shredward

You both had me scared for a moment there, so I checked my datafiles. MvR is right where he should be, with JaB up to the 15th January, and then to Ja11. Cheers, shredward

I suppose it's possible - that there was so much more dust,smoke and particles hanging in the air, that it caused water droplets to form much more readily. Or that it was just unusually wet. I dunno. and I dunno if anyone else does either.

And August '17 was one of the wettest ever. Rain and artillery shells falling out of the sky turned the whole Salient into a a vast sea of mud. Cheers, shredward

Generally pretty nice. There is always the chance that you will luck out and get the same weather that prevailed in the Salient in August '17, but usually it's quite nice. Cheers, shredward

Just depends on one's bias I guess. I'm most excited about the campaign, for obvious reasons. Cheers, shredward

One sort of local (Calgary), the other not local at all (Ottawa). But, they are my favourite a/c. Cheers, shredward

It's a biplane !

May and June are nice, but take raingear - there will be showers. Early to mid September is perfect. I'd love to go, but I have a little one now. However, I am for sure going in 2017 for the centenary of Vimy Ridge. Cheers, shredward

I cheated. I did credit card bike touring. Stayed in some fabulous old villages, and to splurge, a couple of magnificent chateaux. Just having to haul cameras and clothes for three weeks was enough for me, especially in that hilly terrain in the Vosges. Plus I retrieved a fairly hefty item from the fields in front of Vimy Ridge. No way I could have survived with tent, bags, pots & pans. I roughed it by living off the land ie the boulangeries, the patisseries, and the hospitality of the local people. One does have to make sacrifices! Cheers, shredward

Nothing - it's just the vestiges of the Ancien Régime. The reason for the grainy photos at Chateau Cappy is that they were taken at last light, hand held (you can see street lights reflected on the cars) No special tricks required to make provincial France look fabulous - it just is. Cheers, shredward ps if I remember right, these were shot on Fujichrome. What is interesting about the Google aerial shot, and this applies to any aerial or landscape photo taken at the appropriate time of year, is that the land shows it's history in its shadings, patterns and colouration. In the photo you have shown us, one can clearly see where old roads have been taken out, buildings removed etc. Many times when going over the old battlegrounds, you will clearly see the pattern of the trenches, gun pits etc outlined by the lighter chalky pattern on the redder soil of the fields.

Here is the facade of the Chateau, one of many photos I took of Bertangles on one of my journeys. It really is an imposing place, and the outbuildings, gates and farmyard are actually more interesting than the main Chateau. But talk about the pleasures of living in a simple country home!!! Cheers, shredward

Here's one I took on one of my journeys back to the Front. Cheers, shredward

I would also recommend 'Das Propellerblatt', a journal to which Michael Schmeelke is a regular contributor. It frequently has original documents, diaries and photographs. http://www.propellerblatt.de/index.html Cheers, shredward

Oh, we can, we can !!!

I have; some pilots swore by them, some swore at them and took them off. If you look at enough photos, you will see both. Cheers, shredward

I just flagged it at YouTube as inappropriate, with a potential to promote hatred. I suggest anyone else who takes offense should do the same. Cheers, the shredder

I donno what I think about PTSD - I suspect reactions are as different and numerous as the individuals involved, What I do know is that my Dad was a Paratrooper, at the sharp end, and that nothing rattled him. And that he would not talk about the war. And that they liberated a Concentration Camp. And that he was the most loving, and wonderful Father anyone could ever have.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Those heros that shed their blood and lost their lives..... you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us, where they lie side by side, here in this country of ours. You the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries..... Wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1934) Turkish Commander - Gallipoli Peninsular Founder of the Turkish Republic

Too much mix! What engine problems? No engine, no problem. You see my dear Olham, it's all in how you look at it. Engine seizes, we all go to the beach for the afternoon, then to the Kasino.And keep doing that until they give us nice new DVIIs. However long that takes. Have a nice war! Cheers, shredward

Nungesser! Now there was a fighter pilot

You are quite right Olham, but not quite in the way that you think. The SSW was actually the result of a brilliant scheme by Allied back room boffins. They secretly designed the a/c, and slipped the plans onto a desk at Idflieg, and Idflieg took the bait, and ordered it into production. They hoped that it would become the next mainstay German fighter, and it almost was. JG2 was well on the way to being completely re-equipped with it, until the engines started to fail, one after the other. End result; JG2 was pretty much out of business for the better part of a month. If only Idflieg had completely taken the bait and re-equipped the entire Luftstreitkrafte at the same time, the entire air service would have been grounded, the war would have been over, and that world that they promised us when we were kids - the one where none of us ever had to work, and we were all zooming around on space scooters, would have come to pass. Opportunity missed. shredward

http://blog.dutyandvalour.com/?p=580

Not that I am aware of. Cheers, shredward

That a/c was attached to 56 Sqn in early March '18. Cheers, Ted

It certainly will not be with the release. We had it in Phase 1 & 2, but it needs a complete rebuild to bring it up to scratch. As there was only ever one example on the Western Front, and that only for a couple of weeks, we can't really justify spending time on it when there are so many other a/c we really need. That's not to say that it won't be available at some point, but certainly do not hold your breath - you will be very very blue. Cheers, shredward