,! rAN f,\

Restorer's Corner

$11 ~R.I\IELAI\nEH,.R.

EAA's Silver Anniversary Convention is now history. It was undoubtedly our smoothest and most efficiently operated convention to date, thanks primarily to a great group of volunteer workers who unselfishly gave of their time and energy so that all of those attending could enjoy themselves to the fullest. We would like to particularly commend those who volunteered their services to the Antique/Classic Division. This group has increased in number and ability year by year since your Divisions's first participation in the convention in 1972. This year found us with a really great team of Chairmen, Co-Chairmen and Volunteers, and, thanks to them, every facet of our operation ran smoothly.

Our Division parking committee did an absolutely fantastic job, and their's is the most difficult task at the convention. Our lovely ladies in our headquarters barn and in our display booth in the exhibit building sold more new membership's in the Antique/Classic Division than were sold by either of the other two divisions combined. Our forums programs were their usual great success with the more popular ones having an overflow audience, although we had increased the size of our forum tent by twenty-five percent, and had increased its seating capacity by one hundred more chairs.

'\ I ..Q\iii; S ilk _. dII......r._

Our judges did an excellent job of spotlighting the best of the competing aircraft, and the results of their deliberations will be published in a later issue of The Vintage Airplane and also in Sport Aviation. Incidently, the new judging manual and grading sheets, which are actually still in the developmental stages, worked extremely well. We'll have more on this when the manual is finalized.

The Division Fly-By Schedule Committee had an uphill battle against the weather all week, since this was the most waterlogged convention in history, but they were still able to put together a very interesting History of Flight (in the rain) for the Thursday evening airshow. To quote the Friday edition of the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern,

"A backdrop of glowering clouds added its own drama Thursday as the Experimental Aircraft Association's 'History of Flight' looked both backward and forward and figuratively tipped its wings to a past arid future which would hardly recognize each other."

"The afternoon air show was two-and-one-half hours of concentrated nostalgia. As if some ancient God of the air had summoned them from aviation's Vahalla, 60 years of human achievement in fabric and metal, heroism and dogged determination, passed in review."

The remainder of the Division Committees, the Press Coverage Committee, Pavilion Program Committee, Security Committee, Booth and Barn Decorations Committee, and Equipment and Supply Committee

~

worked mostly in the background, but all are to be commended for the fine job which they did. -Last year we initiated the practice of recognizrng 'our outstanding Division Volunteer. This year we had so many outstanding volunteers that your chairmen could not narrow themselves down to a single choice, so Outstanding Volunteer Awards were presented to Hugh P. Harrison, Jeff Copeland, Bob Wallace and Mary Morris. We wish to extend our congratulations and sincere thanks to each of them, and we hope that they will again work with us next year.

The superior job done by our Division Volunteers was paralleled by our Division showing in numbers of display aircraft registered. For the first time the Antique/Classic Division had more display aircraft on the field than all other categories combined. There were more antiques than there were Warbirds, and there were more Classics than there were bomebuilts. This is indeed a milestone of which each of us in the Division can be justly proud, and we want to thank each of you owners and pilots who brought an antique or classic and competed for the trophies. To those of you who won we would like to express our sincere congratulations. To those of you who did not win, clean up and rework that old bird some more, and try again next year. We would like to see every aircraft on the field be trophy winning quality, and we would like to be able to award each of them a trophy. The more difficult you make the judges' job, the better we like it.

Editorial Staff

Editor Assistant Editor AI Kelch Lois Kelch

Assoc iate Editor Associate Editor Robert G. Elliott Edward D. Williams

1227 Oakwood Ave. 713 Eastman Dr. Daytona Beach, Florida 32014 Mt. Prospect, Illinois 60056

Associate Editors will be identi f ied in the tab le of con· tents on articles they send in and repeated on the article if they have written it. Associa te Editorships will be assigned to th ose who qualify (5 arti cles in any ca lendar year).

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

ANTIQUE / CLASSIC DIVISION

of THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

P.O. Box 229 Hales Corners, Wis. 53130

SEPTEMBER 1977 VOLUME 5 NUMBER 9

Restorer's Corner ..... . ...... , . . .. . . ... .. . . ..... . .. . .. . ....... . 1 1914's Wi ld Blue Yonder . .. . .. . .... . ... ... .... .... . .... . .... . . . . . 3 A Texas War Cloud . ... . ....... . .. . ........ .. ..... . . . .. .... . .. . . 5 Ace Among Aces .. .... ........ .. ...... . . . . ....... . ... . . ... .. . . 15 Nevil Shute .. . .. . . ... . . ... .. . .... ........... . ... . . . . .. . ...... 23

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP

o NON-EAA MEMBER - $34.00. Includes one year membersh ip in the EAA Antique/Classic Division, 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; one year membership in the Experimental Aircraft Asso cia­t ion. 12 monthly issues o f SPORT AVIATION and separate membership cards.

o NON-EAA MEMBER - $20.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Division . 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; c; ne year membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associa­t ion and separate membersh ip cards. SPORT AVIATION not included .

o EAA MEMBER - $14.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Division. 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and membership card. (Applicant must be current EAA member and must g ive EAA membership number.

PICTURE BOX ON THE COVER (Back Cover)

Stan Morel's D VII, a dream from Sept. 23, 7977 - Werner Voss and childhood come true, his DR-7 (very close to death by

lead poisoning). A jack Daniels drawing.

ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS

PRESIDENT J.R. NIELANDER, JR.

P.O. BOX 2464 FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33303

VICE·PRESIDENT JACK WINTHROP

RT. 1, BOX 111 ALLEN, TX 75002

SECRETARY RICHARD WAGNER

P.O. BOX 181 LYONS, WI 53148

TREASURER E.E. " BUCK" HILBERT

8102 LEECH RD. UNION, IL 60180

Directors

Claude L. Gray, Jr . AI KelCh 9635 Sylvia Avenue 7018 W. Bonniwell Road

Northridge. California 9 1324 Mequon, Wisconsin 53092

James 8. Horne Evander M. Britt 3840 Coronatio n Road Box 1525

Eagan. Minnesota 55 122 Lumberton. North Carolina 28358

George E. Stubbs M. C. "Kelly" Viets Box 113 R R 1, Box 151

Brownsburg. Indiana 46112 Stillwell, K ansas 66085

William J . Ehlen Morto n Lester Route 8 . Box 506 P.O. Box 3747

Tampa. Florida 33618 Martinsville . Virginia 24112

Advisors

W. Brad Thomas. Jr . 301 Dodson Mill Road

Pil o t Mountain, North Carolina 27041

Robert A. White 1207 Falcon Drive

Orlando, Florida 32803

Arthur R. Morgan 5 13 North 9 1st Street

Milwaukee. Wisconsin 53226

Dale A . Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Drive Indianapolis, IN 46274

Roger J . Sherron 446-C Las Casitas

Sa nta Rosa, CA 95401

Stan Gomoll 1042 90th Lane, N.E.

Minneapolis, MN 55434

THE VINTAGE AI RPLANE is owned exclusively by Antique Class ic Aircraft. Inc . and is published m onthly at Hales Corners, Wisco nsin 53130. Second) class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office. Hales Cor ners. Wisconsin 53130. and add itional mailing off aces. Membership rates for Antique Classic Aircra ft . Inc. at $14.00 per 12 m onth period of which $10.00 is for the public~tion of THE VINTAGE A IRPLANE. Membership is o pen to all w ho are interested in aviation.

Copyright C 1977 Antique Classic Aircraft , Inc. All Rights Reserved .

's I •

ue By Dick Bothwell

The 7974 's Wild Blue Yonder article comes to us from Dick Bothwell, who is an editor of the St. Petersburg Times. The article is from a Bicenten­nial book of articles published by the Times. Photos were furnished by Harry Ropp and are part of the Johnson collection. The caption on photo below read "First trip landing, Pilot Tony Jannus and two passengers. "

Drawing below is of Tony Jannus.

3

One bright New Year's Day morning six decades ago, there was in the St. Petersburg sky a strange, ungainly sort of bird with wide, stiff wings, a bulky body and a curious whirling thing back toward the tail.

With a great roaring sound, this odd waterfowl went rushing across the water and then lifted up into the air without flapping its wings. People were cheering and shouting. Why?

Aviation history was being made Jan. 1, 1914, by the first flight of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line.

A couple of years earlier, there was another of these curious birds that carried hu mans.

As far as is known, an early·day barnstorming pilot, L. W. Bonney, came to town to make the first local flight on Feb . 17, 1912.

From a sandspit "runway" at Bayboro, he made an exhibition flight in an old Wright plane. Nothing spectacular, but the crowd was satisfied. To fly at all was something of a minor miracle in those days.

Bonney's flight was just a curtain-raiser for the main event - an event which made world aviation history and was promptly forgotten by the young city for four decades.

Scout around behind the Senior Citizens Center on The Pier approach and you'll find a fairly modest monument. The plaque reads : "From This Site the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, the World's First Scheduled Airline, Began Regular Flights Between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Jan . 1, 1914. This Plaque and Site Dedicated December 4, 1953, by the city of St. Petersburg to All the Airlines of the World."

The golden anniversary of the great moment at Kitty Hawk, N.C., when the Wright brothers graduated from bicycles to powered flight was in 1953.

When that occasion came along, John Shea of Greenwich, Conn., was writing a history of scheduled airlines in the U.s. and was looking for the first line. He found a lot of claims.

When he wrote the Chamber of Commerce asking for details about the local operation, officials belatedly realized they had better nail down that honor - and did.

Gay White of the city publicity department was assigned the research job and spent nearly two years piecing the long-neglected story together.

Shea came down to do a bit of research himself, and promptly bumped into the ghost of Tony J annus, the line's chief pilot.

" It is apparent," he wrote later, "he {Jannus} so

inflamed the admiration and affection of the people of St. Petersburg that he is remembered and extolled to the point of confusing the issue ... "

From sheaves of yellowed newspaper clippings, from government records, from correspondence with airplane manufacturers and old-timers, persistent Gay White finally got the story - and St. Petersburg, the credit.

It was a good time for new projects in the Sunshine City. A real estate boom had developed in 1912. By 1914 the Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad (later Seaboard Air Line Railroad) was about to come into town.

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad passenger station was being built; so were the first streetcar line and gas plant.

No wonder Percival Elliott Fansler, local live wire, figured the area was ready for an airline. After all, didn't almost 1 0,000 people I ive here?

Fansler brought Thomas W. Benoist, St. Louis plane manufacturer, to St. Petersburg, organized local support, and a contract was written.

The Benoist firm was guaranteed a cash subsidy from the City of St. Petersburg and its businessmen, plus a franchise to operate on the North Mole and in Central Yacht Basin.

Benoist agreed to provide planes and crew, maintain two scheduled flights daily between St. Petersburg and Tampa, six days a week, for a period of three months. Local merchants were pledging $1,500 that the line would payoff.

