Nieuport 11/16 Bébé vs Fokker Eindecker

In his latest release, Jon Guttman has written another impressive story and one little told in the history of aviation. His Nieuport 11/16 Bébé vs Fokker Eindecker looks at two very important aircraft at the earliest stages of fighter combat. While many other works look at the Eindecker as the Scourge and an earlier period, Guttman looks at its latter history when it was to be eclipsed by more modern fighters.



This work is similar to other Osprey Duel titles as it reviews the development of these weapons. It looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the aircraft and the tactics used. While both aircraft were designed based on earlier models, we find the Eindecker was unable to improve significantly over the faults in the earlier models. These included underpowered engines and the use of wing-warping.



A good book for the modeler, wargamer or just aircraft enthusiast.  I purchased a hard copy of this book, but it is available as an ePub through both Amazon and Osprey Publishing. My purchase was done in part to help support a hobby shop that I found while on vacation in Arizona.

Mitsubishi 1MT

Ever start an Internet search and it took you to a location you would never plan on visiting. Just look at this picture, you would have to read more. Come on admit it.

Designed by Herbert Smith and other ex members of the Sopwith Company after The Great War, the Mitsubishi 1MT was a unique aircraft design. They had designed for Mitsubishi and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service what most navies were looking for, a single seat torpedo bomber.

While the British had the Sopwith Cuckoo and the Blackburn Dart as part of their carrier air groups the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and the Mitsubishi wanted one of there own. The designed 1MT was tested after the Cuckoo and contemporary with the Dart.

What the Japanese wanted was an aircraft that could take off and land on their new aircraft carrier, Hōshō. That would have been an improvement over the Cuckoo, which could not initially land on the Royal Navy carriers. What the Japanese found was an aircraft that was difficult to fly and could not take off of a carrier while carrying a torpedo. That could be a problem.

What the Japanese ended up doing is purchasing a Blackburn Dart for review.  They were latter to design (with the help of Herbert Smith) the Mitsubishi B1M, an effective torpedo bomber that was built in large numbers, 443 aircraft, and was combat tested over China. The B1M also added a second crewman that was useful for reconnaissance. This was a good aircraft for the period.

While most were scraped after a short term of service, I wonder if any were around for the final defense of the Home Islands in World War II. Can you image the gun camera film of a F6F pilot shooting down a 1MT kamikaze? Probably not.

Image is from Wikipedia.

Vichy Air Force at War

Today I finished this short work on the Vichy French Air Force and I have mixed emotions on it. The topic it should cover is the pilots, aircraft (possibly bases) and actions they fought. Instead we receive only a 30,000-foot version of the history of the Armée de l'air de Vichy. Decent material on the pilots but little on the actions.

Nothing is written on the organization or the nomenclature of the squadrons. A subject that I found confusing. What aircraft that are covered is done so in a scattered fashion. It was surprising to find the Curtis H75 missing as well as all of the bombers.

It appears that this book was written quickly with no primary sources. The bibliography
has books that are dated and not really sources for the book’s subject. There are also no notes in the text telling were the source material came from.

The one saying grace is for those in the wargaming community. There are dozens of possible aviation battles waiting to be used with the Fighting Wings Series or Bag the Hun. None of the write ups are long but they are useful for creating a campaign. Maybe of use in a Lardy special.

It has me wanting something better. I am thinking of look at TRADITIONAL ENEMIES: Britain's War With Vichy France 1940-42.

Overall I go with 2★ unless you are a gamer and than it is a 3★ book (maybe).

Paint Table VIIII

Here are my weekly additions.

I think the F2Bs have been on my painting table for almost a year. I left off the insignia as I was not sure what air force they may be joining.

The Poles are to file out a company of the 10th.

A Wonderful Find

This past Sunday I made a wonderful find. Dragonhead Distributors, a hobby shop near Allentown, was moving into a smaller location. This meant that stock that had not sold well was going into storage. As a WWI gamer (all forces and theaters) and amateur historian I saw a box of aviation magazines.

Old aviation magazines. These gems went back to the 1960s, a time that was better connected to The Great War than now. I pulled out five that were in good condition and talked to Steve and found he was happy not to put them into storage.

So with the Internet, why am I interested in magazines were the most recent issue was from 1990. The funny thing with this niche is how much information out there is still in type written page and maps drawn by hand.

Here are 4 reasons to seek out these precious resources.

• First off the photographs often are from private collections and not available to the public, at least recently. Remember if they were not converted into digital format, they are not on the Internet.
• Second, are the personal journals that make up a large part of these issues. In one magazine there is a piece about an observer that fought on the East Front. Another deals with the 17th Aero Squadron. Information that can be hard to come by considering these are first person accounts.
• While all of these magazines are in black and white, each has articles on aircraft colors and markings. One of my favorites is an American polka doted aircraft that looked like an Easter Egg.
• Lastly there is the stray facts. The renumbering of two-seater squadrons. Aces trading cards from gum packs. Unit mascots are shown next to the aircraft. And than there are the maps, oh the maps. Great for campaigns, research or just to peruse.

So keep and eye out for these gems. And let us know what you find.