When is a moth a better moth? When its made of metal…. August 3, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Royal Air Force, aircraft.Tags: ADC Aircraft, aero clubs, aircraft, Aviation, Cirrus engine, Danish register, De Havilland, DeH Gipsy I, DeH Gipsy II, Denmark, DH60, DH60 Moth, DH60M, DH60T, DH82a Tiger Moth, differential ailerons, First World War, flying schools, French, Geoffrey De Havilland, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, GVFWE, Major Frank Halford, Metal Moth, RAF, Renault V-8 engine, Roy Palmer, Royal Air Force, WW1
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Geoffrey de Havilland’s line of biplane sports/training aircraft, which culminated in the DH82 Tiger Moth, began with the first flight of the DH.60 Moth prototype, at the hands of De Havilland himself, in February 1925. That aircraft, G-EBKT, was powered by a rather unusual engine, built by ADC Aircraft – the Cirrus. This consisted, essentially, of one half of a surplus WW1 Renault V-8 engine, and was, therefore, incredibly cheap. The Moth quickly established itself as the prefered equipment for flying schools and aero clubs everywhere. The Moth was so ubiquitous that soon any light aircraft was refered to as a ‘Moth’.
By 1927, De Havilland had a problem; the huge ‘pile’ of WW1 Renault engines had almost run out, and a new engine for the Moth line was needed. In conjunction with Major Frank Halford, a four cylinder, 100hp engine was designed and built for the DH60; the DeH Gipsy I.
The aircraft you can see is a DH60M Moth, built in 1929. Powered by a DeH Gipsy II of 120hp, it represents the state-of-the-art in light aeroplane design for this period. Several significant changes had been made to the original DH60, including the use of a metal tube primary structure for the fuselage, as opposed to wood (hence the ‘M’ for ‘Metal Moth’). If you look closely, you can still see that De Havilland has retained his ‘differential ailerons’ on the lower wing only, and the wings and tail are in the traditional ‘any colour so long as it is silver’ factory finish (the aero club, or individual customer, chose the fuselage colour). This fine example of the breed is seen here at GVFWE 2009, at Kemble, and is now owned by Mr Roy Palmer; it was on the Danish register, prior to being recovered to Britain.
As well as examples for the civilian market, the DH60 (as the DH60T) was sold to various military customers. The Royal Air Force was not totally convinced, however, and it wasn’t until the sweep of the wings were altered, to enable pilots to bail-out easier in an emergency, and an inverted version of the Gipsy engine fitted, that it finally adopted the Moth as the DH82a Tiger Moth. The rest, as they say, is history.
Leopoldoff Colibri – romantic, obscure, and very French (or is that, Russian?) March 16, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, British Isles, England, France, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Second World War, aircraft.Tags: Abingdon, aircraft, Aviation, Aviation Federation of Morocco, biplane, Bolshevik Revolution, British, British register, coelcanthe, Continental Motors Corporation A65-8S engine, D'Arcy Aviation, diamond, Dr Saugnes, drawings, E.T.S.Leopoldoff, emigres, England, F-PCZX, First World War, fishermen, France, French, French register, G-AYKS, General Juin, genus, German, gold, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, hummingbird, Imperial Court, Imperial Russia, interplane struts, L'Amicale Jean Baptiste Salis, L.3, L.7 Colibri, La Ferte-Alais, Latimeria chalumnae, Leopoldoff, lower wing, M.J. Rousseau, Malagasy, Morocco, navigation instruments, nets, Paris, post-war, Prince Moulay Hassan, prototype, Rabat, Resident General de la France au Maroc, Russian, Russian aristocracy, salesmen, Salmson, Salmson 9Adb radial engine, Second World War, Sensenich W72CK, sesquiplane, shopkeepers, Societe des Avions Leopoldoff, Societe des Constructions Aeronautiques du Maroc, taxi driver, upper wing, William Cooper, wing dihedral, wooden propeller, WW1 markings
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- Leopoldoff L.7 Colibri
Sometimes you find something that surprises you – immensely. It is rather like panning for gold, and coming up with a huge, rough diamond. At Abingdon, during an early phase of the GVFWE event, I came across this pretty aircraft; it was rather like some Malagasy fishermen hauling up their nets and finding a coelcanthe (Latimeria chalumnae).
