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Re: Photo FBA Flying Boat
Hmmm
I had forgotten I had that one. Looking at what Paolo Varriale says, I can see why you choose 5588.
I confess I have mixed feelings about Varriale's writings.
Check page 36, middle column, below the tables. There he says "c/n 123, Navy serial 456 and 'common' serial 7890, quoted in documents at different time, etc, but are in fact one and the same FBA".
Fair enough, but, none of these numbers appear in any of the table columns as far as I can see! So either all these quoted numbers are rubbish, or the data in the tables are at least questionable.
He is also trying to explain the rather complicated Italian serial number system up to September 1916 by somehow starting in the middle, which in fact only raises a lot of questions.
He refuses to explain the serial number 18 which was part of a batch of 48 aircraft ordered in June 1916 (two batches 12 + 36). Why would any sane military individual number the first aircraft 18 and the other 47 as 401 - 447?
Makes no sense at all and at least I want to ask why that was so. Number 18 is a very, very early number and must belong to a very early aircraft used by the Marina, so was it reused for some reason?
There are moments when I wish editors were more on their feet and asked more questions than they actually do.
Cheers
Stig
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