World War 1 Artifacts
Aluminum Ammunition Box
*This aluminum ammunition box belonged to the airship designated L.31. He's best-known and most effective German airship raider. When caught by 2nd Lieutenant Wulfstan Tempest of 39 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps. Boldly flying through anti-aircraft fire, Tempest made three sweeps along L.31, pumping in incendiary ammunition. The impact on hitting the ground visible in the way the ammunition box’s bullets perforated its soft skin. It was the fourth airship brought down in as many weeks; after months of attack, Londoners were no longer defenseless. |
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Red Baron's Engine
German ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen, or the “Red Baron.” He had been credited with 80 kills. He was promoted to pilot "Hunting Wing 1." A more experienced Canadian pilot, Roy Brown, swooped down and fired a burst that raked Richthofen’s machine. Close to the ground, Richthofen was also hit by Australian machine gun fire. Whoever delivered the fatal bullets, he was mortally wounded and his plane then crashed. |
*Escape Package
The escape package was a tin can filled with maps of the jail people were in. This was also filled with tools to make an escape out. Captain Jack Shaw received a letter at his prison camp in Holzminden, Germany. Ostensibly a cheery letter from home, it was actually a coded message from a British Intelligence Officer alerting him to the dispatch of secret escape equipment. |