Windsock Mini Datafile 013 From AW Fk.3

Whether because of the additional strain placed on limited resources or some distressing illness or imperfection, it is sometimes the case that a child arrives in a family which is unwanted or unloved. Although this sad occurrence seldom seems to affect a first born, this is precisely what appears to have happened to the Sopwith Babies built under licence by Ansaldo in 1917-1918 and which, whether intentionally or by chance, remain largely unknown in Italy itself.

This book describes the Petroczy-Karman-Zurovec PKZ-2 helicopter, an amazing WWI design which was so far ahead of its time but remained in comparative obscurity until recent years. Although never deployed operationally, the PKZ-2 made three dozen test flights before it was officially rejected following a disastrous crash on June 10 1918.

The extraordinary SPAD A series of designs had their origin in the Brevet d'Invention No. 498.338. This patent was applied for on February 27 1915, in the name of the Societe anonyme pour l'Aviation et ses Derives (SPAD), the successor to the earlier Deperdussin company.

Since horsepower was and remains the most important factor determining a fighter's prowess, it was only a matter of time before the Inspektion Fliegertruppen (Idflieg inspectorate of aviation troops) would support the construction of a fighter powered by the hefty 160 hp Oberursel U.III twin-row rotary engine. The natural choice was the Fokker Flugzeugwerke of Schwerin, whose monoplane fighters had begun to show remarkable victory scores. Armed with two or even three machine guns, the 160 hp Fokker fighter was calculated to be a formidable addition to the German air service armory.