The genesis of the Leopoldoff is shrouded in the mists of the Bolshevik Revolution. It is said that the plans of the original aircraft were drawn up prior to 1917 by E.T.S. Leopoldoff, who, when the Imperial Russian regime fell, hurriedly left the country. Like many other Russian emigres, he ended up in Paris (French had been the preferred language of the Imperial Court, and most of the Russian aristocracy). There, the Russian community scratched out a living as best they could; some were shopkeepers, some salesmen, and some, as in Leopoldoff’s case, became taxi drivers. He finally persuaded a French company to build a prototype to his drawings, which flew in September, 1933. Progress was slow, with the first production machine appearing in 1937. Minor variations gave rise to changes in designation, with the main version being the L.3. Leopoldoff had formed his own company by now (Societe des Avions Leopoldoff), which undertook to build this pretty aircraft as a two seater for club or touring purposes. Just over 30 aircraft were produced before the Second World War broke out.
The L.7 Colibri (named after a genus of hummingbird) is a post-war modification of an L.3. The original aircraft would have been fitted with a Salmson 9Adb radial engine of 45hp, leaving it rather underpowered. Instead, the L.7 now has the ubiquitous Continental Motors Corporation A65-8S engine, of 65hp, driving a wooden Sensenich W72CK propeller – a much better proposition. You can just make out that the L.7 is a sesquiplane (or unequal span biplane). Some Leopoldoff aircraft were ‘normal’ biplanes, and you can see that this has given rise to an odd appearance. The attachment points for the interplane struts on the upper wing have stayed the same, which means the struts now make an acute angle with the shorter, lower wing. Note the pronounced wing dihedral. There are echoes of WW1 aircraft in this design; indeed, one of the few examples still extant (in the collection of L’Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis, at La Ferte-Alais in France) is painted in German WW1 markings.
Post-war, six more aircraft were built in Morocco by Societe des Constructions Aeronautiques du Maroc, and one of these made a noteworthy flight on the 3rd July 1948, when it successfully completed a 600km course as part of an aviation rally organised by the Aviation Federation of Morocco. The Leopoldoff (powered by a Salmson radial) landed safely back at Rabat, where the crew of Dr Saugnes and M J Rousseau were greeted by the Resident General de la France au Maroc, General Juin and Prince Moulay Hassan. It was the smallest aircraft in the rally, and had no special navigation instruments!
This L.7 is the only one on the British register, and was owned by D’Arcy Aviation in the 1970s (it had been on the French register, at one stage, as F-PCZX). It is now in the capable hands of Mr William Cooper. Long may she grace British skies.
In praise of the corrugated iron hut……… February 8, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, British Isles, England, New England, Royal Air Force, Second World War, aircraft.Tags: 29th Company, 81st Airdrome Squadron, AAF Station 471, Army Air Corps, corrugated iron, Davisville, Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center, displaced persons, DSO, England, farm animals, First World War, former airfield, Gliders, GSA Gliding Club, Herbert Hawkes, Keevil, Keevil Airfield, Major Peter Norman Nissen, New England, Nissen hut, North Kingstown, PoW, Quonset hut, Quonset Point, RAF, RAF Lyneham, Rhode Island, Romney hut, Royal Air Force, Royal Engineers, Second World War, US Army Air Corps, Wiltshire
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- Corrugated iron huts, Keevil
It all started with an officer in the 29th Company, Royal Engineers. Major Peter Norman Nissen (1871-1930), needed a fast, easy-to-erect building which would offer storage and living space in the field. Since this was 1916, the need was great indeed, and production of the hut, made from curved sheets of corrugated iron was approved immediately. A single hut took 54 sheets of curved corrugated iron, 10 ft 6 ins high and 2 ft 2 ins wide, and a specially braced framework. By the end of the First World War, around 100, 000 units had been manufactured.
