1/Lt. Ralph Ambrose O'Neill (147th Aero Squadron USAS)

Dario_Silva · 22 October 2004, 07:12 AM

Friends.
Friend, I decided to write to post an airplane: Nieuport 28, serial N6145?, number 10, of the First Lieutenant

Ralph Ambrose O'Neill, during the Great War.
Did I find very interesting the individual marks of this airplane, the dog in the fuselage (Maybe an Irish terrier??) and the sharkmouth, in the cowling of the motor. Is it with this airplane that he obtained their 5 air victories??
Do you have clearer digital images of these drawings?? would you Be able to tell me where to find them?? to carry out a profile of this airplane.
Of being possible I would like it could guide me to where to look for, or if you can to send me some picture it would be very grateful.
Did he fly the airplane SPAD S.XIII?? did he Have these same marks??
Any help or comment is welcome and very grateful of its time.
A friend exists in Mexico that comments on his birthplace, he says that this pilot born in Mexico (Durango). You something knows?
Greetings from Maracaibo, in Venezuela.
Dario Silva.
Forgive my bad English, thanking the effort when reading. I speak spanish.

R Pope · 23 October 2004, 05:35 AM

Dario, my info lists 2nd.Lt. Ralph A. O'Niel as residing in Nogales, Arizona, and that he got 5 victories. He was in 147 Sqn., AEF.

bombaimer · 23 October 2004, 03:40 PM

The Aerodrome list 1st Lt. O'Neill as having been born in San Francisco, California. He did live in Nogales in 1918 after the war. He did fly in Spad XIII machines. A Pueblo,Colorado newspaper printed the following on 5 July 1917:
Eight American machines engaged in a battle with fifteen enemy aircraft at a height of 4700 m. near Chateau Thierry. The German machines were higher but the Americans maneuvered their machines admirably in the fight. Suddenly one of the enemy aircraft dived toward earthand went spinning downward being chased by two of the Americans, R.A. O'Neill and J.C. Raible.

Alan · 25 October 2004, 04:48 AM

FWIW, James J. Hudson's Hostile Skies has his hometown as Nogales, Arizona and credits him with 6 victories....

Dario_Silva · 27 October 2004, 08:02 AM

Friends I found this:

“Nieuport 28 N6145(?) of the 147th Aero Squadron USAS, 1918, flown by 1/Lt. R A O'Neill.

Of Irish descent,

Ralph O'Neill was born in San Francisco on 7 December 1898 and then

lived in Nogales, Arizona. Joining the USAS in August 1917 he was assigned to the 147th

Pursuit Squadron. He scored 5 victories and was awarded the DSC with two Oak Leaf clusters

as well as the French Croix de Guerre and Bronze Star. Post war he became involved in civil

aviation, and wrote the book A Dream Of Eagles which was published in 1973. He died on

23 December 1980 at Redwood City, California.

In a letter to the author Jon Guttman, O'Neill claimed that he celebrated becoming an

ace by painting his Nieuport 'like a shark'. It is unlikely that he would have been allowed

to paint the entire machine in this way, but photographs show that the cowling was indeed

painted with what may be the first 'sharkmouth' to appear on an American combat machine.”

Does somebody have the exact drawing of the dog and the writ under him?
http://www.rollmodels.net/nreviews/a...Nieuport28.htm
http://wwi-cookup.com/dicta_ira/nieu...euport_28.html

Does somebody have the personal marks of their SPAD S.XIII?
Dario