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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
Associate Editor AssociateEditor
RobertG. Elliott Edward D.Williams
1227 Oakwood Ave. 713 Eastman Dr.
Daytona Beach, Florida 32014 Mt . Prospect, Illinois60056
Associate Editors will be identi f ied in the tableofcon
tents on arti cles they send in and repeated on the article
if they have written it. Associate Editorships will be
assigned to those who qualify (5 arti cles in any calendar
year).
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
ANTIQUE / CLASSIC
DIVISION
of
THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFTASSOCIATION
P. O. Box 229Hales Corners, Wis. 53130
SEPTEMBER1977 VOLUME 5 NUMBER9
Restorer'sCorner ............,. ................................ 1
1914'sWi ld BlueYonder . .. . .. . .... . ... ... .... .... . .... . .... . . . . . 3
ATexasWarCloud . ... . ....... . .. . ........ .. ..... . . ... .... . .. . . 5
AceAmong Aces .. .... ........ .. ...... . . . ........ . ... . .... .. . . 15
Nevil Shute ..................................................23
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP
oNON-EAA MEMBER - $34.00. Includes one year membership in t he EAA Ant ique/Classic Divisi on, 12
mont hly issues ofTHE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; one year membership i n the Experimental Aircraft Associa-
t ion. 12 monthlyi ssuesofSPORTAVIATION and separate membershipcards.
oNON-EAA MEMBER - $20.00. Includes one year membership i n the EAA Antique/Classic Division. 12
mont hly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; c; ne year membership i n the Experimental Aircraft Associa-
t ion and separate membership cards.SPORTAVIATION noti ncluded.
oEAA MEMBER - $14.00. Includes oneyear membership i n the EAA Antique/Classic Division. 12 monthly
issues of THE VINTAGE AI RPLANE and membershi p card. (Appli cant must be current EAA member and
must give EAA membership number.
PICTURE BOX
ONTHE 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 ANDCLASSIC
DIVISION
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
J.R. NIELANDER,JR.
P.O. BOX2464
FT. LAUDERDALE,FL33303
VICEPRESI DENT
JACKWINTHROP
RT.1, BOX 111
ALLEN,TX75002
SECRETARY
RICHARDWAGNER
P.O.BOX 181
LYONS,WI 53148
TREASURER
E.E."BUCK"HILBERT
8102 LEECH RD.
UNION,IL60180
Directors
Claude L. Gray, Jr . AI KelCh
9635Sylvia Avenue 7018W. Bonniwell Road
Northridge.California 9 1324 Mequon,Wisconsin 53092
James8. Horne Evander M. Britt
3840Coronation Road Box 1525
Eagan. Minnesota 55 122 Lumberton. North Carolina 28358
George E. Stubbs M. C. "Kelly"Viets
Box 113 RR 1, Box 151
Brownsburg. Indiana46112 Stillwell, Kansas 66085
Willi am J . Ehlen Morton Lester
Route8. Box 506 P.O. Box 3747
Tampa. Fl orida 33618 Marti nsville . Virginia 24112
Advi sors
W. Brad Thomas. Jr .
301 Dodson Mill Road
Pil ot Mountain, NorthCarolina 27041
Robert A. White
1207 Falcon Drive
Orlando, Florida32803
Art hur R. Morgan
513 North 9 1st Street
Milwaukee.Wisconsin 53226
Dale A. Gustafson
7724 Shady Hill Dri ve
Indianapolis, IN46274
Roger J .Sherron
446-C Las Casitas
Santa Rosa, CA95401
StanGomoll
104290t h Lane, N.E.
Minneapolis,MN 55434
THE VINTAGE AI RPLANE is owned exclusively by Antique Classic Aircraft. Inc . and is published mont hly at
Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130. Second)cl ass Postage paid at Hal es Corners Post Office. Hal es Cor ners. Wisconsin
53130. and additional mailing offaces. Membership rates for Antique Classic Aircra ft . Inc. at $14.00per 12 month
period of which $10.00 is for the of THE VINTAGE A IRPLANE. Membership is open to all whoare
interested inaviation.
