344:. As the fight began at 15,000 feet (4,600 m), Taplin was shot through the right hand by German ace Christian Mesch, breaking Taplin's wrist and causing him to throw his Camel into a stall. He recovered with his left hand, then downed the Fokker that was his final win. He was then hit by another burst of fire that shattered the breech of his machine gun and sliced a shard of shrapnel into his nose. The stunned Taplin tumbled to 1,000 feet (300 m) altitude, followed by two Germans. After a skirmish with the Germans, which was settled by Taplin shooting down one of the Germans and chasing the other off, Taplin was no longer engaged by his aerial enemies. By now, the Australian was down to 100 feet (30 m), coping with a rough-running engine and one-handed piloting, and exposed to ground fire. The wounded pilot and his damaged Camel endured several miles of small arms fire while attempting to return to friendly lines. Taplin crashed several hundred yards short of the German front lines and was taken prisoner.
336:. He then ruined a balloon on the morning of 3 September, and destroyed another that same evening. Two days later, he destroyed his fourth balloon in the morning, and sent a Fokker D.VII out of control in the evening. This dogfight ended his combat career. Outnumbered by a ratio of five or six to one, Taplin and his three squadronmates fell under the guns of German fighters from
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as an engineer on 12 June 1915 so he could serve in World War I. On his enlistment form, he gave his birthplace as
Adelaide and his occupation as electrical engineer. He also stated he was a natural born British subject. He listed his father, Charles Eaton Taplin, as next of kin, but also added Mrs.
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bomb in addition to his usual load of fuel and ammunition. When his speeding Camel hit a rut and broke its landing gear axle, Taplin unfastened his safety harness and exited the crash-in-progress post haste. The ensuing explosion slightly singed the fleeing pilot.
172:, the ten-year-old Taplin broke his arm playing leap frog at school. In an early example of his courage, he first walked home, then a half mile to the doctor's, where he submitted to having the compound fractures of the bones in his arm set without anesthetic.
243:, and L. W. Rogers photographed a block of land stretching from the Turkish front lines 32 miles (51 km) deep into their rear areas. Beginning 5 January, they flew with a fighter escort to ward off enemy fighters. Using
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to a pioneering use of aerial photography for mapping. In
January 1918, General Allenby used five Australian pilots from No. 1 Squadron AFC to photograph a 624 square miles (1,620 km) area in
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airplanes, they not only overcame enemy air attacks, but also bucked 65 mile per hour winds, antiaircraft fire, and malfunctioning equipment to complete their task circa 19 January 1918.
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Taplin's divorce from Doreen Taplin was finalized on 15 October 1924; he was ordered to pay 3 pounds 10 shillings alimony weekly until her remarriage. He died on 8 July 1961.
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at
Redlington, France. He scored his first aerial victory on 17 July 1918, using Camel serial number C8226 to destroy an Albatros two-seater reconnaissance plane southwest of
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Retrieved 24 February 2011. Note: Taplin did not receive credit for his last, low level victory. However, Christian Mesch is credited with victory over Taplin.
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and was credited with 12 official aerial victories. Postwar, he was an aviation pioneer in
Australia, and a leading citizen in his adopted hometown.
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360:'s fledgling Western Australian Airlines as a pilot for Australia's first scheduled airline. After Brearley sold out, Taplin settled in
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down out of control; the following day, scoring twice, he drove down a Fokker D.VII and drove down another. On 7 August 1918, he set an
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266:. Taplin drove him away with a burst of 30 rounds of machine gun fire, then completed repair of the camera and completed his mission.
