Hi all,
since I received my copy of Jasta Colors 2 this morning, I couldn't put it down for even a second: It is simply amazong and early aviation history or markings respectively of the 1916 to mid-1917 period is exactly what I am mostly interested in.
Eternities ago I had started to do research on the green Albatros D. I (385/16) that was flown by Diether Collin and later by Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia. Friedrich is a fascinating person by the way, as he's the son of Friedrich Leopold of Prussia, a real thorn in the ar** of the imperial family. Leopold drunk way too much, spend way too much money and didn't miss a blunder. Kaiser Wilhelm II. finally declared him legally inaccebtable and took his children, Friedrich among them, off to the army. Friedrich, also enfant terrible just because of his father's behaviour and never having any chances to get on the Imperial throne, kept with sports (football, tennis, ...) and became a successfull competition rider. In WW1 he led a FFA, but loved to play with the big boys and liked to hang around with the pilots of Jasta 2 who finally handed down an old Albatros D. I to him that finally became his destiny: He was shot down on March 21 1917 and, wounded in the foot, tried to reach German lines when he was shot in the back by a still unknown Australian soldier (maybe Sergeant Robert Henry Tuff from the 13th Light Horse Regiment), but he was also taken to a hospital. Although Friedrich already seemed to be on the way to get better (he even wrote letters home), his wounds became infected and he passed away some days after being captured. A fair amount of sources are kept by the Australian War Memorial, first hand reports on the events of March 21, one of Friedrichs letters written in capture shortly before his death and much more. A truely fascinating research!
However, in spite of a huge amount of sources and pictures regarding Friedrich and his Albartos, several questions are still unanswered. So when I opened Jasta Colors 2 I was especially happy to see D. 385/16 discussed in detail on pages 153 to 162! What a relief, I thought, now all the mysteries could have been solved...
I finally get to my point here:
1st: It's been a question for a very long time if the background of Friedrich's skull and crossbone symbol was black or red. Schmäling and Leckscheid state this color now being definitely red -- but why? I just don't understand...
2nd: It's also been a question for a long time if this very machine which, in short, was painted yellow and later on green, retained its camouflaged wings or if the upper surfaces of its wings were also painted green. Now we have photographic evidence that show Collins green Albatros with wings that are painted a solid color -- obviously in fact green (p. 158). But on the other hand, on p. 161 there are pictures that show D.385/16 after its capture without doubt with two-toned upper wing surfaces! What could be going on here? The famous photo of 385/16 in Arras shows it with dismantled wings -- so were the wings replaced with camouflaged ones after its capture?
Is there anybody here deeper in this question on D. 385/16 or has an idea how to explain these issues? It is not that I couldn't live with inconsistent sources and historical questions that need to be open to debate until the end of tome - I am just caught by that very question. And there's a Roden Albatros D. I that is still waitinmg to be finished in Friedrich's colors (or Collin's yellow? I just don't know at the moment)...
Thanks in advance
Andreas