The Quirky Quiz

[Olham]

Okay, let's try!

 

The aircraft could be a Salmson Sal II, which was used by 91st Aero among others.

It was built by the Societé des Moteurs Salmson (Brillancourt).

The other Salmsons were built by Latécoère; now Group Latécoère.

The first aircraft designed by Lieutenant René Moineau was the Salmson-Moineau SM-1, which the last picture shows.

[corsaire31]

OK Olham, it's all yours for the next one !  

The Salmson 2A2 was the second most used french reconnaissance aircraft after the Breguet 14, and we rarely hear about it in our favourite sims.

I chose to show the SM-1 because it's amazing to think such an ugly looking thing could actually fly ...

Edited March 6, 2014 by corsaire31

[Olham]

Yeah, I often think that when I see early airplanes. The Fokker Eindecker is one example,

though there are many worse ones.

 

I found the Salmson in "Rosebud's" pictorial website "Early Aeroplanes".

Just in case you don't know it already, here is the link:

 

http://www.earlyaeroplanes.com/archive1.htm

 

I will be out of the house all day today, so I may not be able to provide a new question before tomorrow.

[corsaire31]

Thks for the link, I already knew this fantastic place. Will be useful for people who don't.

No pb for waiting, it will give our brains a little break. 

I will be at work tomorrow morning and evening, so I hope some other people will jump in the game in the meantime !

[rjw]

In Olham's absence I will jump in with a quiz.

 

Who was the brash pilot who, on Christmas Day, 1917, was part of an unauthorized attack against a German airfield, and who reportedly threw a printed card out of the plane that read "Merry Christmas".

 

He was a flying ace forgotten to history until recent years!

[JimAttrill]

I thought it might be Raymond Collishaw who did a lot of airfield attacks.  But he certainly wasn't 'forgotten to history' so it must be someone else. 

Corsaire, according to my records Salmson went bankrupt in 1957 and were bought by Renault.  Which company makes bits for Airbuses? 

 

They seem to have been the only engine manufacturer to make water-cooled radials - a rather strange idea as the advantage of the radial layout is that it makes air-cooling efficient.  

[Olham]

Robert, the rules are, that you can only put the next quiz tasks, when you have been first to solve the previous one.

But now that you asked it, I hope someone can solve that.

I checked several Canadian aces, but didn't find that annecdote. Anyone?

[RAF_Louvert]

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Back from another week on the road and glad to see this quiz is still going strong.  Robert, your 'forgotten' ace is William "Billy" Barker.  With 50 victories to his credit and more decorations than I can recall at the moment he is hardly forgotten in my book and would serve as a much better Canadian WWI flying hero than the other "Billy" who has held that spot since the Great War.  

 

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[rjw]

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Back from another week on the road and glad to see this quiz is still going strong.  Robert, your 'forgotten' ace is William "Billy" Barker.  With 50 victories to his credit and more decorations than I can recall at the moment he is hardly forgotten in my book and would serve as a much better Canadian WWI flying hero than the other "Billy" who has held that spot since the Great War.  

 

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You got it!

 

In answer To Olham, I was just answering the request for someone to fill in in his absence.

 

best regards

[Olham]

It's okay, Robert, nice you joined in to this little quiz.

As for William Barker, I don't think he is a "forgotten ace"; I'm not much of a WW1 aviation historian,

but even I know his name. I think he is at least famous for a fight he had towards the end of the war,

against 6 Fokker D.VII, flying a Sopwith Snipe. As far as I remember, his body was hit more than one

time, and he was badly bleeding and threatenig to loose conscience, but managed to land his beaten

up kite after shooting down more than one plane?

Okay, here are some Albatros-Questions from "Albatros-Man" (Mmuahahahahaaa!!! If you could see my flying ....!)

1. What were the two most visible differences between the Albatros D.I and the D.II ?
   (The differences were not performance-wise, but improvements for the pilot)

2. Which second company built Albatros D.II under license from the Albatros Flugzeugwerke at Johannisthal ?

3. What was the most noticable visual difference between the Johannisthal and the OAW-built Albatros D.III ?


Additional Question (not important for winning):
What were the two most important differences between the German and the Austrian Albatros D.III ?
(The differences are not so much visible ones, but rather performance-wise)

Edited March 7, 2014 by Olham

[rjw]

It's okay, Robert, nice you joined in to this little quiz.

As for William Barker, I don't think he is a "forgotten ace"; I'm not much of a WW1 aviation historian,

but even I know his name. I think he is at least famous for a fight he had towards the end of the war,

against 6 Fokker D.VII, flying a Sopwith Snipe. As far as I remember, his body was hit more than one

time, and he was badly bleeding and threatenig to loose conscience, but managed to land his beaten

up kite after shooting down more than one plane?

Okay, here are some Albatros-Questions from "Albatros-Man" (Mmuahahahahaaa!!! If you could see my flying ....!)

 

1. What were the two most visible differences between the Albatros D.I and the D.II ?

   (The differences were not performance-wise, but improvements for the pilot)

 

2. Which second company built Albatros D.II under license from the Albatros Flugzeugwerke at Johannisthal ?

 

3. What was the most noticable visual difference between the Johannisthal and the OAW-built Albatros D.III ?

 

 

Additional Question (not important for winning):

What were the two most important differences between the German and the Austrian Albatros D.III ?

(The differences are not so much visible ones, but rather performance-wise)

The DII had a Tevis and Braun Radiator in the upper wing and the upper wing was lowered 14 inches and moved slightly forward for better visibility.

 

OEFFAG built a 185 HP Daimler version. I believe LVG also built some DII's

 

The OAW had a larger and more rounded rudder

 

OOPs forgot the last question:

 

The Austrians had stronger engines and two stabilizer bars on the lower wings to resist warping and wing breakage.

