[WWI] Beersheba aircraft

[Cactusbird39 at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/4/2010 21:49:11 US Mountain Standard Time,  brist
olf2b at hotmail.com writes:

Hi  all

'mings question about tropicalised Albatrosses reminded me of  something.

A coupl eof nights ago a workmate of mine SMS'ed me in  the middle of the 
blasted night to ask if there were really aircraft involved  in the fight at 
Beersheba. He'd been watching a movie, presumably "The  Lighthorsemen"

Even half asleep I could give him the answer to  that (and a few unasked 
for comments on his parentage for waking  me)

We know that an aircraft bombed the Australian Light Horse  after the 
charge, that a single bomb was dropped in the middle of a light  horse ambulance 
unit adorned with the usuall red on white crosses, and killed  three of the 
ambulance bearers. They and Brigadier Maygar VC are supposedly  the four 
aircraft casualties of the 32 Australian deaths in the Beersheba  assault.

The *eyewitness* accounts of the day call the  plane a "Taube", but then 
that was the same name given by most diggers in  that theatre for every enemy 
aircraft

Considering that this was  31 October 1917 it seems unlikely to me - it's 
just a couple of months before  1AFC were flying Bristol Fighters in the same 
area

Do we know  what aircraft were actually available to the Germans/Turks in 
that  theatre in that period?  Since I'm not able to check my books at the  
moment I might be able to guess by looking through the appropriate official  
history the types that OUR aircraft were encountering but I'm not all  that 
confident that the pilots get the types right every  time!

Shane

.---- - --- ....- ---.. .-. ..- .-.. . ...  .-.-.- 

My Strine is a Toad in Disguise 

Quidvis recte factum,  
quamvis humile, praeclarum 
.---- - --- ....- ---.. .-. ..- .-.. . ...  .-.-.- 







Hello Bacvk:
Sopme years ago, I was lucky enough to walk through the WWI cemetary at  
Beersheva.  I remember seeing a number of airmen's graves and can only  
surmise that there must have been aircraft there.  Does that help at  all?  Best 
regards,
Dave Moore
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