behind Allied lines to clear a jammed Vickers machinegun before resuming the solo hunt.
A descendant characterised him as ‘brave, but reckless’. On 7 April 1917 he fought in solo combat against 11 Germans; British anti-aircraft gunners reported how the Triplane had completely outmanoeuvred the enemy, who finally gave up.
His luck was never more tested than on 2 April 1918 after he shot down the last Pfalz scout from a formation of 12. His combat report continues:
I was then attacked by six other E.A. (enemy aircraft) which drove me down through the formation below me. I spun but had my controls shot away and my machine dived. At 100ft from the ground it flattened out with a jerk, breaking the fuselage just behind my seat. I undid the belt and when the machine struck the ground I was thrown clear. The E.A. still fired at me while I was on the ground. I fired my revolver at one which came down to about 30 ft. They were driven off by rifle and machine gun fire from our troops.
Not only being shot down for the first time, he’d been thrown into a manure heap, as a fellow pilot revealed decades later: hence the recklessness of firing his revolver at aircraft with twin machineguns.
Little’s meteoric career ended on 27 May 1918. Acting as Squadron Leader of 203 Squadron (the Royal Air Force had been formed on 1 April), he took off from Ezil le Hamel in a solo night search for a Gotha bomber. His crashed Camel was found next morning near Noeux. Little had been fatally wounded in the groin, his CO reported. Nobody has established what happened that night. It may even have been ‘friendly fire’.
Little is officially credited with a tally of 47 enemy planes brought down. He is Australia's World War I ace of aces: the next officially recognized 'victories' of Australians were 39 by his friend Major R. S. Dallas and 29 by Captain A. H. Cobby. Little ranks eighth of all British Commonwealth aces, and fourteenth of all aces from both sides of the conflict
Alec and Vera had agreed that if he was killed, she and their son would settle in Melbourne with the help of Little’s family. This duly happened.
Alec always wanted to fly, descendants say. He was 14 when the showman Harry Houdini, best known as the great escapologist, became an Australia celebrity as the first man to fly in Australia, at Diggers Rest just outside Melbourne.
Rejected with hundreds of others for the four vacancies at Point Cook Military Flying School, he sailed for England in July 1915, at his own expense.
He paid a hundred pounds to learn to fly at Hendon in northwest London, then volunteered for the Royal Naval Air Service. He quickly earned the ire of his superiors: ‘As an officer is not very good, and has a bad manner’ was one comment on his service file. He also earned a reputation for luck, racking up a startling number of forced landings, some due to poor flying or inattention. Another file annotation: ‘Has a trick of landing outside the aerodrome.’
Assigned to pilot seaplanes, which did not appeal, he was threatened with loss of his commission unless he shaped up. He did so. He was having more success with his courting of Vera Field, a young woman from Dover.
Alec later joined some bombing raids from Dunkirk in a Bristol Scout. He escaped seaplane duty after the Navy decided to contribute squadrons to Western Front duty during the Somme offensive. He was assigned to Naval Eight squadron.
Notwithstanding health concerns including measles, a month in hospital with pleurisy (he married Vera during convalescence) and nausea from the castor oil fumes from rotary engines, he quickly proved himself a formidable combat pilot, claiming four victories in his Sopwith Pup by the end of 1916.
The fighting which followed the Arras offensive of 1917 confirmed him as one of the war’s great aces. In July he claimed 14 victories in his Sopwith Triplane which flaunted his son’s nickname—Blymp—boldly beneath his cockpit.
He fought so effectively on the Lens-Arras front that his fellows nicknamed him ‘Rikki’ after the lethal cobra-killing mongoose in Rudyard Kipling’s hugely popular The Jungle Book. He enjoyed hunting solo, often being the last to return.
Postwar, his former Commanding Officer eulogised him in the squadron history Naval Eight: ‘Little was just an average sort of pilot, with tremendous bravery. Air fighting seemed to him to be just a gloriously exhilarating sport…he never ceased to look for trouble, and in combat his dashing methods, close range fire and deadly aim made him a formidable opponent, and he was the most chivalrous of warriors. As a man, he was a most lovable character.’
‘likeable and friendly with a strong sense of fun; he was a great talker.’ A brilliant shot, he often wandered with colleagues on the fringes of the grass airfields, seeking other game. He collected wildflowers.