Athough small scale production continued between the wars, it was only the outbreak of World War Two that caused a massive expansion of the building programme. Although the huts could be taken apart, and moved to new locations as required, many formed the backbone of ‘permanent’ buildings on airfields, army barracks, and naval bases worldwide. There were various versions of the hut built, including the Romney Hut (British) and the Quonset Hut (US). The Quonset Hut was named after Quonset Point, where the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center was located (Davisville being a part of North Kingstown, Rhode Island).
These huts are located on Keevil Airfield, Wiltshire, and look to be modified Quonset huts, as these were considerably larger than the British versons, and I have seen a photograph of similar huts at Keevil in 1943. This is possible as Keevil was, at one time, Army Air Force Station 471, home to several US Army Air Corps units. These included the 81st Airdrome Squadron, providing communications and other support to AAC flying units. Herbert Hawkes, who served with the 81st described the conditions at Keevil in 1943 as, ‘mud’!
The huts now serve a variety of uses, the one on the left of the photograph being used by Bannerdown Gliding Club, an RAF GSA Gliding Club, affliated to nearby RAF Lyneham.
Postwar, huts of all three types continued in use in the UK, and in other countries. They housed farm animals and equipment, many when former airfields reverted to agricultural use; they were used to house PoWs, as well as ‘displaced persons’, and, above all, they continued their military careers on bases both large and small. As for Major Nissen, he received a small payment for his efforts, but the Distinguished Service Order from a grateful nation.
Setting a pit prop…… February 1, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, Derbyshire, Scotland, Wales.Tags: Blaeafon, coal, coalminer, Coleorton, colliery, dendrochronology, Derbyshire, England, First World War, France, geological problems, German Navy, Gwent, Lanarkshire, Leicestershire, Loscoe, Middle Ages, Nottingham University, oak, Ormonde Colliery, pit prop, prop setter, Pwll Mawr, Russia, Scottish coalfields, self-advancing roof supports, Sitka spruce, steel roof supports, Stirlingshire, Sweden, Wales
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Setting a pit prop, Pwll Mawr
The scene is deep underground in a Welsh coal mine, Pwll Mawr, Gwent. A miner is at the coalface, ’setting’ a wooden pit prop to hold up the roof, whilst he works to extract the coal. This is a temporary solution to hold back the millions of tons of rock above him. You can the the modern steel frames (with the spaces between them filled by wooden beams) further down the ‘roadway’.
Wood has been a vital part of mining since the Middle Ages. Indeed, a laboratory at Nottingham University used dendrochronology to establish that oak timbers found in a pit at Coleorton, Leicestershire dated from 1450.
During the First World War, the German Navy threatened the importation by sea from Sweden and Russia of the huge quantities of softwood pit props needed to keep the Scottish coalfields of Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire in production. Britain did not grow enough suitable wood of its own to keep the coal supply flowing. Indeed, in the 1960s UK forestry interests were still planting the rapid-growing Sitka spruce for use as pit-props, and large quantities of pit-props and pit-bars were being imported from France!
A wooden prop needs to be replaced after two or three years, as the rate of failure increases markedly after this time. The death-knell for the large scale use of the pip prop was the introduction of steel prop and roof arches from the 1920s, onwards. The modern ‘mechanised’ pit, with it’s self-advancing roof supports (as installed at Ormonde Colliery, Loscoe, Derbyshire, before it’s unfortunate closure due to geological problems) was the future.
