Voisin

Voisin III by Flashback 1/72nd scale injection mold with metal and resin parts.

The Voisin III arrived on the Western Front in August 1914 and were assigned to Squadrons V14 , V21 and newly formed V24 under the command of Capitaine Andre Faure.

Early in the war, meeting of opposing aircraft was rare and any combat was with pistols or rifles. A Hotchkiss Mle 1918 8mm machine was added in Sept 1914 and on Oct 5, 1914, Sergent Joseph Frantz and gunner Henri Quenault, shot down an Aviatik B.II (B114/14), thus scoring the first confirmed victory in aerial combat. On Nov 23, 1914, the world's first dedicated bomber unit, 1er Groupe de bombardement, was formed and on Dec 20, 1914, GB1, with 11 aircraft, attacked enemy reserve troops north of Arras, beyond artillery range. On Feb 16, 1915, the first night flight took place by taking off to the light of gasoline buckets set on fire on the airfield.

On Feb 1, 1916, there were 159 Voisin III and V aircraft on the Western Front but by the end of 1916, all Voisin aircraft had been retired from front line duty and sent to flying schools. The Italians continued to fly their Voisins until the end of the war, still having 55 Voisins in flying condition on Oct 20, 1918. The Romanians received eight Voisin IIIs in Oct 1915 and was not until Nov 1917 that the last one was turned over to a flying school. About 65 of the aircraft went into British service in both the RFC and RNAS. Thirty-six of the British aircraft went with the Navy to the Aegean area in the summer of 1915.

The aircrafts metal frame and rugged construction made it suitable for the rigors of rough airfields. About 2500 were built, either in France or under license in other countries.

This model represents a Voisin III build under license by the Italians in Turin, Italy and was attached to 7a Squadriglia, airfield and date unknown.

Built out of the box in 1990 I used the Italian decal opition. French decals are also provided. The kit is a combination of plastic, metal etch and resin parts. The tail boom is very delicate until rigged. The white is a sign paint called One Shot. A very small weight was placed behind the instrument panel and will just barely keep the front wheels on the ground. The instruction sheet is the downside, being vague as to part locations. Windsock Datafile No. 135 has since been released with excellent plans to help with the location of parts. I remember this to be a fun build and it took in the neighborhood of 35 hours to build.