His service record changed dramatically to speak of a ‘brilliant fighting pilot…exceptional courage and gallantry…flight leader of great daring’ and more.
His armourers calculated that he fired an average of forty-four rounds per aerial victory. The audacity with which he would, single-handed, attack large enemy formations brought the advantage of surprise. Twice he actually struck enemy aircraft in his eagerness to close the range.
He pushed his luck and aircraft to the limit, preferring to fire at cricket-pitch range, often noted as diving faster than colleagues who had justified concerns for the Triplane’s fragility. He’d been known to land behind Allied lines to clear a jammed Vickers machinegun before resuming the solo hunt.
A descendant characterised him as ‘brave, but reckless’. On 7 April 1917 he fought in solo combat against 11 Germans; British anti-aircraft gunners reported how the Triplane had completely outmanoeuvred the enemy, who finally gave up.
His luck was never more tested than on 2 April 1918 after he shot down the last Pfalz scout from a formation of 12. His combat report continues:
I was then attacked by six other E.A. (enemy aircraft) which drove me down through the formation below me. I spun but had my controls shot away and my machine dived. At 100ft from the ground it flattened out with a jerk, breaking the fuselage just behind my seat. I undid the belt and when the machine struck the ground I was thrown clear. The E.A. still fired at me while I was on the ground. I fired my revolver at one which came down to about 30 ft. They were driven off by rifle and machine gun fire from our troops.
Not only being shot down for the first time, he’d been thrown into a manure heap, as a fellow pilot revealed decades later: hence the recklessness of firing his revolver at aircraft with twin machineguns.
Little’s meteoric career ended on 27 May 1918. Acting as Squadron Leader of 203 Squadron (the Royal Air Force had been formed on 1 April), he took off from Ezil le Hamel in a solo night search for a Gotha bomber. His crashed Camel was found next morning near Noeux. Little had been fatally wounded in the groin, his CO reported. Nobody has established what happened that night. It may even have been ‘friendly fire’.
Little is officially credited with a tally of 47 enemy planes brought down. He is Australia's World War I ace of aces: the next officially recognized 'victories' of Australians were 39 by his friend Major R. S. Dallas and 29 by Captain A. H. Cobby. Little ranks eighth of all British Commonwealth aces, and fourteenth of all aces from both sides of the conflict
Alec and Vera had agreed that if he was killed, she and their son would settle in Melbourne with the help of Little’s family. This duly happened.
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dinomartino1
Well-Known Member
The first enemy aircraft to be brought down intact by the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) during the First World War
The story begins in the early afternoon of 17 December 1917, , on an area of the Western Front near Armentieres where the 21st Battalion AIF was holding a section of the line. At approximately 2.15pm a two man RE8 aircraft, from No. 3 Squadron, AFC flew over the Australian lines to begin its artillery observation patrol. The aircraft was flying approximately two and a half kilometres above the soldiers and was directing heavy artillery fire towards enemy lines.
This sort of work was exceptionally dangerous. The R.E.8 was a slower, less nimble aircraft than the single-seater fighters (or “scouts” as they were known at the time) and was not built for aerial combat. Its job was to fly over German lines, turn around and fly back the other way and repeat the process until they had completed mapping or observing the corps front. This sort of work was not as romantic as the dawn patrols of the scout squadrons, who pursued German aircraft and engaged them in aerial combat, but they nevertheless played a crucial role in the air war during the First World War.
The pilot of this aircraft was Lieutenant James Sandy, a senior pilot and one of 3 Squadron’s more experienced airmen. Sitting behind Sandy was his observer, Sergeant Henry Hughes, who was making his first operational flight. Hughes manned a Lewis machine gun in his position in the aircraft which was able to be rotated using the gun mount. This gun provided the main defence of the RE8; however, the pilot also controlled a forward-firing Vickers machine gun.
Just over half an hour after Sandy and Hughes flew over the Australian front lines, they were attacked by a formation of six Albatros D.Va’s. The D.Va was faster and more nimble than the RE8, and each carried a pair of forward-firing machine guns. These aircraft were from Jasta 29.
They began to fire at the RE8 being flown by Sandy and Hughes who, being heavily outnumbered, were now in a desperate battle for survival. Watched on by hundreds of Australians on the ground the RE8 was, against all odds, able to successfully defend itself for some minutes before they managed to shoot down one of their attackers.
