RAF_Louvert

. This is an outstanding read and would be a great one to have on the WWI book shelf. You can find copies fairly often at the online old book shops but they are always $80 or more. It is one of the items on the list I gave to Santa. .

. Rooster89, that is a good little read Sir. And just to remind folks, a while ago I posted a zip download I put together of winter reading which contains the following books, (with Boelcke's included) Biogrophies, Diaries, Personal Writings “A Flying Fighter”, by E.M. Roberts, c.1918 ”A Happy Warrior”, the letters of William M. Russel, c.1918 ”Above the Battle”, by Vivian Drake, c.1918 “Air Men O'War”, by Boyd Cable, c.1918 ”An Aviator’s Field Book”, the field notes of Oswald Bolcke, English Edition c.1917 ”Cavalry of the Clouds”, by Alan Bott, c.1918 ”En l'air!”, by Bert Hall, c.1918 ”Fighting the Flying Circus”, by Eddie Rickenbacker, c.1919 ”Flying For France”, by James R. McConnell, c.1917 ”Go Get 'Em!”, by William Wellman, c.1918 ”Green Balls: The Adventures Of a Night-Bomber”, by Paul Bewsher, c.1919 ”High Adventure”, by James Norman Hall, c.1918 ”Night Bombing With the Bedouins”, by Robert H. Reece, c.1919 ”The Flying Poilu”, by Marcel Nadaud, c.1918 “The Red Battle Flyer”, by Manfred von Richthofen, English Edition c.1918 ”The Way of the Eagle”, by Charles J. Biddle, c.1919 ”Winged Warfare”, by William A. Bishop, c.1918 References: “Aircraft Mechanics Handbook”, c.1918 ”Heroes Of Aviation”, by Laurence La Tourette Driggs, c.1918 ”How To Fly”, by A. Frederick Collins, c.1918 “Learning To Fly in the U.S. Army”, by E.N. Fales, c.1917 “Practical Flying”, by W.G. McMinnies, c.1918 “The Aero Manual”, c.1909 “The German Air Force in the Great War”, by Georg Paul Neumann, c.1920 ”The Romance Of Aircraft”, by Laurence Smith, c.1919 Here is the link again to that zip file: WWI Books Download BTW, I have another group of about 20 more that I can post soon as well if folks are interested. Enjoy. Cheers! Lou .

. Thanks for your comment and question Dej. This idea first started as a way to display the original WWI French and Belgian medals I currently have collected together, which are: the Legion of Honour, Chevalier's class; the Order of Leopold, Chevalier's class; the Medaille Militaire; the French Croix de Guerre with palms; and the Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm. However, the whole affair has begun to take on a life of it's own, as is often the case with my projects. As to the provenance, the medals themselves have none that I know of, which as I mentioned in another thread a while ago is one of the motivating factors in collecting these, (so they don't become ultimately lost to history). In regards to the "created" provenance surrounding this whole work, that goes something like this: A 20-year-old American living in Paris at the outbreak of hosilities joins up with the French Foreign Legion, (a not unusual situation at the time), and takes part in the first major blood-lettings of the War. It is his actions during these initial months that earns him the Medaille Militaire, (a French honour reserved for enlisted men), as well as the Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm. By the early summer of 1915 he decides he's seen enough of life in the trenches and applies for a transfer to the French Air Service, which is granted due to his record and his willingness to learn to fly. After several months of training at Avord he is passed and breveted on October 1, 1915. He is assigned immediately to Escadrille 67, (eventually serving with the French ace Jean Navarre). The Champagne Offensive proves to be the young American's aerial baptism by fire, followed by Verdun, and he emerges from both alive and with the French Croix de Guerre with palms now among his awards. From here on I am still filling in the bits and pieces, but he goes on and his exploits earn him both France's and Belgium's highest honours. Cheers! Lou .

. TKS Gents, it is coming along. Stiffy, red pants rather like the ones shown here: I am watching two listings right now for a pair of the 1914 red officer's pants with blue stripes, (infantry not cavalry). And I might also be able to nab a neat old pair of lace-up, above the calf, aviator-style boots too. We shall see. Cheers! Lou .

. That's good new Siggi. But what I want to know is, "Who'll stop the rain?" (if I may quote C.C.R.) .

. WOWZERS!" .

. Best wishes and prayers your way Sandbagger on the soon-to-be new arrival. Grandchildren are great. .

. BH, that's a very nice place you have there, old or not. As to the snow...well...OK, it is snow...barely. But being a Yankee who was born and raised in Minnesota, I tend to see the picture Sitting Duck posted more along the lines of "measurable accumulation", (back me up here Rickitycrate and Ras). And this climate change business is a topic for a whole 'nother place, but if it IS for real I think I'll take it because we've had a beautiful summer around here and milder winters the last three years with less-than-average snowfall. von Baur, your story about San Antonio is a carbon copy of mine from December of '74 when I was in basic training there. Had a snowfall just like the one BH pictured and the entire town came to a halt. The way everyone disappeared I though we had incoming missiles. Olham, the guys with the bricks are the "Gumbys" from MP. Rather than try to explain it perhaps this will help: Professor Gumby Cheers! Lou .

. hee, hee...yuppers, and in an extra large at that. .

. MAN! OK, that does it. I'm gonna have to get a much bigger stocking to hang on the mantle this Christmas. .

