Belgian pilot José Orta

[Ruy]

I would like to know more details about this pilot credited with one victory.
Any idea about his squadron or background or

Regards

Ruy

[Rick]

Jose Orta and L. de Burlet (no unit given) achieved a not confimred v/c (OOC) on 1Jul16.

Source: "Above Flanders Fields" by Walter Pieters. R.

[jempie]

Hello!

In my Annuaire 1921 of the Aé.C.B. he is not figuring as being a military aviator during WWI! So that list must be incomplete they gave!
There was a Tony Orta (wellknown) and I have a Orta F. which is mentioned to have got his pilots license after 1914. (WWI probably&#33

But the address of this José Orta seems to have been 1920/21 :
75, rue du Commerce, Bruxelles...!
So eventually into Brussels civil register archives he could be traced?

(He is listed as member of the Aé.C.B. into the Annuaire 1921! But not taken up into the licensed pilots list of the Aé.C.B.! Probably the info to the Aé.C.B. was at the time incomplete?)

VBR

Jempie.

[Vlaming]

Jose Orta was the brother of Tony Orta they were armyboys before outbreak of the great war and joined the military aviation during its first days

According to a note of 1915 they flew for the 3 Esc Belge they took part in the bobming raids on Houthulst Wood on the 1st of August 1915

Jose did get an unconfirmed ooc on the first july 1916 in the neigbourhood of Westende with his observer de Burlet.

Les then a year later on 24th of june 1917 J. Orta/de Burlet get a confirmed victory when they claimed an enemy aircraft which attackted them in the neighbourhood of Zevecote-Zande. They were part of the 4 Esc Belge now at that time.

J. Orta/de Burlet en Willy Coppens/Declerck were flying an recce mission in their new Sopwith Strutters. J. Orta/de Burlet shot down an german 2-seater. Willy Coppens/Declerck tried to do the same but their aircraft was riddled with bullets and returned to their homebase.

J. Orta died soon afterwards while testing a new Sopwith Strutter - He came in to fast while landing and crashed in a cornfield. No date was found

Hope this helps a bit

regards

Wout

[Rick]

Originally posted by Vlaming@Dec 13 2003, 06:47 AM
[b]
Les then a year later on 24th of june 1917 J. Orta/de Burlet get a confirmed victory when they claimed an enemy aircraft which attackted them in the neighbourhood of Zevecote-Zande. They were part of the 4 Esc Belge now at that time.

Wout

Wout, very interesting. This v/c does not appear in AFF. You learn something every day! Rick

[Vlaming]

Rick,

Got confirmation of 2 different sources

The book ATT is based on the Belgian fighter pilots so the 2-seater pilots are not described in the book.

But in the appendixes at the end of the book ALL confirmed claims en non confirmed claims are mentioned so it is mentionend in the AFF in Apendix IV you will find some confirmed claims of other 2-seater crews over there.


Wout

[Rick]

Wout, found it. DOH !! R.

[Ruy]

Thanks a lot for your information.
By the familly name "Orta" he must have some kind of portuguese ancestry and his first name José is quite Iberian too but I was told that in Belgium José is quite common

Best reagards

Ruy