The German pilot of this aircaft, Leutnant Rudolf Clausz, landed Albatros D5390 intact in the lines of the 21st Battalion. The surprised Australians scrambled out, grabbed Clausz and dragged him back under cover.
The Albatros had been struck by a bullet in its petrol tank and was recovered after dark by a party of ground staff under the direction of the No. 3 Squadron Engineering Officer. Working quickly under shell fire, they successfully dismantled the Albatros, packed it onto several vehicles; arriving at 3 Squadron’s aerodrome at Bailleul in the early morning. By daylight the punctured fuel tank and some other light damage had been repaired. The re-assembled Albatros was then posed in front of the hangar
The machine was then taken to the Repair Park at 1 Air Supply Depot at St. Omer before being sent back to England where it was given the identity G/101 and carefully examined. It was an intelligence coup to have captured such a modern aircraft. This particular Albatros had only been manufactured a few months previously and remained the most numerous and important German fighter of the war until the Fokker D.VII was introduced in 1918.
Sandy and Hughes continued to fight the remaining German aircraft until another RE8 joined the action and the two observation machines fought together for a further 10 minutes. As a third RE8 flew to join the action, the German formation broke off the combat and flew back to their lines. The second RE8, piloted by Lieutenant Jones flew close to Sandy and Hughes, whose aircraft appeared to be flying normally, and concluded that both men were unhurt and were continuing on with their artillery work. Jones then flew back to 3 Squadron’s aerodrome for more ammunition.
However, by 6pm the men still hadn’t returned and despite 3 Squadron sending out numerous telephone messages no trace of the men or their aircraft could be found. It wasn’t until 24 hours later that the mystery of their disappearance was solved; a telegram was received from No 12 Stationary Hospital at St Pol, stating that the bodies of Sandy and Hughes had been found in a crashed RE8 in a neighbouring field.
In what must have been the last seconds of the fight, a bullet fired from behind the RE8 struck Hughes in the left lung and then passed on to strike Sandy in the base of the skull, killing both men instantly. The RE8, with its flight controls apparently in a neutral position and the throttle high, settled into a series of wide left-hand circles until the petrol ran out and the engine stopped.
The engineering officer from 3 sqn who inspected the aircraft believed it would have taken about two hours for the RE8 to complete its remarkable flight. This extraordinary occurrence provided a striking example of the inherent stability in the flying characteristics of the RE8 - the aircraft had flown and landed itself without human assistance.
There were no injuries to Sandy and Hughes from the crash, and both men were buried at St Pol Communal Cemetery on 21 December 1917. Although found fairly intact, the RE8 was too badly damaged to repair and was reduced to parts.
For a single bullet to enter a moving aircraft and kill both the pilot and the observer, Sandy and Hughes were incredibly unlucky. But that was the nature of the air war over the Western Front. Airmen of this period took enormous risks every time they took to the skies.
Hughes’s family has not been traced and no known image of him survives. His records show that he was from Prahran in Melbourne and joined the AFC in late 1916. Hughes did well and in February 1917 he volunteered for further training as an air gunner. He was promoted to sergeant in August and after completing courses in Britain he returned to No. 3 Squadron on 10 December 1917, qualified for his new duties. Apart from a few brief practice trips over the next few days, it was all the preparation he would get.
According to the squadron records, on 17 December 1917 Hughes was making his first operational flight.
An R.E.8 of the AFC
Lieutenant James Lionel Montague Sandy of the Australian Flying Corps.
Sandy enlisted in August 1914 and served on Gallipoli as one of the original members of the 1st Field Artillery. After becoming seriously ill, he returned to Australia and was discharged in August 1916. He re-enlisted in October the same year and joined the Australian Flying Corps (AFC).
Aluminium grave plaque recovered from the St Pol gravesite of Lieutenant (Lt) James Lionel Montague Sandy, Australian Flying Corps (AFC)
A view of the German Albatros D5A scout aeroplane brought down by Australian airmen near Armentieres in France on 17 December 1917.
German Air Service (Luftstreitkrafte) flying boots
These flying over-boots were worn by Leutnant Rudolf Clausz of Royal Prussian Jasta 29, who was the pilot of Albatros D5390/17
Albatros D5390/17s that was shot down is on display at the AWM.
The story begins in the early afternoon of 17 December 1917, , on an area of the Western Front near Armentieres where the 21st Battalion AIF was holding a section of the line. At approximately 2.15pm a two man RE8 aircraft, from No. 3 Squadron, AFC flew over the Australian lines to begin its artillery observation patrol. The aircraft was flying approximately two and a half kilometres above the soldiers and was directing heavy artillery fire towards enemy lines.