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On 17 January, during one of these photo sorties at 12,000 feet (3,700 m), Taplin was plagued by a jamming camera while mapping
179:. After graduation, he took a job as assistant to his elder brother, who was engineer in charge of the Electrical Supply Company in
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with his knees and dismantle the camera to clear its jam. Once the camera was disassembled, he was attacked by a German
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http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31258676?searchTerm=%22Leonard%20Taplin%22&searchLimits=sortby=dateAscRetrieved
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and became one of its leading citizens. He supplied electricity to the town, and served as both its butcher and
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Taplin was born on 16 December 1895, his father was C. E. Taplin, an architect. On 8 May 1907, while living in
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Taplin began usage of
Sopwith Camel number 1407; he would score 10 victories with it. On 30 July, he drove a
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http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5561465?searchTerm=%22Leonard%20Taplin%22&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc
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http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5064583?searchTerm=%22Leonard%20Taplin%22&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc
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as an aid to correcting and improving maps of the
Turkish front. Taplin and fellow lieutenants
208:. On 8 November 1916, he was accepted for transfer. After pilot's training, he was assigned to
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However, Taplin had healed enough by the New Year that he was available to be assigned by
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pilot. He had not been in B Flight of the unit too long when he was in a crash near
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The AIF Project, 2011, "Leonard Thomas Eaton TAPLIN", Access date: 15 August 2011
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144:(16 December 1895 – 8 July 1961) was an Australian World War I
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Sopwith Camel Aces of World War 1: Volume 52 of
Aircraft of the Aces
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After training in
England, Taplin served nine months in France as a
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On 5 March 1918, Taplin left the Middle East for duty piloting a
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camp until 1919, arriving home on 23 August 1919. He joined
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Pilot with
Australia's first scheduled airline service,
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Austro-Hungarian
Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops
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352:Leonard Taplin would not be repatriated from his
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892:World War I prisoners of war held by Germany
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551:, Rigby Limited, Adelaide, 1962, chapter 15
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588:. Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2003.
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897:People educated at Prince Alfred College
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816:Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
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16:Australian fighter ace (1895–1961)
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204:. He applied for transfer to the
856:Bulgarian Army Aeroplane Section
320:On 1 September, Taplin became a
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655:Aircraft of the Entente Powers
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156:. He then transferred to the
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245:Royal Aircraft Factory BE.12
902:Australian prisoners of war
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549:Cape York to the Kimberleys
534:Retrieved 24 February 2011.
512:Retrieved 24 February 2011.
491:Retrieved 24 February 2011.
462:Retrieved 23 February 2011.
451:Retrieved 23 February 2011.
441:Retrieved 24 February 2011.
421:Retrieved 24 February 2011.
214:Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2
142:Leonard Thomas Eaton Taplin
25:Leonard Thomas Eaton Taplin
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851:Ottoman Aviation Squadrons
305:afire in the air south of
122:Distinguished Flying Cross
258:. He decided to hold the
185:Australian Imperial Force
212:in the Middle East as a
148:. During his service in
783:Royal Italian Air Corps
763:Australian Flying Corps
751:Royal Naval Air Service
631:Aviation in World War I
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206:Australian Flying Corps
133:West Australian Airways
812:Japanese air services
742:British air services
705:Aerial reconnaissance
313:recon plane north of
183:. He then joined the
177:Prince Alfred College
88:Years of service
496:15 July 2012 at the
467:15 July 2012 at the
332:recon plane east of
241:Edward Patrick Kenny
237:Allan Runciman Brown
797:Greek air services
638:People and aircraft
564:, 16 October 1924)
562:The West Australian
83:Engineers; aviation
788:Romanian Air Corps
773:French Air Service
746:Royal Flying Corps
715:Flight over Vienna
275:No. 4 Squadron AFC
210:No. 1 Squadron AFC
112:No. 4 Squadron AFC
108:No. 1 Squadron AFC
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700:Bombing of cities
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61:(1961-07-08)
18:
882:1961 deaths
877:1895 births
676:and battles
330:Halberstadt
315:Marquillies
283:Very flares
196:World War I
154:cartography
140:Lieutenant
59:8 July 1961
51:, Australia
31:Nickname(s)
871:Categories
645:Commanders
576:References
366:undertaker
291:phosphorus
249:Martinsyde
218:Khan Yunis
181:Parramatta
164:Early life
146:flying ace
99:Lieutenant
68:Allegiance
674:Campaigns
665:Zeppelins
326:Fromelles
233:Palestine
150:Palestine
91:1915–1919
693:Cuxhaven
494:Archived
465:Archived
375:Endnotes
342:Jasta 27
338:Jasta 26
311:Hannover
307:Laventie
279:Estaires
264:Albatros
260:joystick
78:Service/
49:Adelaide
725:Battles
170:Malvern
72:Britain
688:German
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334:Aubers
289:and a
285:and a
256:Nablus
202:sapper
118:Awards
80:branch
273:with
45:Unley
650:Aces
590:ISBN
340:and
247:and
104:Unit
96:Rank
56:Died
39:Born
873::
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