CopyrightC 1977AntiqueClassic 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 Bicenten-
nial 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 earlyday 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 the 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 repara-
tion, 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 repara-
tions 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 on-
off 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 super-
charged 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. pro-
gram, 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 Smith-
so nian's while stationed in Anacostia, D.C., and having
'collected' odds and ends of Fokker parts whenever I
happened to stumbl e 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 air-
plane, plus those published in FLIGHT years ago, and
the Jose ph Ni eto plans, good, but none good enough to
build a real 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 dimen-
sional 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 sur-
prised 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 sign-
off, I could now sit in the cockpit, albeit without land-
ing gear, engine installed, or tailfeathers, and play 'avia-
tor' 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 re-
sulted 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
higher 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 Air-
port, 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 con-
cerning 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, Pres-
ident 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 divi-
dends. 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, Magna-
fluxed, 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 inci-
dence, 1Y2 degrees, and are only made up of four lamina-
tions. 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 fasten-
ers, 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 the 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)
70C -
''6
e3l\l .. 68 c .
OK. ill
12
18
"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 ot her. 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!!!!
..
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 tend-
encies...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 fly-
ing! 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 spec-
tators!! !
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, gog-
gles up, harness unfastened, and now to make a non-
chalant 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. Congratula-
tions 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 Magna-
plate 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 in-
struments 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 start-
ed 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 clos-
ing. 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!".
- - \
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Album
~ u r f 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
1UUI
Editor's Note: Reprinted unedited from
National Geographie, June1918 issue.
Airduelswere unknown four years ago. Boysof18or
20, untaught and inexperienced in the art, have flown
aloftand mastered it- mastered it so thoroughly thatless
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 ofa
singlebullet!
Lufbery for America, Guynemer for France, Bishop
for Great Britain, and von Richthofen for Germany have
towered above their comrades from the popular view-
point because of their conspicuous successes in this new
artofaeroplane dueling.
To promote this new and spectacular branch ofwar-
fare, the rival air forces of the belligerents have con-
structed the swiftest and deadliest types ofaeroplanes,
to be manned by theirair duelists- expertsharpshooters
and pilots- whose duty it is both to attack the heavy
bombing and reconnaissance planesoftheenemy and to
defend their own slower aeroplanes from chasing avia-
tors.
Each belligerent nation has collected the cream ofits
sharpshooters into one squadron, or escadrille, where as
one unit they can be hurled into a threatened area with
every prospectofsuccessover less skilled antagonists.
THE PREMIERESCADRILLE
France has her Cigognes ("Storks")' the celebrated
Spad 3, to which belong Fonck, Heurteaux, Pinsard,
Deullin, Gond, Herrison, the Americans Baylies and Par-
sons, and those who have made the sacr ifice supreme-
Guynemer, Auger, Rene Dorme, and de laTour.
America has her Escadrill e Lafayette, which was com-
manded by Major Lufbery and which stands third among
all the fighting escadrilles of France in the number of
enemyaeroplanesshotdown.
The British have R.F.C. Squadron No.1, which is
commanded by Captain Fullard and which brought
down 200German aeroplanes in ashortsix months.
And the Germans entrusted their hopes to the famous
Tango Circus, so nicknamed by the English pilots by
reason of the close formation in which the gaudily
painted aeroplanesofthis enemy unitflew. Thevictories
claimed by this band amount to more than double those
accorded to any single squadron of the Allies. And the
commander of this Jagdstaffel No. II holds the world
record in air dueling, for he li ved to conquer 80 enemy
machines.
