Nieuport 11 & 16, part two. The 'Bébé' in service with the Lafayette Escadrille

 

Although officially the United States did not employ nor the Nieuport 11 or 16, the American volunteers serving with the French Aéronautique Militaire (French Aerial Arm) piloted the Nieuport 11, in the famous N124 Escadrille, AKA Lafayette Escadrille.
This unit was formed officially on 16th April 1916 and consisted mainly of American volunteer pilots and was initially known simply as Escadrille de Chasse Nieuport 124 (Escadrille Américaine) (Nieuport Fighter Squadron 124 - American Squadron). It was formed at Luxeuil-les-Bains in France, close to the Swiss border, where the pilots were trained. 
The unit proved soon to be very valuable by both Frenchs and Americans, because before the First World War airplanes were not considered to be useful in combat. 

The Lafayette Squadron (as it was more commonly known) was equipped with the Nieuport 11 since January 1916 at their training site. Apparently, the initial equipment consisted on a mixture of Nieuport 11 and 17s, with some 16s too. It was in those 'Bébés' when the unit saw its baptism of fire on 13th May 1916 at the Battle of Verdun and, five days later, on 18th May 1916 Kiffin Rockwell scored the unit's first aerial kill. Weeks later, on 23rd June, the escadrille suffered its first casualty when Victor Chapman was shot down over Douaumont, in the Meuse department. It's hard to know when the Nieuport 11 were replaced by either Nieuport 17s or SPAD S.VIIs, but it is know that the 'Bébés' didn't see active service beyond summer 1916.

Sources:
1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Escadrille
2nd http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille124Lafayette.htm (translated)

3rd Flying Machines Press  - French Aircraft of the First World War

4th Osprey - Aviation Elite 17 - Lafayette Escadrille American Volunteer Airmen In WWI

Bréguet 14, part two. North American Users.

 

The Bréguet 14 was a French multiuse biplane bomber which also served as a reconnaissance aircraft during the World War I years and beyond. It was mass produced and was used all throughout the world with the United States of America (USA), being one of those users.

When USA  entered World War I, they did it under the idea that a powerful bombing force could help to shorten - or even finish - the war. The Aviation Section of the US Signal Corps had not, however, indigenous aircraft to perform aerial raids, so they had acquired some Liberty-engined Airco DH-4 bombers. However, as the Frenchs promised to deliver 1.500 Bréguet 14, they accepted the deal as an interim solution while waiting for the DH-4. Eventually, at the day of the German Armistice, only 290 were delivered. 

The initial American order comprised just 376 being 100 of them of the Et.2 trainer variant, 229 Br.14A.2 recon aircraft and 47 Br.14B.2 bombers with around half of them being powered by the Italian Fiat A-12 or A-12bis engine. 

The first Br.14s were eventually delivered to the American squadrons based in French and so, the 96th Aero Squadron was the first unit to fly the Br.14B.2 operationally, having done some previous training at the Michelin Brothers testing field on 1st December 1917.

The 96th Aero Squadron (which was also the first American operational day bombardment unit) took 10 Br.B2 to Amanty airfield, in the Meuse department on 18th March 1918. According to various reports, the supplied machines were in poor state and, given the lack of French supplies, squadron's mechanics had to make use of modified farm machinery parts. Their first raid took place on 12th June. However, the Br.14B.2s were in such bad condition that many other raids had to be cancelled. Given the bad status of the aircraft, no American day bomber units took part in the Chateau-Thierry offensive in July, with the exception of a smaller raid carried out on 10th July when six Br.14B.2 took off to bomb the railroad yards at Conflans, in the Seine-et-Oise department, with the result of all the six pilots being captured because of their lack of experience.