This sort of work was exceptionally dangerous. The R.E.8 was a slower, less nimble aircraft than the single-seater fighters (or “scouts” as they were known at the time) and was not built for aerial combat. Its job was to fly over German lines, turn around and fly back the other way and repeat the process until they had completed mapping or observing the corps front. This sort of work was not as romantic as the dawn patrols of the scout squadrons, who pursued German aircraft and engaged them in aerial combat, but they nevertheless played a crucial role in the air war during the First World War.
The pilot of this aircraft was Lieutenant James Sandy, a senior pilot and one of 3 Squadron’s more experienced airmen. Sitting behind Sandy was his observer, Sergeant Henry Hughes, who was making his first operational flight. Hughes manned a Lewis machine gun in his position in the aircraft which was able to be rotated using the gun mount. This gun provided the main defence of the RE8; however, the pilot also controlled a forward-firing Vickers machine gun.
Just over half an hour after Sandy and Hughes flew over the Australian front lines, they were attacked by a formation of six Albatros D.Va’s. The D.Va was faster and more nimble than the RE8, and each carried a pair of forward-firing machine guns. These aircraft were from Jasta 29.
They began to fire at the RE8 being flown by Sandy and Hughes who, being heavily outnumbered, were now in a desperate battle for survival. Watched on by hundreds of Australians on the ground the RE8 was, against all odds, able to successfully defend itself for some minutes before they managed to shoot down one of their attackers.
The German pilot of this aircaft, Leutnant Rudolf Clausz, landed Albatros D5390 intact in the lines of the 21st Battalion. The surprised Australians scrambled out, grabbed Clausz and dragged him back under cover.
The Albatros had been struck by a bullet in its petrol tank and was recovered after dark by a party of ground staff under the direction of the No. 3 Squadron Engineering Officer. Working quickly under shell fire, they successfully dismantled the Albatros, packed it onto several vehicles; arriving at 3 Squadron’s aerodrome at Bailleul in the early morning. By daylight the punctured fuel tank and some other light damage had been repaired. The re-assembled Albatros was then posed in front of the hangar
The machine was then taken to the Repair Park at 1 Air Supply Depot at St. Omer before being sent back to England where it was given the identity G/101 and carefully examined. It was an intelligence coup to have captured such a modern aircraft. This particular Albatros had only been manufactured a few months previously and remained the most numerous and important German fighter of the war until the Fokker D.VII was introduced in 1918.
Sandy and Hughes continued to fight the remaining German aircraft until another RE8 joined the action and the two observation machines fought together for a further 10 minutes. As a third RE8 flew to join the action, the German formation broke off the combat and flew back to their lines. The second RE8, piloted by Lieutenant Jones flew close to Sandy and Hughes, whose aircraft appeared to be flying normally, and concluded that both men were unhurt and were continuing on with their artillery work. Jones then flew back to 3 Squadron’s aerodrome for more ammunition.
However, by 6pm the men still hadn’t returned and despite 3 Squadron sending out numerous telephone messages no trace of the men or their aircraft could be found. It wasn’t until 24 hours later that the mystery of their disappearance was solved; a telegram was received from No 12 Stationary Hospital at St Pol, stating that the bodies of Sandy and Hughes had been found in a crashed RE8 in a neighbouring field.
In what must have been the last seconds of the fight, a bullet fired from behind the RE8 struck Hughes in the left lung and then passed on to strike Sandy in the base of the skull, killing both men instantly. The RE8, with its flight controls apparently in a neutral position and the throttle high, settled into a series of wide left-hand circles until the petrol ran out and the engine stopped.
The engineering officer from 3 sqn who inspected the aircraft believed it would have taken about two hours for the RE8 to complete its remarkable flight. This extraordinary occurrence provided a striking example of the inherent stability in the flying characteristics of the RE8 - the aircraft had flown and landed itself without human assistance.
There were no injuries to Sandy and Hughes from the crash, and both men were buried at St Pol Communal Cemetery on 21 December 1917. Although found fairly intact, the RE8 was too badly damaged to repair and was reduced to parts.