The Benoist Air Boat parts were shipped down and assembled, with chief mechanic Jay Dee Smith keeping a keen eye on proceedings.

Anthony Habersack J ann us, 24, chief pilot, a'rrived, creating a stir.

He was clean-cut and intell igent, a noted figure in early aviation. In 1912 just before coming here, he had piloted the plane from which Capt. Albert Berry, U.s. Army, had made the first parachute jump, over Jefferson Barracks, Mo . And Jannus was a bachelor.

Hundred of proud citizens crowded the waterfront that bright morning of Jan. 1, 1914. Former mayor A. C. Pheil paid $400 at auction for the first ticket and climbed into the two-place "pusher" biplane, 26-feet long, 45-foot wingspread, propeller mounted behind the open cockpit.

With small American flags fluttering from the struts, Jannus taxied the biplane out into the yacht basin and

applied full power of his little 75-h.p. Roberts motor. To the cheers of the crowd, the craft lifted off and winged toward Tampa, landing there on the waterfront 23 minutes later. The line was in business!

"For three months," wrote Gay White, "the line kept to its schedule with astonishing regularity ...More than 1,200 passengers were transported without accident or injury."

A second Benoist flying boat was added to the line with service extended to Bradenton, Sarasota southward; to Tarpon Springs northward. J ann us' brother Roger piloted the second plane.

A number of noted Americans rode with the brothers: humorist George Ade, cartoonist John T. McCutcheon; the entire St. Louis Browns baseball team. ­

But the operation terminated in March. The clouds of World War I plus a new railroad into St. Petersburg and money panics wrote an end to the historic venture.

"To me," Tony Jannus once wrote, "flying is not the successful defying of death but the indulgence in the poetry of mechanical motion, a dustless, bumpless, fascinating speed, an abstraction from things material into infinite space ... "

U.S. Coast Guard records show that Tony and Roger were the first airline pilots ever licensed by the government. But not for long.

Tony was killed in Russia, in a crash while demonstrating planes for .the Russian army over the Black Sea at Sevastopol; Roger went down in flames, a captain in the American Expeditionary Force.

Learning through trial and error, early-day pilots had a short life expectancy. . ~ .

Notice how clean cut the fuselage is.

4

One airplane that won part of its reputation in models built by most of us in our youth, read about in such magaz ines as WARBI RDS, FLYING ACES, WI NGS, and seen in the old classics; "Hell's Angels", "Lilac Time", "Wings", and the more modern, in sound and color, "The Great Waldo Pepper" and "The Blue Max", all have Fokker aircraft, albeit "Waldo Pepper" exposure is a triplane.

Probably the one that impressed people most, both during WW I, and thereafter, was th e Fokker D-VII, partly due to the consideration of its bei ng the best fighter of the 1914-1918 era, singled out as a war repara­tion, because of its reputation . ..in erster Linie aile Apparate D-VII. . . (especially all machines of D-VII type.) in the terms of the November 11 th , 1918 Armistice.

I was lucky enough to have seen these D-VII repara­tions fly when I was a small boy, along with many other combat aircraft of the period, and the distinctive sound of the Mercedes called attention to the aircraft above immediately. The rotary engines were noted by the on­off sounds, whereas the big upright six had a mellow regularity to its tone. I even touched one in Mineola, Long Island , N.Y., and it might well have been the omen of a project in the future, back in those early 1920s.

My flying started at Armonk, N.Y., September 1925, riding as a co-passenger in a 3 place open biplane, which set the hook I will carry for life.

Enlisting in the Navy, I started taking flying lessons at the Signal Hill Airport, Long Beach, CaL, in 1934 in Securitys, Fleets, Great Lakes, and Wacos, and, when money was low, in C-3 and K Aeroncas. Dual was $6.00, Solo $5.00, while the puddle jumpers soloed at $2.00.

Even so, during Hoover's administration, my Navy pay was cut to $30.00, and part of that was taken out for retirement hospitalization, so I had a $15.00 a month flying budget. Had I been Sea 1/c, I could have flown twice as much on $50.00 a month.

I bought into my first airplane, an unlicensed Waco GXE, with two other sailors, for $33.34, in 1936, in Norfolk. After creaming itself and one of my partners, I bought a Great Lakes in 1938, for $100.00, then two more Lakes, ending up with the one Cole Palen now flies at Old Rhinebeck. It was and is tops!

A Fairchild 24W, a Bellanca, a PT-22, a Laird, a Knight Twister, then a Cabin Waco EQC-6 with a super­charged Wrig_ht R-760-E2, and then I was ready to build my own.

During the years in the Navy, I had been exposed to a lot of flying, although, much as I wanted the A.P. pro­gram, I was never able to get it. I did fly as Safety Pilot for the Chiefs of the Bureau of Aeronautics though, starting with Admiral Towers, even to soloing the SOC back to Anacostia from New Jersey once. I had a lot of left/right seat time in various aircraft, including jets, before ret irement, and kept flying my own, on the side.

1965, I decided on building the Fokker D-VII, remembering the old one, and having seen the Smith­so nian's while stationed in Anacostia, D.C., and having 'collected' odds and ends of Fokker parts whenever I happened to stumble across them, thus with an original set of wheels, a rudder, a seat, I later fou nd an 'N' strut, and compil ed several sets of plans, mostly model air­plane, plus those published in FLIGHT years ago, and the Jose ph Nieto plans, good, but none good enough to build a rea l plane from.

I ran into several Mercedes engines, one used as an anchor to a buoy for a cabin cruiser, the others about as good a condition, not worth the trouble, plus some the late Julius Head had collected.

Looking for help, I found many people with similar ideas and no way to get the information we each needed, so Nov. 11, 1965, we started an informal, non-profit club, naming it the "FOKKER VEREIN". The senior membership is composed of all the WW I aviators, taking in all nations flying combat in 1914-18, with the second group being the owners, builders, and pilots of WW I aircraft, Allied, and German and their allies.

One thing led to another and through various members' help, I was enabled to get several good sets of working drawings, including a set of the originals from Emil Meinecke, ex-Chief Test Pilot for A. G. Fokker, and also a German pilot who flew fighters in Turkey.

With satisfactory plans, I visited the FAA GADO in Fort Worth, discussing the project, quality of the plans, and received suggestions that started the project roll ing. One foremost concern was that I had a poor opinion of my welding potential, and had asked what FAA would think concerning my having an A&E, or an A welder, do the welding for me. The answer was that they would feel more assured with a pro, as I would with the less costly possibility of mistakes on a project of this size.

The project actually took ten years, although six was spent in putting together what was collected. The wings were built in a barn, in Ponder, Texas, 70 miles away,

round trip, from my apartment. They took a year to complete, and, had it not been for the expertise of a man I met, who has since become an expert on Fokker wings, Richard Wilkinson, I would still be swearing at woods and glues and impossibles concerning the triple tapered box spars. His craftsmanship is notable in the Formula 1 racer wings he builds as well as Fokkers. John McMaster, Gordon Gabbert, Jim Parks, John Talmage also have those spruce, mahogany and birch beauties on their Fokker D-Vlls, the best quality and workmanship!

A fire in the duplex next door missed, by less than a week, the destruction of my wings, since I had just moved them from the carport to my hangar at Grand Prai ri e Airport prior to the fire.

Meanwhile, I made the fuselage lay-out on three pl ywood 4' x 8' sheets, fitted and cut my tubing, and I chose to use 4130 steel, with the intention of having the pl ane last long enough to enjoy years of it, rather than the old iron tubing of the period.

One thing is an absolute about Fokker airplanes. Everyth ing is related to every other part, and a deviation in anyone will reflect a series of problems in a hurry. Fokker seemed to be a man whose entire concept of aeronautical engineering was to the effect that all parts should have at least three or more functions, and he managed to do it!

Other than for better materials, not available at the time, I would strongly urge that there be NO dimen­sional changes without a lot of skull practice beforehand to justify doing so.

The project 'looked' easy and I had delusions that it would be finished quickly, but for the undependability of the welders. (There were three, at various times, and it would have paid me to learn to weld it all myself, from the standpoint of achieving, rather than killing, time.)

When the fuselage was completed, I called FAA for an inspection, and it looked like FAA had a holiday that day. SIX inspectors visited my apartment, quite sur­prised to see it hanging in my living room from front door to the furthest window. I had to be careful opening the door! (Naturally I am a bachelor, and this is one way to get that way!)

With the favorable comments and first logbook sign­off, I could now sit in the cockpit, albeit without land­ing gear, engine installed, or tailfeathers, and play 'avia­tor' a bit. It looked about the right size to match the

6

Morel and completed, uncovered Fokker. (Photo by Mike McKay)

chalk lines I had laid out in the carport, not a big plane. Back in the carport, the landing gear went together,

and this is another unique Fokker feature. The gear is 4130 streamline tubes, joined by an aluminum box, with 640 hand bucked rivets, through which the one piece axle tube is contained, and over which the stubwing is attached. 1 hat wing provides enough lift for the full gear weight!! !

The landing gear shock system is 5/8" bungee cords, wrapped over a retaining collar eleven times to provide the softest, most positive absorbtion I have ever felt. Very smooth and balanced!

The original wheels had one badly dented rim and several of the spokes broken. Before I could use them, they needed repair, and an A&E friend, Ed Sanders, took them home to repair them for me. A good deed, except that he passed away sometime later. Despite a lot

of hunting on my part and friends and his family, we never found them, and the only conclusion was that "he took them with him!"

That would have been a set back, excepting that I had decided to use one of two low time Grumman Widgeon engines to replace the hard to find Mercedes, which posed another series of problems to be solved.

Weight differences were 750 dry for the old; 350 dry, Ranger, a matter of 400 Ibs! Also the old was a water cooled, the Ranger is air cooled, thus minus the water/ radiator weight forward. The Ranger is 8 inches shorter than the Mercedes, of slight benefit in massing weight forward. Cross sectional dimensions between support legs were the same distances.

Weight and balance had to be retained in the same envelope as original to match performance in flight, thus any additional weight I could mass forward of the e. G.

would be helpful. Losing the original wire wheels re­sulted in buying a pair of N3N wheels, complete with brakes, then purchasing a pair of new solid stub axles, plus a 30 pound axle tube, which was machined to take the stubs, plus making up a pair of spindles for the bungees, plus a floating collar, eccentric arm and 4130 offset arm to the brake drum, and a weight difference of 60 Ibs . for the N3N wheels versus 18 original wheels helped . All very slightly forward of the e.G., but at least forward.

I replaced the stubwing light aluminum tubes with .125 wall tubing, adding a bit more weight. With the gear on the fuselage, the Fokker became bigger and a lot h igher than I had anticipated it would be. The chalk lines did not take care of altitude!

I made up plywood jigs for the stabili zer and elevator, fitted up the vertical fin to the original rudder, and made steel jigs for the two ailerons. The tailfeathers made the plane extend itself further, and I was starting to realize what BIG meant.

