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Charles J. Biddle (aviator)
Major Charles John Biddle (13 May 1890 – 22 March 1972) was an American aviator, attorney, and author. He was a flying ace during World War I. Postwar, he launched a career in law and wrote his memoirs. Family and early life Charles John Biddle was born on 13 May 1890 at Andalusia, the Biddle family estate near Philadelphia. His father was Charles Biddle (1857–1923) and mother was Letitia Glenn. His grandfather Charles John Biddle (1819–1873) was a soldier in the Union Army and subsequently a member of the United States House of Representatives. Andalusia was the estate of his great-grandfather, banker Nicholas Biddle (1786–1844). He was an hereditary member of the Aztec Club of 1847. He graduated from Princeton University in 1911, and from Harvard Law School three years later. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar, but interrupted his nascent career to serve in World War I. World War I service Biddle joined the Lafayette Flying Corps in France on 8 April 1917. He w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andalusia (estate)
Andalusia, also known as the Nicholas Biddle Estate, is a historic mansion and estate located on the Delaware River, just northeast of Philadelphia, in Bensalem Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The community surrounding it, Andalusia, takes its name from the 225-acre estate. History The original house was built in 1794 by John Craig, who named it after the Andalusia region of Spain. Craig hired architect Benjamin Latrobe to expand the house in 1806 in a Greek Revival style. In 1811, Craig's daughter Jane married prominent financier Nicholas Biddle (1786–1844). Biddle and architect Thomas U. Walter expanded the house into a mansion in 1834–36. Walter is best known for his design for the dome of the United States Capitol. Their most dramatic addition was a two-and-a-half-story wing, surrounded on three sides by massive Doric columns, that thrust southward toward the river. This contained twin parlors on the main floor, divided by pocket doors that could be opened to cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States House Of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being the Upper house, upper chamber. Together they comprise the national Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the United States. The House's composition was established by Article One of the United States Constitution. The House is composed of representatives who, pursuant to the Uniform Congressional District Act, sit in single member List of United States congressional districts, congressional districts allocated to each U.S. state, state on a basis of population as measured by the United States Census, with each district having one representative, provided that each state is entitled to at least one. Since its inception in 1789, all representatives have been directly elected, although universal suffrage did not come to effect until after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
103rd Aero Squadron
The 103rd Aero Squadron was an aviation pursuit squadron of the U.S. Air Service that served in combat in France during World War I. Its original complement included pilots from the disbanded Lafayette Escadrille and Lafayette Flying Corps. One of those pilots, Paul F. Baer, became the first ace of an American unit in World War I.See note below. Baer's fifth victory, as recognized by the Air Force Historical Research Agency, occurred 23 April, more than a month before the fifth of Douglas Campbell. Campbell at that date still had only a single victory. The 103rd Aero Squadron was the first U.S. pursuit squadron in action during World War I and had the longest combat service, from 19 February to 11 November 1918. It earned six battle participation credits, flew 470 combat missions, engaged in 327 combats, destroyed 45 German aircraft in aerial combat and claimed an additional 40 as probably destroyed, shot down two balloons, flew 3,075 hours over the front lines, and dropped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feldflieger Abteilung
Feldflieger Abteilung (''FFA'', Field Flying Company) was the title of the pioneering field aviation units of what became the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (German air service) by October 1916, during World War I. Composition The use of aircraft as a tactical reconnaissance tool, to serve within the ''Deutsches Heer'''s ''Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches'' air service formed in 1910, was established by the German Army in its annual exercise in June 1911. Early usage was limited to providing post-flight situation reports. At the start of World War I, there were thirty-three units, comprising one allocated to each of the eight Army Headquarters and one to each of the twenty-five regular Corps Headquarters.Cowin, H.W. p.13 Each unit, having a designation number usually matching that of the army group it was assigned to, was equipped with either six Idflieg Category A (unarmed monoplane) or Category B (unarmed biplane) two-seater aircraft. By March 1915 the number of Feldflieger Ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albatros Flugzeugwerke
Albatros Flugzeugwerke GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturer best known for supplying the German airforces during World War I. The company was based in Johannisthal, Berlin, where it was founded by Walter Huth and Otto Wiener on December 20, 1909. The company (and its subsidiary, Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW)) produced some of the most capable fighter aircraft of World War I, notably the Albatros D.III and Albatros D.V, both designed by Robert Thelen for the firm. The works continued to operate until 1931, when it was merged into Focke-Wulf. History The company was founded in Berlin-Johannisthal the end of 1909 by Enno Walther Huth as Albatros Werke AG. The first aircraft the company produced was a French Antoinette monoplane, which they built under licence. They then produced several versions of the Etrich Taube monoplane, as well the Doppeltaube biplane which used the same basic planform. A variety of other biplanes, with more conventional wing planforms were also b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SPAD XIII
The SPAD S.XIII is a French biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War, developed by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) from the earlier and highly successful SPAD S.VII. During early 1917, the French designer Louis Béchereau, spurred by the approaching obsolescence of the S.VII, decided to develop two new fighter aircraft, the S.XII and the S.XIII, both using a powerful new geared version of the successful Hispano-Suiza 8A engine. The cannon armament of the S.XII was unpopular with most pilots, but the S.XIII proved to be one of the most capable fighters of the war, as well as one of the most-produced, with 8,472 built and orders for around 10,000 more cancelled at the Armistice.Sharpe 2000, p. 272. By the end of the First World War, the S.XIII had equipped virtually every fighter squadron of the ''Aéronautique Militaire''. In addition, the United States Army Air Service also procured the type in bulk during the conflict, and some replaced or supplem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
