Crashed German Aeroplane at Asolo
Category
Photographs
Date
Aug 1918
Materials
Photographic paper
Measurements
78 x 108 mm
Place of origin
Asolo
Collection
Attingham Park, Shropshire
NT 610242.8
Summary
A small German plane has crashed into the tiled roof of a substantial building in Asolo, northern Italy. The tail, cockpit and trailing edge of one wing are visible. There is substantial damage to the roof of the building. This is the photograph which is on the top row of page 5 of Edith Teresa Hulton’s (later Lady Berwick) Personal Album August 1918 – January 1919 Edith Teresa Hulton (1890-1972), later Lady Berwick worked as a Red Cross volunteer in a variety of locations in north-east Italy in the Italian war zone during World War I. She married Thomas Henry Noel-Hill, 8th Baron Berwick of Attingham (1877-1947) on 30th June 1919 in Venice, Italy. Asolo is north of Venice in the Veneto region and was very close to the Battle of Vittorio Veneto of October-November 1918, won by the Italians and ending the war on that front. It was the birthplace of Edith Teresa Hulton, later Lady Berwick. Further information from Alan Wakefield (Head of First World War & Early 20th century Conflict, Imperial War Museums) The plane could be either a Hansa Brandenburg C1 (a two-seat, single engine bomber/reconnaissance aircraft) or a Hansa Brandenburg G1 (a bomber with a crew of four and two engines), both of which were used by the Austro-Hungarians at this time. The restricted angles from which the photos are taken make a definite identification a problem as it is difficult to get a true idea of the shape of the tail (often a good ID aid for FWW aircraft) and being unable to see the nose of the aircraft means it is not possible to say whether the aircraft had one, nose mounted, engine, or two engines mounted on the wings (there is not enough wing detail to see whether or not and remnants of engines are visible).
Provenance
8th Lady Berwick collection; bequeathed to the National Trust by Edith Teresa Hulton, Lady Berwick (1890-1972).
Marks and inscriptions
Below the photograph : Asolo Aug. 1918 Photos by Giulio di Gallese On the back of the photograph: Asolo Aug. 1918 The number “2” is in pencil below that.