FONCK, OF THECIGOGNES
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 fighting escadr ille
that was commanded by Guynemer at the time ofhis
disappearance, September 11, 1917. Curiously enough,
Lieutenant Fonck, who was then a member ofEscadr ill e
N. (Nieuport) 103, was Guynemer's avenger. He shot
down on September 21 the German pilot, Lieutenant
Wissemann, who had written home to his mother in
Cologne, boasting that he had been victoriousover Guy-
nemer and now need fear no one. As no proofofGuy-
nemer 's death has yet been found, the truth of
Wissemann's claimis doubted.
Consider the details of Fonck'srecord. Up toApril 3,
1918, he had shot down official ly 32 enemy aircraft,
engaged in upward of 200 combats, flown over 1,000
hours above t he enemy's lines, yet had never received a
bullet hole in his aeroplane! Now he has 45 enemy
planeson his tabletand is the French ace ofaces.
Most of his combats are against formationsoffive or
more enemies. While delivering thecoup de grace to one
he must prevent a surprise from the ot hers. How he
succeeds in this could never be satisfactorily explained,
yet that he does succeed is beyond question. Such in-
credible perfection in maneuvering and such rapid and
infallibl e accuracy of aim have never been equalled by
any otherfighting pilot.
Li eutenant Dorme, of the same escadrille, who had
23 on his score at the time ofhis mysteri ous disappear-
ance May 25, 1917, had shot down 10ofthis number
before be received 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, rid-
dled with bullet holes. One can butwonder atthe mirac-
ulous record made by Fonck.
FONCK REVEALS HIS SECRET
But is it a miracle? Let Fonck himselftell the secret.
In an interview with La Guerre Aerienne, of Paris, re-
cently he made the following obserationsconcerninghis
preparationsfor combat:
"One must be in constant training, always fit, always
sure of oneself, always in perfect health. Muscles must
be in good condition, nerves in perfect equilibrium, all
theorgansexercisi ngnaturall y.
"Alcohol becomes an enemy- even wine. All abuses
must be avoided. It is indispensable that one goes to a
combat without fatigue, withoutany 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. Thi s
indeed is, at bottom, the reason that keeps me from
flying too continuousl y. And I neverfly exceptwhen in
perfect conditi on. I amcareful to abstain when Iam not
exactly fit. Constantly Iwatch myself.
"I t is necessary to train as severely for air combatsas
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 testas can be imagined.
"All the rest" may be play, yet there is in that little
play of Fonck's a secret of quickness and anticipation
that is almostsuperhuman.
HOW HE DESTROYED SIXMACHINES IN
ONE DAY
Li eutenant Fonck is the only Frenchman who has
brought down six enemyaircraft in one day. Hewentup
back of Soissons with his patrol on May 9 last and en-
countered three two-seater machinesoftheenemy.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 Albatrosscouts-
all single-seaters. He dived into them and sent down
three, one after another, the remainder breaking up and
escaping before he could catch them.Thesesix machines
were shot down with an expenditure of ten cartridges
per machine!
THE STORYOF 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 curi-
osity was satisfied and his purse replenished, who en-
listed 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, andhisNieuport
Note thegun on the engine hood, synchronizedto fire through thepropeller.
On the machine at the rear a Lewis gun is shown mountedon the top plane.
Major Lufbery was killed in an air fight on May 19, 1918. His recordof official
victoriesoverthe 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 sur-
passed his chief in one day's chase, having brought down
five enemy machines on June 10, according to a dispatch
from France.
LieutenantCharles Nungesser;score, 36 Huns
Nungesser is second only to Lieutenant Fonck among living French fliers in
the number of his victories. His fighting plane mountsonegun on the engine
hoodandoneon the upperplane.
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.
THEHI GH- SCORE ACE OFTHEROYAL
FLYINGCORPS
"The King has been graciously pleased to approve the
award of the Victoria Cross to Second Lieutenant (tem-
porary 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 Bri-
tish 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 air-
craft 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, sur-
pass 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 whatconstitutes"conspicuous bravery," in
the opinion of the unemotional custodians of the Vic-
toria 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 hourand 30 minutes- costing Germany some
$250,000, as the value ofaeroplanesand trained pilots is
computed,for this hourand a halfofyoung 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 ofhis Vickers
gunhad 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 pro-
tected the newer members of his flight, thus keeping
their casualties down to a minimum. This officer is con-
sidered by the record which he has made, by his fearless-
ness, and by the great services which he has rendered to
his country,deservingofthevery 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 de-
votedly following theirdaring leader.
