White Bird?

Wolverine · **Posted:** Wed May 11, 2005 10:53 pm

What is it? I keep hearing about it, but no one explains anything.

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Thu May 12, 2005 12:18 am

i 2nd the motion!! what is it??

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

Nungesser's plane?

airnutz · **Posted:** Thu May 12, 2005 12:26 am

Wolverine, They are referring to an ill-fated trans-Atlantic flight by
2 French WW1 aviator heroes & aces Charles Nungessor and Francis Coli.
Flying from France to the US they were lost and it is presumed they came
down and perished in the wilds of Maine. Their aircraft, a Levasseur was
christened L 'Oiseau Blanc...the White Bird.

heres a quick blurb to get you a google start...
http://www.numa.net/expeditions/white_bird.html

Have fun!

Tulio · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 1:05 am **Posts:** 3236

Okay, this is basically what happened:

During the 1920s, there was a race to see who would be the first to fly across
the Atlantic (Remember, Halcock and Brown had done it already?) in order to collect a prize (Orteig) for such a feat.

On May 8, 1927 Charles Nungesser (35) and François Coli, 45 took off from Le Bourget, westbound.

Their airplane was a Levasseur PL8 biplane, nicknamed the "White Bird" [L'Oisseau Blanc (sp?)]. It was adorned with Nungesser's WWI airplane insignia consisting of a black heart, two burning candles, a coffin, and skull and cross bones.

These two pilots were last heard of, when they flew over Ireland. Weather was bad over Newfoundland, and since their attempt was followed closely by the press and people of the time, there were thousands awaiting their arrival in New York, but they never made it.

So ever since, there have been people looking for the remains of the White Bird, some say it fell on water while others say it fell on North American land, since some people claim to have heard an airplane flying, but could not see it due to the bad weather.

More details I am sure, will be provided by people with access to books, but this is what I recall about the White bird.

Saludos,

Tulio

Flat 12x2 · **Posted:** Thu May 12, 2005 4:25 pm

Tulio wrote:

Okay, this is basically what happened:

During the 1920s, there was a race to see who would be the first to fly across
the Atlantic (Remember, Halcock and Brown had done it already?) in order to collect a prize (Orteig) for such a feat.

Tulio

Tulio
Yes Alcock & Brown did it on the 14th June 1919

Martin

Tulio · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 1:05 am **Posts:** 3236

Why did I write "Halcock" when I positively know that the correct spelling is "Alcock?"

A great many people attempted long distance flights, many perished. Spaniards Barberan and Collar, for example disappeared either on the Gulf of Mexico or in Mexico proper. No one ever saw them again, or has found the aircraft remains.

Guatemalan pilots Oscar Morales Lopez, Jacinto Rodriguez Diaz, Miguel Garcia Granados and Carlos Merlen, undertook during the late 1920s, daring -for the time- flights across Central America, the Caribbean and to and from the USA to Guatemala.

One pilot that almost did not make it, was Honduran pilot Lisandro Garay who, flying a Bellanca Pacemaker attempted a non-stop flight between New York and Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in August of 1931. Caught by a hurricane off the North Carolina coast, was forced to ditch and survived 38 hours in shark-infested waters until rescued by a steamship.

I hope Rob and his buddies manage to find the White Bird; that would be a true feather on anyone's cap!

Saludos,

Tulio

Chris Brame · **Posted:** Fri May 13, 2005 5:52 am

The new movie "Sahara" show a bunch of newspaper clippings in the opening covering Dirk Pitt's career. One of them shows him recovering the White Bird - unfortunately the wreck in the picture has a radial engine and a three-blade Hamilton Standard (and yes, I was the only one in the theater who found it funny :lol:

).

Roger Cain · **Posted:** Sat May 14, 2005 10:38 pm

Tulio wrote:

Their airplane was a Levasseur PL8 biplane, nicknamed the "White Bird" [L'Oisseau Blanc (sp?)]. It was adorned with Nungesser's WWI airplane insignia consisting of a black heart, two burning candles, a coffin, and skull and cross bones.

Tulio,

Thanks for the description of the insignia. Would it by chance look something like this?

I never inquired, but this emblem is the nose art on Ben Marsh's Yak-52, at the Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville, CA.

Tulio · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 1:05 am **Posts:** 3236

Roger:

From the deepest fogs of memory, I seem to recall the insignia very much like the one you posted.

Since -as usual- I am not home, I don't have access to my books, but probably someone will come up with a photo of the insignia on the White Bird.

Saludos,

Tulio

Dan Johnson II · **Joined:** Tue May 04, 2004 1:49 am **Posts:** 659

Tulio wrote:

Roger:

From the deepest fogs of memory, I seem to recall the insignia very much like the one you posted.

Since -as usual- I am not home, I don't have access to my books, but probably someone will come up with a photo of the insignia on the White Bird.

Saludos,

Tulio

Not the White Bird, but Nungesser and his personal insignia on one of his wartime aircraft. Same as on the White Bird as I understand it.

Dan

Tulio · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 1:05 am **Posts:** 3236

Dan, you are of course, correct!!!

And I quotheth "myselfeth"

" Their airplane was a Levasseur PL8 biplane, nicknamed the "White Bird" [L'Oisseau Blanc (sp?)]. It was adorned with Nungesser's WWI airplane insignia consisting of a black heart, two burning candles, a coffin, and skull and cross bones. "

Too tired, too old, memory fails me, lack of attention, not paying attention . . . chose the one that best applies, and I will accept the blame! : )

Googling (images) for L"oiseau Blanc, and then Nungesser, brings several images of the pilot, the insignia and also of the airplane. These are but a few examples:

http://204.83.160.230/archive/w/images/ ... erColi.jpg

http://204.83.160.230/archive/images3/imag_nu.jpg

www.herodote.net/histoire05090.htm

Saludos,

Tulio

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