My Contribution to Belgium

[UK_Widowmaker]

Well, here is a Belgian N17 of 9ME Escadrille flown by S/LT J.Goossens Bara

Will be ready for download soon

[Rickitycrate]

Very good Widow. Please make it downloadable.

[Duce Lewis]

Great job Widow

That fusalage Red/White Checker looks Polish

Any story behind that?

[UK_Widowmaker]

Hi Duce,

 

Not sure why it has that Insignia...I can only guess he had some connection?

 

Yes, Rickity..It will be downloadable shortly

Edited December 28, 2009 by UK_Widowmaker

[UK_Widowmaker]

Ok, i've uploaded it to the download section...enjoy

[Rickitycrate]

Thank you sir. I hope you uploaded that DVII skin also.

[+Johan217]

Since there was no Poland at the time, I don't think there is a connection. Looks great, though :)

 

I found a similar insignia on a Sopwith from 11ème Esc.:

Edited December 28, 2009 by Johan217

[+Olham]

The province Antwerpen has a flag with red/white checker in it (plus yellow/blue checker).

And the province Vlaams-Brabant has a shield in it's arms, that is red and white.

 

See here - unfortunately, the English site is different made.

 

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandern

 

Click on the Provinces in the table near the bottom.

[+Johan217]

Sorry to disappoint you, but those flags are all more recent designs It's possible that the use of the insignia is related to a family or town crest (though then you'd rather expect to see it with just one pilot), but I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a way of visual identification.

[+RAF_Louvert]

.

 

That is a good looking Nieup WM, I will be adding it to my Belgian contingent as soon as possible.

 

Johan, that Camel you show is on my list of additional Belgian planes to paint, and it should be a simple one now that I have a Camel template developed.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

 

.

[UK_Widowmaker]

Is it showing up in the Download centre?...it's showing for me, but highlighted in a red colour

[+RAF_Louvert]

.

 

No Sir, not there yet. Sometimes it can take a while depending on how busy the forum admins are.

 

.

[UK_Widowmaker]

Ah ok, thanks Lou...though I uploaded it 10 hours ago...but I guess with Christmas and all!

[DT59]

Thank you very much for these files.

 

Baron Jules Goossens-Bara's insignia has nothing to do with Poland, even less with the province of Flemish Brabant, the arms of which were invented... in 1995 !

 

In Above Flander's Fields, there is a biography of this pilot, where it is said that :

"During this period (June 1917) Goossens had a personal marking which was practically the same as the Polish national marking : a two-coloured square divided in 4 squares, although the colours are not known."

 

There is, however, no reason to believe they were red (but they might have been).

 

At that time, Goossens was part of the 1ste Escadrille (on Nieuport), NOT the 9th. The 1st escadrille only became the 9th after the reorganisation of March 1918, flying Hanriot then. By that time, Goossens had left the unit to join the 7th Escadrille.

 

The 1st Escadrille's insignia was the famous thistle.

 

The insignia doesn't look either like the one of the 11th escadrille, shown above, the so-called "cocotte" (paper hen), which isn't in a square.

 

Goossens was made an Adjudant on 17 June 1917 and a Sous-Lieutenant in November of that same year. He ended the war with 2 victories (one of these shared), but he probably had 2 more, that he didn't even claim.

Edited December 28, 2009 by DT59

[foreigndevil]

Very nice to see all those Belgian aircraft flying again! Thanks, skinners!

[Duce Lewis]

It's possible that the use of the insignia is related to a family or town crest (though then you'd rather expect to see it with just one pilot), but I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a way of visual identification.

Probably right

Many European insignia are simple stripes or patterns, ie. French Tricololor

In a smoky battlefield anything complex would be tough to distinguish

This probably led to duplication or similar patterns

[UK_Widowmaker]

Thank you very much for these files.

 

Baron Jules Goossens-Bara's insignia has nothing to do with Poland, even less with the province of Flemish Brabant, the arms of which were invented... in 1995 !

 

In Above Flander's Fields, there is a biography of this pilot, where it is said that :

"During this period (June 1917) Goossens had a personal marking which was practically the same as the Polish national marking : a two-coloured square divided in 4 squares, although the colours are not known."

 

There is, however, no reason to believe they were red (but they might have been).

 

At that time, Goossens was part of the 1ste Escadrille (on Nieuport), NOT the 9th. The 1st escadrille only became the 9th after the reorganisation of March 1918, flying Hanriot then. By that time, Goossens had left the unit to join the 7th Escadrille.

 

The 1st Escadrille's insignia was the famous thistle.

 

The insignia doesn't look either like the one of the 11th escadrille, shown above, the so-called "cocotte" (paper hen), which isn't in a square.

 

Goossens was made an Adjudant on 17 June 1917 and a Sous-Lieutenant in November of that same year. He ended the war with 2 victories (one of these shared), but he probably had 2 more, that he didn't even claim.

 

Interesting read..thanks