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Work in Progress. WW1 Ace Friedrich
Christiansen by
Ivan Berryman.
During a patrol on 6th July 1918, Christiansen spotted a
British submarine on the surface of the Thames Estuary. He immediately turned
and put his Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 floatplane into an attacking dive, raking
the submarine C.25 with machine gun fire, killing the captain and five other
crewmen. This victory was added to his personal tally, bringing his score to
13 kills by the end of the war, even though the submarine managed to limp back
to safety. Christiansen survived the war and went on to work as a pilot for
the Dornier company, notably flying the giant Dornier Do.X on its inaugural
flight to New York in 1930. He died in 1972, aged 93.
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Ivan Berryman at work on the painting of
Christiansen’s attack on the submarine C.25 off Harwich in 1918. The swell of
the sea has been created and splashes from the previous attack and shell strikes
from this one have been added. Work on the submarine itself can now proceed.
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Based on photographs taken
at the time of the attack, the submarine is gradually built up. Careful
observation will show that the direction of the ensign fluttering behind the
conning tower was changed during the course of the painting because it was noted
that smoke from the shell strikes on the conning tower was blowing in the
opposite direction. The original ensign was painted out before further work was
done on the sub. The shell strikes on the water are being created by the
pilot-operated forward-firing guns on either side of the fuselage, just aft of
the engine. The Captain and five crew on the C.25 were killed in this attack.
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Work on the Submarine is now complete with all
the details in place, the ensign reversed, quite a bit of smoke and debris and
some crew members caught on the conning tower. The attack had taken the C.25
completely by surprise and no counter attack or evasive action was possible
before the Hansa-Brandenburg seaplane had done its job. Work can now begin on
the aircraft itself.
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