First RFI - AZmodel 1:72 Morane Saulnier Type G ( WW1 - Imperial Russian Air Service)

[clive_t]

Well here it is, the RFI thread for my Morane Saulnier Type G as flown by Captain Pjotr Nesterov of the Imperial Russian Air Service, the WIP thread of which can be found here.

 

Before I show some pics of the finished article, I thought it might be appropriate to give a bit of background info on the man:

 

(Image in the public domain)

 

Pjotr Nikolayevic Nesterov was born on 27th February 1887 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, the son of Nesterov Nikolai Fedeorovich and Margaret Fiodorovona. In 1897, Nesterov entered into Nizhny Novgorod cadet military school (where his father had previously worked) to train and work as a soldier. He completed his training in 1904. Initially specialising in artillery, his first exposure to aviation came in 1909 when he was posted to a balloon observation regiment as an observer. In 1911 he built and flew his own glider, before being accepted into the St Petersburg Aviation School at Gatchina. He graduated from there in October 1912, and very soon after he passed the examination to become a military pilot.

 

In May 1913, Nesterov was appointed commander of the XI Corps Air Squadron based at Syretzk Aerodrome near Kiev. On the evening of September 9th 1913, he set off in his 70hp Gnome Rotary-engined Nieuport IV monoplane and climbed to 1,000 metres. Shutting off the engine, he put the aircraft into a near vertical dive. At about 600 metres he pulled back as hard as he could on the control yoke, and simultaneously restarted the engine, powering the aircraft through a loop. Eventually the aircraft returned to a normal horizontal path; Nesterov had performed the first complete aerial loop in aviation history. Upon landing, he was promptly arrested, charged with "useless audacity" and "taking undue risk with a machine, the property of his government". When 12 days later, French aviator Celestin Adolphe Pegoud emulated the feat to wild acclaim in Paris, the charges against Nesterov were dropped and he was promoted to Staff Captain. A short while after, he was awarded a medal by the Central Aero Club of Russia.

 

With the outbreak of war less than a year later, the various armed forces lost no time in making use of aircraft, albeit solely for scouting initially. Nesterov, by now flying another French design (a Morane-Saulnier Type G), was himself actively engaged in monitoring and reporting on Austrian troop movements. On the 27th August 1914, returning from a scouting mission he happened to pass over some of his own soldiers at low level. These ground troops, very few of whom had ever seen a flying machine, were unable to tell whether the aircraft above them was friend or foe; some of them panicked and opened fire. Fortunately the resulting damage to the aircraft was slight - a hole in the fuel tank - and Nesterov himself was not harmed. He was, however, rather annoyed! He landed his aircraft adjacent to the regimental HQ, and having immediately sought out the embarrassed senior officers, proceded to lecture them, using some very choice language, regarding the differences between Russian and Austrian/German aircraft markings!

 

Having already arranged to have a serrated steel stake fitted to the tail skid of his aircraft with which to rip open enemy observation balloons, Nesterov announced his intention to bring down an enemy aircraft. He had formulated a plan to bring down his adversary by ramming it, and fatally damaging it with his undercarriage. His chance came on the 8th September when an Albatros B.II of the Austrian 11th Flieger Kompanie (piloted by Feldwebel Franz Malina, and carrying Oberleutnant Friedrich Baron von Rosenthal as the observer) was seen over the Russian lines near Żółkiew (now Zholkva, Ukraine), at too great a height to be troubled by Russian artillery. Nesterov took off and quickly climbed to meet the intruder. His colleagues on the ground witnessed the slower Austrian aircraft weaving to avoid the attentions of Nesterov in his smaller but faster mount. After several failed attempts, Nesterov finally succeeded in damaging the Austrian's upper wing, whereupon it plummeted earthwards in flames. Nesterov's aircraft, initially entangled in the Albatros' wreckage as it fell, became free at some point during the descent. However, all 3 men perished; the first casualties arising from an aircraft-to-aircraft confrontation. There is some conjecture as to the exact circumstances of Nesterov's death - some claim to have witnessed his aircraft turning upside down about 25 feet off the ground, causing him to fall from the cockpit (as was common practice at the time, he was not wearing a seat belt). Others, perhaps more fancifully, claim he managed to survive just long enough to crash-land his aircraft - minus its undercarriage - at his airfield. In any event, he died from a broken spine the following day.

 

His body was laid to rest in a tomb in the historic cemetery of Askold, in Kiev, on the banks of the River Dnieper. It became a place of pilgrimage for fellow Russian aviators on each anniversary of his fatal encounter, even beyond the chaos of the October Revolution. His method of ramming an enemy aircraft, known as 'Taran', was never recommended as a tactic by the military hierarchy. Nevertheless, several other Russian pilots (Kozakov among them) were known to have resorted to it and survived. It was even employed during the Second World War by a number of Soviet pilots, with a modicum of success and without loss of life.

