DH9A underwing serials

[Petri]

Hi, 

 

have been slowly working on the CMR 1/72 scale DH 9A, and I’m finally getting close to decaling. The plane I’m going to model is the E-828 “A” of the 27 Squadron in India in 1927, and I’m wondering if the 27 Squadron has been known to use any underwing serials or letters during this period? 

 

 

Have looked through the Datafiles, the Profile on DH9A, and some other sources, but can’t find any clear pictures showing them. In some pics I could faintly imagine seeing  the individual plane letter, but really hard to tell for sure. I’d be really grateful for any info on this before committing myself one way or the other. Below the current status on the model

 

 

 

 

Petri

[Admiral Puff]

Can't help you with the serials, but that's a lovely build!

[Petri]

Thanks Admiral, glad you like the build so far  

[Paul Thompson]

FWIW the WNW website has photos of 27 Squadron DH9as in the archive section under the heading of  their post war kit. Some of these photos show an individual aircraft letter under the port lower wing.

 

I'll echo the lovely build sentiment.

 

Paul.

[Graham Boak]

Bruce Robertson's Bombing Colours 1914-1937 quotes a date of March 17th 1927 for the introduction of underwing serials on all aircraft.

[Petri]

Thanks Paul and Graham

 

The pics on WNW site were of great help. Somehow I had completely forgot to check there.

Some of the pics I had seen on the Datafiles, but these were of better quality, and clearly show the individual aircraft letter under the port wing. Thanks!

 

Graham, you are right. Reading Robertson got me thinking about this in the first place. However, there are pics of the DH9A:s supposedly as late '28 belonging to the 60 Sqd in India without any underwing letters. It could of course depend a lot on the date that the plane was delivered to the squadron. E-828 left the Drigh Rd. depot on May '27 according to DH.4/DH9 file of Sturtivant and Page, so the full serials could have been already there. I wonder how closely these orders were implemented in India? All pics of DH9A:s I've seen with full underwing serials seem to have been UK ones.

 

Again, thanks for you help. Much appreciated.

 

Petri

[Graham Boak]

Robertson himself includes a picture (p78) of a DH9A at Karachi lacking these serials in 1929.  I suspect that short of detailed research into the National Archives there is no way to determine just how the overseas Commands implemented AM decrees, and possibly not even then.  Perhaps someone should interest Paul Lucas in the subject?  Until then we can only rely upon the evidence of photographs, and hope that they are correctly dated.

[Patrik]

In my opinion you can rather safely assume there were no underwing serial numbers as such.

In addition to the pictures mentioned above I found the one below for you. It comes from Air-Britain RAF Aircraft J1 - J9999 and WWI survivors, page 137. Quite tempting I would say - especially as the individual letter is behind the fuselage roundel in the same manner as on E-828 and not on the cowling as shown on most (if not all?) the photos on the WNW website.

Patrik

 

[Petri]

Great picture Patrik, thank you

 

This is very useful, since according to the Air Britain DH4/DH9 file E-8646 served in 27 Squadron only from January 1927 to March 1927, so almost the same period as E-828. Seeing your picture also reminded me of something I had seen in an old issue of Fly Past:

 

 

This one also seems to be an "I" of 27 Sqd, of course it might not be E-8646, but still interesting. Even in the picture you posted, the black areas underwing seem to painted pretty freely