SPAD XIII vs Fokker D VII: Western Front 1916–18

43 Pages·33.065 MB·English

by  Jon Guttman, Jim Laurier, Mark Postlethwaite, Harry Dempsey

Western Fr
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATORS
Aresident ofLeesburg,Virginia,JON GUTTMAN issenioreditor, research director
andcontributingwriterforPrimedia EnthusiastPublications.SpecialisinginWorld
SPAD XIII
WarIaviation,hehaswritten eleventitles inthe pastincludingthe popular
Balloon-BustingAcesofWorld WarIin Osprey'sAircraft oftheAcesseries.
Berkshire-based HARRYDEMPSEYisatalented profile artistwho specialisesin
fighteraireraft ofWorld WarI. Hehasillustrated aII ofOsprey'sWorldWarIAircraft FOKKER D VII
oftheAcestitlesto date.Harrycompletedthethree-viewsforthisvolume.
Born in Leicestershire in 1954,MARKPOSTLETHWAITEdeveloped alifelong
Western I7ront 1918
passion foraviation history,andfirstworked asaphotographer, beforeturning
hisattentionsolelytoartwork. Heisgreatlydistinguishedin hisfield forthe
qualityand accuracy ofhiswork, and becamethe youngestelected memberof
the Guild ofAviationArtistsin 1991.Heisavalued Osprey artist and has
contributedto morethan 80ofits books. Markcompletedthe battlescene
artworkforthisvolume.
JIMLAURIERisanative ofNewEngland and lives in NewHampshire.Heattended
PaierSchoolofArt in Hamden, Connecticut,from 1974-78,and since he
graduatedwith honours, he has been workingprofessionally inthefield ofFine
Art and Illustration. Hehas been commissionedto paintforthe USAirForceand
hasaviation paintingson permanentdisplayatthe Pentagon.Jim completedthe
cockpitviews forthisvolume.
JON GUTTMAN
FirstpublishedinGreatBritainin2009byOspreyPublishing, Editor'sNote
MidlandHouse,WestWay,Botley,Oxford0X2OPH,UK Foreaseofcomparisonbetweentypes,imperial
443ParkAvenueSouth,NewYork,NY10016,USA measuremclHSareusedalmostexclusivelythroughoutthis
book.Theexceptionisweaponcalibres,which3fegivenin
E-mail:[email protected]
theirofficialdesignation,whethermetricorimperial.
©2009OspreyPublishingLtd. Thefollowingdatawillhelpinconvertingtheimperial
measurementstometric:
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criticismorreview,aspermittedunderrheCopyright,DesignsandParemsAct,1988.noparr
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PrintISBN978 I846034329
PDFe-bookISBN978I84603876I CONTENTS
EdiredbyTonyHolmes
Coverarrwork,cockpitandarm3mcnrscrapviewsbyJimlauricI'
Three-viewsbyHarryDempsey
Acknowledgements
BarrlesccncbyMarkPostlethwaite
ThanksroFrankW. Bailey,AlexImrie,ColinOwers,
PagelayourbyKenVailGraphicDesign,Cambridge,UK
IndexbyMiehaclForder AllanToelleandGregVanWyngardenfortheirassistance Introduction 4
TypesetinITCConduirandAdobeGaramond duringthepreparationofthisvolume.
