RAF_Louvert

. FADED FLIERS N' LOVERS ...yup...a little weird and shivery indeed... .

. And for further comparison:

. Despite all the years of flying RB3D, I still always hear that bit of music as the march from "The Great Escape". .

. AAAAAAAAAH HAAA HAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAA! Oh that's a keeper. .

. Yes, well, those Vikings did get around quite a bit back in the day. .

. Yuppers, that's a good one Olham, and I too have enjoyed some of the postings there. Thanks for sharing Sir. .

. Aaaah, the Hurricane and the Spitfire. Two of my favorite planes right there. And I've been fortunate enough to have snuggled down into the cockpit of each; sitting quietly on the ground of course, but still... .

. I arrived home late yesterday evening from an EMS conference in Iowa and discovered waiting for me on the kitchen table a package, which my wife Jane informed me had arrived on Friday, (Armistice Day). I knew it was a set of books I had purchased and was anxious to open it, but I was so tired I decided I would wait until morning in order to fully enjoy the unwrapping and discovery. And oh what a discovery it was. First of all the books themselves turned out to be a nearly perfect set of the original printing of "New England Aviators: 1914-1918". There were only a thousand such sets made in 1919-1920 so they do not come along very often, and seldom in such beautiful condition, (and to find them at a price less than the modern reprints is unheard of). But that was far from the best part. No, that came when I opened Volume One to discover the signature of the original owner on the inside leaf: Lydia T. Baylies. Mrs. Baylies was the mother of WWI ace Frank Leaman Baylies who, at the time of his death on 17 June 1918, was the highest scoring American pilot. When all was said and done he was placed 17th of all American aces in the Great War with a final confirmed total of 12 victories. Lieutenant Baylies is mentioned often in the writings of other American flyers of the day and was a fearless fighter in the air, scoring all his victories over a mere 14-week period in the spring of 1918. Here are the books I am now so fortunate to have in my library: Here is the entry in Volume One for Frank: FRANK LEAMAN BAYLIES Lafayette Flying Corps, "Stork" Escadrille Second Lieutenant, A.S., U.S.A. Killed in action, June 17, 1918 Son of Charles S. and Lydia Terry (Paige) Baylies; was born in New Bedford, Mass., Sept. 23, 1895. He was educated in the New Bedford Public Schools, and at the Moses Brown School, Providence, R.I. He was always interested in sports, and was an expert swimmer; he was also an expert automobile driver, one of his qualifications for the Ambulance Service. He volunteered in the Automobile Sanitary Section, U.S.A., in May, 1916, and was on duty at the French front, on the Somme, at Verdun, and in the Argonne; then for three months in the Monastir sector, Serbia; where, in an order of March 25, 1917, he was cited for "perfect devotion and fearlessness" in evacuating wounded under bombardment, and was given the French Croix de Guerre, with palm. He served with the American Ambulance Corps from May, 1916, to May 11, 1917, when he enlisted in the French Aviation Corps, and was trained as a flyer at Avord, Pau, and Lake Cazaux. In Nov., 1917, he was sent to the front as a member of the "Stork" Pursuit Squadron, and he became one of the most famous aces of that famous Escadrille. He served first at Dunkirk, later at Verdun, then in the Champagne sector. After his sixth official victory he was cited by the French as a "chasing pilot of the highest class, who always seeks combat and leads marvellously the patrol of which he is chief. On April 12 he destroyed alone his fifth enemy aeroplane, and the following day he gained his sixth victory." He was then Sergeant of the Foreign Legion, pilot in Spad Squadron; and he refused a Captaincy in the American Aviation Service to, keep the lower rank in his Escadrille. Following Feb., 1918, eleven German planes were officially credited to Lieut. Baylies, and he was in reality a victor more than twenty times. On May 13, 1918, he was transferred to the U.S. Aviation Signal Service Reserve Corps, and commissioned 2d Lieut. in an order dated May. 20, 1918. On June 17, 1918, he fell in combat behind the German lines, near Montdidier, and was instantly killed. He was at first reported missing; a note, however, was thrown over the lines by a