 

Hope I got it all!

Edited March 7, 2014 by rjw

[JimAttrill]

Barker was not a 'forgotten ace' at all.  No VC winner would be.  And at least he got his VC in the proper way with many people seeing his famous fight.  Bishop was 'given' his VC without anyone seeing what he was supposed to have done.  And as he had a reputation of inflating his exploits he has gone down in history as a fake.   But the media wanted a hero, so they got one. 

 

In Barker's last fight he shot down a Rumpler and then was bounced by two Jastas of Fokker DVIIs (about 15).  He shot down 3 of them and was wounded many times but managed to land his very shot about Snipe inside the British lines.  For that he got the VC. 

 

And before that he shot down 40 aircraft with one aircraft - Camel B6313 which is still considered the record for one airframe. 

Edited March 7, 2014 by JimAttrill

[rjw]

Barker was not a 'forgotten ace' at all.  No VC winner would be.  And at least he got his VC in the proper way with many people seeing his famous fight.  Bishop was 'given' his VC without anyone seeing what he was supposed to have done.  And as he had a reputation of inflating his exploits he has gone down in history as a fake.   But the media wanted a hero, so they got one. 

 

In Barker's last fight he shot down a Rumpler and then was bounced by two Jastas of Fokker DVIIs (about 15).  He shot down 3 of them and was wounded many times but managed to land his very shot about Snipe inside the British lines.  For that he got the VC. 

 

And before that he shot down 40 aircraft with one aircraft - Camel B6313 which is still considered the record for one airframe. 

 

The "Forgotten ace" term is derived from the fact that His country pretty much forgot about him after he died and it was only recently when investigating his burial place it was discovered he was in a family crypt without so much a a marker stating his glorious name. That was recently corrected When David Onley our Governor General responded to the call for recognition.

 

Bishop on the other hand was never forgotten and every school boy knew his name but that was not the fate of Barker. It's always been a sore point for me that Canadians historically do not revere their history as other nations do.

[RAF_Louvert]

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hee hee ... all this talk of Bishop has reminded me of another thread from some time back:  http://combatace.com/topic/66958-ot-hurry-your-chance-to-own-a-piece-of-mvrs-red-dr1/?p=516574

 

 

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[JimAttrill]

The Canadian fighter pilots did very well in WWI, partly because they were better trained before they arrived in France.  I think a lot of British pilots hardly knew how to fly when they first went into combat.  The RAF learnt its lesson which is why so many pilots were trained overseas in WWII in Canada, the US and in South Africa.  Also the weather is better in these places than in the UK so more intensive training can take place.  Even now courses are offered in South Africa at Port Elizabeth to get your PPL in a few weeks.  You get a holiday in the sun and the pilot's licence!  I did read somewhere that in 1918 a third of the RAF fighter pilots were Canadian.  And the American pilots in the RFC were enlisted and trained in Canada, like Bill Lambert of 24 sqn and others. 

[rjw]

Hey Olham ..... did I win the quiz?

[Olham]

Robert, yes, you won!

You have it mostly right. I didn't mean the radiator change, but  it may have improved

downward vision too - I meant the A-struts in front of the windshield were changed for

N-struts. But you have the lowered wings, so yes, you are the winner.

And so it is your turn now, Sir!

 

PS: ...and yes, LVG built the D.II too.

Edited March 7, 2014 by Olham

[corsaire31]

Corsaire, according to my records Salmson went bankrupt in 1957 and were bought by Renault.  Which company makes bits for Airbuses? 

 

They seem to have been the only engine manufacturer to make water-cooled radials - a rather strange idea as the advantage of the radial layout is that it makes air-cooling efficient.  

Sorry for late reply, was busy at work and just came back home.

Olham gave the right answer : Salmson A2As were also built by Latécoère, which after the war became famous for participating in the development of air mail (first from France to Senegal through Spain and Marocco, later across the Atlantic to South America), together with pilots like Jean Mermoz and Saint-Exupéry. They also built big flying boats for cross atlantic passenger flights. 

 

 

It is now "Groupe Latécoère" with head office in my town of Toulouse (where Airbus are assembled) and works for aviation and space industry.

Edited March 7, 2014 by corsaire31

[rjw]

Corsaire;

 

you taught me so new facts

[rjw]

Sorry for taking so long to get this one together. I have been out all day.

 

So here goes. This will again be about Canadian Pilots in WW1.

 

This pilot was born in Stonewall, Manitoba and earned the Victoria Cross but was not an Ace.

 

1) Tell me where he solo'd and after how many hours.

 

2) What type of aircraft was his first kill.

 

3) What Sqn was he with when he earned the VC.

 

4) What are the details of the deed on 27 Mar 1918, that earned him the VC

 

Best Regards;

Edited March 8, 2014 by rjw

[RAF_Louvert]

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Oh, I know this one and in fact the county I live in bears the same name as the Canadian hero in question.  But I'll let someone else take this one.

 

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[rjw]

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Oh, I know this one and in fact the county I live in bears the same name as the Canadian hero in question.  But I'll let someone else take this one.

 

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I'm Impressed Lou. You must later divulge how you came by that knowledge!

[RAF_Louvert]

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I've been to his historic home on Main Street in Stonewall.  I get around.

 

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[rjw]

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I've been to his historic home on Main Street in Stonewall.  I get around.

 

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So it seems. Stonewall is not typically one of those places that draws tourists.

[RAF_Louvert]

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What do you mean Robert, it's right on the way to Lake Winnipeg from where I live in Minnesota ... sort of.  And, it's not far from former RCAF Station Gimli where an Air Canada 767 had to make an emergency landing back in the 1980's when it ran out of fuel.  But that's a story for another time.  

 

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