For a single bullet to enter a moving aircraft and kill both the pilot and the observer, Sandy and Hughes were incredibly unlucky. But that was the nature of the air war over the Western Front. Airmen of this period took enormous risks every time they took to the skies.
Hughes’s family has not been traced and no known image of him survives. His records show that he was from Prahran in Melbourne and joined the AFC in late 1916. Hughes did well and in February 1917 he volunteered for further training as an air gunner. He was promoted to sergeant in August and after completing courses in Britain he returned to No. 3 Squadron on 10 December 1917, qualified for his new duties. Apart from a few brief practice trips over the next few days, it was all the preparation he would get.
According to the squadron records, on 17 December 1917 Hughes was making his first operational flight.
An R.E.8 of the AFC
Lieutenant James Lionel Montague Sandy of the Australian Flying Corps.
Sandy enlisted in August 1914 and served on Gallipoli as one of the original members of the 1st Field Artillery. After becoming seriously ill, he returned to Australia and was discharged in August 1916. He re-enlisted in October the same year and joined the Australian Flying Corps (AFC).
Aluminium grave plaque recovered from the St Pol gravesite of Lieutenant (Lt) James Lionel Montague Sandy, Australian Flying Corps (AFC)
A view of the German Albatros D5A scout aeroplane brought down by Australian airmen near Armentieres in France on 17 December 1917.
German Air Service (Luftstreitkrafte) flying boots
These flying over-boots were worn by Leutnant Rudolf Clausz of Royal Prussian Jasta 29, who was the pilot of Albatros D5390/17
Albatros D5390/17s that was shot down is on display at the AWM.
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Smithy
Well-Known Member
Thought maybe I should add these to this thread, my great-grandfather's first cousin. He flew Biffs with 62 Sqn. I have a few more of him but this will do for now.
He's second from the left in the back row in this one:
And fourth from right in the back row (the tall bloke) of this one...
He's second from the left in the back row in this one:
And fourth from right in the back row (the tall bloke) of this one...
dinomartino1
Well-Known Member
dinomartino1
Well-Known Member
Starboard side view of a British BE2 aircraft displaying nose art of a Chinese warrior, sword, basket and Chinese characters, with the words 'HO FOOK HONG KONG' painted on the fuselage side. This aircraft is decorated in recognition of Mr Ho Fook, a Hong Kong businessman of the time who funded the aircraft. Chinese characters also adorn the fuselage struts.
Port side view of a British BE2 aircraft displaying nose art of a Chinese woman and fan, with the words 'Ho FOOK, HONG KONG' on the fuselage side. This aircraft is decorated in recognition of Mr Ho Fook, a Hong Kong businessman of the time who funded the aircraft.
Starboard side view of a British BE2 aircraft displaying nose art featuring a portrait of a laconic, pipe smoking, British Tommy with a walrus moustache named 'Old Bill'. The character Old Bill, was created by artist Captain Bruce Bairnsfather (1887 - 1959) and was possibly the best known and most popular cartoon in Britain during the First World War.
Starboard side view of a British BE2 aircraft displaying nose art featuring a caricature portrait of a smoking British Tommy named 'Erb'. Erb was one of the characters drawn by Captain Bruce Bairnsfather, an artist who drew cartoons that were enormously popular.
A small child standing in the cockpit of a Sopwith Pup aircraft of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC). Note the group of kookaburras painted on the fuselage side.
A dragon illustration adorns the rear fuselage of a British BE2 (British Experimental) biplane (C.6908). This aircraft is decorated in recognition of Mr Ho Fook, a Hong Kong businessman of the time who funded the aircraft
A pilot sits in the cockpit of Sopwith Pup aircraft A6249 which features a dragon painted on the fuselage. This aircraft served with No. 5 and No. 6 Squadrons, AFC.
dinomartino1
Well-Known Member
Avro 504 aircraft E1804 featuring diamond checkered patterns on the fuselage. This aircraft served with No. 5 Squadron, AFC. The building in the background is possibly an airship hangar 1918
Avro 504K aircraft F9746 featuring a geometric design on the fuselage. This aircraft served with No. 5 Squadron, AFC 1918
Smithy
Well-Known Member
Charlie Chaplin was quite a common adornment on WWI British aircraft. For example Dalrymple and Beagle's Biff with 139 had Charlie in white on the port side. I'll scan a photo of it and post when I get a chance.
The checkers on the Avro were common on UK based aircraft and particularly those on Home Defence.
