Volume 31 No. 2, Summer 2016 Issue Now Shipping

The Summer 2016 issue begins with “Remarks on the Study of the Markings and Paint Schemes of the German Jagdstaffeln of the First World War” by Bruno Schmäling. Herr Schmäling shares his perspective – gained from decades of experience and personal interviews with some of the surviving pilots and their families in the 1970s and 1980s – on determining how and why certain Jagdstaffeln (fighter units) and their pilots painted their aircraft the way they did. A thorough, logical review of available resources, information and methodologies is given in this well-illustrated article that should be a “must” for all World War I aircraft marking enthusiasts.

“The Use and Performance of French Bombers in the ‘Grand Guerre,’ by Steve Suddaby, is a statistical assessment, based on the author’s database of nearly 3,000 French bombing raids, of how French aircraft were used and performed as bombers. All the well-known types (Voisin, Caudron, Maurice Farman, Breguet) are included as well as the airships and British Sopwiths employed by the French Air Service for such purposes. Various factors such as flight altitude, duration, bomb load capacity and reliability are considered and addressed in this fresh look at France’s efforts to bring the war to the enemy during World War I.

“Paul Bäumer’s Parachute Escape – His Own Account” is just that – the German ace’s own story, translated by Adam Wait, of his escape from a burning airplane using one of Germany’s not-always-reliable parachutes. Editor Greg VanWyngarden does his usually thorough job of providing supplemental information and photographs that place the account in the wider context of German parachutes and their use during the Great War.

Wade Eakle and Brent Moné detail the history and use of Nieuport 28 originals and replicas provided for a mulitude of films in “Saving Garland Lincoln’s ‘Nieuport 28.’”  Lincoln was a pilot who served with the 14th Aero Squadron, USAS, during the closing months of the war. Following its end, he bought four Nieuport 28s that he used to create three flightworthy aircraft for use in American films such as Hell’s Angels (1930) and The Dawn Patrol (1930).  Eventually, the originals wore out and Lincoln had a replica built that enjoyed a long history of movie roles and changed hands several times. Finally, it ended up in Brent Moné’s hands who has been restoring it to flying condition.

We have a special treat for our modelers in “The Modeling Corner: Jagdstaffel 18 Diorama” by Rainer Absmeier and Uwe Sierts. The authors provide a detailed and sometimes humorous account of how a team of model builders went about creating a large diorama display featuring the famously red-nosed and red-winged aircraft of Jagdstaffel 18. But that’s not all: it also includes wooden and ‘canvas’ hangars, mechanics and their equipment and even a captured DH.4, DH.9 and SPAD XIII. The award-winning display can now be viewed by the public at Munich’s Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim.

Last but not least, we have the final installment of Stewart K. Taylor’s “Röth’s 19th: Lt T.C. Martin, 85 Squadron, RAF – Part II.” Taylor concludes the brief military career of T.C. Martin that ended abruptly on 12 August 1918 when he was shot down by German ace Friedrich Röth. But the story does not end there. Some of the men and families from both sides of the event got in contact with one another after the war, with some surprising results.

This issue introduces a new column, “In the Cockpit,” by Blaine Pardoe. Blaine intends to assess Great War aerial combat games on a routine basis for our readers and kicks off this effort with a look at “Sky Baron: War of Planes,” for use on mobile devices.

In our “Between the Lines” column, President Michael O’Neal provides more details on the League’s upcoming seminar, “The Centennial of Aviation Warfare – Part II,” to be held in Dayton OH on 28-30 September 2016.

“Between the Bookends” gives our readers in-depth  reviews of 14 recent publications centered on World War I aviation that were conducted by Peter Kilduff, Carl Bobrow, Jim Streckfuss and Lothair Vanoverbeke.

Finally, a mail-in order form for Over the Front journal protective binders will be inserted in this issue for those readers who do not wish to use the website’s order form.