THE CAREER OF CAPTAIN VON RICHTHOFEN
Manfred von Richthofen, favorite of the Kaiser, a
brilliant fighter, achivalrousgentleman, and the prideof
the German army, was the celebrated commanderofthe
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, Cap-
tain 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 200aeroplane antagonists.
In 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 ofthe propeller. His machine he painted abright
red, and for the pasteight months his menacing presence
thus courted identification from his enemies with aself-
confidence and audacity truly admirable.
He was shot down April 21, 1918, over the Somme
River, at the Amiensfront, and his new Fokker triplane,
a personal gift to him from Fokker himself, fell intothe
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 enemyarmy commandersde-
sired 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 compen-
sated Germany for the cost she paid in the loss of this
great ace.
GENEROUSTRIBUTE TOTHE 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 outofaction,
but will regret sincerely the death ofagallantgentleman
who fell bravely doing his duty.
"Only a few days ago one of the best ofour 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 honorofhis
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 his enemy are now
dead. One hopes that beyond the shadows they have
met, as gallantenemiesdo when they have fought agood
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 adepressingeffectupon
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 aclean 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 hometo his family.
AMEAN AND BITTER EPILOGUE
It would be pleasanter to leave the story of von
Richthofen'sgallantdeath and funeral thus; butan inter-
esting, though contemptible, epilogue is thrustupon 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 treatmentaccorded 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 deli-
berate vileness, contempt, and torture from his captors.
"For our part we cannotconsider the honorsgiven 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 thatwereoffered to the
pilot who could kill Richthofen. In fact, these musthave
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 of age. 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 dis-
closed 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 Ray-
mond 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 Carle-
ton 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 com-
parison 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 brilli ant 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 ............ ....... ...... ......
Lieut. Deullin ..............................
Capt. Armand Pinsard .......................
Lieut. Maurice Boyau ........................
Lieut. de Meuldre ...........................
Lieut. Marcel Hughes ........................
Adjt. Jailler ...............................
Lieut. Sardier ..............................
Lieut. Tarascon .............. ...... ........
Lieut. Ortoli ...............................
Adjt. Andre Herbelin . .... ....... .. .. ........
Lieut. Garaud ..............................
Lieut.de Turrenne ..........................
Adjt. Chainat ..............................
Adjt. Casale ...............................
Adjt. Dauchy ..............................
Li eut. Viall et .. ... .... .. ...... . . .... .. ... ..
Capt. Derode ..............................
Lieut.de Sevin .............................
Lieut. deSlade .............................
Adjt. Leon Vitalis ... ............. ...... ....
Lieut. Lachmann ...........................
Lieut. Flachaire ............................
Adjt. Victor Sayaret .........................
Lieut. Jean L'hoste .........................
Sergt. Rene Montrion ........................
Sergt. du Boisd'Aische .. ...... . .. . ..........
Lieut. Covin ...............................
Lieut. Bonnefoy ............................
Sergt. Soulier ..............................
Lieut. Gond ...............................
Sergt. Boyau ..............................
Adjt. Dhome ..............................
Adjt. Peronneau ............................
Sergt. Rosseau .............................
Soldat Louis Martin .........................
Lieut. Leps ................................
Lieut. Raymond ............................
Lieut. Alex Borzecky ........................
Adjt. Bloch ...............................
Lieut. Paul Gastin .... . ........... ..... .....
Lieut. Regni er .............................
Comdr. de .......................
Adjt. Herrison .............................
Lieut. Marty ...............................
Adj t. Bl anc ................................
