Word in a short while ago from a very knowledgeable follower of the story concerning the Spads.

Norman,
The Spads in the photo. On 29th May 1917, 40 Sqdn were based at Bruay and stayed there until 4th June 1918.

In February 1917, 23 Sqdn were re-equipped with Spad VIIs and on 29th May 1917 moved to – guess where – Bruay, staying till 13th June 1917.

Interesting?. Unless you have other clues in the material, I would say that the Spads in the photo are of 23 Sqdn.

Bruay is slightly south- east of Béthune.
Cheers

Alex

Yes Alex, very interesting. Does anyone know of the precise location of the airfield at Bruay. I have it on the chart and on Google Earth but have not the time at the moment to ponder through it. Perhaps I’ll give that a go on my next layover.

I never cease to be amazed at the encyclopedic knowledge that the cognoscenti of the Great War aviation scene nurture and accumulate. The Aerodrome and particularly The Cross & Cockade forums are alive with enthusiastic browsers who take a delight in forensic analysis of the available evidence.

Gentlemen, I take my hat off to you!

I love this use of graphics and a form of haunting music to put the solar system and the rotation of the planets around the sun into a time perspective.

Solar Beat

Technorati Tags: Mysteries

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I guess they (the US) new they were there somewhere. Interesting that with satellite overflights and other means of reconnaissance they didn’t watch them being buried.  Still, I guess we assign too much capability to these technologies and Governmental abilities sometimes. I wonder what weight is exerted on an aircraft buried ten feet beneath the sand….  I wonder if they have flown it yet, will it creak and groan a bit at Mach 3 after the experience? We will probably never know – but someone might.  Good Luck someone.

The Iraqi jet, an advanced Russian MiG-25 Foxbat, was found buried in the sand after an informant tipped off U.S troops. The Foxbat is an advanced reconnaissance version never before seen in the West and is equipped with sophisticated electronic warfare devices. 


The MiG was dug out of a massive sand dune near the Al Taqadum airfield by U.S. Air Force recovery teams. The MiG was reportedly one of over two dozen Iraqi jets buried in the sand like hidden treasure, just waiting to be recovered at a later date. Contrary to what some in the major media have reported, not all the jets found were from the Gulf War era.

U.S. Air Force recovery teams had to use large earth-moving equipment to uncover the MiG, which is over 70 feet long and weighs nearly 25 tons.

The recovery of the MIG is considered to be an intelligence coup by the U.S. Air Force.. The Foxbat may also be equipped with advanced Russian- and French-made electronics that were sold to Iraq during the 1990s in violation of a UN ban on arms sales to Baghdad.


The buried aircraft at Al Taqadum were covered in camouflage netting, sealed and, in many cases, had their wings removed before being buried more than 10 feet beneath the Iraqi desert.


X Marks the Spot 

The discovery of the buried Iraqi jet fighters illustrates the problem faced by ! U.S. inspection teams searching Iraq for weapons of mass destruction. Iraq is larger in size than California, and the massive deserts south and west of Baghdad were used by Saddam Hussein to hide weapons during the first Gulf war.



U.S. intelligence sources have already uncovered several mass grave burial sites in the open deserts with an estimated 10,000 dead hidden there. In addition, Iraq previously hid SCUD missiles, chemical weapons and biological warheads by burying them under the desert sand

As a group that has pored over Gardner Island several times failed in its attempt to find conclusive evidence that the island is the final resting place of Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan, another effort to solve the 70-year-old mystery has received fresh funding, thanks in part to its exposure in AVweb.
Last week The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery wrapped up its latest effort, recovering a part of a zipper and a melted bottle that might have been used to boil water, but nothing that proves Earhart was ever there. Official accounts say she and Noonan crashed at sea, but theories persist that they crashed on an island and perhaps survived for a time, either as castaways or prisoners of the Japanese.
An Australian man hopes to test his theory that Earhart’s plane came down on New Britain Island off Papua New Guinea and the $75,000 in funding pledges David Billings has received since his podcast interview appeared in AVweb a month ago will go a long way toward that effort.
Billings believes an Australian army patrol found the wreck of Earhart’s Lockheed Electra and dutifully reported the discovery, including engine and airframe serial numbers. Although Billings has searched the area on foot, he believes the aircraft is so buried by jungle the only way to find it is with an airborne metal detector. That will cost about $150,000 and, with the money pledged so far and some promising leads on the way, he hopes to finally launch the search.

Where?

AVweb, a great service, give it a try. The podcast is very compelling.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download