Since I would be operating out of Grand Prairie Air­port, with concrete runways, I decided to use a Maule tail wheel, and use the set of Bendix brakes, so that I would not have the World's longest land ing roll and could feel secure on ground handling. A tailskid was made up in case....

Wanting to keep as much to the original as possible, I had to consider the thrust line, which meant inverting the Ranger engines back to right side up. I had some information from people who had modified surplus Rangers for race cars, after the war, and contacted Ed Brennan, who had inverted several until he finally got one to run well, but was unable to get much help since he was busy with his own work. Mr. Fairchild was living and he made some suggestions which were followed con­cerning the oil system, plus some of the things that the late Mr. Russ Anderson, Denver, Colo ., had done, plus Gordon Gabbert's project, plus some of my own ideas, and the inversion has performed without a hitch to-date.

I also met another EAAer, Dr. Charles Covino, Pres­ident of American and General Magnaplate, with a branch factory in Texas, and having heard of the Navy's publicity race car, with which they broke the World speed record, then re-broke their own again and again, had a brainstorm to try the process they had used on their engines on my two engines. It is the one used in space by all manned and unmanned space satellites and

7

vehicles for lubrication, and is the first aircraft engine to be so done. All moving parts, plus the cylinder cooling fins, plus the exhaust, were specially treated.

AeroTex Maintenance Co., of Blue Mound, Texas, has an experienced Ranger crew doing major overhauls, (and after one bad experience with a so-called A&E who ruined an engine), was delighted to have AeroTex do the work. All parts were sent to General Magnaplate after disassembly, clean up, dye inspection, with all new parts where there was any question of wear, since tolerances had to be exact.

The Magnaplating was done while they had the engine down, after which the AeroTex crew re-assembled and completely overhauled the two engines. Not only was the overhaul satisfactory, without problems on the first engine, but the Magnaplate work provided two divi­dends. A 30% reduction in friction and an increase of 38 h.p . at the same rpm! It added still another reduction, in fuel consumption!!!!

FAA showed interest in the process, including visiting the Magnaplate plant, and closely checking the engine, tests, etc. The engine also requires 75 hours running because of the inversion.

Install ing the engine, I added an oil cooler, a fuel pump, a starter, generator, a tach generator, a battery and case, and moved the oil tank before the firewall. Got the heavy, large prop hub and matching heavy prop, which got the weight as far forward as I could go. Had made up a steel radiator shell, and tried my hand at fiberglassing, (with misgivings) and was surprised to find the first effort came out like I knew what I was doing. It withstood a one ton load without cracking as well.

Throughout the entire building program, weight was my biggest concern, and balance as well, so everything was being done with those considerations in mind, plus keeping dimensions to the plans. I had a slight problem in maki ng up ferrules for the piano wire rigging wires, so considered alternatives, ending up with MacWhyte rods and terminal fork ends in stainless steel.

A decision was reached when I weighed the loop material, in 4130, for the corners, plus the piano wire, ferrules and turnbuckles as opposed to the 4130 corner wedges, terminal forks, locknuts and rods and found the new materials lighter and stronger and easier to work, BUT MacWhyte indicated six months between order and del ivery!

Key Aviation, almost in my back yard, a FAA Cer­

tified Shop doing rolled threads, swaging cables and such, proved an answer to the time problem. They made up all the internal drag and anti -drag wing rigging rods, and those for the fuselage, and the hard wire bracings of the landing gear, and all my control cables, provided proof tests, certification, and all my engineering data for FAA, which we had gone over together before.

Once the wires were installed and rigged, the airplane started becoming very rigid and totally aligned. All the control surfaces of the Fokker are square, 30 degrees throw of all surfaces, and that simplified matters greatly in making adjustments and rigging.

The tripod struts, (called Baldachins) are proof of Fokker's insistance on multiple use of parts. They are attached to the engine mount, the top fuselage longeron, the landing gear front strut attachment fitting, and set stagger and gap for the top wing. The wing fittings are made of six laminations, hydraulic press bent, Magna­fluxed, Edgewelded, then X-rayed, and certified, and one is capable of holding the static weight of an empty DC-3! The lower fittings to the fuselage set the inci­dence, 1Y2 degrees, and are only made up of four lamina­tions. The back strut can change upper wing incidence, which is set Zero for the D-VII.

I must have enjoyed making cowlings, for I ended up with four sets, improving on each as I went. Rather than using "L" shaped locks with coarse threads fitted to welded-on nuts, to secure the cowls, I went Dzus fasten­ers, which do a nice, if modern, job. Had a special die made to make my louvres with. (It ended up being borrowed before I finished, became side tracked, and I ended up paying $40.00 to have a louvre beat out by hand, to match the others, and still don't have it back!)

GADO was replaced by EMDO, and Engineering Inspector F. John Wagner went all through the project, checked welds, alignment, workmanship, paperwork, rigging, and OK'd the project for continuation.

I built a 2x4 "frame house" looking affair around the fuselage, upon which I mounted the top wing, which allowed for aligning and fitting it up . I could then weld the critical Baldachin fittings to match those of the spar fittings. Running the aileron cables, connecting them and trying them out from the control stick, checking aileron throws, and with FAA's OK to cover. ... .found that there were 3,030 rib stitches and seine knots in the wings!!!! (I have first and second fore finger joint scars to prove each one of them too!)

Because my Waco EQC-6 had been covered with Stits polyfiber when I had her overhauled, and that she caught fire in flight after I sold her, with no damage to the fabric, I elected to cover with it again . I do feel, now, that I would have been as well off covering with intermediate rather than th e heavy weight though, filling is easier. The Fokker is a light plane, equivalent to Grade A cotton or linen would be fine, all considered .

The machine guns were made up to original specs, without the working mechanism, holding to the orginal 26 Ibs. each (52 total) to fit in the gross weight picture. I met the U.S. Firearms, Tobacco & Booze inspector

"Who ate the cat?" (Photo by Mike McKay)

• < e"1ew/Ch~ 70C ­'jJt~",.L ''6

e3l\l..t9~~ '; 68 c .

~ OK. ~ ill 1218

"DER ZIRKUSMEISTER prepares - Snoopy Beware!"

almost immediately! It was nip and tuck for awhile, until I showed them the plans for "Build your own machine guns." One set which will shoot real ammunition, and no more problems. They were doing their job and we have enjoyed friendly rel ations ever since.

Ann Klein furnished the snow white smooth tread (7) tires to finish off the landing gear. (Universal Tire Co ., Lancaster, Pa.)

Peter R. Garrett, of Victoria, Australia, sent me a swatch of the belly of Baron Manfred v. Richtofen's DR-1, which I had Stits match up; turned out Sante Fe red. The national German tail color; Daytona white, and

the Balkan crosses in black with Daytona trim, as per the German regulations replacing the Maltese crosses in 1918.

My fuel tank was made in aluminum, heliarced, instead of brass with solder joints, it holds 30 gallons. The oil tank does not connect to the upper right side. Germany changed it too, since a leak got oil in the gas and vice versa, of the gas tank as the plans call for.

The original seat wood bottom was replaced, and roll and pleated Naugahyde was used instead of the old lea th erette.

Time to check everything...Fuselage has landing gear, wheels, brakes, tail wheel, tail surfaces, wings,

ailerons, oil tank, engine prop and hub, all cowlings, control cables, stubwing on the landing gear spreader, machine guns, fabric, paint, seat, and instrument panel with all new and certified instruments. A miniscule windshield was mounted between the guns. I had been told that the pilots removed it in 1918, partly because the blast hit the under side of the wing and rammed the air down their necks, so I mounted mine a bit further aft, to clear the blast.

The engine would exhaust to the left, with prop rotation, it would also provide me with all the CO gas I wouldn't need , even if it is an open cockpit, so the exhaust was designed to cross over, and, to make everyone rea l happy with noise and polution, built in an intensifier tube at the front to get all combustion done inside .

With the engine inverted, I needed another carburetor, bought a Bendi x PS-5C pressure down draft carburetor, added an electric pump, an electric primer solenoid and a 24 VDC electr ical boost system, for the primer. To make the guns look real, a tape deck and strobe gun firing electronics were installed. Outdoor speakers were installed in the nose, under the cowling to broadcast gun sounds forward and down. The flashing strobes and gun noise are great.

I filled the oil tank, borrowed a set of aviation scales, jacked the Fokker aboard and leveled the longerons. I ran the plumb bobs fore and aft, measured the distances between them and the landing gear and each other. The hangar deck is full of yellow chalk marks and lines . .. . weight comes to 1711 Ibs. In flight tail weight for the original was 112-116 Ibs., tail down, three point, it is 250 Ibs. My tail weight is 115 up, 250 down. Re-check, check again, right on the barrel head !!!

Time to call for final inspection . Mr. Wagner comes over, goes through all the paper work first, checks the airplane over from stem to stern, asks many questions, which I can answer easily. (I've lived with this plane for six years and know all there is to know about her, up to this stage. Flying is still an unknown quantity to me.) He asks me where we can borrow a typewriter, and signs my logbooks. (The EAA form books and logbooks really paid off dividends, saving time too!) He then typed up an 8x10 pink form and a smaller white one, and told me to "Put them in the cockpit where they can be seen!". Promptly done, since I had bought the certificate holders long before. It sure looks good there! THIS IS THE DAY!!!!

~-.-.--.....::-~-==---- ~---,.- .. _.::'f~ a_, , ___ ~....;,.

Morel leaving Navy-Dallas on Armed Forces Day after display. Fokker was also flown by NAS e.O., Capt. e.N. james, U.S.N. that date, 7976. (Photo courtesy U.S. Navy)

I started replacing cowls, inspection plates, checking for any loose ends. Might as well take it out and lift her off the runway and chop the throttle, see what she feels like in the air and landing. No real flight this time .. .Tomorrow, maybe ....

I had run slow time on the engine, then taxi time, including some with power all the way, lifting the tail, then trying to see whether I could ground loop it. (Hard to do, on purpose!) She was steady as a brick! I got real good at making fast ground turns with the tail up and full power on, so had no trepidations about it.

Pre-flight was more extensive than the entire building job, then started up, warmed up; out to the side of the duty runway, checked gages, safety belt and shoulder harness, fuel on BOTH, mags, full power run up, idle, everything is in the green. No traffic. Power on and tail up as we go on to the runway, astride the yellow line and rolling, suddenly things get quieter and vibration

reduces .. Engine is running, look over the side ....She's in the air!!! Throttle isn't even fully open, about half the quadrant!

This is the thought that so many of E.A.A.ers share. "Why not?" and so I put the throttle to the gate, she is really moving, altitude going up .... 1 keep listening to the sound of the engine ...Look at the airspeed, it reads 105 mph!!!! Climbing fast. ..hard to believe! Th is is all exclamation points now. Gages are all in the green ... .Something should happen wrong, but everything is going beautifully. I had a strange sensation, of riding in it, as a spectator ...the plane is doing everything all by herself! Creepy feeling almost, as though it knew its own element and was glad to be back home again. The seat and rudder are the only two original parts I have used, and they are back in the air 57 years later! Nothing on old Rip Van Winkle!

