William Thaw SPAD XIII

[Russell Smith]

Here's the latest project from the easel. This one was commissioned by a relative of the Lafayette Escadrille's William Thaw (this is the same client that commissioned Mark of Distinction).

4 Down for Thaw is a depiction of a Dec. 3, 1917 kill scored by Lt. William Thaw of the Lafayette Escadrille. Although unconfirmed, this victory marked Thaw's 4th claim. His victim that day was described simply as a "Rumpler C".

Although William Thaw is known to have flown several SPAD's while with the Lafayette Escadrille, very little photographic records exist of most of them. This machine, SPAD XIII S'525, is the only SPAD flown by Thaw for which clear records exist.

Bill (the client) insisted on 2 things: he wanted some sunset colors in the clouds and he wanted a second 2-seater of a different type than the Rumpler. I decided to take the sunset colors to the extreme in order to emphasize the drama of the moment - thus orange clouds. I put the second 2-seater in, as requested, but made sure to keep him off in the background so that he didn't distract from the primary subjects.

It took me a while to color correct this image to my liking. I'm working on a new computer with a high-def screen, and my eyes aren't used to this system yet. 8O Hopefully it looks okay on everyone else's monitors.

Russ