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 atotal of83 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. RobertA. 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 Li eut. 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 Delor me . .. .... ... ..... ... . .... 5 Li eut. Raymond Collinshaw . .......... . ....... 10
7 Sergt. Marcel Hauss ......................... 5 Lieut. 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. GilbertWare 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 aeroplanesshotdown to June 15, 1918. Sergt. Dean I. Lamb ......................... 8
6 Lieut. Boyd Samuel Breadner ................. 8
WHAT UNITED STATES ACES HAVE DONE
6 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. James Dennis Payne .................... 7
6 Maj. William Thaw, Pittsburgh, Pa. ... ........... 5 Li eut. G. E. H. McElroy ...... . . ......... . .. .. 7
6 Lieut. Robert Magoun, Boston, Mass. Capt. C. A. Brewster-Joske .................... 7
5 (wounded April 8, 1918) ................... 5 Capt. Wagour .............................. 7
5 Lieut. Douglass Campbell, Pasadena, Cal. ......... 5 Capt. Frank G. Quigley (all in oneday) .......... 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 of night-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 LewisWells .................... 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. GeorgeThomson .... ...... .... ........21
Capt.J.L.Trollope{sixinoneday) ............ 18
Lieut. Leonard M. Barlow ....................17
Lieut. CIive 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 listof
the British aces accounts for at least 950 enemy aero-
planes 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. Luigi 01 ivi ........................... 6
Lieut. Stophanni ........................... 6
Lieut. Arrigoni ............................. 5
Fourteen Italian aces have totalled 193victories.
EIGHT BELGIAN ACES, 60 VICTORIES
Adjt. Coppens .............................
13
Lieut. Thieffry (killed February 23, 1918) ....... 10
Lieut. de Meulemeester ...................... 10
Lieut. Jan 01ieslagers ........................ 6
Adjt. Beulemest ............................ 6
Capt. Jaquette ............................. 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 TOTAL747 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. Frickart ............................. 9
Lieut. von Althaus .......................... 8
Lieut. Esswein ............................. 6
Lieut. Walz ................................ 6
Lieut. Hehn ............................... 6
L i ~ u t Koenig .............................. 6
Capt. Zauder .............................. 5
Lieut. Brauneck ............................ 5
Lieut. Ullmer .............................. 5
Lieut. Roth ............................... 5
Forty-eight German aces, dead or retired, have
broughtdown 923aeroplanes.
(Date 'when activities ceased is indicated in paren-
theses.)
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. Bongart z(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 aero-
planes ofthe Allies. On July 26, 1917, Germanyclaimed
a total of 2,387 enemy aircraft destroyed since the be-
ginning of the war. Since that time more than 1,000
have been added to this list.
TURKISH ACE
Capt. Schetz .........................8successes
ALLIES' LIVING ACES, 157; HUNS, 40
Summarizing the foregoing tableoftheaces 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 this
score, with 2,041 enemy aircraft shot down. The
startling feature in this comparison is thedisclosure that
German tactics in the air have permitted our enemy to
destroy four-fifths as many aeroplanes with one-halfthe
numberofaces.
(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 com-
bat 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 con-
stantly 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 en-
sue. ,
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
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A S 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 only a few pages. I
think you will want to read them all, event ually. The
later books do not interlock and range in subject from
Air Line stories (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 all 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 his 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
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--""
~ ~
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 sea-
son'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 spe-
cially 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.
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,..---
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 Air-
speed 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
v i e w ~
Below: AS-6 Convertible Envoy III. One ofthreeaircraftsoldto the
South African Air Force in 7939. Four others were orderedfor use Below: AS-5 Courier with Napier Rapier engine for testpurposes.
by the South African Airwaysandwere capableofquick conversion Reengined with Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engine andusedon the
tomilitary variant. SolentFerry.
Above: AS-57 Ambassador, first flown in July 7947 and designed as a DC-3 replacement. When
usedby BEA they were called the Elizabethan. This was the last de Havillandmodeltocarry the
AirSpeedname.
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