. Another quick update: I got home yesterday from work and a little envelope from France was waiting for me containing an original WWI fourragere in the colors of the Croix de Guerre, (which I snapped up a while back on eBay for five dollars including shipping). For those of you who may not know what this is, it's the braided cord worn draped across the left side of the tunic and over the shoulder, (as seen in the photo of Guynemer's kit back in my first post). The one I found has the two additional cords which denote that the wearer served in the unit during the battles in which it was cited. After a little minor repair work I now have this bit of trim looking good as new and fitted to my project. As a point of interest, the imagined "aviateur Américaine" I am building this project around served with Escadrille 67 during the Battle of Verdun, along side French ace Jean Navarre. By the end of July 1916 this unit had three times been mentioned in dispatches for its actions at Verdun and was presented the "Fourragère aux couleurs du ruban de la Croix de Guerre", so I was quite happy when I ran across the actual vintage award. Once the Sam Browne arrives I will post another photo showing both of the new additions. Cheers! Lou .

. "Once again, we find ourselves in agreement." (to quote Ulysses Everrett McGill) Outstanding videos there as well. I love that Fee too, but then I am a utilitarian sort. .

. Greetings All, With no flying the last few days in the current DiD campaign due to dud weather I've had some time to work on my WWI French tunic project. Here is a photo showing the new buttons, sous-lieutenant stripes on the sleeves, new cuffs with beading, and the reworked lower pockets. And how sharp do those French aviator's wings look against that dark blue? I am now working on the wound stripes and tour of duty stripes as well as trying to come up with the proper collar flashes. Hand and Lock will make a pair in gold bullion to match the originals for about $65 and this may be the way I end up going as I have yet to find any other less-expensive option at this time. Also, I located a very nice old Sam Browne for $26 that should be arriving from England in the next few days. I'll post another photo soon as things progress. Cheers! Lou

. Welcome back to the OFF virtual skies, foreigndevil. And also welcome to you HumanDrone, if I haven't already greeted you properly, (or even if I have). I hope you both enjoy the excitement and adventure that is BHaH for many years to come. BTW, new and returning flyers buy the drinks. Cheers! Lou .

. Stiffy, that Camel has been on the market for a while now, and I'd buy it in heartbeat if I were ever to win the lottery. As to which plane is the most famous fighter, I agree that it will depend on how the question is raised. If you ask the general public what is the most famous plane of WWI it will undoubtedly be MvR's red triplane. But if you ask the same general public to name the first WWI aircraft they can think of it will likely be the Sopwith Camel. At the end of the day though it may well be a wash. Cheers! Lou .

. Salute to a brave and talented soul, now departed. .

. Great pics Rickitycrate. And another neat Spad paint scheme BB. Very good Gents. Cheers! Lou .

. Well done, Creaghorn! This is a great addition to the German side of things. And it sounds like Shredward is coming up with similar tweaks for the Allies. I look forward to seeing them all. BTW, if you need them, I have about six months worth of "Land and Water" weekly from 1917 that have just the sort of articles being discussed here. Cheers! Lou .

. Yuppers, TrackIR puts flying this sim into a whole new realm. I can't imagine how I flew without it. That and the rudder pedals are the two peripherals you really need to fully appreciate OFF, IMHO. Cheers! Lou .

. BB, that is quite the Spad Sir. Another outstanding job. Cheers! Lou .

. I agree with you Olham, and you put it very well Sir. I prefer the "impressionistic" in this sim rather than the "realistic" when it comes to the art. Cheers! Lou .

. Olham, this sounds like a first-rate idea. I won't be able to take part in it myself due to my schedule at the moment, (barely have time to fly the original), but I am sure it will be a hoot for all those who can. Good luck everyone. Cheers! Lou .

. Stiffy, that is looking great Sir! The Sam Browne you found is a beauty. I'm on the hunt for one now myself for my project, and have a few I am watching online over the next week or so. Cheers! Lou .

. Now there is a rare one Stiffy, and a beaut too! Good luck found you on that deal Sir. Cheers! Lou .

. Another brief update on my project. It took some digging but I've finally sorted out what type of trim was used on the lower sleeves for the rank chevrons on the French tunics. This photo of Georges gives a good example of what I am referring to: The trim is called "soutache" and it is same kind of banding as that used on the officer's kepi, (also seen in the above photo). I was lucky enough to run across an eBay vendor in Amsterdam who had a spool of some vintage, French-made gold soutache in a 6.5mm width which looks to be about a perfect match. Here it is: Since I am doing the tunic of a Sous-lieutenant there will only be a single line of trim rather than the three you see on Capitaine Guynemer's outfit. Meanwhile, I have taken care of the piping on the tunic and reworked the epaulets, and am cuffing the sleeves. Also, after further research, I've figured out the correct color and purpose of the small chevrons seen on the upper sleeves of some French tunics. When worn on the upper right sleeve they denote time in combat duty, roughly nine months for each stripe, (although the formula used to calculate the actual time in a combat zone was quite complicated). When the same chevron is worn on the upper left sleeve it indicates the number of times wounded in battle. On the dark blue/black infantry uniforms the chevrons were made out of a muted yellow felt and were usually sewn to a black felt background, while on the dark artillery uniforms they were a silver color. Since "mon bravez l'aviateur" was formerly an infantryman in the Foreign Legion I will be doing the yellow version. Once the buttons and soutache arrive and I have them fitted to the tunic I will post a few pictures. Cheers! Lou .