Inside the Co-op at Beamish January 31, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in England, Museums.Tags: 1913, aluminosulphosilicate, Annfield Plain, ash, Beamish, bee sting, bicarbonate of soda, black lead, boiler, Brasso, bristle brushes, cast iron, Co-op, Co-operative Wholesale Society, Derbyshire, Durham, England, First World War, Golden Valley, Hudson's soap, kitchen grate, Museums, North of England Open Air Museum, Northumberland, optical whitener, Reckitt's Blue, wooden clothes pegs
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- The Co-op store, Beamish
Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum, was first opened to the public in 1972. The site is a reconstruction of a typical village in the Northumberland/Durham area. There are other periods represented, but the main street is firmly set in 1913. The former Co-operative Store from Annfield Plain has been careful re-assembled, stocked and even staffed with period re-enactors.
An English eccentric….. January 27, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Second World War, aircraft.Tags: Abingdon, aircraft, Andy Sephton, Aviation, Battle of Britain, Cinque Ports Aviation Ltd, Continental A65 engine, Currie Wot, Enstone, First World War, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, J R Currie, Ju87, Kent, Luftwaffe, Lympne, Lympne Aerodrome, Me109, Oxfordshire, Popular Flying Association, SE5a, Second World War, Shuttleworth Collection, Slingsby Aviation, StG 1, Stuka, WW1, WW2
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- What is it? A Wot, that’s what!
What is it? It’s a Currie Wot, that’s what!
A sheep in wolf’s clothing – DeH 89A Dragon Rapide January 10, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, aircraft.Tags: aircraft, Aviation, Avro, Brush Coachworks, DeH 89A Dragon Rapide, DeH Gypsy Six engine, Dominie, First World War, GVFWE, Isle of Lewis, Keevil, Loughborough, Outer Hebrides, RAF, Scottish Airways Ltd, Second World War, Stornoway, Wiltshire
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The DeH Dragon Rapide was one of the most successful small airliners of the 1930s, being a natural development of the earlier DeH Dragon, but fitted with the bigger 200hp Gipsy Six engines . It was capable of carrying 8 passengers at around 140 mph for over 500 miles, and many small airlines built up their business using the efficient airliner. When the Second World War broke out, De Havilland looked around for a suitable subcontractor to take over production, and eventually settled on Brush Coachworks in Loughborough (the same company had built Avro aircraft during the First World War). Over 300 aircraft were built, and saw service as the Dominie, mainly with the Royal Air Force. This example, despite the camouflage, is not a miltary aircraft! It was one of the Scottish Airways fleet, which operated a wartime skeleton service to remote destinations, such as Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Here it is, having flown in to GVWFE at Keevil. I like Dragon Rapides – they are elegant, and have immense character.
Traitor’s Gate, Tower of London January 9, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Castles, England, London.Tags: assassination, Carl Giles, cartoon, Castles, dungeons, employer, England, First World War, fortress, government, King Edward I, London, Lord Beaverbrook, monarch, prisoners, River Thames, Sir Roger Casement, spying, St Thomas's Tower, torture, Tower of London, Traitor's Gate, water gate
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Traitor's Gate, St. Thomas's Tower, the Tower of London
Scattered across the 18 acre site which forms the Tower of London, there are many notable buildings and features. One of the most famous, or should I say infamous, is the Traitor’s Gate. This is located at the base of St. Thomas’s Tower – one of the constituent parts of the world famous fortress – and is a watergate, giving direct access to the murky waters of the River Thames. St. Thomas’s Tower was built between 1275-1279 at the behest of King Edward I; he was the monarch responsible for commissioning the large stone arch and double gates which form Traitor’s Gate.
The gate was used to convey State prisoners of high importance directly to the Tower from the River Thames in the highest security, preventing any attempts at rescue – or, indeed, assassination, in order to prevent them revealling more details of their crimes under torture in the dungeons of the Tower.
Sir Roger Casement was imprisoned here for a time during the First World War, prior to his execution (he had been convicted of spying for Germany, on rather tenuous legal grounds).
Strangely, Traitor’s Gate has also featured in at least one notable cartoon; the famous British cartoonist, Carl Giles, depicted his employer, the ‘press baron’ Lord Beaverbrook, being sent through Traitor’s Gate for some slight against the Government of the day.
