Scratch built 1/72 Voisin III LAS part 1

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Evening All,

I have completed this build - the log is in the Airfield section if anyone who has not seen it before is interested. The original aircraft sat on the 4 wheels under the fuselage nacelle: mine, despite putting a large amount of lead weight in the nacelle, decided to sit on its rear after I had fitted the horizontal tail stabilizers. So I had to initiate Plan B which involved making a simple base and using superglue to change the model's attitude: it will not sit on its tail again for a long time.

Gabriel Voisin established the Appareils d'Aviation Les Freres Voisin in 1905 and worked for a short time with L. Bleriot and later with H. Farman to improve designs for early aircraft. In January 1908 H. Farman flew a Voisin design on a 1km closed circuit and won a significant prize for doing so. In 1912 he designed what was to become with some modifications and a 130hp Salmson-Canton-Unne engine, the Voisin III. These early machines were designated LA but on later production aircraft the engine was raised to improve the thrust and these were designated LAS.

The type entered service with the French armed forces in 1914 just before the outbreak of war, but due to a shortage of suitable designs the British also ordered them for the RFC and the RNAS. The first machines were bought form France and entered service with the RFC in February 1915. 50 were ordered from companies in Britain and these were largely supplied to the RNAS where they operated in the Agean, Basra in Iraq, and in East Africa where they were used against the forces of von Lettow-Vorbeck.

Other countries which operated the type included Russia (which also built them under licence), Belgium, Italy, Romania and one which was interned in Switzerland. The type was so successful that it remained in service until the end of the war, although in the later years it was used for night bombing only.

The model represents an aircraft from No 2 Wing, Imbros, (a dried salt lake bed), RNAS December 1915.