Triplane Madness During 1917

A Trio of Failed Triplanes

German Empire - 1917

Albatros Dr.I - 1917

The profile started life about a year ago as a line drawing of an Albatros DVa. I used a couple of photographs to guide me when I added the wings and struts. I also saw another color profile of the Dr.I which matched my best guess on the finish.

The Albatros Dr.I is one of those planes that should have been good but wasn't. During the First World War, aviation was in its infancy and a number of interesting designs were flown, but never accepted for service. The Albatros Dr.I was one of those designs.

After the appearance of the Sopwith Triplane, manufacturers in Germany were requested to give thought to the triplane format. Built to try to improve climb performance, the Albatros Dr I had a DVa fuselage and power plant, serial D 1573/17 with wings of equal cord and span. All three wings had ailerons connected by vertical steel struts.

British Commonwealth - 1917

Blackburn Triplane - 1917

The first time I saw the Blackburn Triplane was over a year ago in a small color picture. It got me started looking for references to do a better job of it. I fund some photos and a line drawing for guidance. This current version is a year old and it is ripe for a replacement.

The Triplane was the third unsuccessful attempt at an anti-Zeppelin fighter that involved Blackburn. The first was Blackburn's own Twin Blackburn and the second the AD Scout, Blackburn building two of the four machines of this type to an Air Department of the Admiralty design. In 1916, the Scout's designer, Harris Booth moved to Blackburn where he created a heavily-revised aircraft, the Triplane.

The layout of both Scout and Triplane was determined largely by the Admiralty requirement to carry a quick-firing, recoilless Davis gun that used 2 lb (1 kg) shells. At the time, there was no way of synchronizing such a weapon with the propeller, or of mounting it elsewhere than the fuselage, so a pusher configuration was necessary, the pilot sitting in a nacelle with the gun in its nose.

United States of America - 1917

Curtiss Model S-3 - 1917

Sometimes I get in too big of a hurry. That was the case with this profile. I had the line drawings, I had the photographs, I just did not have the patience to nail it. There are a lot of parts which need refinement. The process is a matter of creating te new, and reinventing the old.

The Model S was Curtiss' first attempt at a fast and maneuverable single-seat fighter. The first variant, S-1, had disappointing performance. In March 1917, new wings were attached to the S-1 fuselage and the project was redesignated S-2. In 1917, the S-3 became the first triplane in service in the United States. In 1918 and 1919, Curtiss experimented with seaplane versions of the S-3, designated S-4 and S-5. The S-6 was intended to be an improved S-3, but performance was poor and of the 12 ordered by the USASC, only 1 was delivered.

Fokker D.VII Done Three Ways

Who's a Pretty Bird?

It has been dismal weather, dark, dank and downright raw. The wind is howling and I needed something to lift my spirits. Nothing works like a bit of color to brighten one's day. Here are a few of my newer profiles for the Fokker D.VII. I know I have posted the history of the aircraft so I will spare you the canned history.

Fokker D.VII - Jasta 16b - 1918

I found the reference for this profile the other day. It was a profile sheet for decal placement by Lifelike Decals Limited Edition. I love checkerboard flashes and Bavarian checks best of all. I am glad it is a simple process to warp standard checks into the blue and white pattern that looks so good on an aircraft. It was a scheme I had to do, so after finishing the Flea, I began digging in and got busy. The lozenge pattern may not be completely accurate, but it was fun.

Fokker D.VII - Jasta 18 - 1918

I did this profile about a week ago. I have been on a roll working up aircraft flown by Jasta 18. The red white and black markings are appealing to me.

Fokker D.VII Oblt. Erich Lowenhardt - Jasta 10 - 1918

I have been in taking a short break from new profile subjects and have begun fleshing out multiple schemes for the more well known planes. I picked this particular D.VII because it was a quick profile to make, and who can resist a big friendly looking yellow bird. I don't know about you, but I have always had a need to make a cheery bright yellow airplane.

Monoplanes of the Early War

Monoplanes of the early were primitive compared to the designs of the middle period of World War One. They were fragile and underpowered. Maneuverability of these early aircraft was sluggish to say the least. Control was achieved through the use of wing-warping rather than ailerons.

Monoplanes of 1914

Blériot XI - 1914

At the outbreak of war,the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC) brought twenty-three Blériot XI's with them into France along with its expeditionary force; they served as reconnaissance aircraft with six RFC squadrons. The French Service de l'Aviation also furnished Bleriots to eight of their escadrilles, and Italy went into action with their own previously acquired Blériot XI's in six squadrons.

