THE BEST CHRISTMAS
GIFT SINCE MY YOUTH?
By Jay Smith, Executive Editor | jays@modelaircraft.org
ON CHRISTMAS DAY, I decided to buy myself a gift—a British-built SPAD S.VII 1917 authentic wing rib relic display, to be specific. The wing rib I purchased came from a SPAD that was restored and displayed by George B. Jarrett at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the 1930s.
Some of the parts that couldn’t be reused during the restoration were given to Robert Boehme. Upon his passing, the parts were sold. On Christmas night, I spent a little time researching this SPAD on the internet and read an article in the May 1935 issue of Popular Aviation about Jarrett’s museum. It stated that the SPAD had been flown in the war. It was purchased by Paramount Studios for use in the 1927 film Wings, and was “cracked up” in the film by famous stunt pilot Dick Grace.
Battle Birds magazine had a SPAD on the cover, and an article by Frederick Blakeslee that was published in 1934 titled Hell Divers: The Story Behind The Cover, shared the following. “Now for the history of the ship shown on the December issue of Battle Birds. Thousands saw it do a spectacular crack-up some years back—in the movies! Paramount purchased it in 1924 for the then-proposed picture Wings.”
If you remember the movie, you cannot fail to recall the scene of the memorable crash when Armstrong (played by Richard Arlen) and his airplane were shot down by a German and landed in the German wire. Dick, doubling for Richard, flew the aircraft and was supposed to crack up the airplane in the wire. The wire had been cleverly faked by using ordinary knitting wool with balsa wood posts. The spot was marked so that Dick would land there, but he overshot and landed in the real wire, causing a broken neck, from which he suffered for many months.
The SPAD now resides at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. Before that, it was owned by another famous stunt pilot, Frank Tallman, and was displayed in the 1960s at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
It goes on to say that the aircraft was restored and displayed at Jarrett War Museum! Wow, what a Christmas gift indeed! The SPAD now resides at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. Before that, it was owned by another famous stunt pilot, Frank Tallman, and was displayed in the 1960s at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