Mapsbybounford.com Chronology 8
OriginatedbyPDQDigitalMediaSolutions,Suffolk,UK CoverArt
PrintedinChinathroughBookbuilders At0900hrson 14September1918,FokkerDVIIsof
Design and Development 10
09 10 II 12 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Jasta18ambushedSPADXJllsofrhe13thAeroSqnover
Thiaucourt,resultinginLrnHansMi.illerclaimingthree
FORACATALOGUEOFALLBOOKSPUBLISHEDBYOSPREYMILITARYAND Technical Specifications 23
aircraftdestroyedandsinglevictoriesbeingcreditedro
AVIATIONPLEASECONTACT:
!.InsGUnthervonBurenandHeinzKusrner.Oneofthe
ORTHAMERICA Americanswhosurvivedrhisacrionwas1LrLeighton The Strategic Situation 36
OspreyDirect,cloRandomHouseDistributionCenter,400HahnRoad,Westminster,MD Bre\ver.andhesubscqucnrlyrecalled,'Onthe14thwe
21157 wcregivenalowpatrol,ataheightof2,500metres.\Vle The Combatants 41
E-mail:[email protected] werenyingthiswhenwewereanackcdbyagroupofred
ALLOTHERREGIONS nosed Fokker~. \Y/clostfouraeroplaneswithinoneminute! Combat 52
OspreyDirect,TheBookServiceLtd,DistributionCentre,ColchesterRoad,FratingGreen. Iwasnyingbetweenacoupleofmenwhowereshot
Colchester,Essex,C077DW,UK down,bUI IolllygO!onebulletinthetailofmy Statistics and Analysis 69
E-mail:[email protected] aeroplane.Thefir\tindicationIhadtllatenemyaircraft
www.ospreypublishing.com werenearbyW;1\.when IsawaredFokkerwithawhite Aftermath 75
fuselagestandingonit..noseandsprayingthefellow
Germanranks Frenchranks USAStanks RFC/RAFranks behindmewirhbullel",'I,voFokkerswithredwingsand
Further Reading 78
Rittmeister[Rittm] CaptdeCavallerie CavalryCaptain CavalryCaptain nosesandwhireru~c1nge..divedonus,:1I1dtheyshotdown
Hauptmann[Hptm) Capitaine Captain ArmyCaptain themenoneithersideofme. ILtsCharlieDrew,George Index 80
Kull,BuckFreemanand"Sll'VC"Brodywerealllosr.Drew
Oberleutnant(Obit) Lieutenant FirstLieutenant Lieutenant
wasverybadlywounded, Kullwoskilledandth~other
Leutnant(Ltn) Sous-Lieutenant SecondLieutenant SecondLieutenant twowerecaptured'. 1Lt ~Il.lrlc..W.Drew,whowaslater
Offizierstellvertreter[OffzSt) Adjutant WarrantOfficer WarrantOfficer tohavehiswoundedlegampul.lIed.wasactuallytaken
Feldwebel[Fw) Sergent·Chef IMasterSergeant MasterSergeant prisoner.TwoFokkcrswcrejOll1t1ycreditedro1LrsRoben
H.Stiles,GeraldD.Sliven,.lIlt! lurrayK.Gurhrie,bur
Vizefeldwebel[Vzfw) Marechal-des-Logis Sergeant1stClass Sergeant1stClass
Jasra18'sonlycasualtywa;;1111~on Bi.iren,whowas
Sergeant Sergent Sergeant Sergeant -- wounded.The13th'5vetcr.lntonlln:lI1der,CaptCharlesJ.
Unteroffizier[Uffz) Caporal Corporal Corporal Biddle,ruefullyattributcdhl\10\\l'"tothe[,ct[harin
j
spireofhisrelentlesswarning...'Ihenewmenwillget
Gefreiter[Gfr) Brigadier Private1stClass Private1stClass
carriedawaywiththemsclvc\III,tlombatandgotOO
Flieger[Flgr] Soldat Private Private
strong.'(ArtworkbyJimLaurier)
INTRODUCTION
IftheSopwithCamelandFokkerDrIareuniversallyregardedastheiconicdogfighting
antagonistsofWorldWarI, thesecondmostfamiliar pair- amongAmericansatleast
- is theSPADXIIIand the Fold<:er0 VlI. Each has itsown claim to fame.
France's first twin-gun fighter, the SPAD XIII broughta 53rd, and final, victory
andsubsequenttragicdeath to France's mostfamous ace, Georges Guynemer. Italso
laterservedas the definitive mount for its mostsuccessful fighter pilot, Rene Fonck.