Out of the pattern and to the south, clear of TCA,

and still in sight of the field, (although I am watching all the ground I've never found myself so interested in it before, just in case). Throttle back to 2050, then 1950 .. .airspeeds reading 120, then 115 ...clear the area and try for a stall. ..gingerly...power all the way off and nose up, she just drops it, lazily, and recovers...No wing drop! Again, same thing.

Secondary and tertiary stalls, all clean, no bad tend­encies...the rigging is all on the money! She is unreal! Tighten the turns, to wings straight up and down, top rudder and back stick ...she should flip over the top .. .but doesn't, and I don't want to tempt her further. I think the funny gut feeling is excitement, but level her out anyway.

Try an air landing ...She goes where she is pointed, steadily. Now, back to Grand Prairie traffic pattern .. .Nothing there, it's all mine! Come to think of it, if I bust this thing now, it will be some time before I get it

Stan Morel's beautiful piece of workmanship is tried on for size by Lloyd Wilcox, a DR I Builder.

repaired and fly it again, maybe ...stay awhile longer and do a fly-by ....

I still have the eerie feeling that she is doing the fly­ing! Line her up to the side of the runway, nose down, watch the rpm and speed, under red line ...way under .. .airspeed 125 mph, throttle back, but not so much as to cool the engine, almost feels like she slows up at 125. Look over to the right. ..1 had been too busy to notice everyone had come up out of the Gopher holes ...people on the runway, on the ramp, at operations...Wow.. .I'm sure to bounce into the next county with spec­tators!! !

Back to pattern altitude, slow flight her to 80 mph,

base, final and still holding 80 mph. Down the chute, yellow line on the nose, now back, and she touches on the numbers with a single triple "SQUEAK" in the smoothest three point of my life! ...She rolls to a near stop, feels squirrel-like aft, but still is tracking true, a bit of brakes takes care of the aft feeli ng.

Taxi in to my hangar. Before I get to it, Congressman Dale Milford, grabs my right wing tip, a Navy Fighter pilot, Lieutenant C. D. Carson, takes the left one. Having seen my next door neighbor, the EAA-AAA Grand Champion Eaglerock without brakes, I guess neither know that I have brakes, but appreciated it anyway.

The way I feel, sort of inflated, I wonder if I'll be

able to get out? Check systems, gages, idle her down, master and switches OFF, idle cut off, switch off, gog­gles up, harness unfastened, and now to make a non­chalant egress, especially since it looks like a mob scene coming around the corner... Reaching for the stirrup step with my right foot, my leg betrays me and I darn near break my neck, almost miss the step!!!

Congressman Milford, a pilot himself, as well as my old CAF Sponsor, seems as tickled as I am. Congratula­tions are mixed with a lot of "Why didn't you tell us you were going to fly today?" and other odd words, (of course I didn't know myself!). Doing the walk around post-flight, I notice that the tailwheel steering spring had broken in two. (Found one part just past the numbers on the runway later!) That accounts for the funny feeling aft...and also proves that there was someone looking after me too, and kept me from making another take-off and go round right after the first.

Replaced the spring, and I think that, about then, I finally exhaled, at last. Even today, I have the feeling that 'Someone' is in that cockpit with me, flyi ng it. The cockpit is as big as the rest of the Fokker too, but not drafty, excepting on my back, when it is!

Now is a good time for a resume. I found that an 80 mph approach is OK for some other airplane, (which I must have forgotten I wasn't flying the first time), 60 mph is ideal, depending on gusts and such. I landed her in a 20+ knot 45 degree crosswind, coming back from Commerce, Texas, and she never strayed off the yellow stripe. I have also found that too fast has a pocketful of surprises, and that she handles very quickly to control inputs, not the roll rate of a Pitts, but fast enough to educate pilots!

The best straight and level speed is 132 mph at 2450 rpm with a cruise prop. It doesn't need a climb prop with the rate she eats altitude up! I tried climbing as slow as 60 mph, when everything on the panel seemed to redline together, oil temp and cylinder head temp, but cooled off fast by dumping the nose, excepting the oil stayed hot awhile longer than I liked, though the Magna­plate finish is insurance in that regard, I still don't like slow climbs! Ideal seems to be 80 mph so you can stay up (or down) with everything in the pattern. Cruise is 115-120 dependant on 1950-2050 rpm, and you can fly slower. Fuel consumption is 9 gallons per hour, with a three plus hour range.

I have to esti mate a standard Ranger for operations, assume it would be a little lower with higher rpm, and

maybe ten gallons an hour with exactly three hours to empty.. .if one wants to be foolish and see.

Stall should be under 40, which means that she flies at 50 mph on the deck and don't haul the stick back and expect it to come down ...it will, after it has gone up first!!! I t can bounce, but that stubwing erases a lot of otherwise bouncy mistakes, and also launches you off the deck, on ground effect, like a catapult, on take offs.

She lands transport or three point as easily. Just decide which to do first, and stay with it that way. The 'little rudder' which is said to be too small, will do all you want it to, the D-VII cost a lot of WW I planes their existance, in combat. ..and she still does it very nicely .. .Like Pitts, PT-17s, PT-22s, UBF Wacos, and some others who tried the Fokker out. ..excepting one ex-USAF Instructor who gave me a little insight in the fact that sometimes it is the pilot, more than the plane, that makes for the outcome. I did have a close one that was unexpected, when a stranger in a Citabria made a run right in front of me with no warning. I had seen him come up to 4 o'clock high, but was also very concerned with reading my engine instruments at the time.

These dogfights should ALWAYS be arranged for on deck beforehand! 20 feet in front closing diagonally is too close for comfort!

Gross weight is 2070, (attributed to an overfed pilot, in part, pushups and pushaways are helping though, plus vanity). Also some new instruments that did not exist at the time, but nice to have. I might remove a few of them, since they are in CG, and the guns might be just a bit lighter ...1 never have been able to find out whether the Fokker was weighed with or without the Spandaus. Assume they were, ammunition was another 180 Ibs. though, which is 232 Ibs. (That makes up the in­struments and radio weight.)

Counting the stubwing between the gear figures 280 square feet of wing area, the wing loading comes to 7.4 Ibs./sq. ft. and power loads at 8.6 Ibs./h.p. (or 10.4 Ibs./h.p. with a standard Ranger 200.) Not bad!

I made a mistake when I built my brake pedals since I had them bolted on the floorboard, and with a rudder bar, kicking full rudder, my heel would not be able to get to the pedal if I needed to do so. . . and I did ...The same tailwheel steering spring broke again, with a gusty wind about 20 knots, and doing about 30 mph, she start­ed to go to the LEFT. The right steering spring having broken again, rudder and power did nothing to help matters since she already had a start of her own, I met

my first ground loop ...and a beauty too! Right over on her back!

The landing gear folded under, from the sideload, the prop and lower left wing dug in, and the original rudder went Kaput, taking the new fin with it too. The top wing had NO damage, she went over on soft grass that was level as a pool table, "Whoofed" the air from under, settled down like a lady ...and it was all in slow motion. . .plenty of time to cut switches, shut down the fuel. . .and then I opened my safety belt ...and dropped right on my head!!! I had come in behind a Bonanza with an emergency, which turned out to be no problem, but then I got it!

I rebuilt the tail, made a new rudder, fixed the gear back up, and mounted the brake pedals where they belonged in the first place, on the rudder bar, where they work perfectly. Re-inspected, then went out and took the GAMA Award . for Best Homebuilt, two more from Commerce, Texas, Fly-in. An EAA local award, and a completion award from Dalworth Chapter 34. One from the Naval Air Station, Dallas, for an appearance for Armed Forces Day, and a few others. The last one I got at the Xmas Banquet was one for landing wheels up in a wheels down airplane!

All in all, she is everything, plus, what has been said about Fokkers. The e.0., of Navy Dallas, Capt. e. N. J ames, USN, flew her and is the only other person who has. He is still beaming on the other side of the World today...and Corky Fornoff wants to do it next. Said it is what he always wanted to fly and asked to do so, next time. :p­

-----0

Above: Those beautiful box spars ready for clos­ing. With this construction no wires are needed. N struts were affixed to satisfy wary WW I pilots.

Below: Top wing just completed, ready for cover - an extremely strong structure.

Above: A belt with a champagne bottle, "OUCH!".

--\,)

....

Album ~urf!s from the Jack Rose collection. M.B. 2 bomber was -:I by Billy Mitchell for his demonstration of sinking ships at in 7927. It was powered by two liberty engines, liquid

led, V72 developing 420 hp gave this "dirty old bird" a top '?d of 99 mph. However, it carried a good bomb load 400 '?s. Lower left: M,B. 2 cockpit. Note Liberty starting ructions . . engines on this page are reported to be Liberty models of vlinder test type, 8 cylinder, 72 cylinder and the large one ?4 cylinder, developing some where in the 800 hp class. Jer right: A student pranged the Jenny.

'intage Machines

1 UUI

Editor's Note: Reprinted unedited from National Geograph ie, June 1918 issue.

Air due ls were unknown four years ago. Boys of 18 or 20, untaught and inexperienced in the art, have flown aloft and mastered it- mastered it so thoroughly that less prudent antagonists have fallen before them, sometimes six in one day. At least a score of such duels have been reported where the victor won by the expenditure of a single bullet!

Lufbery for America, Guynemer for France, Bishop for Great Britain, and von Richthofen for Germany have towered above their comrades from the popular view­point because of their conspicuous successes in this new art of aerop lane dueling.

To promote this new and spectacu lar branch of war­fare, the rival air forces of the bell igerents have con­structed the swiftest and deadliest types of aerop lanes, to be manned by their air duelists- expert sharpshooters and pilots- whose duty it is both to attack the heavy bombing and reconnaissance planes of the enemy and to defend their own slower aeroplanes from chasing av ia­tors.

Each belligerent nation has co ll ected the cream of its sharpshooters into one squadron, or escadrille, where as o ne unit they ca n be hurl ed into a threatened area with eve ry prospect of success over less skilled antago nists.

THE PREMIER ESCADRILLE

France has her Cigognes ("Storks")' the celebrated Spad 3, to which belong Fonck, Heurteaux, Pinsard , Deullin, Gond, Herrison, the Americans Baylies and Par­sons, and those who have made the sacr ifice supreme­Guynemer, Auger, Rene Dorm e, and de la Tour.

America has her Escadrill e Lafayette, which was com­manded by Major Lufbery and which stands third among all the fighting escadrilles of France in the number of enemy aeroplanes shot down.

The British have R.F.C. Squadron No.1, which is commanded by Captain Fullard and which brought down 200 German aeroplanes in a short six months.

