"Death Trap!" by ratfugel
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Description
What we have here is the venerable Be2 (Short for Bleriot/Experimental). Extremely slow and heartily disliked by pilots as being ready-made Fokker fodder, it was eventually replaced by better machines to everyone's relief.
However, there is another side to this story.
The Be2 was actually the first ever British aircraft purely designed for aerial warfare. Test flown for the first time Geoffrey De Havilland it was designated as a bomber without any armament.
Later on in 1916, when the German Zeppelins were bombing everywhere without fear of retribution, a Be2 piloted by Lt.Leefe-Robinson armed with a single Lewis gun and incendiary ammunition succeeded in bringing one down in flames near London. He was immediately awarded the Victoria Cross and became a national hero overnight. He was the second person to be awarded a VC in one of these machines.
My image shows how the pilot sat in the rear seat, with the observer/gunner at the front. Not the best setup in the world! The German gunners soon learned who was who and where to aim.
Vue5Inf. Poser7,CS3.
Comments (17)
Schnuck
Excellent work!!!
tallpindo
I like how you have caught them in the sun. Nothing comic about it. They are nicely cheese colored.
kenwas
Excellent lighting in this piece!
Osper
Nice lighting. Good picture. I also like one warning for the aircraft: The observer is not to stand up as the airplane may stall.
LBAMagic
Excellent image. Interesting historical commentary.
dbrv6
Brave or Crazy those that flew these planes, I had just read recently about these planes - Great presentation as it trumbles across the sky.
Ken _Gilliland
great render and interesting history
Thelby
Nice rendering!!
debbielove
Very Cool!. well done. Great Image, Rob
kjer_99
Always love your histories and renders!
FrenchKiss
Marvelous lighting here!
Emil-arts
These may have been death traps but weren't they just beautiful to look at compared to moderns. Very nice work and info :)
ekatz
excellent work
tetsu-pino
Fantastic image!! Splendid render!!!
ragouc
Very good render. Great light. Well done. 5+
proteus2
Outstanding ! Extraordinary evening light here! ------------------ And btw,some flyer had stated that in order to put a zeppelin ablaze, one had to go so close as to be able to see the puncture holes of his incendiaries...so pulling out would involve a bitch of a "split-S" manoeuver. P
katy555
Superb idea and very great and creative work...