The checkers on the Avro were common on UK based aircraft and particularly those on Home Defence.
Smithy
Well-Known Member
Thought I'd share these snaps of Canadian ace, Wilfrid "Wop" May. Wop is probably most famous for being involved in MvR's last scrap, in fact he was lucky to survive as the Baron was right on Wop's tail and firing profusely.
The second image is particularly interesting. Dating from 1919 it shows the first pattern RAF uniform complete with in Wop's case Canada "shoulder flashes" worn on the epaulettes. His RAF wing brevet is also of the first pattern. Also note his DFC ribbon which is the first pattern with horizontal purple and white stripes and not the later diagonal stripes - in fact many WWII enthusiasts have no idea that the DFC ribbon was originally issued this way. Originals with the horizontal striped ribbon command much, much higher values due to their rarity compared to the more common later diagonally striped version.
The second image is particularly interesting. Dating from 1919 it shows the first pattern RAF uniform complete with in Wop's case Canada "shoulder flashes" worn on the epaulettes. His RAF wing brevet is also of the first pattern. Also note his DFC ribbon which is the first pattern with horizontal purple and white stripes and not the later diagonal stripes - in fact many WWII enthusiasts have no idea that the DFC ribbon was originally issued this way. Originals with the horizontal striped ribbon command much, much higher values due to their rarity compared to the more common later diagonally striped version.
Smithy
Well-Known Member
Thought I'd drag this one out and post here as although it's not of a British Imperial air forces member, it's an interesting image and further demonstrates the point I was making on previous pages of the love of British flying coats by Central Power aviators. Here we have Eduard Ritter von Schleich when he was the Grand Poobah of Jasta 32. He's standing in front of his Albatros V which was painted black and earned him the moniker, "The Black Knight". Once again you can see how British flying coats were prized by the opposing side and how it was common to see them used against the nation from which they came. von Schleich survived the war and flew with DLH as a commercial pilot before joining the newly formed Luftwaffe with whom he served throughout WWII rising to the rank of Generalleutnant.
Smithy
Well-Known Member
I thought it apt to post the following film link here. I've already posted this at VLJ a year or so back but thought that it belongs in this thread and it really is a magic little doco. I might be biased as Albert Ball is one of my heroes but it's sometimes easy to forget that this was a very young man, barely 20 years old when he was killed, and yet he had earned the DSO three times, the MC once and most importantly the VC (posthumously).
Albert was rather fond of three wheeled Morgan sports cars and the makers of this small film have driven one from Nottingham, where Albert was from, to the field where he was killed and to his grave in France where he now lies. It's a really beautifully told little film and one which you have to think Albert himself would have liked. If you haven't seen this, please take the quarter of an hour to watch it and remember one of Britain's greatest heroes from WWI, a terribly young man who gave so much.
Albert was rather fond of three wheeled Morgan sports cars and the makers of this small film have driven one from Nottingham, where Albert was from, to the field where he was killed and to his grave in France where he now lies. It's a really beautifully told little film and one which you have to think Albert himself would have liked. If you haven't seen this, please take the quarter of an hour to watch it and remember one of Britain's greatest heroes from WWI, a terribly young man who gave so much.
Smithy
Well-Known Member
Talking of Albert Ball, this might be of interest to some here, the plum cake recipe for the cake that Albert's Mum and sister used to send over to him in France. Albert used to take a hunk of this up with him whenever he was on patrol. It's a bloody good fruitcake. This is very like the cake my great grandmother used to send to my great grandfather and granduncles during WWI. Honestly, if you like fruitcake whisk this up as it's bloody marvellous with a cuppa for afternoon tea.
Micawber
Well-Known Member
There is very little trace of the London Colney airfield left now. From memory just one or two sheds. I was born and lived close by for many years.
https://shenleyww1.wordpress.com/royal-flying-corps-at-shenley/
https://shenleyww1.wordpress.com/royal-flying-corps-at-shenley/
Bombing IP
Well-Known Member
It makes me understand that I do not know that much about the armed forces especially young men and bravery . I am of a generation that knows about the second world war but know very little about the first . Fifty years from now will it be all forgotten to all but a few scholars who specialize in certain aspects of history the majority only interested in material things around them . How do we preserve the memory and the deeds of the few who made us free today or is time going to wipe it out . Thanks Smithy for creating this WW1 14- 18 images of War I am going to research this era a little more .
BIP
BIP
