The wedding of Lieutenant Edgar Alfred Robert Hewett, only son of Mr and Mrs Alfred Hewett, of Woodlands, Swanley, and Miss Ethel May Harrington, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Samuel Harrington, of Hextable, Swanley, took place very quietly at Hanover Square W., on Wednesday 5th, inst. The bride was married in her going-away costume of navy blue with black velvet hat, and shortly after the conclusion of the ceremony the bride and bridegroom left for Brighton, where the honeymoon is being spent. Mr Edgar Hewett saw war service for…
Month: September 2021
CAPRONI Ca.5
CAPRONI Ca.5 The Caproni Ca.5 was an Italian heavy bomber of the World War I and the postwar era. It was the final version of the series of aircraft that began with the Caproni Ca.1 in 1914. By late World War I, developments in aircraft technology made older bomber designs unable to penetrate targets defended by modern fighters. Caproni’s response to this problem was to significantly uprate the power on the existing Ca.3 design, with some versions of the Ca.5 eventually carrying engines with nearly five times the total power…
Adolphe Bernard AB
Bernard AB -1 BN2 – France The Adolphe Bernard AB was a family twin-engined French biplane aircraft, built near the end of the First World War. Ten AB 1 BN2 bombers were produced for the Armée de l’Air but did not reach squadron service; post-war, two civil derivatives were considered but only one aircraft was built. The AB 1, built near the end of the First World War, was the first original design from the Adolphe Bernard factory, which had previously produced SPAD aircraft to government contracts. It was a…
Private AG Sales
Killed in Action Private A.G. Sales, of the 3rd Monmouth, who enlisted on August 30th, 1914, went to the Front on May 11th 1915, and in the engagement at Ypres was badly wounded, sustaining fractured ribs. After being treated in hospital in France, he was sent to Herne Bay, and on becoming convalescent was at his home in Dartford in June for a fortnight’s furlough. He returned to France in August, 1915, and met his death on December 29th, being killed by a shell. His widow, who lives at 6…
Lloyd 40.08 Luftkreuzer (Sky Cruiser)
Lloyd L 1/11 or 40.08 – Austro-Hungarian The Lloyd 40.08 Luftkreuzer (Sky Cruiser) was a three engine triplane bomber type built during World War I. The design was proven to be ineffective and development did not proceed past the prototype stage. In August 1915, the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops (Luftfahrttruppen) awarded funding to Lloyd for construction of a new heavy bomber that could carry a 200 kg (440 lb) bomb-load and have endurance of at least 6 hours. The aircraft was to be powered by one powerful engine…
Private Harry Gordon Symonds
Private Harry Gordon Symonds was a member of the 11th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, and died on the 5th March 1916, at the age of 30, and is commemorated at the Loos Memorial in France. He was the son of the late General Jermyn Charles Symonds (Royal Marines) and Susan Campbell Kennedy Symonds. The following article appeared in the local newspaper: Private H. Gordon Symonds, Middlesex Regiment, half-brother of Mr J. D’Arcy Symonds, of Suffolk Road Nursery, Foots Cray, was killed in action last March. He was previously wounded in the…
Sikorsky Ilya Muromets
Sikorsky Ilya Muromets The Sikorsky Ilya Muromets (Sikorsky S-22, S-23, S-24, S-25, S-26 and S-27) were a class of Russian pre-World War I large four-engine commercial airliners and military heavy bombers used during World War I by the Russian Empire. The aircraft series was named after Ilya Muromets, a hero from Slavic mythology. The Ilya Muromets aircraft as it appeared in 1913 was a revolutionary design, intended for commercial service with its spacious fuselage incorporating a passenger saloon and washroom on board. During World War I, it became the first…
Private Herbert Bramwell Rook
Private Rook served with the 6th Royal Went Kent Regiment during the first world war. He was educated in Orpington and was a ‘zealous and useful’ member of the Baptist Church at Green-Street-Green. In January 1916, it was reported in the local newspaper (Bromley Times) that he had been severely wounded at La Bassee, making it necessary to amputate the right leg just below the knee. The newspaper reports reads: Private Herbert Bramwell Rook is the son of Mrs Rook, of 3 Chelsfield Terrace, Green-Street-Green. As a lad he went to…
GOTHA G.I – Germany
GOTHA G.I – Germany The Gotha G.I was a heavy bomber used by the Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. It was the first of the Gotha Bomber series, eventually ending with the larger Gotha G.V The design had a snub-nosed fuselage attached to the upper wing, and twin engine nacelles mounted on the lower one. The purpose of this arrangement was to allow the engines to be kept close together thereby minimizing asymmetrical thrust in the event of an engine failure. The aircraft’s unorthodox layout provided…
VICKERS VIMY – Britain
Vickers Vimy – British The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). Only a handful of aircraft had entered service by the time the Armistice of 11 November 1918 came into effect, so the type was not used in active combat operations during the war, but the Vimy became the core of the RAF’s heavy bomber force throughout the 1920s. The Vickers F.B.27 Vimy is an…