Photo Farman

[musec04]

Hello,


Currently on ebay is a nice photo of a Farman F.50 with interesting markings at :


https://www.ebay.it/itm/photo-ww1-pi...sAAOSwxfhed52w


Regards,


Clint

[musec04]

Hello,


Currently on ebay there is a nice photo of an Italian Farman MF.11 MF.459 at:


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WWI-VINTA...kAAOSwzd9cH65-


Regards,


Clint

[Stig Jarlevik]

Hi Clint

In Italy all these MF.11 were known as MF.14, which must be their way of confusing it with the French Military Type XIV. However that mistake was made already back in the "good-old-days"....

It was mostly licence built and to give the seller some credit when he says B-5, the FIAT owned Societa Italiana Aviazione (SIA) called them SIA 5b, so we can easily see where the seller went astray....

Cheers
Stig

[musec04]

Hi Stig,


Thanks for the comprehensive info on the varying designations. When it comes to fitting these into a excel sheet I'll probably go with MF.14 as that's the military designation.


Regards,


Clint

[musec04]

Hello,


Currently on ebay on the first page of a broader photo album largely showing lighter than air craft, Farman MF.14 MF.273 of 10 Squadriglia at:


https://www.ebay.it/itm/DIRIGIBILI-A...sAAOSwYcdekKId


Regards,


Clint

[musec04]

Hello,




Currently on erbay a photo of some french Farman's at :


https://www.ebay.fr/itm/DR066-Photog...AAAOSwO2Bel8DN


Regards,


Clint

[musec04]

Hello,


Currently on ebay there is a photo of an Italian Farman MF.1260 at:


https://www.ebay.it/itm/Rara-foto-or...oAAOSw4oJemhbM


Would I be correct in assuming that this is a french Farman serial rather than an italian one?


Regards,


Clint

[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...