On 10th September 1918, two days before the beginning of the St. Mihiel offensive, the 96th Aero Squadron was assigned to the 1st Day Bombardment Group. During this offensive, they carried out ground support missions and bombed rail centers. Given the muddy state of many airfields, a lot of Br.14s were damaged when landing, causing the lost of 16 men and 14 airplanes in just five days; the worst loss rate of any American Expeditionary Force (AEF) during the war. The 96th had to be reconstituted with new crew members and aircraft and was ready again on time for the Meuse-Argonne offensive in September. However, because of bad weather, they only could fly for two days in November. 

Other squadrons in the 1st Day Bombardment Group were equipped with the Liberty-engined Airco DH-4. It was, however, believed that the Br.14B.2 was better as the Gorrel Report stated that the Br.14 was faster at higher altitudes, carried a heavier amount of bombs and was equipped with an excellent defensive weaponry system. It had also a protected upper fuel tank and a droppable lower fuel tank. To top it off, the Michelin bomb rack was also praised by the report.

Other American units that employed the Br.14 were the 9th Aero Squadron (AKA 9th Night Reconnaissance Squadron) which employed the Br.14A.2 recon variant on various day observation missions, as well in various night recon and harassment missions, these last ones with mixed results. This unit operated over the Toul section of the front from 30th August to 11th September 1918 and saw action in both St. Mihiel and Argonne offensives. 

The US Army's 99th Corps attached observation squadron, had also some Br.14A.2 for a short period of time. 

The trainer variant, Br.14Et.2 was also employed by various Aviation Instruction Centres of the AEF in France, among them, the 7th and the 2nd in Aulnat and Tours aerodromes respectively.

After the war one single Br.14B.2 was shipped to the USA, where it was modified with corrugated-metal fuselage, fitted with floaters, converted into a transport aircraft and received the name of Yackey BRL-12 Transport, as the conversion was made by Yackey Aircraft Company, in Chicago. 

One machine was converted in 1926 for Dr. Matthew Stirling to take part in his New Guinea Expedition at the cost of $7.500 of the time. After two months subjected to the moist tropical climate of New Guinea, the glue on the wooden floats deteriorated and the aircraft was abandoned at the banks of the Mamberamo river in New Guinea.

Sources:

1st Flying Machines Press - French Aircraft of the First World War

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bréguet_14

3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/96th_Aero_Squadron

4th http://all-aero.com/index.php/57-planes-x-y-z/18683-yackey-brl-12

Macchi M.5 & M.5 mod - Foreign Users

And here we go with our first post of the "M" letter airplane, the Macchi M.5.

The Macchi M.5 was an Italian flying boat fighter that was designed by Nieuport-Macchi in the Italian city of Varese during the World War I. It was praised thanks to it's extreme maneouvrability and it was a match for their land-based counterparts. It had an improved late-production version with a better engine and redesigned wingtip floats, named M.5 mod.

It was flown by American pilots, as a trainer first and as an operational fighter later operating with the 263a Squadriglia (263th Squadron) from the Italian city of Porto Corsini, situated in the shores of the province of Ravenna. The first US Navy airman to be awarded with a Medal of Honor was piloting this airplane. On 21st August 1918 a Macchi M.8 piloted by Walther White and with Albert P. Taliaferro in the observer's position, was escorted by a flight of three Macchi M.5, in a leaflet-dropping mission over Pola, a city located in the Austro-Hungarian Empire's shores. When flying over the Adriatic, they were attacked by four Phönix land-based fighters. The Austro-Hungarian took down one of the Macchis, flown by the Ensign George Ludlow who could manage to ditch the plane at the sea. Seeing the life of his partner in risk, the pilot Charles Hamman landed his airplane close to Ludlow's one in order to take him on board. As Hamman's fighter was overloaded, he returned to base, where he crashed the airplane, however both pilots survived the crash. For that action Hamman was awarded the medal of Honor. Unfortunately, he died in a crash after the war, in June 1919 when he was piloting another Macchi.
As the Macchi had such good reputation, it comes no surprise that the Austro-Hungarians captured and used some of them, both of the M.5 and the M.5 mod version.