As theprincipalfighter ofthe USArmyAirService (USAS), theSPADXIII was the
aeroplane in which its 'ace ofaces', Edward V. Rickenbacker, and the top-scoring
American balloon-buster FrankLukeeachearned the Medal ofHonor. Both France
and the United States regard itas theirchiefinstrumentofvictory in theskiesabove
theWestern Front in the conflict's last months. from inception, whereas the Fokker's incorporatedaweldedsteel fuselage frame and Sous·LtRenePaulFonck
Opposing the Allied fighters in the final stages ofWorld War I was the superb an innovativewooden cantileverwingstructure thateliminated the need for bracing ofSPA103wasthemost
Fokker0 VII.Althoughitenteredcombattoolatetobeflown byGermany'sleading wiresas usedon theSPAD, heraldingmonoplanedesigns to come. successfulFrenchSPAOXIII
pilot,withninedocumented
ace Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, the 0 VII was used to deadly effect by the Bothaircrafthad theirshortcomings.Thespurreduction gearemployedto adjust
victoriesoverFokker0VIIs
second- and third-ranking German aces, Ernst Udet and Erich Lowenhardt. More the Hispano-Suiza 8B engine's 220hp to the SPAD XIII's most efficient propeller amonghistotalof?Skills.
importantly, it ~ad the distinction ofbeing regarded by its fliers and its foes alike as speed proved to beaperpetual malfunction waiting to happen, especiallyin itsearly Histuniccoveredinmedals,
the bestall-around fighter aeroplaneoftheconflict. months ofuse. Visibility from the cockpit, though excellent in the upper plane, was Fonckisseenhereposing
proudlywithhisfighter
As is so often the case in history, the reality behind these classic images calls for marredbysomeblindspotsforwhichSPAD pilotshadtovigilantlycompensatewhen
inthespringof1918.
somequalification. Farfrom beinganabsolute'wonderaeroplane', theFokker0 VII overenemylines.
(JonGuttman)
could beoutpaced by theSPADXIII bothinlevel flight and inadive. On theother Poorventilation within the Fokker 0 VII's cowlingoftencaused its machinegun
hand the 0 VII climbed faster, was more manoeuvrable at slower speeds and was ammunition to ignite, with the nightmarish consequence ofin-flight fire. Quality
reportedbynumerousAlliedopponentstohavetheadded trickofbeingableto'hang control at Anthony Fold<er's factory at Schwerin had acquired a reputation for
on its propeller', pepperingthem from belowwith machinegun fire. unreliability that also bredvigilanceon the partofGermany's Inspektion de Fliegel',
The robust airframes ofboth aeroplanes reflected the past three years' structural or Idflieg for short. Ironically, bener built 0 VIIs were produced under licence by
4 advances, theSPAD'sbeingconventional 'woodand wire', butfundamentallysound Fokker's longtime rival,Albatros. 5
AnearlyFokker0VIIcaught 1LtLeslieJ.Rummellofthe
climbingseemstoembody 93rdAeroSqnsitsinthe
thephenomenonof'hanging cockpitofSPAOXIIIS7650
onitspropeller'thatsomany No14,whichwasusually
Alliedpilotsattributedtoit. assignedto1LtRalphL.
(JonGuttman) Hartman,while1LtChester
E.Wrightleansonthelower
wing.(JackEderCollection)
When rheywerefuncrioningarfull efficiencyandbeingflown bycomperentpilors,
rherewas lirrle ro chooseberween rheSPADXlIIandFokkerD VII. Byrhe rime rhe
larrerappearedoverrheWesrern Front,however, rheGermanArmywasinalaresrage before, usingmerhodsalready proven for achievinglocalised airsuperioriry,aided by
ofrheoffensiveirhad begunon 21 March 1918. Earlyon, rherewere barelyenough prevailingwinds rhar favoured rheir side ofrhe lines. Yer in spire ofrhese inherent
D VIIs ro replace rhe DrIs as rhe vanguard ofafighrer force srill heavilydependent disadvantages, by Augusr 1918 rhe SPAD pilors were encouraged ro go on rhe
upon ageingAlbarros D Vasand PfalzD IIIas ro offserasreadilygrowing numberof offensive by rhesrraregic iniriarive rheir armies possessed on rhe ground, alongwirh
firsr-rare Allied counterparrs. Too few examples of rhe new Fokker fighrer were superior numbers, srocks of fuel and a growing reservoir of trained, combar
available in rhesummerof1918 ro allow unirs equippedwirh rhe aircrafr ro achieve experiencedairmen.
