It should maybe read "Fear the 'stab in the dark' at the Mongoose".
I have been trying for a while to find some pics of SE5a' flown by Frank 'Mongoose' Soden whilst with 41 Sqn but have failed to find anything satisfactory. He joined the sqn as a flight leader so I surmised his kite would be marked A,G or N (for A,B & C flight leaders). It appears Capt Claxton was A flight leader in Aug 18 so I had a 50/50 chance. Anyway here it is:
I selected the post Mar 1918 sqn markings of 2 vertical bars aft the fuselage cockade & selected G for the B flight leader. (sods law will tell me I'm wrong!). I used Doms decals (AFC Snipe set)
I chose Mongoose as a subject for a number of reasons - he died the day I was born; He was a multi ace with 27 victories yet hardly decorated (DFC & Bar [Iraq]); he served in both wars; born Canadian (As was late mum in law - SWMBO is technically part Canuck/Yank/Brit) and here's some footage of him HERE which I have posted before but worth doing again !
The footage identified as: "The footage of Bishop was shot at 60 Squadron, at Filescamp Farm on 22 July 1917. Captain William "Moley" Molesworth wrote about being filmed in one of his letters home, saying something to the effect that they no longer considered Charlie Chaplin such a big thing now that they were all budding cinema stars. The long-nosed chap with the dog to the (viewer's) left of Bishop is Lt. Frank Soden, and as has been pointed out, "Grid" Caldwell is easily recognizable to the right of Bishop. In fact, panning from left to right, the pilots were : 2/Lt. Jenkins, Lt. Soden (with dog), 2/Lt. Steele (in the background), Bishop, Caldwell, and Molesworth. A nice still photo taken at the same time appears in C & C G.B., Vol. 11 No. 2, page 49." Greg van Wyngarden at The Aerodrome.
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