And the Germans entrusted their hopes to the famous Tango Circus, so nicknamed by the English pilots by reaso n of the close formation in which the gaudily pai nted aeroplanes of this enemy unit flew. The victories claimed by this band amount to more than double those

accorded to any single squadron of the Allies. And the commander of this J agdstaffel No. II hold s the world record in air dueling, for he lived to conquer 80 enemy machines.

FONCK, OF THE CIGOGNES

The most polished aerial duelist the world has ever seen is Rene Fonck, aged 23, now flying with the Cigognes, Spad 3. This is the famous fig hting escadr ille that was commanded by Guynemer at the time of his disappearance, September 11, 1917. Curiously enough, Lieutenant Fonck, who was then a member of Escadr ill e N. (Nieuport) 103, was Guynemer's avenger. He shot down on September 21 the German pilot, Li eutenant Wissemann, who had written home to his mother in Cologne, boasting that he had been victorious over Guy­nemer and now need fear no one. As no proof of Guy­nemer 's death has yet been fo und, the truth of Wissemann 's clai m is doubted.

Consider the details of Fonck's record. Up to April 3, 1918, he had shot down official ly 32 enemy aircraft, engaged in upward of 200 combats, flow n over 1,000 hours above the enemy's lines, yet had never received a bullet hole in his aeroplane! Now he has 45 enemy planes on his tablet and is the French ace of aces.

Most of hi s combats are against fo rm ations of five or more enemies. While delivering the coup de grace to one he must prevent a surprise from the others. How he succeeds in this could never be satisfactorily explained, yet that he does succeed is beyond question. Such in­credible perfection in maneuvering and such rapid and infa llible accuracy of aim have never been equalled by any other fighting pilot.

Lieutenant Dorme, of the same escadrille, who had 23 on his score at the time of his mysterious disappear­ance May 25, 1917, had shot down 10 of this number before be rece ived more than two bullets in his own machine. He was nicknamed "the Unpuncturable" by his comrades for this superb skill and good luck. Guynemer returned daily with his plane, and even his clothing, rid­dled with bullet holes. One can but wonder at the mirac­ulous record made by Fonck.

FONCK REVEALS HIS SECRET

But is it a miracle? Let Fonck himself tell the secret. I n an interview with La Guerre Aerienne, of Paris, re­cently he made the following obserations concerning his preparations for combat:

"One must be in constant training, always fit, always

sure of oneself, always in perfect hea lth. Muscles must be in good condition, nerves in perfect equ ilibrium, all the organs exercisi ng naturall y.

"Alcohol becomes an enemy- even wine. All ab uses must be avo id ed. I t is indispensable that one goes to a combat without fatigue, without any disquietude, either physical or moral.

"It must be remembered that combats often take place at alti tudes of twenty to twenty-five thousand feet. High altitudes are trying on one's organisms. This indeed is, at bottom, the reason that keeps me from flying too conti nuousl y. And I never fly except when in perfect conditio n. I am careful to abstain when I am not exactly fit. Constantly I watch myself.

" I t is necessary to train as severely for air combats as for any other athletic contest, so difficult is the prize of victory. Yet if one finds oneself in prime condition, all the rest is play."

And these precepts come not from a Sunday-school teacher, but from a youth who has demonstrated his theory with as thorough a test as can be imagined.

"All the rest" may be play, yet there is in that little play of Fonck's a secret of quickness and anticipatio n that is almost superhuman.

HOW HE DESTROYED SIX MACHINES IN ONE DAY

Lieutenant Fonck is the only Frenchman who has brought down six enemy aircraft in one day. He went up back of Soissons with his patro l on May 9 last and en­countered three two-seater machines of the enemy. Two of these he destroyed in less than ten seconds and the third fell five minutes later. That afternoon he ran onto a formidable formation of five of the new Pfalz fighting machines working in contact with five Albatros scouts­all single-seaters. He dived into them and sent down three, one after another, the remainder breaking up and escaping before he could catch them. These six machines were shot down with an expenditure of ten cartridges per machine!

THE STORY OF RAOUL LUFBERY

Raoul Lufbery, the boy who ran away from his home in Wallingford , Conn., when he was 17, who wandered half the world over, working at odd jobs until his curi­osity was satisfied and his purse replenished , who en­listed as a regular soldier in 1907, and went to the Philippines for two years, where he won all the prizes of his regiment as the best marksman on the range, and

16

The American Ace, Major Raoul Lufbery, and his Nieuport Note the gun on the engine hood, synchronized to fire through the propeller.

On the machine at the rear a Lewis gun is shown mounted on the top plane. Major Lufbery was killed in an air fight on May 19, 1918. His record of official victories over the Huns was 18.

who entered aViation in France, his mother's country, mainly to avenge the death of his friend and patron, Marc Pourpe- this same Major Raoul Lufbery met his death on Sunday morning, May 19 last, with a record of 18 German aeroplanes shot down, which is the highest score held by any American. Not a newspaper in our land but told of his loss. This runaway boy died leaving his name as well known to his countrymen as is that of Pershing or Sims.

Among the last heroic survivors of the old school of war-fl iers, Lufbery was revered and is mourned most keenly by the group of our young airmen who were under his tutelage in the Escadrille Lafayette, the Spad 124. One of these, David E. Putnam, has already sur­passed his chief in one day's chase, having brought down five enemy machines on June 10, according to a dispatch from France.

Lieutenant Charles Nungesser; score, 36 Huns Nungesser is second only to Lieutenant Fonck among living French fliers in

the number of his victories. His fighting plane mounts one gun on the engine hood and one on the upper plane.

This places Sergeant Putnam in the proud position of America's ace of aces, with a total score of 13 aeroplanes shot down. Forty-two other young American pilots have won one or more victories over their opponents. Ten of them have won their fifth and with it the title of ace.

THE HI GH- SCORE ACE OF TH E ROYAL FLY ING CORPS

"The King has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the Victoria Cross to Second Lieutenant (tem­porary Captain) J ames Byford McCudden, who already possesses the Distinguished Service Order, the Military Cross, the Military Medal, the General List, and Royal Flying Corps, for most conspicuous bravery, exception perseverence, keenness, and very high devotion to duty."

So reads a communique of recent date from the Bri­tish War Office. Captain McCudden has brought down 54 enemy aeroplanes, which gives him the highest score

among the British pilots, Philip F. Fullard coming next, with 48, and William A. Bishop, the Canadian, who visited the United States during last winter, standing third, with 47 victories.

(Since the above was written an unofficial report states that Major Bishop has added 25 more victories to his score of 47, making a total of 72; stating further that he has retired from air fighting to instruct his freshmen pilots in the art of air dueling. Bishop has now but one competitor for the world's record in the number of air­craft destroyed - Captain von Richthofen.)

Capt. Albert Ball, the conqueror of Germany's star air fighter, Immelmann, was himself killed in combat with Lieut. von Richthofen a year ago, after having amassed 43 official successes, at that time the world's record.

Not only does the British champion, McCudden, sur­pass all his countrymen at the front since Bishop's retire­

17

ment, but he leads the highest score in France, that of Georges Guynemer, who went out for the last time on September 11, 1917, having at that time accounted for 53 German aeroplanes.

WHAT CONSTITUTES CONSPICUOUS BRAVERY

Let us see what constitutes "conspicuous bravery," in the opinion of the unemotional custodians of the Vic­toria Crosses in England.

On two occasions McCudden has totally destroyed four two-seater machines on the same day; on the last occasion all four of such two-seaters were destroyed within one hour and 30 minutes- costing Germany some $250,000, as the value of aeroplanes and trained pilots is computed, for this hour and a half of young McCudden's time.

On December 23,1917, when leading his patrol, he attacked eight hostile aeroplanes. Two of them he shot down, the others he drove deep into their own lines, returning home himself only when his Lewis gun ammunition was exhausted and the belt of his Vickers gu n had broken.

The citation says: "As a patrol leader he has at all times shown the utmost gallantry and skill not only in the manner in which he has attacked and destroyed the enemy, but in the way he has during several fights pro­tected the newer members of his flight, thus keeping their casualties down to a minimum. This officer is con­sidered by the record which he has made, by his fearless­ness, and by the great services wh ich he has rendered to his country, deserving of the very highest honor."

It requires bravery truly to bring down 54 armed aeroplanes. But that bravery becomes conspicuous and deserving of the very highest honor when it includes shielding from danger the little fellows who are de­votedly following their daring leader.

THE CAREER OF CAPTAIN VON RICHTHOFEN

Manfred von Richthofen, favorite of the Kaiser, a brilliant fighter, a chivalrous gentleman, and the pride of the German army, was the celebrated commander of the enemy air squadron officially known as Judgstaffel No. II, but familiar to all airmen as the Tango Circus. Of aristocratic birth, he was a lieutenant of Uhlans before the outbreak of the war. The former air champion, Cap­tain Boelke, induced him to enter the Air Service in 1915, and his first victory was won in September, 1916. In seven months the flying squadron which he led shot

down 200 aeroplane antagonists. I n less than fifteen months active flying, von

Richthofen personally brought down 70 aeroplanes and 10 observation balloons, mostly British. He flew the swiftest type of aeroplanes that German constructors could build, and he mounted upon them two Spandau machine-guns that fired straight ahead between the blades of the propeller. His machine he painted a bright red, and for the past eight months his menacing presence thus courted identification from his enemies with a self­confidence and audacity truly admirable.

He was shot down April 21, 1918, over the Somme River, at the Amiens front, and his new Fokker triplane, a personal gift to him from Fokker himself, fell into the British lines. This machine flew 140 miles per hour and climbed 15,000 feet in 17 minutes. Orders found in his pockets indicated that the enemy army commanders de­sired this sector cleared of British aeroplanes on the morning of April 21 at all costs. But it is doubtful whether the fall of Amiens itself would have compen­sated Germany for the cost she paid in the loss of this great ace.

GENEROUS TRIBUTE TO THE ENEMY ACE

The following generous tribute to an enemy airman is written by C. G. Grey, of London:

"The greatest of our enemies in the air, Rittmeister Freiherr Manfred von Richthofen, is dead. The Royal Flying Corps, his particular foes, will hear the news with mixed feelings. They will rejoice that he is out of action, but will regret sincerely the death of a gallant gentleman who fell bravely doing his duty.

"Only a few days ago one of the best of our airmen expressed the hope that he and von Richthofen might survive the war, so that they might compare notes. Some few months ago a dinner was given to another of our renowned fighting pilots by his squadron, in honor of his winning the Distinguished Service Order. In returning thanks, the hero of the evening, as gallant a lad as ever flew, stood up and proposed the health of von Richthofen. And the fighting pilots of the squadron arose and duly honored an enemy whom they respected. Both the proposer of the toast and h is enemy are now dead. One hopes that beyond the shadows they have met, as gallant enemies do when they have fought a good fight and peace has come to them.

"These two incidents indicate, one believes, the feelings of the Royal Flying Corps toward Rittmeister

von Richthofen. There is not one in the corps who would not gladly have killed him. But there is not one who would not equally gladly have shaken hands with him had he been brought down without being killed or who would not so have shaken hands if brought down by him.