airsuperioriryby rhe rime rhe lasrGermanoffensivefailed on 18July. Seprember1918sawrhelaunchingofAlliedoffensivesrharachievedbreakthroughs
From rhen until rheArmisriceon 11 November 1918, rhe Germans remainedon unimaginableeven ayearearlier.The Brirish andAustraliansgained rerrirory easrof
rhe defensive, jusr as they had been prior ro March.This gave rhe Fokker pilors rhe rheSommeRiverand in Flanders,and rheFrench rookrheAisneRiverand liberared
same racrical advantage rhar rheir Albarros-flying colleagues had enjoyed rhe year parrs ofrhe Champagne region. Thar monrh also saw rhe firsr large-scale pushes by
rheAmericans, arSaint-Mihiel and in rheArgonne Foresr,which rhe Germanscame
roseeasenoughofarhrearrodeployrwooftheirmosrcombar-seasonedfighrerwings,
orJagdgeschwader, ro rhelarrer region. Consequenrly, rheduels berweenSPADXlIIs,
which now fully equipped rhe USAS pursuirsquadrons, and FokkerD VIIs reached
acrescendo.
Byrhat time theconceptofairsuperioriry, and the technologyand techniquesfor
achievingit, hadbeen fully realised, andwerebeingtakenseriously.Althoughfighter
pilotsstillstrovefor thefame ofacedom bydowningfive ormoreenemyaeroplanes,
theknighrlygameofsinglecombathadgivenwayro confrontationsberweenflights,
LtnErnstUdet,commander
squadrons,groupsorwings in whatamounted rosprawlingairbatrles.Aerial warfare
ofJasta4andGermany's
hadcomeofage, and in the final epicdogfights ofWorld War I theSPADXlII and
second-rankingacewith
62victories(includingeight FokkerD VII symbolised itsstate-of-the-arrembodiment.
SPAOXllls).posesbefore
aBMW-enginedFokker0VIIF
thatwasmarkedLO!inhonour
ofhisfiancee,LolaZink.
6 (GregVanWyngarden) 7
.
. .
- •
-
~.
• • • ,
•
French launching ... ..
counterattackacross the • Rene Fonckof.SPAl03
.
• sixGerman aircraft
...
. - • •
~
... for SPAD ~IIs.
.. SPAD;VIIsen.te.rfrontline service. • • •• '.
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. .. • ... .. . .
. -
•• - • I
••
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.
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.
. • " - '" I. _.~ - • •
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I· •.
"
CaRtFrederickSowry,ofNo. .. . . .
RRCscoresfirst SPAD ... - . -
victory,overaG - Michaelbegins die ",
••
.
Kaiserschladit, ••
.
,
•
. . , .
,. • • - • •
.. . .
Capt Georges Guynemerof. Lowenhardtof.Jasta
- - •
• .
• •• ••
-
Germans launch
Bliicher-Yorckin theAi
betwee'n',Soissons and
RRuClolf.,winClisch, commanderof.
.
.n -
are grounding them two days
•
Bechereau's next fighter, the SPAD SG, was essentially asingle-seat SA 4 with a
remotelycontrolledHotchkiss machinegun in an unmanned nacelle in placeofthe
pulpit. Evaluated in April 1916, it too was afailure, but then Bechereau altered the
airframe to use the newly developed 140hp Hispano-Suiza 8Aengine and armed it
withasynchronised0.303-inVickers machinegun. Originallydesignated theSPAD
SH, the prototype had alarge conical spinnerwhen test flown in March 1916.The
spinnerwasabandoned butits rounded radiatorshellwas retained.
A further development known as the SPAD 5 used a 150hp 8Aa engine that
reportedlygaveitamaximumspeedof105mphandtheabilitytoclimbtoanaltitude
of9,840ftin nine minutes. An impressedAviation Militaireordered 268 fighters on
10May 1916.
DESIGN AND The final production model was officially designated the SPAD 7.C1 (the 'C1'
indicating that it was asingle-seat chasseur, or fighter), butwas more widely known
as theSPADVII. Initialcoolingproblemswereeventuallysolvedaftertryinganumber
DEVELOPMENT
ofdifferent radiatorconfigurations.The3,500SPADVIIs thatwereeventuallybuilt
served the air arms of- and were flown by aces from - France, Britain, Russia,
Belgium,Italyand theUnitedStates.Frenchfighter pilotswerestill traininginSPAD
VIIs as lateas 1928.
