Guest Mookmaster Posted 28 July , 2006 Share Posted 28 July , 2006 Greetings, and thanks for bearing with me (an amateur in this field). I'm trying to write a caption for a photograph (attached). The only caption info. I have reads "On the Aerodrome at Rang du Fliers, France, July 12, 1918." I would be most grateful for any additional info.: What specifically were the two men looking for, what nation(s) were they representing, what is the wheel-tripod apparatus, is there any significance to the date or the location? etc. I can't get anything out of Google. I have learned that the aircraft in the background, the one with the visible tail, is a DH 9, but that's all. Thanks very much for your expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 28 July , 2006 Share Posted 28 July , 2006 Hello welcome to the forum Are you meaning funny captions or serious ones ? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mookmaster Posted 28 July , 2006 Share Posted 28 July , 2006 <<Are you meaning funny captions or serious ones ?>> Thanks Ian. Unfortunately, I need serious ones (well, serious information, if not serious attitude). Best, Mookmaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 28 July , 2006 Share Posted 28 July , 2006 Mookmaster The photograph is of two RAF officers, both in RFC uniforms and one with the ribbon of the MC, using a telescope mounted on a bicycle wheel for aircraft observation at No 2 Aircraft Depot, Rang du Flers. The DH 9 in the background is D1720, which served with No 98 Sqn from 18 July - it force landed on 30 July when flown by 2Lt W V Thomas and Maj E T Newton-Clare DSO. On the left is SE 5a B8424, which served with No 24 Sqn from 13 July - it crashed on 5 October when being flown by Lt J T Menzies after a connecting rod broke in flight. The photo appears in Peter Cooksley's The RFC/RNAS Handbook with a Russian caption. I hope that this helps. Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neutrino Posted 29 July , 2006 Share Posted 29 July , 2006 That telescope bicycle wheel contraption must be the most HeathRobinson yet. If the aircraft is any lower to the horizon they would need a stool to stand on Any higher to the horizon and backache would ensue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neutrino Posted 29 July , 2006 Share Posted 29 July , 2006 And what's the other thing in the nearish background. Looks like a mobile boiler or summat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mookmaster Posted 31 July , 2006 Share Posted 31 July , 2006 Dolphin, Thanks--again!--for all the good information on the aircraft. Much obliged. Mookmaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mookmaster Posted 31 July , 2006 Share Posted 31 July , 2006 Hi Neutrino, Forgive my ignorance, but: What is "HeathRobinson" and what makes the contraption full of that quality? Thanks much, Mookmaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Malcolm_Parker Posted 31 July , 2006 Share Posted 31 July , 2006 Hi Neutrino, Forgive my ignorance, but: What is "HeathRobinson" and what makes the contraption full of that quality? Thanks much, Mookmaster Hi Mookmaster - hope this helps! William Heath Robinson was a famous British cartoonist and illustrator. Operating in the early part of the 20th century, his cartoons generally included bizarre and improbable inventions often involving several bicycle components, string and teaspoons. His cartoons were so popular that very soon 'Heath-Robinson' became a generic term for any particularly silly or inelegant looking contraption. If you've seen any of the Wallace & Grommet films, you'll have a good idea of what constitutes a Heath-Robinson device. Best Regards Malc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mookmaster Posted 31 July , 2006 Share Posted 31 July , 2006 Ah hah! Thanks for the clarification! -Mookmaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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