Sources: 
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchi_M.5
2. http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/macchi5.htm
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Avro 504K - North American Users

Now's the turn for the North American users of this excellent British trainer.

• Canada: The Avro 504K was the very first training airplane ever flown by the Canadian Air Force. It served initially with the Royal Flying Corps Canada, then with the newly created Canadian Air Force and finally with the Royal Canadian Air Force and was locally built in Toronto by the Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd. They were all converted to 504N model on 29th June 1927.
• Mexico: Mexico adquired some of them to equip their trainer squadrons, where they served from 1919 until 1923 when they replaced by the Avro Anahuac, a locally built version by the Talleres Nacionales de Construcción Aeronáutica - TNCA (National Aeronautical Manufacture Workshops) which was also known as the Avro 504k Mk.II.
• United States: It served to train the American volunteers first and the official USAAC pilots later. They served in the American Expeditionary Force training site located at the French town of Issoudun and in July 1918 fifty-two of them were adquired by the American commanders. After the war some were shipped to the USA where they served as trainers. Unfortunately they crashed shortly after due to the inexperience of American pilots with rotary engines.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_504

2.  http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/46/Old-Gold--the-Golden-Centennaires-of-1967.aspx

3. http://www.gob.mx/sedena/documentos/material-aereo-historico-de-la-f-a-m (translated)

4. http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/MuseumExhibits/FactSheets/Display/tabid/509/Article/197405/avro-504k.aspx

Avro 504J

The Avro 504J appeared first in autumn 1916 and this new version was powered by a 100hp Gnome Monosoupape engine. The engine cowling was slightly modified in order to make easier to fit other type of engines.
It was usually called Mono-Avro in the RFC, to which it was destined. It had therefore a comma shaped vertical stabilizer and shorter back ailerons.
As the engines were harder to manufacture, the airplanes were completed as those were completed, that's why many of them ended up being completed as the K model.
It was destined from the very beginning to the training role and it was easy to fly and powerful for it's era. That's why it was the basis for a new training method used by the RAF until the end of the World War II. However, at the end of 1916, Avro was commanded to concentrate their manufacturing efforts on the BE.2c instead of the Avro 504. However, a bit later, the 504J was chosen as the standard RFC trainer and the production was resumed.
It wasn't used only by the United Kingdom but also by the American Expeditionary Forces and also by the Chilean army which, fearing a war against it's neighbours Argentina and Bolivia, rearmed themselves.

Sources:
1. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_504 (translated)
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 - Foreign Users part two

Note: Just another post to cope with the new nation tags. Nothing new.

• South Africa: The SE.5a was the backbone of the newly created South African Air Force in 1921. It may have taken part in the suppression of the Second Rand Rebellion in 1921.
• Soviet Union: Apparently the Bolshevik forces captured the Polish airplane and it was used in the Russian Civil war.
• Spain: The Spanish government bought at least one (some sources claim that they were two) SE.5a from the surplus of the Great War.
• USA: The SE.5a served with the USAAS (United States Army Air Service) and was locally produced by the Austin aviation company who manufactured 1650 exemplars of it. Curtiss also manufactured one of it out of 1000 planned. Eberhart company also manufactured it's own trainer version out of spare parts and they served as advanced trainers well into the late 20s.

Sopwith Pup - Foreign Users

Note: This post is just a re-arrangement of our first one, the Sopwith Pup in order to cope with the new national -and historical tags - As the drawings aren't new, we haven't announced it through twitter.