The inevitable development ofimproved German fighters in the late summer of
1916,IllostnotablytheAlbatrosD IIwithits twin machineguns, led rankingFrench
ace and zealous SPAD advocate Georges Guynemer to write to Bechereau in
December calling for more power and heavier armament. Birkigt's interim solution
was to increase the compression ratioofhisoriginal engine, resulting in the creation
SPAD XIII
ofthe 180hp8Ab,whichkepttheSPADVII's performancecompetitiverightupuntil
the endofthewar.
WhenWorldWarIbrokeoutinthesummerof1914,militaryaviationwasinitsinfancy Meanwhile, on 11 June 1916, Hispano-Suiza had successfully bench-tested the
andtheconceptofairsuperioritybarelyexisted.Bytheendof1916,theessentialfighter new8Bengine,whichgenerated208hpat2,000 rpm atgroundlevel,and used aspur
configuration had been defined- asingle-seaterwith aforward-firing machine gun, reduction gear to transfer that powerto the propeller.
usuallysynchronised to fire through the propeller. For the rest ofthe conflict, aircraft After testing the8Bin aSPADVII, Bechereau concludedthatasomewhatlarger,
manufacturersofthewarringpowersengaged inaconstantstruggle togainan edgein more robustairframewouldberequired toaccommodateit. Inaddition to itssize, the
speed, rateofclimbormanoeuvrabilitythatwouldgive theirsidecontrolofthesky.
One influential factor in that quest was the water-cooled eight-cylinder 150hp
Hispano-Suiza 8Aa engine devised by Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt in 1915, around
whichseveral greatAllied fighters weredesigned. Thefirst suchaircraft, however, was
notsomuchdesignedforthatpowerplantasserendipitouslyadapted tomakeuseofit.
CreatedbyLo~is Bechereaufor theSocieteanonymepourl'Aviationetsesdpives,
theSPAD SAseriessought to provideforward-firing armament by placingagunner
inapulpitheldbymeansofstrutsinfrontofthepropellerandits80hpLeRhone9C
SPAOXIIIS504shortlyafter
rotaryengine. Introduced inlate 1915, theSA1,SA2andSA4weremoreterrifying
itsdeliverytoSPA3atStPol
to their front gunners than to the enemy, but their basic airframe was sound. sur-MerinAugust1917.Capt
Therefore, on4June 1915, Bechereauappliedfor apatentfor his designs'single-bay GeorgesGuynemerwould
wingcellule,whichfeatured intermediatestrutsofnarrowchord, towhichthebracing scorehis53rdvictorywith
thefighteron22August,and
wires were attached at the midpoint. That arrangement added sttength and, by
subsequentlydieiniton11
10 reducingvibration in thewires, lesseneddragaswell. September.[SHAA897.1685) 11
SPAD 13.Cl, which was ordered into production in February 1917, had rounded Inaddition to20pre-productionmachines, theAviation Militaireorderedan initial
wingtips, inversely tapered ailerons, forward-staggered cabane struts with afrontal production batchof250 SPADXIIIs, but byDecember 1917only 131 had reached
bracingwire and, mostsignificantly, twin 0.303-inVickers machine guns with 380 thefront.Thedelaywasprimarilydue toproblemsassociatedwith theHispano-Suiza
roundseach.Aparalleldevelopment, the 12.Cal,combineda37mmPuteauxcannon 8B's reduction gear, which continuedto handicap itfor months thereafter.
with asingle 0.303-in Vickers. And while it achieved small-scale production and In addition to that, reports came in ofbulgingfuel tanks, eventuallyremedied by
enjoyed modestsuccess whenflown bysomeofFrance's aces, it proved to besuch a amodified pressure release valveand agauge to monitor the fuel pressure.The tank
handful to fly thataceswereabour the onlypilotswho couldfly it. was also partitioned, and each compartment given its own fuel line. Although the
Sous-LtRene Dorme, oneofthe manyaces inGuynemer'sescadrilleN3, test-flew SPAD XIII's radiator- like that oflate-model SPAD VIIs - could be regulated by
one ofthe new SPADs at Buc on 4 April 1917, and at least one was undergoing manuallycontroJledshutters,earlyexampleswereproneto leakageuntilsturdierones
evaluationinafrontline uniton26April.ThefirstaerialvictoryclaiminaSPADXIII, were quickly introduced, along with less rigid attachments that subjected them to
however,camefromBritain'sRoyalFlyingCorps(RFC),whichhadadopted theSPAD reduced levelsofstress.