"His death is bound to have a depressing effect upon the German Flying Service, for obviously the younger and less brave pilots will argue that if a von Richthofen cannot survive their chances must be small. Equally, his death is an encouragement to the younger Allied pilots who can no longer imagine that every skillful German who attacks them is von Richthofen himself.

"However, Manfred von Richthofen is dead. He was a brave man and a clean fighter. May he rest in peace."

Who can now say the day of chivalry is past? Our great enemy ace was buried with full military honors, in French soil, on April 22, and his personal effects were sent home to his family.

A MEAN AND BITTER EPILOGUE

It would be pleasanter to leave the story of von Richthofen's gallant death and funeral thus; but an inter­esting, though contemptible, epilogue is thrust upon our attention from the land of the fallen hero. It is penned by the notorious Count Reventlow, and appears in the May 1 issue of the Deutsche Tagezeitung to poison the mind of the Boche and inflame it into greater hatred against the foe. It says:

"These honors are nothing but the manifestation of British self-advertisement of their 'chivalry.' We once heard much of the chivalrous treatment accorded by the English to Captain von Muller, of the Emden, but as soon as he was able to speak we found that instead of chivalrous treatment he had received nothing but deli­berate vileness, contempt, and torture from his captors.

"For our part we cannot consider the honors given to the remains of von Richthofen as sincere. The English press is full of them, and with characteristic blatancy blares about British magnanimity. But they say nothing about the huge prizes in money that were offered to the pilot who could kill Richthofen. In fact, these must have amounted to an enormous sum. And this explains the bitter and 'noble' controversy which raged around the corpse of the fallen pilot, for there was cash waiting for the one who inflicted the fatal wound and brought the German machine to earth. The officials themselves who buried our hero were all fortunate money-makers. Thus

18

Among living aviators he holds the world's record for victories Major William A. Bishop, V.c., D.S.a., M.C., premier ace of Great Britain's

Royal Flying Corps, is a Canadian, 23 years ofage. Seventy-two Hun planes have fallen before the skill of this master airman. Major Bishop came to America on furlough last winter and while in Washington, D.C., visited the headquarters of the National Geographic Society, where he wrote "Tales of the British Air Service, " published in the january, 1918, number of the National Geographic Magazine.

this spectacle takes on a thoroughly disgusting aspect." To which Marc Antony might well have said: "Oh

Judgment! Thou hast fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason!"

In truth, the official reports have indicated that it is in doubt as to whether von Richthofen fell from a shot from the air or from the ground. Many aeroplanes were engaged in a "dog fight" at very low levels at the time and machine-guns from the British lines took part in the fray. Suddenly Richthofen's gaudily painted triplane darted into the ground and smashed. Investigation dis­closed a bullet through his heaf t, but from whence it came could not be ascertained.

French heroes who are at home in three elements-Earth, Air, and Water After a plunge in the Somme, three French airmen and their squad physician

brave the camera. The tall officer, with the cap and cane, is Lieutenant Benois, now in America attached to the French military mission. The officer on the extreme right is Capt. jean Richard, formerly of the Storks Escadrille, but now detailed to artillery and stationed in Washington temporarily. Lieutenant Ray­mond stands next to the physician, who wears the black bathing suit.

Subsequently the Toronto Globe announced that von Richthofen's conqueror was Capt. Roy Brown, of Carle­ton Place, Ontario, who was one of the fighting pilots participating in the combat.

THE ROLL OF ACES OF ALL BELLIGERENTS

Having described their methods and peculiarities and studied their characteristics, which account for their proved superiority both over their enemies and in com­parison with their comrades, let us look at the complete score of the aces of aviation of all the belligerent countries.

This score I have been tabulating since the war in the

air began, and it is officially correct up to the date of June 15, 1918, with the exception of the list of British aces, whose records are not made public until His Maj esty is graciously pleased to con fer upon them the Victoria Cross or the Distinguished Service Order for some extraordinary and brilliant performance of duty. Many British aces must, therefore, be omitted from the following table.

THE SCORE OF THE LIVING ACES OF FRANCE

Fifty-five French aces, living, have brought down 547 enemy aeroplanes, as follows: Lieut. Rene Fonck ....... . . . .. ... ...... . .... 45 Lieut. Charles Nungresser . .. . . .. . . . .. ... . . . . .. 36

19

Lieut. George Madon ... . ...... ...... ....... . Capt. Albert Heurteaux . . ....... ......... ... . Adjt. Guerin ............ ....... ..... . ..... . Li eut. Deullin ............................. . Capt. Armand Pinsard ...................... . Lieut. Maurice Boyau ....................... . Lieut. de Meuldre .......................... . Lieut. Marcel Hughes ....................... . Adjt. J ailler . . . ....... . .... . .... .... .... . . . Lieut. Sard ier ............................. . Lieut. Tarascon ............. . ..... . ..... . . . Lieut. Ortoli .... ............ . . .. .. .. . . .... . Adjt. Andre Herbelin . .... ....... .. .. ....... . Lieut. Garaud ............................. . Lieut. de Turrenne .. ....... ................ . Adjt. Chainat ..... .... . .... ... .. .. ... . .. .. . Adjt. Casale .............................. . Adjt. Dauchy .... .. .......... . .. ... .. ..... . Lieut. Viall et .. ... ... . .. ...... . . . ... .. ... . . Capt. Derode .. ... .... . .. . ........... . .... . Lieut. de Sevin ..... ............. ... . .. .... . Li eut. de Slade .. . ...... .. . ..... .......... . . Adjt. Leon Vitalis .. . ............. ..... . ... . Lieut. Lachmann . ......... . .......... . .. .. . Li eut. Flachaire . .... . .. ..... . ... ....... .. . . Adjt. Victor Sayaret .... . .. ... ... .......... . . Lieut. Jean L'hoste ....... . ...... .... ... .. . . Sergt. Rene Montrion ....................... . Sergt. du Bois d'Aische .. .. .... . .. . ......... . Lieut. Covin . .. ... ........... ......... ... . . Lieut. Bonnefoy .. . . .. .......... .... .... . .. . Sergt. Soulier . .. . . .. .... .... .... .......... . Lieut. Gond .. ... . ... . . .. ................. . Sergt. Boyau .... . .. ..... .... .. ........... . Adjt. Dhome ............................. . Adjt. Peronneau .......... .. . .... ......... . . Sergt. Rosseau ........ ...... .............. . Soldat Louis Martin ........................ . Li eut. Leps . .... ........... .... ........ . .. . Lieut. Raymond ........ ... .. .... .......... . Lieut. Alex Borzecky .. .. ... .... . . .. .. .. .... . Adjt. Bloch .............................. . Lieut. Paul Gastin .... . . .......... ..... .... . Lieut. Regnier .. .. ..... . ... ..... .. . ....... . Comdr. de Ma~ancourt ..... ........ . .. ...... . Adjt. Herrison .......... . ................. . Lieut. Marty ...... ... ....... . .... ...... ... . Adj t. Blanc ............................... .

34 Sergt. Quette (missing May 16, 1918) ... ....... . 5 (last victory unofficial) .......... . ... . ... .. 5 21 Sergt. Bouyer ............................. . 5 Lieut. Edward Richenbacker, New York ......... 5 21 Adjt. Casenove de Pradines ..... . ............ . 5 Eleven American aces have a total of 83 enemy planes 19 Sergt. Pierre Marinovitch ...... . ............. . 5 brought down. Several of the British aces are Americans 18 Lieut. Nogues ........ .. ... .. .............. . 5 who enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps. 18

RECORD OF FRANCE'S HERO DEAD THE BRITISH LIST 13 12 Nineteen French aces, dead or retired, have brought Major William A. Bishop ............. . ....... 72 12 down 208 enemy aeroplanes. Capt. James McCudden .. ..... ... . ... . . . ..... 54 11 (The date of the termination of the ace's activities is Capt. Philip F. Fullard .... . .................. 48 11 indicated in parentheses.) Capt. Henry W. Wollett (13 in one day) .......... 28 11 Capt. Georges Guynemer (September 11, 1917) ... 53 Lieut. John J. Malone .. .. . .... . .... . ........ 20 10 Lieut. Rene Dorme (May 15, 1917) .. .......... . 23 Lieut. Allan Wilkenson .................. .. .. . 19 10 Lieut. Jean Chaput (May 18, 1918) ............. 16 Lieut. Stanley Rosevear ... ..... . ... . ..... ... . 18 10 Lieut. Navarre (retired April 10, 1917) . .. ..... .. 12 Lieut. Robert A. Little ...... ..... ... . ....... . 17

9 Lieut. de la Tour (December 21, 1917) .......... 11 Lieut. Clive Warman ...... ... .. . .. ... ... .. .. . 15 9 Adjt. Maxime Lenoire (October 25,1916) ........ 11 Lieut. Fred Libby ......................... . 14 9 Capt. Georges Matton (September 10, 1916) ...... 9 Capt. W. C. Campbell ....................... . 14 8 Sergt. Sauvage ............... ...... .. ... . ... 8 Lieut. R. T. C. Hoidge . ..... . .... .... . ... . . . . 14 7 Capt. Rene Doumer (April 26, 1917) ............ 7 Capt. Murray Galbraith .. ... .. ...... . .... ... . 13 7 Lieut. de Rochefort . . . ...................... 7 Lieut. Joseph Stewart Fall .. . .. . . . ..... . ..... . 13 7 Capt. Alfred Auger (j uly 28, 1917) . ..... ... .... 7 Lieut. A. K. Cowper ...... .... .. ...... ...... . 12 7 Lieut. Henri Languedoc . ...... . ............ .. 7 Capt. Whitaker ........ : ................... . 12 7 Lieut. de Mortemart (March 20, 1918) ...... .... 6 Capt. Robert Dodds ................. . ...... . 11 7 Lieut. Adolph Pegoud (August 31, 1915) ........ 6 Lieut. M. D. G. Scott .... . ...... ... ... ... ... . 11 7 Lieut. Andre Delorme . .. .... ... ..... ... . . ... 5 Lieut. Raymond Collinshaw . . ......... . ...... . 10 7 Sergt. Marcel Hauss ......................... 5 Li eu t. R. A. Mayberry ...................... . 9 7 Capt. Lecour-Grandmaison (May 10, 1917) ... .. .. 5 Lieut. John Andrews ................. . .. .. . . 9 6 Lieut. George Baillot (May 20, 1916) ........... 5 Capt. Gilbert Ware Green ..... .... . .... ... . .. . 9 6 Adjt. Pierre Violet (December 27, 1916) ......... 5 Lieut. K. R. Park .......................... . 9 6 The total of 74 French aces, living and dead, is 755 Lieut. M. B. Frew .......................... . 8 6 enemy aeroplanes shot down to June 15, 1918. Sergt. Dean I. Lamb ........................ . 8 6 Lieut. Boyd Samuel Bread ner ................ . 8