Morane Type L - 1914

A "parasol" monoplane, the Morane Type L was a fragile one or two-seat reconnaissance aircraft. It was the first aircraft armed with a fixed machine gun that fired through the propeller arc. Bullets which struck the propeller were deflected by steel plates. Armed with a Hotchkiss machine gun firing 8 mm solid copper bullets, Roland Garros tested the design in April 1915. He scored three victories in three weeks before the plane was captured by the Germans.

Pfalz A.Ib- 1914

The Pfalz A.I and A.II unarmed scouts were copies of the Morane-Saulnier L produced under license in Germany by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke early in the First World War.

Pfalz E.I - 1914

The Pfalz E.I was a sport aircraft produced under licence in Germany by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke, who built several variants including: the E.I, E.II, E.IV, E.V, and E.VI. The aircraft was armed with a single, synchronized LMG 08/15 machine gun. A single-seat derivative of the successful Morane-Saulnier G with a slightly reduced wingspan. Like the Type G, it was a successful sporting type in its day.

Monoplanes of 1915

Morane Saulnier N - 1915

Due to the shape of its nose, the Morane-Saulnier Type N was aptly nicknamed the “Bullet”. Built in small numbers, it was the first French aircraft specifically developed as a fighter. Armed with a fixed, forward firing machine gun, its propeller was protected by the metal deflector plates pioneered by Roland Garros on the Morane-Saulnier Type L. Although it was faster and more maneuverable than previous aircraft, the Bullet was extremely difficult to fly and unpopular with pilots.

Fokker E.III Eindecker - 1915

Max Immelmann scored his first victory flying the “Eindecker.” Scourge of the air during the winter of 1915, the Fokker E.I was the first aircraft armed with a synchronized, forward firing machine gun. German pilots were ordered not to fly it across enemy lines for fear the Allies would capture the secrets of the synchronizing gear. Followed by the E.II, E.III and E.IV, the Eindecker was underpowered and slow but could out turn most of its opponents. Allied aviators who faced it called themselves “Fokker Fodder” The Eindecker ruled the skies until the Nieuports and SPADs were developed.

Germany - 1915 DFW T28

Freak Friday Strikes Again!

DFW T28 Floh (Flea) - 1915

Today's oddity is the DFW T28 Floh (Flea). I don't know what it is about this plane that has made me do over four attempts at getting the profile right. I have been annoyed every time I looked at the previous one. Today was a cold rainy and windy day, so I tore the old version up and tried again. For now I'm less annoyed.

The DFW T28 Floh (Flea) was designed by the Chief Engineer of the Deutsche Flugzeugwerke GmbH of Leipzig-Lindenthal, Dipl.Ing. Hermann Dorner. The intent was to create a high speed fighter by eliminating drag through reducing the need for struts and rigging. The name Floh translates as "Flea" in English, and this is because it looks like a small fat blob with stunted wings.

References

1. The original article appeared in the February 2000 issue of Internet Modeler. "http://www.wwi-models.org/IM/German/floh.html"
2. DFW T28 Flea Plans "http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=798109"
3. Grosz, P. M. "Windsock Mini Datafile 18 - DFW T28 Flea" Albatros Productions Limited, 2001. ISBN: 1902207335

Germany - 1916 LFG Roland C.II

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! No! It's a Whale!

LFG Roland C.II - 1916

I remember cracking open the box of the old Airfix kit of the Roland C.II. It was such a funky plane you had to love it. The bloated fuselage gave me visions of an Albatros which had been force fed donuts until it could no longer touch its toes. The only problem with the kit was the lack of choices of paint schemes. It made you think that you could have it in any color you want as long as it was pale gray. Once I found out there were other paint schemes line of gray Walfisch on my shelf became a lot more colorful.

The LFG Roland C.II, usually known as the Walfisch (Whale), was an advanced German reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was manufactured by Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft G.m.b.H.

The C.II featured a monocoque fuselage built with an outer skin of two layers of thin plywood strips at an angle to each other (known as a Wickelrumpf, or "wrapped body" design). The deep fuselage completely filled the gap between the mainplanes and gave the aircraft its nickname.

The C.II was powered by a single 160 hp (120kW) Mercedes D III, providing a top speed of 165km/h, a ceiling of 4000m, and an endurance of four hours. The thin wings gave a mediocre rate of climb.

References

1. From Wikipedia LFG Roland C.II "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LFG_Roland_C.II"
2. Munson, Kenneth - "Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914-1919" ISBN 0 7537 0918 X