VII in thesummerof1916 and acquiredSPADXIII S498 in late May 1917. Given Oncethe initialteethingtroubleshadbeen ironedour, theSPADXIII'sfirepower,
the BritishserialnumberB3479and testedatCandas, itexceededexpectationswitha combined with its ability to lose most pursuers in a dive - not only because ofits
speedof140mphat 15,000ft, reachingthataltitudein 16minutesand 18seconds. speed, but because ofthe wing cellule's ability to hold up to the strain - made it
On 9June B3479 wassent to No. 19 Sqn for evaluation, and on the 13thfuture popularwith its pilots.
RFCaceCaptFrederickSowrydrovedownaGerman two-seaterforhis thirdvictory. Although Britain had initially ordered 120 SPAD XIIIs, it only had 57 byApril
LtG. S. BuckdestroyedanAlban'oswhilstflyingit thenextday, and on21JulyFred 1918, ofwhich 16were on strength with No. 23 Sqn. By then the newly organised
SowrydroveanAlban'os D III down outofcontrol northeastofYpres. Royal Air Force (RAF) had enough indigenously designed Hispano-Suiza-powered
Thefirst Frenchman to score in the SPADXIII was Capt Guynemer who, flying fighters,suchas theSE5aand theodd-looking, butexcellent,Sopwith 5F1Dolphin,
S504from StPol-sur-Mer, nearDunkerque,shotdown aDFWCVoverPoperinghe to render the SPAD superfluous. On 4 May No. 23 Sqn replaced its SPADs with
on 20 Augustfor his 53rd-and last- victory. On 11 SeptemberheandS504failed Dolphins.Thus, noBritishSPADXIIIevermettheFokkerDVII incombat,nordid
to returnfrom amission. Later,asergeantoftheGerman 413thRegimentstatedthat any that the French shipped to Italy. France also sold 37 SPADXIIIs to Belgium in
hehadwitnessedtheSPAD'scrashandidentifiedtheace'sbody, butanAlliedartillery March 1918, but little is known about their use by its 10eEscadrille.
barrage drove the Germans offbefore they could bury him. Evidence suggests that One French ally that did use the SPAD XIII extensively in 1918 was the United
Guynemerwas thevictim ofRumpler C IVcrewmen FigGeorgSeibertand Lt d R States, which had failed to develop an effective fighter design ofits own.The USAS
Max Psaar ofFl Abt (A) 224w, who were themselves slain shortly after by Belgian initially purchased Nieuport 28s - rotary-engined fighters rejected by the French
LtMauriceMedaets. untilenoughSPADswereavailable.Operatedbythe 1stPursuitGroup, theNieuports
gave their pilots the chance to acquire combat experience over the relatively quiet
Toul sectorfromApril to lateJune 1918. However, the unitsufferedheavycasualties
overChateauThierry inJulywhen itwent up against FokkerD VIIs flown bysome
ofthe bestairmen in the Luftstreitskrafte.
TheUSASgotitsfirstofaneventual893SPADXIIIsinMarch 1918.Priorto that,
several American volunteer pilots ofthe Lafayette Flying Corps (LFC) had already
flown the twin-gun SPAD in combat, and the experience ofmen such as CharlesJ.
Biddle, G. DeFreest Lamer, WilliamT. Ponder, David E. Putnam andThomas G.
Cassady, all ofwhom later transferred to the USAS, would prove invaluable to the
newer pilots.
AdjPierreGaudermen[atfar
FollowingthecollapseofthelastGermanoffensiveon 18July1918, the 1stPursuit
right)ofSPA68examineshis
aeroplaneafterarough Group began replacing its Nieuporrs with SPAD XIIIs. The group's 95thAero Sqn
landingatToulaerodrome drewfirst blood in the newfighter on 25July,when lLtJames KnowlesJrclaimeda
duringthewinterof1917-18.
