Riding the wing

Willi Von Klugerman · 28 April 2009, 06:17 PM

For those of us that seen both of the Dawn Patrol films,we all remember the scene when one of our heroes rescues his crash landed comrad and the downed pilot "rides the wing" so to speak.Did such form of "transport" ever happened in WW1?If so,how often and are there any stories of such occurance?

Ginger. · 28 April 2009, 11:45 PM

Seem to recall 'Grid' Caldwell rode the wing of his burning SE as he came in for a crash landing?

Mad Mac · 29 April 2009, 01:24 AM

And I seem to remember reading in "Aces and Kings" there was at least one occasion when an Aussie pilot was forced down in the desert and he rode back to base on the wing (or undercarriage it might have been) of a BE2C. (The wind resistance must have nearly caused it to stall!) And on another occasion a forced-down Aussie pilot was picked up by his mate and they couldn't get off the ground so they taxied back many miles across the desert to get back to base.

rainbase · 29 April 2009, 06:35 AM

I seem to remember one of the VC winners rescuing a downed comrade this way. I think it was in the mid-east.

rexee · 29 April 2009, 06:41 AM

Jan
You must be thinking of Alan Arnett Mcleod
His story is told here;

Alan Arnett McLeod

Willi Von Klugerman · 31 May 2009, 05:57 PM

Heres a visual aid

BTW,was riding the wing a better way to help not getting burned?

totalspoon · 31 May 2009, 09:41 PM

The Biggles books were written by W.E. Johns, a WW1 RFC Sopwith Camel pilot. While Biggles is fictional, most of the stories are based on real incidents which W.E.Johns heard about during his time at the front.

In the biggles books, there's multiple occations when people are transported on the lower inner wing of camel. On one occation, Biggles lands to collect a spy who immediately climbs onto the nearest wing. Biggles waves him off and indicates for him to go around the aircraft and climb onto the other wing despite being under fire. I can't remember which wing it was though.

If W.E.Johns knew which wing was better for carrying a passenger on his Camel, it must have been a standard if rare occurance.

Spoon

Doc · 31 May 2009, 11:04 PM

FH McNamara (Australian) got his VC for carrying out a crashed pilot (Rutherford) on the wing of a BE-2. But the story is much more complicated and fascinating than that--- see

McNamara VC

Doc

Gregvan · 31 May 2009, 11:39 PM

Dear Willi,

The color photo you posted is of a life-size diorama at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre in Blenheim, NZ. It is depicting the famous narrow escape of "Grid" Caldwell. He is supposed to have steered his crippled SE5a down as low as he could go, stepping out on to the lower wing root, then he crashed. He miraculously survived and returned to his Squadron. Elliott White Springs wrote a somewhat exaggerated (??) account of this in War Birds, and Clayton Knight did a famous drawing of the incident to accompany it. There was also a drawing in an old C & C article about Cladwell. Springs wrote:

"The other day Grid Caldwell, the C.O. and Capt. Cairns (EDIT: actually Carlin) collided during a dogfight. Cairns (sic) got down under control but the whole squadron saw Grid go spinning down....About midnight Grid walked in. They thought they were seeing a ghost, as he was all bloody and his clothes were torn to pieces. He had set his tail stabilizer and gotten out of his seat and crawled out on to the wing and gotten the plane out of the spin. His aileron control was jammed and part of his wing tip was gone but he balanced it down and landed it this side of the trenches by reaching in and pulling the stick back before he hit. The plane turned over and threw him into a clump of bushes...And when the squadron went out for the dawn patrol, he led it. Then he went to the hospital."

If you read the story of Alan McLeod which is noted above, you'll see that he climbed on to the lower wing of his burning Armstrong Whitworth FK8 because the flooring of both cockpits (as well as his boots and the lower part of his coat) had been burned away. He held the burning control stick with one hand and put the plane into a sideslip to try to fan away the flames from himself and his wounded observer.

Graeme · 1 June 2009, 02:45 PM

Sorry to spoil a good yarn, but...

W E Johns flew DH4 bombers not Camels
Caldwell's mid-air collision occurred on 5 September 1918
W J Cairns was killed in action on 1 June 1918.
It was "Timbertoes" Carlin with whom Caldwell collided (Carlin was shot down and taken prisoner on 21 September).

If Biggles' escapade is to be believed, the "passenger" would have been told to get onto the left wing to counteract the effect of the torque which tended to push the right wing down. With another 200 pounds' weight on the right wing, a right-handed turn would have ended up in a spin; and we all know about spinning Camels.

Graeme