Bromley’s W.R.N.S. Cadets Young girls who are approaching the age when they will be called for the Service, and whose preference is given to the W.R.N.S., have formed themselves into the Girls’ Naval Training Corps., with headquarters at Bromley. Their uniform is a white blouse and dark skirt and a “Chic” sailor’s hat, and on parade they are a smart little group. The corps gives them the rudiments of the training required to fit them out as Wrens, under the supervision of Commander C.L.A. Woollard, R.N. Picture shows a smart…
Year: 2021
Hansa-Brandenburg W.20
Hansa-Brandenburg W.20 The Hansa-Brandenburg W.20 was a German submarine-launched reconnaissance flying boat of the World War I era, designed and built by Hansa-Brandenburg. Due to the need to be stored and launched from a submarine aircraft carrier, the W.20 was a small single-seat biplane flying boat that was designed to be assembled and dismantled quickly. It had a slender hull on which was mounted a biplane wing and a conventional braced tailplane. It was powered by a seven-cylinder, 80 PS Oberursel U.0 rotary engine — basically a German-made near-clone of…
Macchi M.12
Macchi M.12 The Macchi M.12 was a flying boat bomber produced in small numbers in Italy in 1918. It had a conventional design generally similar to an enlarged version of other Macchi designs of the period and featured the Warren truss-style interplane struts that had been introduced on the Macchi M.9. A major difference however, was its twin-boom fuselage, each with a separate tailfin. The manufacturer Nieuport-Macchi, having acquired experience in seaplanes, began to study a new aircraft which he then offered to the Regia Marina under the designation of…
Grigorovitch M9
Grigorovitch M9 Also called ShCh M-9 or Shchetinin M-9 this Russian ww1 biplane flying boat was a development of the M-5, ready in the fall of 1915, which first flew on January 9, 1916 at Baku. By September 17, 1916, Jan Nagórski, test pilot, became the first to make a loop with a flying boat, worldwide. A good indicator of its agility and handling characteristics. The Grigorovitch M9 became the best-seller of the company, being produced by the hundreds (an estimated 500+) by Shchetinin up to the civil war. This…
Aircraft Project – WEEK 8
SELECTION OF ITALIAN AIRCRAFT Italy was at war in February 1915, swapping side of the entente almost at the last minute after some territorial promises. Previously due to its position just south of the Central powers, it was likely to fall in this side. Italy fought most of the war against Austria-Hungary on its northern, Alpine frontier, a harsh mountain war, but also the hilly north-east and the Venetian region, as well as the Adriatic. Naval aviation played an important part in these operations. Industrial capacities of Italy at that…
POMILIO GAMMA & GAMMA 1F
POMILIO GAMMA & GAMMA 1F The Pomilio Gamma was an Italian fighter prototype of 1918. The Pomilio company of Turin designed and manufactured the Gamma, a wooden, single-seat, single-bay biplane with wings of unequal span, the upper wing being of greater span than the lower. It was powered by a 149-kilowatt (200-horsepower) SPA 6A water-cooled engine driving a two-bladed tractor propeller. It had fixed, tailskid landing gear. The Gamma prototype first flew early in 1918. An Italian official commission observed a demonstration of it, and concluded that although it was…
Caproni Ca.3
Caproni Ca.3 The Caproni Ca.3 was an Italian heavy bomber of World War I and the postwar era. It was the definitive version of the series of aircraft that began with the Caproni Ca.1 in 1914. The Ca.3 was a three-engined biplane of wooden construction, with a fabric-covered frame. The crew of four were placed in an open central nacelle (front gunner, two pilots and rear gunner-mechanic). The rear gunner manned upper machine guns, standing upon the central engine in a protective “cage” in front of a propeller. The fixed…
Macchi M.7
Macchi M.7 The Macchi M.7 was an Italian single-seat fighter flying boat designed by Alesandro Tonini and built by Macchi. A modified version of the M.7, the M.7bis won the Schneider Trophy in 1921. The M.7 was similar to the earlier M.5 but had a modified hull and was powered by an Isotta Fraschini V.6 engine. Due to the end of World War I, only 17 aircraft were delivered to the Italian Navy. In 1919, two were sold to Argentina and four to Sweden, and in 1921, Brazil bought three.…
SAVOIA-POMILIO SP.2
Savoia-Pomilio SP.2 The Savoia-Pomilio SP.2 was a reconnaissance and bomber aircraft built in Italy during the First World War. It was a refined version of the SP.1, and like it, took its basic configuration from the Farman MF.11: a biplane with twin tails and a fuselage nacelle that accommodated the crew and a pusher-mounted engine.The SP.2 entered mass production with SIA, and with co-designer Ottorino Pomilio’s own firm that he had recently established. Around 300 examples were produced, and by spring 1917, these equipped twelve front-line squadrons of the Aeronautica…
Arthur Bellringer
Corproal Bellringer Councillor’s Son Missing at Singapore Corporal Arthur Bellringer R.A.S.C.. second son of Councillor Mrs Bellringer, of West Wickham, is officially reported missing at Singapore. The official intimation, however, gives some ground for hoping that he is a prisoner of war. On April 20 – several days after the War Office message – Mrs Bellringer received a letter from her son. It was dated January 10 and stated: “We are still at sea, but only for one more day; in fact, when this letter is posted you will know…