The Hispano-Suiza stork. Photo by author.
After WWI, all Hispano-Suizas famously carried a “flying stork” radiator cap. Whatever for?
Recall Birkigt’s famed watercooled monobloc SOHC aluminum V8 engine with integral heads and screw-in cylinder liners. By the end of the war this engine had been manufactured in no fewer than 21 plants–fourteen in France alone, and others in England, Italy and the US; more than 50,000 were built, and the Hispano-Suiza name was soon legend across Europe. (It was so successful that the French government later sued the company for war profiteering.)
The flying stork (La Cigogne Volante, for you Francophiles) radiator cap was a quiet reminder of the marque’s wartime prowess: it commemorated Group de Combat No. 12, the squadron of Georges Guynemer, a French air ace with 53 credited kills before his disappearance in September, 1917. Guynemer’s SPAD aircraft were Hispano-powered and -armed, and Guynemer was said to be a personal friend of Birkigt.
The Hisso flying stork was sculpted by Parisian artist Frederic Bazin. Fascinated by speed and flight, perfect for the art-deco era, Bazin designed numerous car mascots, including Isotta Fraschini’s “Spirit of Triumph” and French manufacturer UNIC’s centaur.
Editor’s note: Want to know more about the Hispano-Suiza H6B that this bird belongs to? Look for Jeff’s comprehensive review in the February, 2015 issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car magazine.
from Hemmings Daily - News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/1wHKNa4
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