The Ongoing Mystery Aircraft Thread Part Deux.

**pomme homme** · February 20th, 2021, 02:50

Would you be kind enough to explain why most references, including AviaFrance, spell it Leopoldoff ? - my photo is from a French publication, L'Aviation Civile Française, which insists on the acute. Is it optional ?

Apologies for the above unattributed quote. The 'reply with quote' facility no longer seems to be operative.

I think that the answer to your question, Mike, is that Mr Leopoldoff shouldn't have an acute accent on the first 'e' of his surname because he wasn't French by birth. His forename/initials are variously given as Lev, E.T.S. and M.L.. He is said to have been born at Saratov, in Imperial Russia, in 1898; to have trained in Moscow as an aeronautical engineer; to have fought with the White Russians; to have fled to Turkey, from Odessa, when the Bolsheviks triumphed in the civil war; to have worked his way, from there, along the Mediterranean coast to Tunisia; to have travelled from North Africa, in 1923, to France, where he had family connections; and subsequently to have settled in the country (as did many White Russians, French being the lingua franca of the Russian Imperial Court). Most sources spell his surname with 'ff' at the end although I have seen it suggested, albeit rarely, that originally it ended with a 'v'. Thus it may be that in order to render his surname 'more French' he added the acute accent to the first 'e' and, possibly, substituted 'ff' for the final 'v'. If so and if he did so informally, rather than by formal means, probably it is more correct to spell his surname Leopoldoff. That is the spelling most used in my French language books and on French language websites.

Now here's something that wasn't the handiwork of Lev Leopoldoff - although this rather attractive tandem monoplane would have been flying at the same time as his pre-war Colibris.

**lefty** · February 20th, 2021, 03:16

Mike, even without the car registrations and the crumpled mac, I would have this as a Brit right away ! The Parnall Type 382 (Heck MkIII). A wee bit later than the Leopoldoff - 1938.

**pomme homme** · February 20th, 2021, 04:19

Spot on, Mike

- but as to the Colibris, not only were they produced up to but also after the war. Scots Wha Hae!

**lefty** · February 20th, 2021, 05:05

Thanks Mike - one more low wing monoplane of a certain age -

**fabulousfour** · February 20th, 2021, 05:16

That, Mike, is the SAI KZ II Kupe in the Danish Flymuseum

**lefty** · February 20th, 2021, 07:19

It is indeed, Robert.

One of the great collection of SAI aircraft there.

**fabulousfour** · February 20th, 2021, 07:37

I strongly support that, Mike. The Flymuseum is still on my wish list!

Here is another similar looking aircraft.

**pomme homme** · February 20th, 2021, 09:36

That looks to be a Cirrus engined B.A. Swallow.

**fabulousfour** · February 20th, 2021, 09:53

That's her, Mike.

A Swallow which found its way to Australia.

Santé

**pomme homme** · February 20th, 2021, 11:22

Thank you, Robert. Here's an ultralight before its time - which didn't serve its owner well.

**lefty** · February 20th, 2021, 22:35

Have to declare an interest in this one. Its unfortunate designer, who was responsible for some of the most famous aircraft of his time, was also a Scotsman....

**pomme homme** · February 20th, 2021, 22:51

Aye, aye, captain.

**Sopwith Chameleon** · February 21st, 2021, 00:36

Mr F S Barnwell's unfortunate B.S.W. Mk 1 ultralight - not much resemblance to the Bulldog and Blenheim he worked on while with Bristol Aircraft .

**pomme homme** · February 21st, 2021, 00:53

SC has it

! It is Frank Barnwell's curious little single seat runabout of 1938. Take it away, sir.

**Sopwith Chameleon** · February 21st, 2021, 11:12

Thanks ! On with a compact floater .....

**lefty** · February 21st, 2021, 14:40

Beriev Be-4, Jim.

I hope the guy standing up on the bow didn't have to swing the prop.......

**Sopwith Chameleon** · February 22nd, 2021, 00:33

The Be-4 it is - I was wondering if they were going for one of those " how many people can you get in a... " world records ....
Over to Scotland !

**lefty** · February 22nd, 2021, 01:45

Thanks Jim - I like that rather neat design, although the pilots sitting right under that monster engine must have had hearing problems !

Here's another 'compact' design.....

**Sopwith Chameleon** · February 22nd, 2021, 04:43

...... Struggling with the correct designation - Borkov, Florov I-207 ?

**lefty** · February 22nd, 2021, 04:57

Soviet designations can be tricky, but Borkov-Florov I-207 good enough for me !

I am no aerodynamicist, but I often wonder about designs with a very large radial motor combined with a fairly small-diameter prop. Would that not be quite inefficient ?

**Sopwith Chameleon** · February 22nd, 2021, 05:33

...... I agree, there's a good chance those four mgs would shoot the prop off as well - nothing in the locker, so OH please ...

***Moses03*** · February 22nd, 2021, 07:59

Of course it's a Salon photo!

**cthornburg** · February 22nd, 2021, 10:10

Nieuport-Delage Ni.590Col3

Chris

***srgalahad*** · February 22nd, 2021, 10:22

It must have been an entertaining process to drag all those aircraft and bits in, then reassemble them for a few days of display.

***Moses03*** · February 22nd, 2021, 10:46

Salon mystery solved. Chris.

Originally Posted by srgalahad

It must have been an entertaining process to drag all those aircraft and bits in, then reassemble them for a few days of display.

Rob, I have wondered about that quite a bit over the years. It must have been commonplace to be sitting at a sidewalk cafe enjoying your favorite beverage while watching a Farman fuselage or Breguet wing go trundling by on a large trailer.