Photo Farman

[Stig Jarlevik]

I would not bet my head on that Clint.....

There were a few companies who shared in the MF production, and they probably painted the serial number a bit differently.
Bottom line, of course, is I don't know.

However I am very, very pleased the Italians painted the serials on the nose and not the rear, as the French did!

Nice catch
Cheers
Stig

[musec04]

Hi Stig,


Thanks for the response and the help (is this betting of one's head a nordic thing (I'm thinking of Loki from the old religion)?


I was not, and am not at all sure of my ground with the suggestion of a french serial. The only reason I asked was that I'm slowly transposing serials from Roberto Gentilli e Paolo Varriale, I Reparti dell'aviazione italiana nella Grande Guerra into a excel spread sheet and while, I've admittedly still a long way to go I have Caproni Ca.3 as far as 1257 and Nieuport from 1263, so there is a small gap into which 1260 would fit but at the same time even if all the serials between 1257 and 1263 turn out to be Farmans that seems a very small production batch. Still that may well turn out to be the case and hopefully more serials for Farman's between those numbers (and even 1260 itself) appear during my reading.


Regards,


Clint

[Stig Jarlevik]

Hmmm

Never thought about that. I suppose it rather comes from the most vulnerable part of your body, your throat. Cut that and it is finito....
Most nations I believe (at least in Europe) went for that when dealing with capital punishment. But I agree there were plenty of other "popular" methods....

With regard to to Italian serial numbers, I am frightfully short of data, but the little I have at least seems to indicate that the Italians kept the already given numbers from their Allies. I find photos of various Nieuport in Italian service which lack Italian serials but have French SFA numbers on their fins. I thus have no information about re-serialled aircraft. It could of course boil down to far too little data...

So, forced to stick my neck out again, I would say the Farman seen here do have an Italian serial number (not an SFA number).

Cheers
Stig

PS. Having rambled the above, I immediately spotted a photo of a Nieuport 27 N7994 carrying an Italian serial Ni.19927, so I guess it is back to the drawing board again...

[musec04]

Hi Stig,


Just curious really about the bet my head saying, we of course have the same functional equivalent with the use of sticking my neck out, but then we too have a related cultural heritage.


Anyway about 1260, it was a number used for a french MF.11 I would think, I see from http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escad...ete_Farman.htm 1259 and 1263 were in any event. Still, as you say french machines had the number on the tail, so not I would suppose a french machine operating in Italy, which at one stage crossed my mind as the number as you rightly say is on the body of the aircraft. I tend to agree with you not a SFA number.Hopefully more will emerge...


Regards,


Clint

[musec04]

Hello,


Currently on ebay is a photo of another Italian Farman MF.433 at:


https://www.ebay.it/itm/regia-aerona...EAAOSwme9epdzx


According to Gentilli and Varriale I Reparti P.55 this aircraft served at one time with 2 Squadriglia.



Regards,


Clint

[Stig Jarlevik]

Amazing such an old aircraft survived in 1923....

Cheers
Stig

[musec04]

Hi Stig,


True and still with a military serial, though I kind of wonder if it wasn't and exhibit or museum piece and not just metaphorically either...


Regards,


Clint