Lafayette Esq markings

drbubba43 · 12 April 2005, 02:50 PM

I'm looking for any information on the a/c flown by Sgt H. Clyde Balsley. So far as I can tell he had no victories and I believe he was shot down on his first patrol over the front after being separated from the rest of the group.

I'm not sure he even had an ac assigned to him, but does anyone know if there is any record of the plane he was shot down in? Any markings, serial numbers, anything?

His signifigance to me is he's a local from San Antonio and I thought it would be interesting to do a model of the aircraft as compare to one of the other heavily modeled ace's planes.

Ray

davecww1 · 12 April 2005, 07:03 PM

Hi Ray,
Americal Gryphon makes the decals you are looking for in 1/72 & 1/48 scale, and the markings are as follows: Nieuport 11 with 2 color camouflage (not sure if it was light & dark green, or beige & brown, take your pick) with lower surfaces a light blue. The light blue wrapped around the upper side of the wings & tail about 25mm to form a blue outline when seen from above. Cowling was unpainted aluminum Balsey's serial number is unknown, but his personal markings are a white star on the wheel covers & side of the fuselage, a lone star for his Texas heritage.
check out the online listing for americal Gryphon, who are from your neck of the woods! Each set of decals comes with an interesting booklet showing the markings & stenciling for the Lafayette planes.
http://home.sprintmail.com/~tbittners/AG/
Hope this helps.
Dave

drbubba43 · 12 April 2005, 07:52 PM

Wow! That's a bunch more than I expected! Thanks a million for the info...

Ray

TomVrille · 12 April 2005, 11:07 PM

Sgt. Balsley was downed on his second patrol over the front, June 18, 1916. He had no victories. He had an excellent set-up on an Aviatik, but his gun jammed after firing a single shot. Soon thereafter, Balsley was seriously wounded, and crashed behind the French lines. After a lengthy recovery, he returned to the US in the autumn of 1917. At the Armistice, he was serving in the USAS with the rank of Captain, posted to Washington, D.C.

drbubba43 · 14 April 2005, 02:51 PM

Thanks TomVrille for the bio... May I ask what your source for the info was? I'd just like to read up on it myself.

Also davecww1. Could you verify the part number of those decals. I suspect it is number #66 which is the marking for the "early Nieuprots" 11's and 16's, but I want to be sure before I order them.

Thanks again for the info guys...

Ray

TomVrille · 15 April 2005, 12:23 PM

I use several references in regard to N124. These include:
1. Lafayette Escadrille by Herbert Molloy Mason Jr. - 1964
2. The Great Adventure by E.C. Parsons - 1937
3. The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille by Capitaine Georges Thenault - 1990 reprint
All of these contain material on Clyde Balsley who, unfortunately, is probably best known as the stricken comrade to whom Victor Chapman was bringing oranges when he was shot down.

Taz · 15 April 2005, 01:49 PM

Tom and Bubba- Osprey's new SPA124 Layfayette Escadrille by Jon Guttman is really excellent, too, with photos not in the other books and excellent color profiles and top views. Highly recommended. Also The Vivid Air by Philip Flammer is excellent, with outstanding reproduction of what I wish were more photographs.

Taz

WarrenD · 15 April 2005, 06:46 PM

Taz,
I was planning on getting the new Osprey title soon, however, I was wondering if you could recommend other books to round out my Lafayette Esc. reading and research? TIA!

Warren

Taz · 15 April 2005, 08:54 PM

Warren- The three books mentioned by TomVrille are excellent, plus Lafayette Escadrille Pilot Biographies by Dennis Gordon with excellent data and photographs of lesser known members of the Escadrille. Warriors with Wings by Jablonski is a less scholarly story of the unit and usually available for a reasonable cost. Abebooks has a copy for $1.49, and 3 for $1o or less. The Vivid Air was essentially Flammer's doctoral dissertation, so faultlessly referenced and well researched. His bibliography is worth the price of the book, since it also includes all the Cross and Cockade references which have data not found in any book I have seen.

Lots of further out books by Genet (letters), more Parsons, Chapman (letters), Bert Hall (horrible person, great fighter pilot), but the 5 mentioned (including the Osprey book by Gutman) are a good start. Jon Gutman is the real expert in this field, so it would be worthwhile asking him if you know him.

If money is no object (let me know if you know somebody like that, I want to meet his sister) there is Nordhoff and Hall's and Gordon's versions of The Layfayette Flying Corps, which have lots of Escadrille info.

Too long an answer.

Taz

StephenLawson · 5 May 2005, 08:21 PM

Here's abit of fun.