Fokker D VII near Bouvardes. The actual damage he inflicted on his opponent is
Thisviewaffordsagoodview
dubious, butthere is no disputingwhatsquadronmate lLtWalterL.Averyachieved
oftheroundedwingtipsofthe
early-modelSPADXilis. in the same dogfight when a lucky shot in the carburettor forced his antagonist to
12 [SHAA876.623) land in Allied lines. The captured German pilot turned out to be none other than 13
FOKKER DVII
Although 1917 had dawned brightly for German fighter pilots with the success of
theAlban'os D II and its successor the D III, the year ended with uncertainty and
frustration. Followingthedebacleof'BloodyApril', theAlliedfighter units hadbeen
acquiringasuccessionofsuperbaircraft- France's 180hpSPADVIIand220hpSPAD
XIIIandBritain'sBristolF2BFighter,RoyalAircraftFactorySE5a,SopwithTriplane
andSopwithCamel. Germanefforts to counterthem withsuccessors to theAlbatros
D III hadyieldedonedisappointmentafteranother.
TheAlban-os DVwasamorestreamlined, lighteneddevelopmentoftheD III.And
like tllelatter, itsufferedfrom mesesquiplanelowerwingfailings mathad blighted the
D III throughoutitsfrontlinecareer.Indeed,lowerwingfailurewasevenworsewimthe
D V than it had been with the D III, the sesquiplane having the unnerving habit of
twistingandbreakingoffduringviolentmanoeuvringorwhen inahigh-speeddive.An
attempttoreinforcetheairframe,inmeformofmeD Va,madetllefighterheavier, thus
reducingmeaeroplane's performance,whichwasalreadylittleimprovedover meD III.
The Pfalz D III looked like asesquiplane butwas in fact a true biplane with a
smaller two-spar lower wing. Although indisputably sturdier than the Albatros,
LtnKarlMenckhoff, Ltn Karl Menckhoff, commander ofRoyal SaxonJagdsraffel 72 and aholderofthe the Pfalz, whose sleek fuselage was fashioned from diagonally wrapped plywood
StaffelfUhrerofJasta?2sand OrdenPourIeMrJritewith 39victories to hiscredit. strips, was criticised for beingheavy, underpowered andsluggish.Additionally, its
a39-victor~ace,posesbefore Backin theToul sector, the 2nd Pursuit Group, led byMaj DavenportJohnson, machine guns, housed within the fuselage, were inaccessible to the pilot in the
twoFokker0VIIsbearinghis
was formed from the 13th, 22nd, 103rdand 139thAero Sqns on 30June. Both the eventofajam.ThelaterPfalzD IlIafeatured rounder, lowerwingtips, an enlarged
'M'markingshortl~before
becomingthefirst 103rd,organisedfrom thefamedAmerican volunteerescadrilleSPA124'Lafayette'on tailplane and guns more conventionally repositioned atop the fuselage, but the
somewhathumiliated 18 February 1918, and the 139th had already seen combat in SPAD VIIs prior to aeroplane never overcame its image among German fighter pilots as being little
victimofanAmerican-flown supplementingand ultimatelyreplacing them with XIIIs. more than asecondary resort.
SPADXIIIon25Jul~ 1918.
On 29 July the 103rd Aero Sqn's commander, Maj William Thaw, was given
[GregVanW~ngardenJ
commandofthe3rdPursuitGroup,comprisingthe28th,49th,93rdand213thAero
Sqns,atVaucouleurs.Thaw,afoundingfatheroftheEscadrilleLafayette,appealed to
MajJohnson to allow his old unit to join the3rd Pursuit, and this duly occurredon
6Augustwhen the two groups exchanged the 49th for the 103rd. BySeptemberall
three USAS pursuitgroups werefully equipped with theSPADXIII.
Onitsnoseandpartiall~
strippedoffabric,aFokker
Two5PADXIIIsofthe95thAero oVIIdispla~s detailsofits
SqnatSaintsinthesummer
woodencantileverwing
of1918.Thisunitwasthefirst
structure,aswellasthe
USASsquadrontoseecombat
slightl~off-centreangleof
inthenewt~pe,claimingtwo
theverticalstabiliserwhich
Fokker0VIison25Jul~1918
helpedcounterpropeller
andactuall~downingone.
torque.[GregVanW~ngarden) 15
14 (GregVanW~ngarden)
AnthonyFokker'sDrI,orderedasacopyoftheSopwithTriplanebutfeaturingan
innovative wooden box wing structure that obviated the need for bracing wires,
" .' • ",' " j' 20ft5Sin. captured imaginationswithitsoutstandingrate ofclimband manoeuvrability. Early
" On' f
production models sufferedstructural failures due to poorqualitycontrol, however,
and even after steps were taken to remedy that, the aeroplane was handicapped by
Germandifficulties insupplyingasuitablelubricantforits 110hprotaryengine.The
DrIwas alsoslowerthan mostofitsAllied counterparts, exceptwhenclimbing.
