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World War One

World War One. and Billy Bishop. World War One (1914-1918). The immediate cause of conflict was the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary at Sarajevo (June 28, 1914) by a Serbian nationalist. Hostilities began slowly, but by the end of the summer of 1914, the

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World War One

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  1. World War One and Billy Bishop

  2. World War One (1914-1918) • The immediate cause of conflict was the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary at Sarajevo (June 28, 1914) by a Serbian nationalist. Hostilities began slowly, but by the end of the summer of 1914, the Allies (England, France, Belgium, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Japan) were involved in a general conflict with the Central Powers(Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire).

  3. Young men were urged to join in the fabulous war that would be “over by Christmas”.

  4. World War One (1914-1918) • The war and the resulting peace treaties of Versailles, Saint-Germain, Trianon, Neuilly, and Sevres radically changed the face of Europe. Warfare itself had been revolutionized. Suffering caused by war brought on a general revulsion; this led many to put their trust in the newly-formed League of Nations. • It is estimated that approximately 10,000 Canadians served in World War One in the navy and 24,000 in the air force; 619,636 Canadian men and women served in the army. Of those in all services 60,661 did not return, approximately ten percent of all who had enlisted.

  5. Nieuport 23 • The Nieuport 23 was a graceful looking aircraft. It was relatively fast and manoeuverable. This was the plane flown by Billy Bishop. It held a crew of ONE and its only armament was an FI-MG.

  6. Nieuport 23

  7. Nieuport 23

  8. Nieuport 23

  9. Nieuport 17 • The plane is readily identifiable by the contrast between its upper and lower wing size, and the wooden V struts linking the narrow chord lower wings, and the much larger and slightly swept upper wings. • The wing structure was basically V-strut interplane bracing. Some machines had transparent celluloid 'skylights' in their centre sections. Of typical Nieuport construction, the fuselage was a wire-brace wooden box girder with both horizontal and vertical taper internally strengthened with plywood sheeting in front of the tail, and with a covering of fabric. Behind the cockpit was a faired head-rest. The empennage was framed in steel tubingand covered with fabric; the V-type undercarriage was sprung with rubber cord and the tail-skid was of the leaf-spring variety. This plane had neither wheel brakes nor a parking brake!

  10. Nieuport 17 • http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/aircraft/WWI/nieu-17/npt17_info/nprt17_info.htm • Great site for photos, diagrams, and information.

  11. Billy Bishop • After brief service in a Canadian cavalry regiment in 1915, the mud, drill and tedium drew Billy Bishop towards the flying services. • He then used his natural brashness, charm and family connections to get into the Royal Flying Corps. • He flew one combat tour in France as an observer in reconnaissance aircraft, was injured in a crash and repatriated back to England. • This was a fortunate turn of events for young William, since he was spared the summer 1916 carnage of the Somme Offensive. • He then pulled more strings to get trained as a pilot.

  12. Billy Bishop • A short air defence tour flying large, cumbersome BE12s convinced him that he really wanted to be a fighter pilot. • In the middle of March 1917, he got his wish and was posted to 60 Squadron at Filescamp Farm near Arras, flying the skittish and already-obsolescent Nieuport 17. • After a rather shaky start adjusting to this new aircraft, he had a number of early successes and started actually leading flights. • And then along came Bloody April 1917, one of the two worst months for the Empire flying services during the war. • Throughout this period, the average life span of an RFC pilot was 45 days, and 60 Squadron suffered even worse — a 110 percent casualty rate, with thirteen of the squadron's original eighteen pilots being shot down, along with seven replacements. • However, the squadron scored 35 confirmed victories for the month, of which twelve were Bishop's. For most of them, Bloody April was an exercise in survival. For Bishop, it was a target-rich environment.

  13. How brave are YOU? Would you climb into one of these things, even in peace time?

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