I love creating the personal heraldry used by pilots during World War One. The four aces insignia was a quick, simple but satisfying addition to what could have been a bland profile. The playing card motif was used by several Italian aces.
The Hanriot HD.1 was a French World War I single seat fighter. Rejected for service with French squadrons in favor of the SPAD S.7, the type was supplied to the Italians with whom it proved highly successful. 831 of a total production of about 1200 were in fact produced by Italian companies under license by the Nieuport-Macchi company of Varese, Italy between 1917 and 1919, more than the parent firm.
The type replaced not only Nieuports but even SPADs in their service. The type was considered (by the Italians) to be a better all-round fighter than even the SPAD S.XIII and it became the standard Italian fighter – equipping 16 of the 18 operational Italian fighter squadrons by November 1918.
References
- From Wikipedia Hanriot HD.1, "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanriot_HD.1"
- Cheesman E.F. (ed.) "Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War
" Letchworth, Harletford Publications, 1960 pp. 82-83
- Holmes, Tony (2005). "Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide
". London: Harper Collins. p 31. ISBN 0 0071 9292 4.
2 comments:
The 1918 Pfalz D.IIIa...waht colours were used under and on top of the wings? Please don´t say the lozenge cammo.
Cheers
paul
No worries Paul, The top wing surfaces are both red, and the lower ones are white. Evidently the pilot did not think the usual pale blue under wing color used on many Pfalz D.IIIs looked as good as white. The pilots with Raben Staffel were not big fans of hiding
Post a Comment