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This is the place where the majority of the warbird (aircraft that have survived military service) discussions will take place. Specialized forums may be added in the new future
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Tue Sep 28, 2004 6:52 pm

5 Zeppelins, I would use them to hijack passenger liners on the seven seas!

Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!!!!!!!!

8)

Tue Sep 28, 2004 9:34 pm

Ollie wrote:5 Zeppelins, I would use them to hijack passenger liners on the seven seas!


Sounds like the plot to a bad movie... Please don't let anyone from Hollywood see this thread :).

Hey, no Dr.1? That's not fair...

1) Sopwith Camel
2) Fokker DVII
3) Spad XIII
4) JN-4D
5) Caproni Ca.36

Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:34 am

1) SE5a
2) Sopwith Camel
3) Fokker E.III
4) Albatros DV
5) Nieuport 11

WW1 Picks

Wed Sep 29, 2004 5:51 am

Why must the list include one of everyone else's, except Italy?

It so happens that the cornerstone of US airpower, strategic bombing, was born in Italy, with several hundred pilots training at Foggia under Major LaGuardia, then only a congressman from Brooklyn. The aircraft were Caproni Ca.3, and that is why there is one at Wright-Patterson.

Some of those guys distinguished themselves in combat, gaining the highest Italian decorations. The aircraft were Caproni Ca.5.

The first Medal of Honor awarded to a US Navy pilot was for an action in an Italian flying boat - a Macchi M.5.

And the combat history of US designed and built types in WW1 was - shall we say "extremely limited"?

So, here we go:
- Macchi M.5
- Caproni Ca.3
- Hanriot HD.1
- Bristol Fighter
- Junkers J.I

Gregory

Wed Sep 29, 2004 11:41 am

Rob et al--

Hey, these remind me of those "Something for the weekend" threads from the old MIVA WIX. Fun stuff. Hmm: WWI warbirds. Since that was how I got into aircraft in the first place, and my first several drawings and models of aircraft were of SPADs, Fokkers and the like, I retain a distinct fondness for the 1914-18 birds.

Given that there are already lots of WWI replicas around (seven of them really quite close by in my case), some of my favorites (S.E.5a, D.VII) are already taken. My "fantasy" WWI fleet would have to fill in the gaps...

1. Albatros D.Va (with fuselage in polished wood like a 30s speedboat)
2. SPAD VII (probably in Guynemer's livery--the first model I ever built)
3. RAF B.E.2c (said to be so stable I could probably fly it myself!)
4. Curtiss JN-4C Canuck (American-designed, Canadian-built)
5. Caproni Ca3 (saw this at Dayton...what a sight it would be in the air)

And a sixth, really wild, prospect...

6. Handley Page O/400 (think it's a pity none of these survive)

Cheers

S.

Capronis

Wed Sep 29, 2004 11:50 am

BTW Gregory--thanks much for those historical notes re American use of the Caproni bombers. I had been only vaguely aware of that. Particularly interesting is the American connection with Foggia in World War I times, since of course that was a major USAAF bomber base in World War II. Fascinating stuff.

Cheers

S.

Only one...

Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:52 pm

... A Curtiss JN-4D Jenny. My grandfather soloed on one and the only picture I have of him is standing next to one in a pure white flying suit! Must have been before he went flying....

Wed Sep 29, 2004 3:32 pm

France-Spad S.XIII, the ultimate wartime incarnation of the great Spad line.

America- Packard Le Pere-Lusac II, the first U.S fighter designed and built during the war. "Fast, sturdy, well-armed and manoeuvrable."

Britain- Airco DH.9, for its post war role in developing aviation in New Zealand. Painted up as D3139 with wavy yellow and red stripes covering the fuselage(?) as flowwn by Bert Mercer and Maurice Buckley.

Germany- X class Zeppelin L.72, the last of the wartime Zeppelins and the longest lasting (Served with France untill 1923), filled with helium of course...........just a minute its 693ft long, a bit impractiable. In that case I will go with a Junkers CL.1, two seats, monoplane and made of metal.

The best of all;

Italy- Caproni Ca.42, a twelve bay triplane with a 100ft wingspan,3 engines, 2 tail booms, 3 tail fins, 1 fuselage pod+ 1 bomb bay pod, 8 wheels, 1 tail skid, 20ft tall and mildly successfull. Imagine impact of this giant as it sails over the fence at your favorite fly-in/airshow! :shock:

caproni 42

Wed Sep 29, 2004 5:14 pm

I have some circa 1920 footage of the CA.42 and it is simply an incredible machine.

Perhaps my coming monograph on the type, to be published in 2005 by Albatros Productions in the UK, might inspire someone to build a flying reproduction. I guess it is one of the few aircraft which would be easier to build than the hangar required to house them ...

Gregory
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