Olham 164 Posted October 4, 2009 Great pics again! And feels very close - I just fly in June 1917 with one pilot. Page 2, third picture: does anyone know, what that large diagonal tube is for? When they went for submarines - could it be a kind of torpedo launcher? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 4, 2009 One end is situated directly behind the propellor, the other feeds into the balloon. Is it possible this is to pump air into the outer ballon to maintain pressure and keep it rigid? The actual hydrogen is likely in many smaller balloons inside the outer held in place with nets (as with larger zepelins) the outer balloon is probably just ther for aerodynamics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flyby PC 23 Posted October 4, 2009 Great pics again! And feels very close - I just fly in June 1917 with one pilot. Page 2, third picture: does anyone know, what that large diagonal tube is for? When they went for submarines - could it be a kind of torpedo launcher? Don't know what it is, but if you look at the photo in post #10, it looks like some kind of intake for the balloon above. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 4, 2009 Also noticed that later it is described as a derigible so fits with the theory of outer shell over smaller nets of balloons. The idea of many small ballons inside makes it much less likely that a punture/;bullet will bring it down as only one small balloon is effected. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted October 4, 2009 Yer right, Stiffy, I wasn't thinking - a torpedo couldn't be dropped through the prop! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 4, 2009 Blimey, I was actually right! It is for filling the balloon, this is taken from http://www.airshipsonline.com/airships/ss/index.html Evaluation tests on the first SS craft, the SS2 were made in March of 1915 some 5 weeks after that first meeting. The ship was 70,000 cft and 140ft in length. The ship was effectivly an aeroplane fuselage without wings slung below an envelope. There were eventually 3 types of “SS” or submarine scout class ships after the initial prototype was built. Each was quickly and cheaply assembled by attaching the wingless fuselage of a B.E.2c aeroplane beneath a simple envelope. Minor modifications were made to the original design, namely the placement of the blower to fill the ballonet in the envelope, and on the 18th March, less than 3 weeks after work began the new airship was entered in to service. Admiral Fisher commented his approval with the famous comment "Now I must have forty!" Looks like these early ones did only have one internal balloon! which i would imagine would make them very easy to shoot down. Heres some models with custom built fuselages. Note the bomb! apparently some models also had machine guns... so what are the chances of these ever being added to OFF? :) half the work is done you just need to take the wings off a B.E.2c! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted October 4, 2009 So you found it out. Isn't it crazy, what they all built in those days? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 4, 2009 (edited) JULY 1917 A good picture of Rene Dorme (is that his plane? Shamrock under cockpit and all white stork?).... fails however to mention the fact that he's been dead for a month and a half! Famouse photo of richtofen's trophys... how did they get hold of it? Had to include the channel tunnel piece when I saw it, had no idea it had been planned that far back... didnt get built until 1994! Interesting photograph of the balloon observer.... where the hell is the photographer!!!.. didnt have zooms back then so must be hanging from balloon... automatic camera using expensive film instead of plates? Edited October 4, 2009 by Stiffy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rickitycrate 10 Posted October 4, 2009 Stiffy, truely wonderful contemporary pics and info. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 5, 2009 Just scanning August 1917 now... my scanner is painfully slow! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 5, 2009 JULY/AUGUST 1917 Gotha raid on london.... is it me or have the planes just be badly painted on to the 'Remarkable photograph'? Anyone know what the American plane is? More on gothas (press seems fascinated by them at the time) AIR-MURDERERS! Sudden change of attitude to German pilots, no longer noble adversaries, now just murderers. Presumably again this is linked to the new threat of civilian bombing... disgraceful Huns!... we wont mention 25 years later when the British invented carpet bombing.... :o And some mad Italian riflemen on a roof!.... would be great to see this in OFF! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 13, 2009 Apologies for the lapse in news! Someone foolishly sent me OFF to take up all my time. Scanning some more stuff this evening. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted October 13, 2009 Those "photographs" in the days of old where more paintings and illustrations. Did never before hear of that gun tunnel in the Gotha. I had the idea for such a defensive gun myself and was wondering why nobody did that. Now I see it was done. Does anyone know more? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baldric 42 Posted October 13, 2009 Brilliant stuff, Stiffy, m8. Thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted October 13, 2009 . Wonderful! Thanks for continuing to share these with us Stiffy. Much appreciated Sir. Cheers! Lou Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 14, 2009 September 1917 The Gotha obsession continues! And the Yanks are coming!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 21, 2009 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1917 Von richtofen is dead!!!.... in 1917?..... Think they need to check thier sources. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted October 21, 2009 . MvR could have used Mark Twain's line in response to that article: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." I add every one of these articles to a WI folder I created just so I'll have 'em for future reference. Thanks Stiffy! Cheers! Lou . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 21, 2009 Just a thought but when was MvR shot down and hospitalised? Maybe they thought he was dead then... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted October 21, 2009 . Could well be, Stiffy. MvR received that nasty head wound on July 6, 1917 and was kept out of active duty until October, right about the time of that article. Cheers! Lou . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted October 22, 2009 Ive found the stuff from 1916! Might start putting it in a seperate thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted November 10, 2009 Sorry, not updated in a while... update scanning now! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted November 10, 2009 OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 1917 Was Rudolf Berthold really in command of London air raids? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted November 10, 2009 Rudolf Berthold FFA 23 Jasta 4, 14, 18 JG II KEK Vaux Berthold joined the infantry in 1910 and learned to fly by the end of 1913. When the war began, he transferred to the German Air Service as an observer. In 1916, he began flying single-seat fighters with KEK Vaux and was credited with five victories before crashing a Pfalz E.IV on 25 April 1916. Injured and wounded several times throughout the war, Berthold earned a reputation for returning to duty before he had fully recovered. In August, he formed Jasta 4 before turning command over to Hans Buddecke. Berthold then assumed command of Jasta 14 until badly injured in an accident on 23 May 1917. Recovering from a broken nose, fractured skull, thigh and pelvis, he returned to duty the following August and assumed command of Jasta 18. He was wounded again on 10 October 1917 when a bullet shattered his right arm. When he returned to duty, he assumed command of Jagdgeschwader 2, remaining in command until wounded on 10 August 1918. Credited with downing two D.H.4s that day, his career as a fighting pilot ended when his crippled red and blue Fokker D.VII crashed into a house after colliding with his second opponent. Murdered by rioters in 1920, some sources claim Berthold was strangled with the ribbon from his Blue Max. "Honoured by his enemies, slain by his German brethren." Inscription on Rudolf Berthold's headstone Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stiffy 1 Posted November 10, 2009 So not likely to be flying a Gotha over London then? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