Inspiteoftheshortcomingsoftheirfighters, skillandsuperiortacticsallowed the
German pilots to hold their own throughout the year. They were aided by the
essentiallydefensivewar theywere fighting, with prevailingwesterlywinds actingas
afurther handicap toAllied airmenstrivingto regain theirsideofthe lines.
On 21 March 1918, however, itwas the Germans whowentover to the offensive
withOperationMichael-thefirst phaseofalastdesperatebidforvictoryin theWest.
At that time the Luftsteitskrafte's best available fighter was the Fokker Dr I, fewer
than200ofwhichwereavailable. Mostwereallocated toJagdgeschwaderI,IIandIII
toserveas the'tipofthespear',whosesupportingshaftconsistedofAlbatros DVsand
D VasandPfalzD Illsand D Illas. Bythen rumours ofbetteraircraftwere reaching
the beleagueredJagdflieger, the first confirmations ofwhich arrived in April in the
form oftheSiemens-SchuckertWerke (SSW) D IIIand the FolJeerD VII.
In lateJanuary 1918, IdAieg had held a fighter competition at Berlin's Adlershof
airfield.The31 contestantsfrom tenmanufacturersrangedfromimprovedversionsofthe
Albatros D Va and Pfalz D IlIa, powered by the new high-compression straight-six
MercedesD Illauwater-cooledengine, tooriginal, innovativedesigns. Oneoutstanding
newcomerwasSSW'sDIII,which usedthe 160hpSiemensundHalseShIII II-cylinder
counter-rotaryenginewhosepropellerandcylindersroratedinoppositedirectionstothe
crankshaft.Thisunusualconfigurationresultedingreaterpropellerandcoolingefficiency,
betterfuel economy, reduceddrag, lowerweightandagreatlyreducedgyroscopiceffect.
Flown byLrn Hans Mi.illeron 21 January, the SSW D III displayed exhilarating
manoeuverability and an impressive rate ofclimb. Idflieg ordered 30 D Ills on
1March,followed by50moreon23Marchand50oftheD IV- avariantwithnew
wingsofreducedspanandequalchord(basedon the D Ill'slowerset) thatsacrificed OPPOSITE
someofthatclimb rate for greaterlevelspeed- on 8April. SPAOXIIIS7513oflltleslie
JG II had35 SSWD Illsonstrength by 18May, andJasta 19'scommander,Ltd JRummell,93rdAeroSqn,
basedatVaucouleurs,
R Hans Pippart, probably used one to destroy a Breguet 14B.2 on the 20th. After
October1918.Rummellflew
seven to ten flying hours, however, mechanics began to report overheating, ejecting
histhirdassignedSPAOfrom
spark plugs, faulty magnetos, bearing failure, faulty throttles, disintegrating piston 23September1918totheend
headsand completeengineseizures. ofthewar,beingcreditedwith
twoFokker0VIisandan
By23 MayJG II's SSWs had beenwithdrawn. D Ills and D IVs began returning
Albatrostwo·seateron29
tofrontlineserviceon22July, theirShIllshavingbeenreplacedbyShI1I(Rh)engines
September,andmoreDVIis
built under licence by the Rhenania MotorenfabrikAG (Rhemag), which curiously on10,23and29October.
proved less troublesome than the originals. Even then, most ofthe 136 operational Italsooutlastedhim
SSWsserved in the interceptorrolewith homedefence- KampfeinsitzerSta.ffeln. Rummelldiedofinfluenza
on2February1919,while
Anthony Fokker had sent no fewer than eight aircraft to Aldershof- the rotary
S7513wascondemnedatthe
16 enginedV9 biplane, theVII,V13 andV18 biplanes, theV17andV20 monoplanes 1stAirDepoton24March. 17