WHAT UNITED STATES ACES HAVE DONE6 Lieut. Andrew McKeever . . ........ .. ...... . . . 8 6 Maj. Raoul Lufbery (killed May 19, 1918) ... .... . 18 Lieut. J. H. T. Letts . .. ... ..... . ...... • ...... 8 6 Sergt. David E. Putnam, Brookline, Mass. . ...... . 13 Lieut. Lionel B. Jones ...................... . 7 6 Lieut. Frank L. Baylies, New Bedford, Mass. Lieut. A. S. Shepherd . ..... ... . ... . . .... . . .. . 7 6 (missing June 20, 1918) ......... .... ... . .. 12 Lieut. J ames Dennis Payne .......... . ... . .... . 7 6 Maj. William Thaw, Pittsburgh, Pa. . .. ........... 5 Lieut. G. E. H. McElroy ...... . . . ........ . .. . . 7 6 Lieut. Robert Magoun, Boston, Mass. Capt. C. A. Brewster-J oske . . ................. . 7 5 (wounded April 8, 1918) ... . . . . .. .. . .... .. . 5 Capt. Wagour ............................. . 7 5 Lieut. Douglass Campbell, Pasadena, Cal. ........ . 5 Capt. Frank G. Quigley (all in one day) .... . . . .. . 6 5 Adjt. Edwin C. Parsons, Springfield, Mass........ . 5 Capt. G. E. Thomson ..... ... ...... ... . . .... . 6 5 Lieut. H. Clay Ferguson Capt. Lancelot L. Richardson . . . . ............ . 6 5 (wounded March 12, 1918) ..... .... ... ... . . 5 Lieut. Cecil Roy Richards ................... . 6 5 Lieut. Paul Frank Baer, Mobile, Ala. Lieut. Howard Saint . ................... .... . 6 5 (missing May 22, 1918) ................... . 5 Lieut. Fred John Gibbs ... .... .... .. . . .. .... . 6 5 Corp. David McK . Peterson , Honesdale, Pa. Lieut. C. W. Cuddemore . .... ............ . ... . 6

20

A type ofnight-flying airplane now in use Aces among Aces: Some of the most famous airmen who have flown Note the four rockets on each side and the machine-gun protruding over the for France and humanity

bow of the boat-shaped fuselage. The radiators for the motor are on each side of From right to left: Capt. Albert Heurteaux, Capt. Alfred Auger, Commander the fuselage. Below the lower plane of the machine is a battery of three search­ Hogrel, Capt. Georges Guynemer, Lieut. Albert Deullin, Lieutenant Andre, lights controlled, of course, by wired levers within reach of the pilot. A touch of Lieut. Rene Dorme, and Lieutenant Raymond. humor is supplied in the manikin figurehead at the bow.

Lieut. William Lewis Wells .................... 5 Lieut. E. D. Clarke ........ .. ... .. ...... .... . 5 Capt. Fred Hope Lawrence ................... 5 Lieut. Edward R. Grange ..................... 5 Lieut. W. G. Miggitt ..... ......... .. ... ... . .. 5 Lieut. Lawrence W. Allen ..................... 5 Lieut. William De. Matheson .. ... ........ ..... 5 Lieut. Stanley J. Coble .............. .. ....... 5 Capt. G. H. Boarman ................. . ... .. . 5 Lieut. F. T. S. Menendez ... . ..... ....... . ... . 5 Capt. K. C. Patrick . . ........................ 5 Sergt. T. F. Stephenson ...................... 5 Comdr. F. C. Armstrong ................... Many Comdr. R. F. Minifie ..... .... ........ ... .. Comdr. E. L. N. Clarke .................. .. Comdr. R. B. Munday ........ .. ........ . .. Comdr. G. W. Price ..................... .. Comdr. R. J. O. Compston ..... . . .. . ...... .. Lieut. V. R. Stokes ....... ... ........... ..

Lieut. W. C. Canbray ............... . .... .. Lieut. H. T. Beamish .. ................ .. .. Lieut. E. T. Hayne ...................... .. Lieut. G. W. Hemming ... . ............... .. Lieut. J. E. L. Hunter .................... .. Lieut. W. A. Curtiss ...... .. ... .. .. ...... .. Capt. H. T. Mellings (wounded May 18, 1918 . .. Lieut. Gerard B. Crole ............... .. .. .. Lieut. Robert N. Hall .................... .. Lieut. David Sidney Hall ... .. .. .. . .. . . ... .. Lieut. M. J. G. Day ....... ...... . ..... .. .. Lieut. E. G. Johnston ..... . .. . ... ... ..... .. Lieut. W. L. Jordan ..................... .. Lieut. M. H. Findley ............... . .... .. Lieut. C. B. Ridley ...................... ..

BRITISH DEAD OR RETI RED

Capt. Albert Ball ........................... 43 Capt. Brunwin Hales .. ...... .. . .. ... ........ 27 Capt. Francis McCubbon .. .. ..... .... ..... . .. 23

Capt. George Thomson .... ..... . .... ........ 21 Capt.J.L.Trollope{sixinoneday) . .... ...... . 18 Lieut. Leonard M. Barlow .................... 17 Lieut. CI ive F. Collett ....................... 15 Capt. H. G. Reeves ... ........ . .............. 13 Capt. Noel W. W. Webb .. . . .. ........... .... . 12 Lieut, Rhys-David ...................... .. .. 9 Capt. Henry G. Luchford .. ... . . ... .. .. ...... . 7

Estimating "many" as at least five, the known list of the British aces accounts for at least 950 enemy aero­planes with the above named 86 members. Undoubtedly the complete list will disclose another score of British aces.

RECORD OF ITALIAN ACES

Maj. Baracca (killed June 21, 1918) ............. 36 Lieut. Barachini ........ ..... ... ... .... . .... 31 Lieut. Ancilotti .. .... . . ....... . . ........... 19 Col. Piccio . .. ....................... ...... 17 Capt. Duke Calabria ..... ... .. .. ............. 16

21

Lieut. Scaroni ............................ . 13 Lieut. Olivari (killed) ....................... . 12 Lieut. Hanza ............................. . 11 Sergt. Maisero ..... . ...................... . 8 Lieut. Parnis ............... .... . .. ...... . . . 7 Sergt. Poli ............................... . 6 Lieut. Lu igi 01 ivi ............. . ............ . 6 Lieut. Stophanni .......................... . 6 Lieut. Arrigoni ............................ . 5

Fourteen Italian aces have totalled 193 victories.

EIGHT BELGIAN ACES, 60 VICTORIES

Adjt. Coppens ............................ . 13 Lieut. Thieffry (killed February 23, 1918) ...... . 10 Lieut. de Meulemeester ..................... . 10 Lieut. Jan 01 ieslagers ....................... . 6 Adjt. Beulemest ........................... . 6 Capt. J aquette ............................ . 5 Lieut. Robin ............................. . 5 Adjt. Medaets ............................. . 5

RUSSIAN ACES

Capt. Kosakoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 17 Capt. Kroutenn (killed June 22, 1917) .......... 6 Lieut. Pachtchenko ......................... 5

LIVING HUN ACES TOTAL 747 PLANES

Thirty-six German and four Austrian aces, living, total 747 aeroplanes. Lieut. Max Buckler ......................... 33 Capt. Berthold ...... ..... .. . ....... ..... ... 33 Lieut. Menckhof ........................... 33 Lieut. Loerzer (wounded June 15, 1918) ...... ... 33 Lieut. Schleich ............................. 30 Capt. Brunowsky, Austria .................... 29 Lieut. von Bulow ........................... 28 Lieut. Kroll ............................... 28 Lieut. Wuesthoff ........................... 27 Lieut. Udet ........... ....... ... . ......... 27 Lieut. Lowenhardt .......................... 27 Lieut. Arigi, Austria ......................... 26 Lieut. Peutter .............................. 25 Lieut. Link Crawford, Austria ................. 23 Capt. Baumer ........ ...... .......... ..... . 23 Lieut. Kirstein ............ ...... ........... 23 Corp. Rumey ............... ... ............ 23 Lieut. Klein ..... . . ... .. _.................. 22

Lieut. Windisch . ... ........................ 21 Lieut. Adam . . ............................. 21 Lieut. Veltgens ............................. 21 Lieut. Thuy .................... . .......... 20 Lieut. Reinhardt ........ . . . ................ 20 Lieut. Kissenberth ... . ...................... 17 Lieut. Schmidt ............................. 15 Lieut. Hess ................................ 13 Lieut. Muller .............................. 13 Lieut. Goettsch ............. ... ........... . 13 Lieut. Goering ............................ . 10 Lieut. Banfield, Austria ..................... . 9 Sergt. F rickart ............................ . 9 Lieut. von Althaus ......................... . 8 Lieut. Esswein ............................ . 6 Lieut. Walz ............................... . 6 Lieut. Hehn .............................. . 6 Li~ut. Koenig ............................. . 6 Capt. Zauder ............................. . 5 Lieut. Brauneck ........................... . 5 Lieut. Ullmer ............................. . 5 Lieut. Roth ................... ... ........ . 5

Forty-eight German aces, dead or retired, have brought down 923 aeroplanes.

(Date 'when activities ceased is indicated in paren­theses.) Capt. von Richthofen (killed April 21, 1918) 80 Lieut. Werner-Voss-Crefeld (killed Oct. 8,1917) ... 49 Capt. Boelke .. ... ...... .... ............... 40 Lieut. Gontermann (November 3, 1917) ......... 39 Lieut. Max Muller (J anuary 15, 1918) . .... ...... 38 Lieut. Bongartz (wounded March 3, 1918) ....... 36 Lieut. Cort Wolf .. ...... .................... 33 Lieut. Schaeffer ............................ 30 Lieut. Almenroeder ......................... 30 Lieut. von Richthofen, wounded ..... . ......... 29 Capt. von Tutscheck (March 17, 1918) .......... 27 Lieut. Barnet (October 13, 1917) .............. 27 Lieut. Dosier (j anuary 1, 1918) ..... ... ...... . . 26 Lieut. Erwin Boehm (December 1, 1917) ........ 24 Lieut. von Tschwibon (November 22, 1917) ...... 20 Lieut. von Eschwege ........................ 20 Lieut. Bethge{March 17, 1918) ................ 20 Capt. Behr ................................ 19 Lieut. Thulzer ....... . ..... .. .............. 19 Lieut. Baldamus .............. .... .......... 18 Lieut. Wintgens ............................ 18

Lieut. Frankel ............................. 17 Lieut. Geigel (May 13, 1918) .................. 15 Lieut. Schneider ............................ 15 Lieut. Immelmann ......................... . 15 Lieut. Nathanall .................. . ........ . 14 Lieut. Dassenbach ....... .. ................ . 14 Lieut. Festner ............................ . 12 Lieut. Pfeiffer .......................... . . . 12 Lieut. Manschatt .......................... . 12 Lieut. Hohndorf (October 13, 1917) ........... . 12 Lieut. Mutschaat . ........ ................. . 12 Lieut. Buddecke ........................... . 12 Lieut. von Kendall .......... . .............. . 11 Lieut. Kirmaier ... . ............ . .......... . 11 Lieut. Theiller ...................... . ..... . 11 Lieut. Herman Serfert ...................... . 11 Lieut. Mulzer ............................. . 10 Lieut. Leffers ...... . ...................... . 9 Lieut. Schulte . " ........ . .................. . 9 Lieut. Parschau ........................... . 8 Lieut. Schilling ............................ . 8 Lieut. Immelmann .... . .... . ............... . 6 Lieut. Fahlbusch .......................... . 5 Lieut. von Siedlitz ......................... . 5 Lieut. Rosenkranz ......................... . 5 Lieut. Habor .......................... . .. . 5 Lieut. Reimann ........................... . 5

Thus, 88 German aces have shot down 1,670 aero­planes of the Allies. On July 26, 1917, Germany claimed a total of 2,387 enemy aircraft destroyed since the be­ginning of the war. Since that time more than 1,000 have been added to this list.