 

Nesterov's memory lives on to this day; his name has been given to many streets of major Russian cities, several monuments, and even an asteroid. In 1962, the Central Aero Club sponsored the Nesterov Cup, to be awarded to winners of the World Aerobatic Championships, a name that the cup still retains.

 

Here then, are some (ok, a lot!) photos of my own humble tribute to the man, a 1:72 scale model of his Morane Saulnier 'G', s/n 281:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy them, I had a whole lot of fun making this little kit and learning more about the life - and death - of the man who flew the real thing.

 

[Gerrardandrews]

WW1 Russian model of the month, really great little model, great history lesson 😊

[Meatbox8]

That's a super little build and an interesting back story.  I've being eyeing this kit for a while and think I might have to get one on the strength of this. 

[Knight_Flyer]

Looks great, very good job with the paint finish.

[clive_t]

Thanks all for the kind comments, very much appreciated.

[russ c]

Great job, love the dirty linen paintjob esp`

[Brandy]

She turned out really nice, if not clean!

 

Ian

[stevej60]

Lovely little build with a great back story!

[clive_t]

Thanks chaps. It was difficult to determine how 'dirty' to make it, lacking any meaningful photographic or written evidence, but it looks OK to me. Plenty of lessons learned for the next one too.

[Viking]

Lovely little model Clive, and great back story.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Old Man]

Great stuff, Sir!

 

Well put together, and an excellent finish. Very nice work on the oil staining; the pattern is very convincing.

 

Your background piece is quite interesting, and well done. Most informative. Charges against pilots for risking aeroplanes were not uncommon in the period. If his attack on the upper wing caused a fire, he must have ruptured a gravity tank mounted in the center section.

[clive_t]

Thanks John, much appreciated.

 

Thanks too OM for your most kind comments, and in particular for your words of encouragement during the WIP.

 

The fire being caused by a ruptured gravity tank would possibly be consistent with the discovery of the Russian aircraft's wreckage with linen from the enemy aircraft wrapped tightly round the engine and propeller. 

[Carius]

Beautiful work indeed. I like that a lot.

[clive_t]

Thanks Carius, most kind of you

[PlaStix]

Very impressive build Clive. Great weathering effects. Very well done. 

Kind regards,

Stix

[clive_t]

Thanks Stix

[John Masters]

Lovely little thing and well built.  The Eastern Front mud is quite good too.  That tail-dragging bread knife is quite a hoot.  I think I have a kit like this with the anchor used to snag other planes in mid-air...

[clive_t]

3 minutes ago, John D.C. Masters said:

Lovely little thing and well built.  The Eastern Front mud is quite good too.  That tail-dragging bread knife is quite a hoot.  I think I have a kit like this with the anchor used to snag other planes in mid-air...

Thanks John. The AZModel kit (of which this is the finished product) has both the 'bread knife' and the grappling iron as PE options. The grappling iron - usually with some gun-cotton wedged into it - was the weapon of choice of Alexandr Kozakov, Nesterov's comrade, although there is no evidence he was ever successful with it.

[pheonix]

Only just found this. I really like the oil staining and mud effects - they are so difficult to get right but you have really succeeded with that. A very interesting history too - thank you for the information which makes the model come to life.

 

P

[clive_t]

Many thanks Phoenix, for your kind comments.

[Jim Wasley]

Just stuck my nose in to see your work Clive,Wow superb build and paint work,and the rigging just great,something I never attempted, in another life time I started with little kits like this,they were mostly early Airfix kits(cheap)but not all that nasty,so I know the work you have put into this build.Cheers.

[HansReggelsen]

A great model! 

 

It's always a pleasure to get the background story of the model in question so it's a double thumps up from me! 

 

Cheers 

Hans J

[clive_t]

7 hours ago, Jim Wasley said:

Just stuck my nose in to see your work Clive,Wow superb build and paint work,and the rigging just great,something I never attempted, in another life time I started with little kits like this,they were mostly early Airfix kits(cheap)but not all that nasty,so I know the work you have put into this build.Cheers.

Thanks Jim, much appreciated. It's amazing what a bit of EZ Line and a dab of CA can achieve -it did rather test the old visual acuity though!

7 hours ago, HansReggelsen said:

A great model! 

 

It's always a pleasure to get the background story of the model in question so it's a double thumps up from me! 

 

Cheers 

Hans J

Thanks Hans, very glad you enjoyed it. I enjoyed researching the story as much as making the model.

[kapam]

Wow!

Knowing how small that must be, your build is a work of art!

Fantastic weathering and staining.  So realistic.

[clive_t]

Thanks, Mr Kapam, for your most kind comment.