WW1 Aircraft in France

Maxim08 · 14 February 2005, 06:20 PM

I will be visiting the Paris area for a week this coming April. Can anyone recommend WW1 aviation collections to visit? Any D VII originals or projects?
Thank you,
Maxim08

gregoire · 15 February 2005, 01:38 AM

A few place to visit
first the Musee de l'air in le Bourget with a great collection of WW1 (and before and after)
among the collection (and I will forget a few) you can see Spad VII (original guynemer plane), spad XIII, Nieuport bebe, Junker, DH9 and a few other (there is a web page)

Other place of interest (in Paris) CNAM (conservatoire des arts et metiers) with 3 pre WW1 plane (Ader, REP, Bleriot)
Musee des Invalides have a ww1 rooms with a small aviation display

outside paris you have the ferte alais with some replica (memorial flight
...)

baldeagle · 15 February 2005, 07:11 AM

No airplanes, but on the Place de la Concorde is the Hotel Crillon, where the American pilots used to go to the bar to meet each other during WW1. The bar is on the other side of the room from where it was then. Also, haven't been there, but Harry's New York Bar at 5 rue Danoue, supposed to also have been a WW1 meeting place.

For pre-war stuff, the polo fields in the Bois de Boulogne are where Santos Dumont did his first flights, there's a memorial there. Also a restaurant he liked, I think it's called "Les Cascades". He also liked to eat at Maxim's, around the corner from the Hotel Crillon, he supposedly used to tie his airship up outside and go in to eat. And the current Heliport de Paris is on the site of the old flying field at Issy-les-Moulineaux. There's a memorial there for Henry Farman making the "first" circular flight.

And go to Verdun if you get the chance, one of the most sobering places you will ever visit, especially the forts and the Ossuary.

GrandSon · 12 March 2005, 12:11 AM

On top of the excellent suggestions above, why don't you pay tribute to the great men of Escadrille Lafayette...

http://www.stratisc.org/pub/Arogers_TDM.htm

depending on your interests you may also try Memorial Flight on the other side of Le Bourget airport.

GrandSon

Philippe JOURDAN · 12 March 2005, 02:46 PM

Yes higly recommended "Memorial Flight" at DUGNY, north side of Bourget airport, only saturday and sunday....
Also, but far from Paris at south east, "La Ferte Allais" with collection sallis and Memorial flight collection of flying planes....in DUGNY are only plane in restauration.....

Philippe JOURDAN · 12 March 2005, 02:57 PM

At 100kms east of PARIS by motorway A4, near CHATEAU THIERRY.... "BELLAU WOOD".
Each time I drive some american friend pay a visit to it, they was a great moment of emotion for them.....
Landscape is very impressive, with the wood, with some old german 77 guns and rests of trenches, trees with "wounds" etc...
The memorial with tombs is a great area, for "souvenirs" of the first real combat of young american boys in WW1....
This visit site, in France is a " MUST"...if I can say....

GrandSon · 14 March 2005, 06:27 AM

I remember as a child going to the "Clairière de l'Armistice"

http://www.webmatters.net/france/ww1_rethondes.htm

there were stereo pictures where you could see the atrocities of the land war. I have not been for decades and I can't tell you quite what is on disply now.
No idea whether there is anything re aviation.

This reminds me I have to go there someday to check for myself.

GrandSon.