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.

INFO Eduard - September 2021

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