TURKISH ACE

Capt. Schetz ....................... . . 8 successes

ALLIES' LIVING ACES, 157; HUNS, 40

Summarizing the foregoing table of the aces and their victories, we find that 88 Germans have brought down 1,670 hostile aircraft since the beginning of the war, wh ile 193 Allied aces have considerably exceeded th is score, with 2,041 enemy aircraft shot down. The startling feature in this comparison is the disclosure that German tactics in the air have permitted our enemy to destroy four-fifths as many aeroplanes with one-half the number of aces. (Continued on page 23)

22

Aeroplane struck in mid-air by a shell which carried away one cylinder of the rotary motor without destroying the machine.

Cowardly as those tactics are, unsportsmanlike as the enemy pilots must admit themselves to be, the German method of air fighting has proved its superiority over the more daring and generous tactics of the Allies, both in economy in the use of man power and machines and in efficiency.

But another conclusion can also be drawn from these figures. Our enemy has but 40 pilots of the ace class remaining, while the Allies have 157. The dead or retired in the enemy list number 48, with 923 victories, as against the 40 still fighting, with 747 victories.

So, not only have our aerial duel ists put hors de com­bat the majority of the enemy's star fighters, but in accomplishing this feat we have increased rather than lessened our own supply of expert duelists.

Add to this indication of ultimate supremacy the fact that the allied nations are now producing three or four times as many aeroplanes as Germany, and that the flying schools of the United States are crowded with eager lads impatiently waiting for their fighting mounts, and we begin to feel that the dueling days of Germany's 40 aces will soon be over.

THE TASK OF THE ALLIED ACES

And this 40 must be swept from the skies before our machines of reconnaissance and photographing can operate to perfection. Until the fighting planes of the enemy are suppressed our bombing machines are con­stantly menaced in their raids over enemy lines. One week's freedom from this menace would permit our bombing squadrons so to destroy the enemy's railroads and highways that the German forces at the front would be wholly deprived of food, ammunition, supplies, and reinforcements. Either retirement or surrender must en­sue. ~ ,

R707. The government project airship crashed in northern France in Oct. 7930 when on a test flight to India. The disaster ended all development of airships in England.

Nevil Shute By: Dorr B. Carpenter

225 Saunders Road Lake Forest, I L 60045

One of the better known aviation pioneers in England was Nevil Shute Norway. He is almost unknown in America as an engineer, but at the same time his written works are known and loved the world over. He has for more than twenty-five years been my favorite author.

Nevil Shute, a pen name taken up in the early 1920's, was used throughout his long writing career, which extended until 1960 at the time of his death.

He wrote a total of twenty adventure novels of which

All picture credits; Flight International's Picture Library, London

ten primarily concern aViation, the subject he most certainly knew the best. Mostly written for his own relaxation, the first two were never published during his lifetime and the next, Marazan sold only a few copies when it first appeared, but was quite popular when re-issued twenty-five years later. His autobiography Slide Rule, and engrossing story of his early life, reads more like a novel than a biography . Although not a dare devil pilot, he held interesting jobs entailing much

23

AS-3~ Queen Wasp, designed and built in 7936 as a radio controlled pilotless drone in both land and sea versions for live gunnery practice. Powered by a 350 hp Cheetah IX engine she was much too good looking to be shot out of the sky. Mainly constructed of wood she had folding wings and was tested and ultimately used for many varied purposes. (Shown here flying pilotless)

AS-5 Courier and some of the directors of Air Speed Ltd. Right to left they are Lord Grimthorpe (chairman), A. Hessel! Tiltman and Nevil Shute Norway, others are unknown. The Courier was the first English civil machine with retractable under carriage - the date 7933.

responsibility and wrote about them in a most dramatic manner.

All of h is stories are excellent and I recommend on reading his books to read Slide Rule f irst. He repeatedly calls attention to incidents and people that gave rise to stories and characters in his novels. Many of the stories run together with the main characters in one book becoming a minor entry in the next. I have the feeling of welcoming back old friends when meeting them again in as many as three books. This brings up the subject of the order in which to read these adventures. You will Ii ke them in any sequence but the logical order is not as they are published chronologically. The first should be Marazan, followed by So Disdained, Stephen Morris and Pilotage. These offer an almost continuous narrative of barnstorming aViation adventure with even an occassional spy thrown in, in the setting of England in the 1920's.

The books are so immediately engrossing that it is hard to put one down after reading o nly a few pages. I think you will want to read them all, eventually. The later books do not interlock and range in subject from Air Line sto ries (The Rainbow and the Rose, No Highway and Round the Bend) to military flying in the Second World War (Pastoral and Landfall). The last aviation story, An Old Captivity, is a truly imaginative sea plane flight to Greenland told by a swift paced narrative.

Of a ll of his aviation books, I consider The Rainbow and the Rose to be the best. I t was written after he had achieved a full mastery of suspense and story telling, and incorporates some unexpected twists that hold one's interest throughout the narrative. The remaining novels are varied in subject matter fro m shipbuilding, sailing, the Second World War, and Australia to the British Navy.

Over the years I have collected every book he ever

wrote. One particularly disappointing situation occurred when I purchased a book with an unfamiliar title, only to start reading it and finding that I had already read it under another name. Some of his books published in the United States have different titles than in England; an example is Marazan, the English title, published here it is The Mysterious Aviator.

These books are still generally available through local book stores and most are in print by William Heinemann , London.

As for Shute's life; he was born in 1900. His father was a post office employee of rather high rank. One of his first recollections of aviation was an event in 1911: a notation in h is diary concerned the first Air Race around Britain which passed directly over his house on its first lap from Brooklands and Hendon. Even as a very young boy, he knew all the aeroplanes by sight, names mostly forgotten now such as the Etrich monoplane, the

24

--"" ~~

Above: AS-4 Ferry, three were built in 7932. An equal-span biplane with two upright 720 hp de Havilland Gipsy /I engines and one inverted 720 hp DH Gipsy III. It could take-off and land in a very short distance and was used primarily for joy-rides. Two of these aircraft in one summer sea­son's operations made 9,700 landings and carried 92,000 passengers.

~\" )

\\[\. , i<.j

Below: AS-8 Viceroy was a modified Envoy fitted with Cheetah VI supercharged engines and spe­cially built for the England-Australia race of 7934. It did not win and was ultimatly sold to Spain in 7935.

Deperdussin and the Valkyrie. With the coming of the First World War, he was a

fifteen year old student and saw some fighting in Ireland and became involved in driving an ambulance in the rebel! ion that started on Easter Monday, 1916. After considerable military training at Woolwich, he failed to be commissioned because he stammered very badly. He then served for a little over a year in the ranks.

Immediately following the Army he entered Oxford as a mathamatics and engineering student in 1919, spending his first summer vacation crewing a yacht. These sailing experiences recur often in his novels.

In order to gain experience in the aeronautical field, he worked during his later Oxford vacations as an unpaid employee of the Aircraft Manufacturing Company at Hendon, known as Airco. His immediate superior was Captain Geoffrey de Havilland.

The English Government in 1925 started building an airsh ip (R-101) and at the same time let contracts for a private concern to work on a similar project (R-1 00). Shute was the Deputy Chief Engineer in charge of the R-100 project at Hawden from its inception through and including a successful test flight in 1930 from England to Canada and back. Shute's autobiography Slide Rule devotes 79 pages to this extraordinary story, telling not only of behind the scenes in his endeavor, but also of the ins and outs of the government project.

I n March 1931, he organized a company in York to build small aircraft under the name Airspeed Ltd. He was still a very young man. As he was used to bei ng in a position of authority, it was only natural that he would turn to some endeavor in which his aviation knowledge would be of use.

He and the other directors put up very little money and the company suffered from under capitalization until the war orders started to flow in.

His books were becoming popular, but he kept this side of his life separate from his work in aviation and in fact wrote very little during this period, as he felt an obligation to his stock holders and employees.

I t was the AS-5 Courier that brought some attention to Airspeed Ltd. for the first time. The earlier records of the AS-1 Tern (Sailplane) went unnoticed in a country not interested in gliders. The excellently designed AS-4 had a short production run of three aircraft, because the de Havilland Dragon was cheaper and faster. Few cared that the Ferry could carry more and land and take off in a much shorter space.

25

,..---

Shute was working in the capacity of Joint Managing Director of Airspeed with A. H. Tiltman. Tiltman concentrated on the technical and design aspects, while Shute was concerned with stress calculations and with the commercial sales and general management of the firm.

There is a very good book written about the Airspeed Company history that is still in print. It is called Air­speed Aircraft since 1931 by H. A. Taylor, published by Putnam and Co. Ltd., London. The author, as a former employee of Airspeed, was in a position to know the subject well and presents an excellent, well illustrated, complete history.

Nevil Shute's Slide Rule covers this history from an entirely different point of view and then only up until 1938 when he left the company to pursue writing as a full time endeavor.

The major accomplishments of Airspeed were during the war years with the build ing of thousands of Oxford train ers (AS-10) and Horsa troop gliders (AS-51). There were a total of 62 Airspeed projects. Most were experimental and some were modifications of aircraft burlt by other firms. It .was during the war that the de Havilland Company gained control and Airspeed became only a division of that giant firm.

With the advent of the war Shute again entered the service, th is time as a Lt. Commander in a Naval Technical unit. After the war he emigrated to Australia, where he wrote most of his books.

Shute's books, reflecting his interesting life in several areas, are well worth reading from a number of points of view.~

Below: AS-6 Convertible Envoy III. One of three aircraft sold to the South African Air Force in 7939. Four others were ordered for use Below: AS-5 Courier with Napier Rapier engine for test purposes. by the South African Airways and were capable ofquick conversion Reengined with Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engine and used on the to military variant. Solent Ferry.

Above: AS-57 Ambassador, first flown in July 7947 and designed as a DC-3 replacement. When used by BEA they were called the Elizabethan. This was the last de Havilland model to carry the Air Speed name.

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