The users contained in this post are:

• Australia: The Sopwith Pup equipped the Australian No.5, No.6 and No.8 Training Squadrons and they also equipped the No.1 Flying training School RAAF in the post-war years.
• Belgium: It seems that the Belgian 5éme Escadrille de Chasse employed at least one Sopwith Pup during the World War I.
• Greece: During the First World War some Pups were used by the Hellenic Army Air Service.
• Netherlands: Apparently Netherlands used some airplanes that had crashed inside their borders during the First World War.
• Japan: The Imperial Japanese Air Force used the Pup, both with the army and the navy, where it's known that some of them served aboard the Yamashiro Battleship.
• Romania: Apparently some Pups served with Romania during the First World War.
• Russian Empire: It seems that some Pups were sold to the Imperial Russian air corps.
• Russian SFSR: When the revolution started, with the subsequent civil war, the Bolsheviks employed some captured ex-white Pups.
• USA: It's claimed that the US Navy used some Pups.

Albree Pigeon-Fraser Pursuit

Today we leave Germany and we move to the USA in order to present you the very first of the 'pursuit' designated airplanes. It should be pointed that the official 'pursuit' designation for fighters was kept for a very long time.

The Pigeon-Fraser was the first dedicated pursuit airplane ordered by the United States Government.
Designed by George N. Albree, it was manufactured by the Pigeon Hollow Spar Company in East Boston, Massachusetts. The first two airplanes were intended to serve in the Aviation Section of the US Army Signal Corps but, after performing some testing at McCook field, it wasn't found to be suitable for army service and they were rejected.

Of those two airplanes, it's believed that one of them was just a static mockup to perform test without any risks. Apparently that first one was tested until it broke up.
The second one, however it seems that it crashed on it's maiden flight in December 1917, but if that piece of information is correct, it seems to contradict the fact that it was tested in McCook field, unless the tests performed there were non-flying ones.
Anyway, a third airplane was partially completed but it was kept inside the rafters of the Pigeon Hollow Spar Company after the contract was cancelled because the airplane was considered too old-fashioned, unrealiable and slow in comparison with the other fighter airplanes of those years. It was keep there until 1961 when it was bought by an aeronautical museum.

Even if it wasn't a successful design, it should be noted that it included a flat-bottomed airfoil, a completely moveable tail and the entire aft fuselage was also hinged so it could be moved up and down to control pitch.

It was powered by a single 100hp Gnôme Monosoupape (French word for single-valve) engine.

Sources:
1. http://www.airminded.net/pigeon/pigeon.html
2. http://oldrhinebeck.org/ORA/albree-pigeon-fraser-pursuit/

Curtiss Model S

Today we start this pre-Christmas week with a new American airplane. One of the first designs (albeit unsuccessful) of the Curtiss company.

The Curtiss Model S was the first attempt of the Curtiss airplane company at a fast and maneouvrable single-seat fighter.

The very first model, S-1 Speed Scout, was designed under the parameters of what the European manufacturers had called a Scout back in 1914. This concept was simply to design a tractor airplane capable of just scouting enemy activities and, it wasn't considered the need to be armed. However the war soon showed that they needed to be armed, even if they retained the term Scout. Curtiss developed several Curtiss S models during 1916-1917 but succeeded in selling only a few ones to the US Army and Navy.
The inadequacy of these airplanes cannot be blamed on the lack of skill of Curtiss designers, but on how far the American airplane had fallen behind the European one, which was operating under the requeriments of the Great War. American designers were cut-off from the latest European technological advances and had to progress from the 1914 designs on their own without the estimulus of the war.

Many models were made:

