To encourage people to save during the war time, advert such as these from the Post Office and Trustee Savings Bank (or TSB as we know it today) were published in local newspapers. The 1942 ‘Resolutions Twins’ arrive The adverts encouraged readers to open a savings book account and to deposit as much as they could, alongside the message to ‘spent less’ and ‘save more’ Source: Bromley & District Times, 9th Janaury 1942 (page 7)
Month: May 2021
Fokker E.I
Fokker E.I The Fokker E.I was the first fighter aircraft to enter service with the Fliegertruppe of the Deutsches Heer in World War I. Its arrival at the front in mid-1915 marked the start of a period known as the “Fokker Scourge” during which the E.I and its successors achieved a measure of air superiority over the Western Front. The E.I was essentially an armed version of the Fokker M.5K single-seat reconnaissance aircraft (military designation A.III), which was in turn very closely based on the design of the 1913 French…
Lohner L
Lohner L The Lohner Werke Aircraft Company produced a number of aircraft (both land and sea planes) in WW1. The Lohner L was a reconnaissance flying boat produced in Austria-Hungary. It was a two-bay biplane of typical configuration for the flying boats of the day, with its pusher engine mounted on struts in the interplane gap. The pilot and observer sat side by side in an open cockpit, and both the upper and lower sets of wings featured sweepback. The design was essentially a more powerful version of the earlier…
Sopwith Tabloid
Sopwith Tabloid The Sopwith Tabloid was a British biplanes, originally designed as sports aircraft and later adapted for military use. They were built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The “Tabloid”, so named because of its small size, caused a sensation when it made its first public appearance. A floatplane variant was prepared and entered for the 1914 Schneider Trophy race; piloted by Howard Pixton. This aircraft comfortably won the competition, being known as the Sopwith Schneider. The first order, for twelve floatplane aircraft, was placed in November 1914. Later production…
Farman MF.11 Shorthorn
Farman MF.11 Shorthorn The Maurice Farman MF.11 Shorthorn is a French aircraft developed before World War I by the Farman Aviation Works. The MF.11 served in both the British and French air services on the Western Front in the early stages of the war, as a reconnaissance and light bomber. Later it was relegated to training duties. It had a pusher configuration unequal-span biplane like the earlier Farman MF.7 on which it was based. The nacelle containing crew and engine were mounted in the gap between the two wings. The…
Curtiss JN-4
Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” was one of a series of “JN” biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for the U.S. Army, the “Jenny” (the common nickname derived from “JN-4”, with an open-topped four appearing as a Y) continued after World War I as a civil aircraft. The Curtiss JN-4 is possibly North America’s most famous World War I aircraft. It was widely used during…
SIKORSKY S-16
Sikorsky S-16 Igor Sikorsky was an early Russian aviation pioneer before WW1. Before and during the war he designed and built a number of aircraft for the Imperial Russia Airforce. One of the early successes was the Russian S-22 Ilya Muromets four-engine biplane heavy bomber. Later Sikorsky designer light weight fighters aircraft to provide protection to heavy bomber fleets. The Sikorsky s-16 was one of these. The Sikorsky S-16 was a Russian equi-span single-bay two-seat biplane designed by Sikorsky in 1914-15. Conceived in response to demand for an escort fighter…
Caproni Ca.4
Caproni Ca.4 The Caproni Aircraft Company made a series of heavy Bomber aircraft in WW1 (Ca.1 to Ca. 5). The Caproni Ca.4 was one of these. Its main features was a triplane (3 wing) arrangement, and 3 engines. The Ca.4 was a twin-fuselage triplane of wooden construction with a fabric-covered frame. It had an open central body, that was attached to the under-surface of the centre wing. This central body contained a single pusher engine, pilot, and forward gunner. The other two engines were tractor mounted at the front of…
Lieutenant Richard Been Stannard
Lieutenant Richard Been Stannard was born at Blyth, Northumberland. His father, Captain George Stannard, was lost with the Mount Oswald, an Allen liner, which he commanded when he was making a trip from Baltimore to England in 1912. He had 2 brothers in the Merchant Service and his sister married Mr Douglas Jenkins. Stannard left school at 15 and joined the Port Line and was at sea in 1918. He transferred to the Orient Line after obtaining his master’s certificate and was 2nd officer of the liner Orford when the war…
2nd Lieutenant John B. Bassett
72521 2nd-Lieutenant John Bond Bassett , aged 28, was a printer by trade, the third son of Mr & Mrs W R Bassett of Bromley. In July 1940 the local newspaper reported that his parents had received word from the War Office that he had been injured: “He was in the severe fighting following the German breakthrough and after the evacuation of Dunkirk it was believed that he had been brought back, though he was known to have been wounded. Nothing definite, however, could be ascertained and on June 17th his parents…