German aviator stating that Frank L. Baylies, an American aviator, fell at Rellet and was buried in a private tomb. Besides the Croix de Guerre with palms, the Military Medal, and the ribbons of the French Legion and of the Lafayette Flying Corps, Lieut. Baylies was given a medal by the Aero Club of America, and the French Legion of Honor. On May 30,1919, a handsome bronze tablet, given by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Fort Phenix Chapter, New Bedford, was placed in the Josiah Swift School which Lieut. Baylies had attended. The inscription is as follows: In Memory of Frank Leaman Baylies, American Ace, Member of the Lafayette Flying Corps, killed in action June 17, 1918. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." A letter to Lieut. Baylies' mother from Major Gros, commanding officer, A.S. Signal Reserve Corps, said in part: "Your son met a glorious death. He was one of the shining lights of our Aviation. He was a soldier without fear and without reproach. You must apply to him the eloquent words spoken in the British Parliament with respect to aviators; you must not turn your mind on your sorrow, you must turn it towards all the glory which your son has won and the name which he will leave behind him when the story of this great war is written. He has taken his_place by the side of all those heroes who gladly gave up that which is most precious of all, their lives, for the greatest ideal, the happiness of the human race." In a dispatch to the Chicago Daily News dated July 8,1918, Paul Ayres Rockwell paid tribute to the recently fallen Ace, as follows: "One of the finest and highest-spirited figures that was ever revealed has disappeared from among us. To know Baylies was to like and admire him. His outstanding qualities were those which real heroes possess. Quiet, modest, and reticent on the ground, dashing, fearless, and indomitable in the air, Baylies goes down into history as one of the exceptional characters in war aviation." Baylies' record after reaching the front as a chasing pilot was unique. No other flyer in any army gained at the beginning of his career so many official successes over opposing pilots in so short a space of time. Baylies destroyed his first German airplane Feb. 19, 1918. On March 7 and 16 he gained his second and third victories; and on April 11 and 12 he had two more official triumphs. May was a wonderful month for the superb air fighter, confirmed victories being won May 2, 9,10, 28, 29, and 31, making eleven enemy airplanes officially destroyed. Mention after mention was awarded to Baylies in the Army orders, and many palms were added to his war-cross, ribbon, and military medal. Lately he was proposed for the Cross of the Legion of Honor, and also for the rank of Under-Lieutenant. Citations Order 57, March 27,1917: "Frank Baylies, an American volunteer in the Automobile Sanitary Section No. 3, twice volunteered duty at the front and then for the Army of the Orient. He placed at the service of wounded men perfect devotion and fearlessness, being daily tested under bombardment. From Dec. 19, 1916, to March 27, 1917, during the evacuation of wounded from the Monastir sector, he exhibited contempt for the bombardment of cities, roads, and cantonments." From an order dated March 9, 1918: "Frank Baylies, an American citizen, enlisted in the French Army before the United States declared war. He passed at his own request into chasing aviation, in which he displayed the very finest enthusiasm. On Feb. 18 he shot down single-handed an enemy aeroplane which crashed within our lines." Order dated May 6, 1918: "An excellent chasing pilot; refused to enter American Aviation as an officer, not wishing to leave his French squadron; delivers daily combats; has destroyed alone his second enemy aeroplane." Order dated May 29, 1918: "Frank Baylies is a brilliant, high-class chasing pilot. On May 9 and 10 he destroyed his seventh and eighth German aeroplanes." Lieut. Baylies won four additional citations equally remarkable. And here is a short film clip of Frank, (he looks like someone you would have liked to call a friend, I think): Frank Leaman Baylies In the title of this topic I said that these books contained a bittersweet surprise, and IMHO that's exactly what it was. It is wondeful that I should have a set with such provenance in my possession, but very sad to think that they ever left the Baylies family. However, I'll do my best to care for them. .