• S-1, AKA Speed Scout, AKA Baby Scout. The original design, it was the smallest airplane that Curtiss could build to fit the 90hp OX engine. The design was very conventional for the time, but the wingspan was very inadequate. It didn't sell and Curtiss company kept the prototype for themselves
• S-2 Wireless: It was basically a modified S-1 fitted with new wings that eliminated the need for bracing wires. It had some shocking problems when landed which were solved by fitting new Ackermann spring wheels. However these wheel system didn't have resistance to side loads and wasn't widely employed.
• S-3 (Model 10): The only production model was the triplane variant, which four of them were sold to the US Army early in 1917. These used the basic fuselage engine and tail of the previous models. Those 4 airplanes were the first single-seat scouts of the US Army even if, in terms of technology they were one or two years behind their European equivalents.
• S-4 (Model 10A): A seaplane version of the S-3. It was intended to be a scout airplane for the US Navy. The wingspan was increased in order to carry the extra weight of the twin central floaters. The front struts collapsed during 1918 and the aircraft was struck off.
• S-5 (Model 10B): A modified version of the S-4 featuring a single floater and two small-ones under the wings. It struck-off on August 1919.
• S-6 (Model 10C): An improved version of the S-3 and the first Scout armed with twin forward-firing gas operated Lewis machine-guns. The Army ordered 12 of them in 1917 but only one was delivered.

Hanriot HD.1 - Foreign users

Today, we are altering our criterion a little bit. Despite being a French design, it wasn't produced for French users but for foreign users, Italy and Belgium, mainly. That's why we consider France as a foreign user, despite it was manufactured in France, but also in Italy by Macchi, which manufactured more exemplars than the parent firm. Also, given the importance this airplane had in the Belgian army, we are going to reserve entries exclusively for Belgian and Italian ones.

The Hanriot HD.1 was a French single seat biplane fighter aircraft. It was rejected to serve in the French army in favour of the SPAD S.VII and thus, it was offered to both Belgian and Italian armies where it served successfully. In fact, it became the standard Italian fighter of the Great War. Of a total of 1200 airplanes built, 831 were manufactured under license by the Italian Macchi company.

This airplane, influenced by the Sopwith designs, mainly because Hanriot had produced under license the Sopwith 1/2 Strutter, was produced in 1916.

It was powered by a 110hp LeRhone rotary engine and, although it wasn't very fast, it was highly maneouvrable and was very popular among the pilots due it's easiness to control. In order to keep the good climbing and altitude numbers, it's armament was oftenly restricted to a single synchronised vickers machine gun, althought there was place for a second one. This airplane introduced a new feature (for the era): The machine guns were at the side of the cockpit and not in front, providing more safety in the case of a crash. However in the Italian built versions the machine-gun was fitted on the front of the cockpit and not at the sides.

The users covered in this entry are:

• Ecuador: The newly created Ecuadorian military aviation school bought their second airplane which named it 'Telegrafo Iº' (Telegraph 1st). It achieved renown within that country when the Italian born pilot Elia Liut crossed the Ecuadorian Andes flying that airplane.
• France: Apparently the French naval aeronautics employed some floatplane sub-variant of the HD.1 in order to defend their naval bases. It seems that they sold all their exemplars to the US Navy. As we couldn't find reliable info about how they looked like, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Paraguay: The Paraguayan National Air Force bought three airplanes from Italy. As we couldn't find graphical information about their colours under Paraguayan command, the drawing is speculative.
• Switzerland: The Swiss Army Aviation bought some HD.1 in order to equip their fighter squadron based in Dübendorf, near Zürich. One of them is still displayed in the Dübendorf aviation museum.
• United States: The US Naval Aircraft Factory adquired 10 HD.1 which used them to make trials on take-off platfroms from warships in the post-war years. They were also employed as advanced trainers. 
• Venezuela: The Venezuelan Military Aviation School adquired some French made HD.1 during the late 10s/early 20s in order to equip their fighter squadron.
• Austro-Hungarian Empire: It is known that at least one ex-Italian aircraft performed a forced landing in Austro-Hungarian soil and they captured the airplane and pushed it into service with their air corps. 

Loening M-8

We continue with one of the very firsts American fighters that makes the first American airplane drawn in this blog.

The Loening M-8 was an American two-seater monoplane fighter designed by Grover Loening. It was pretended to serve during the Great War, during the great offensive of 1919 (which never took place as the war ended in November 1918), in fact an initial order of 5000 airplanes was placed but, due to the end of the war, it was cancelled.

