BUILT

B7190, Capt. Walter G. R. Hinchliffe, C Flight, No. 10(N) Sqn RNAS, Téteghem, France, March 1918

"Hinch", as Walter Hinchliffe was called, scored

six kills during World War I, all when at controls

of a Camel. He shot down his second and third

victims on the one of serial number B7190. Hinchliffe served with the artillery at the start of the Great War, only joining the ranks of the RNAS (Royal

Navy Air Service) in 1916. He completed his pilot

training and served as an instructor at the RNAS

base at Cranwell afterwards. There he clocked an

incredible 1,250 flight hours in thirteen months. It

was not until January 1918 that he joined No. 10

Sqn RNAS. He scored his first kill on February 3

when he shot down an Albatros D.V., his last one

occured on May 19. On June 3 he suffered serious

head and facial injuries after a crash and lost his

left eye. After the War he flew as an airline pilot.

In 1928 he attempted to fly across the Atlantic. He

took off from Cranwell Airport on March 13 with

co-pilot Elsie Mackay. They have not been seen

since... "Hinch's" Camel bore a striking livery with

blue and white stripes on the nose and a blue fuselage spine. There was a drawing of a devil on the

wheel discs, the German word DONNERWETTER

behind the cockpit, possibly on both sides, and a

symbol, which was, according to the only known

photo of this part of the aircraft, probably stylized

combination of the letters W and H on the ridge of

the aft fuselage. Upper and sides were probably in

PC10 color. Camel B7190 was built by the Clayton

& Shuttleworth company and was powered by a

Bentley B.R.1 engine.

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