. Yes Duke, an instant treasure indeed. Hasse Wind, very glad to learn you were able to claim a copy of Morrow's work. My pleasure to have helped in what little way I did. Olham, sometimes I think we must be twin brothers of different mothers. I had the precise same feelings when I first saw Lydia's signature, and I too got a bit weepy as I considered it all. .

. The first time I saw the MS Flight demo I thought to myself, "I want to fly a Camel there!" .

. von Baur, my old flight jackt still fits as well, and also barely, (my youngest daughter had me put it on to snap this photo about five years ago): I will take it out and wear it on Veterans Day and other occasional events, but other than that it sees the light of day no more.

. I remember years ago on a military hop from England down to the very southwest corner of Germany, I was looking at the French landscape below and commented at one point how a certain area looked like an old WWI battlefield. The naivgator said, "It is, that's the Somme." I couldn't believe how, from the air, it still looked so much like it did all those decades ago. Some scars run very deep. .

. Thanks HPW. As with Lothar's latest mod offering, I will be giving yours a go as well once my two longest surviving pilots are done, (however that may come about for them). .

. I have the downloads and will be giving them a go once my two longest surviving pilots are either killed, captured, or survive the war. Thanks Lothar. .

. It a sad fact of life that the simplest minds will attack the most obvious and easiest targets of opportunity. It's a further sad fact of life that such targets are seldom deserving of those simple-minded attacks .

. In the US we remember all our veterans on November 11, which until 1954 was called Armistice Day here as well. Since then it has been called Veterans Day. We also honor all those fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, which is the last Monday in May. This is the day when we have our community services at local cemeteries, place flags on the graves of those who served their country, and read Lincoln's 'Gettysburg Address', (and it still brings a tear to my eye after all the years I've attended such services and heard it read). Jonathan, my country went through a similar period in the late 1960's into the 1970's, when our soldiers returning from service were treated like robots of the state, or idiots, or criminals, by large numbers of our younger population. I am glad the national mindset has changed somewhat towards those who are willing to give themselves in service to their country. I remember how I was treated by many of my civilian peers when I was in the US Air Force back then, and I would not want anyone to have to go through that again. .

. I just caught the end of a listing that closed on eBay today on a supposed WWI aviation artifact. I feel bad for whoever it is that paid $260.00 plus shipping for this item. Here is the description of said item as printed in the listing: "A genuine section of the WW1 German Zeppelin, L49 together with an original piece of fabric. Sold in aid of the services fund for war widows & children. Duralium section which is very light in weight.This has been on display in a local Aviation Museum until its resent clousure... 100% item and scarce.....The Fabric particularly hard to find. " And here are the photos of the item that were posted in the listing: Despite all the impressive provenance printed on the back of the fabric swatch, it just doesn't add up. So, can anyone here tell me why this is most certainly not an artifact from Zeppelin L49, (at least not the fabric portion), which came down almost intact near Bourbonne-les-Bains, on October 2, 1917? .

. Bullethead, I must correct myself on the top color of the L49. It was in fact one of the gray zeps, not one of the tan ones. The March 1918 issue of the 'International Military Digest' describes it thus: "The outer cover of the hull is made of linen fabric, which on the lower half is dyed a brilliant black by means of a coal tar dope, while the upper half is painted a cloud gray. This camouflage answers the purpose of misleading aviators who may be at a higher level than the airship, while any detection from the ground is very difficult at night since the black underside does not reflect the rays of the searchlights." Still not aluminized though. OK, now I HAVE to get to work. Later. .

. A man after my own heart you are Sir. You do the research, and I believe you will find that LZ 126, better known as the ZR-3 'Los Angeles', was the first zep to be finished with aluminum dope. Now, as to that blow-up doll... .

. It will be Veteran's Day here in the US tomorrow: November 11. Until recently it had been called Armistice Day. A heartfelt salute from this one veteran to all the other veterans, past and present. I am honored to be counted among you. .

. Yuppers, I am sure BH. The aluminized silver finish as seen on that eBay sample did not show up until after the war. L49 was a tannish color on the top, (natural fabric doped finish), and the underside was painted black. There was also a grayish blue finish seen on some of the Great War zeps as well, but no aluminized silver. .

. You win the satisfaction of knowing you are correct. And no JH, I did not buy it. This fool is not parted that easily with his money. .

. October 20 would be correct Shiloh. I see I made a typo in my post when I forgot to hit the '0' key whilst I was typing. My bad. Jonathan, the Services' Fund could have typed all the info on the back of the fabric and stamped it at the time it was offered for the War Widows' and Children's fundraiser, so that's not the give-away either. Jarhead, you have it Sir! That finsh on the fabric sample is from a post-WWI airship. .

. Aaaaah yes, February 5th, 2009. T'was a snowy Thursday afternoon when the little disc arrived in the post and changed my WWI combat flight simming forever. I had been lurking about the old SOH forums since the first of that year, doing a bit of research before making the plunge with a new flying computer and the purchase of OFF. Good times...good times. And speaking of the old SOH forums: Who among you remembers this little tribute we put together for the staff there when we left? .

. I agree Olham, what a way for a fighter pilot to go. My thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Flight Lieutenant Sean Cunningham. .