It was the first design of Grover Loening after founding his company. It was a two-seat braced wing monoplane fighter. It featured a fixed tailskid landing gear and was powered by an Hispano-Suiza engine set in a tractor configuration. It featured a tandem open-cockpit for both pilot and gunner.
The first prototype flew in 1918 and, after performing some tests, the USAAS placed an order of 5000 airplanes which was cancelled when the war ended. Only two aircraft were delivered to the army and one to the navy. However, the navy ordered 46 airplanes in two variants, in order to use them as observer airplanes.
Some kind of follow-on more developed version was also made in the form of a single-seat fighter. The Loening PW-2.

The version made of this airplane were as follows:

• M-8: Initial production version. 5000 ordered, only two examples delivered.
• M-8-0: Navy observation version
• M-8-1: Improved variant built for the navy. 36 manufactured.
• M-8-S: Seaplane version built for the navy. Only 6 built.

SPAD S.VII - Fourth entry, foreign users vol. 4 *UPDATED*

We keep going with our SPAD S.VII compilation, this time a little bit shorter than usual:

• Red Army/USSR: The Russian Red Army, employed them widely during the Russian civil war and Polish Soviet war and was among the very first fighters used by the Workers' and Peasants' Air Fleet (the precursor of the Soviet Air Force). They were ex-Imperial units or captured ones. 
• Siam/Thailand: The Thai king Rama VI, ordered the creation of an aviation division for the Siamese army, and the very first fighter squadrons were equipped with French built SPAD and Nieuport fighters. Please note that those two profiles are somewhat 'semi-speculative' as we only could find black & white references that were often unreadable.
• Ukraine: The Ukrainian People's Republic got two ex-Russian SPADs and used them in the Polish Soviet war. They were integral part of the Ukrainian first air regiment.
• Uruguay: The Uruguayan military school of aeronautics bought some S.VII together with some S.XIII and used them as trainers but they were also part of their first fighter squadron. However we couldn't find graphical evidence on this, so the colours must be considered as speculative.
• USA: Previously used by American pilots in the famous 124th squadron (Lafayette Squadron), the S.VII was among the very first airplanes used by the USAAS (United States Army Air Service), the precursor of the USAF.
• Yugoslavia: Ex-Serbian airplanes were used as trainers in the first flying schools of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

*UPDATE: We felt that the American users were... incomplete, that's why we decided to expand the USAS users and, in order to be consequent with our own criterions, we decided to treat the Lafayette Squadron as part of the French Aéronautique Militaire (as it was in reality) and therefore take them out of this drawing, only to replace them with more USAS airplanes, but don't worry because you can find the Lafayette squadron one's here..

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**UPDATE: About the Spanish Pujol Comabella: In 1917 SPAD society granted to Pujol Comabella Society of Barcelona (which was shortly after absorved by the Hereter society) some blueprints and incomplete specifications of their best product, the S.VII fighter. The Pujol Comabella society started to make a replica of it as best as they could, getting a nice replica of the original and named as 'España'. However, given the quality of the employed materials or because the blueprints and specifications were incomplete, the performance was inferior to the original. 
That factor and the lack of need of a fighter, because up to that date the only role the Spanish Military had performed was to bomb and strafe Rifean positions in the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, made the project to fail given the lack of interest. 

Neither political scenario was favourable, it was in the middle of a great political crisis and at the edge of a revolution which was easily put-down by the army without any help from the aviation, which was highly concentrated in the protectorate of Morocco. 

It is interesting to point out how, the differences. It lacks windshield, the upper nose panel is lifted and the tail has two supporting wooden bars instead of just one, probably changes suggested by the engineer Eduardo Barron who was supervising the construction of the replica. Also it's interesting to see how on the presentation model, the characteristic bird of Georges Guynemer was copied. 

Only 12 of them were built and were declared obsolete and scrapped in 1922.