So, I was reading about the Great War, which led me to precursors of the Great War, such as the Italo-Turkish War of '11-'12, most widely remembered for its notable feature of the first aeroplane bombing attack by Italian pilot Giulio Gavotti on the Turkish lines from his German-built Etrich Taube aircraft.
Another famous pilot of the Taube was German pilot Gunther Plüschow, who showed up at the German naval station in Tsingtao, China with another pilot and two crated Taubes in 1914. When his fellow pilot crashed his machine, it left Plüschow to fly alone against the British and Japanese forces besieging Tsingtao.
After various feats of aerial heroics of the dogfighting with pistols and bombing warships sort, Plüschow was sent on a one-way trip out of Tsingtao with the last secret dispatches from the beleaguered garrison.
He crashed his plane, bartered his way into a junk, boated downriver, caught a ship to San Francisco, traveled by train across the US, took a steamer from New York to England, was captured, escaped, caught a ferry from England to neutral Holland, became an explorer and adventurer after the war, and died flying exploratory missions over Tierra Del Fuego, and you just don't get tales of adventure like that anymore these days...
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11 comments:
No you don't! Good on him!
Hi All, bet most of you didn't know that as well as engaging in dog fights with pistols that at the time of WWI the British had two competing air forces one being the Naval Air Arm. The US kindly supplied them wITH Remington 14 1/2 pump action 44-40s which were later sold off in Australia and Canada. I cannot imagine the Pump action as being the ideal air weapon but it does make an interesting talking point if you have a 14 1/2 with the appropriate British proof marks.
Regards
mike from Australia
It still feels odd, though I knew it was coming. No more WWI soldiers left. They were almost thick on the ground when I was born. Now... turn around and poof. Best not turn around, though, I'll lose focus on the local WWII vets.
Mike from Australia,
"Hi All, bet most of you didn't know that as well as engaging in dog fights with pistols that at the time of WWI the British had two competing air forces one being the Naval Air Arm. The US kindly supplied them wITH Remington 14 1/2 pump action 44-40s..."
I did not know that! Thank you for sending me down that rabbit hole. :)
Have you read The Emperor's Coloured Coat?
It's deeply weird that a century ago, not long at all -- I have a pistol made seven years later, and until recently had a grandfather of about that vintage -- that somebody made high-tech cutting edge military history in what was essentially a flying moped some loon had made out of popsicle sticks and a lawn tractor engine in his garage.
Brandoch Daha,
I have some popsicles in my freezer.
Just sayin'
BGM
NJT,
"Have you read The Emperor's Coloured Coat?"
No, but I will be!
The whole series is pretty decent. Even more so for someone with a slight interest in military history. If you know anyone of that description.
:)
Tam et al,
Any suggestions for a good book on the Italo-Ethiopian War?
I really enjoyed Paice's book on WWI in Africa and would like to look more at the "between the wars" period there.
WV: suptse - the polite way to greet your local tsetse flys
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