Terry, I don't remember the exact date that German fighter pilots first started wearing chutes, but they were pretty standard for the German flyers by April 1918. Allied pilots never were issued with chutes during the war. -- Al
I agree excellent photo, and the pilot has that 'what good is this thing' look on his face.
Terry, the chutes worked, subject to the same problems that parachuting from any plane would involve. Of course there were failures, as the design wasn't terribly efficient at the time, as when German ace Erich Lowenhardt was involved in a mid-air collision with fellow pilot Alfred Wenz. Both men took to their chutes, but Lowenhardt's failed to work and he died, whereas Wenz' chute saved him. Many flyers died due to chute failures, but many were saved. It was better than no chance. I think I remember that wearing the chutes was required but I just don't know when that became required or if there was an option to not wear it. Sorry to be vague, but I just don't know for sure without researching it. -- Al
Thanks Randy. Your flipped photo does look more correct. I went to the museum site and I see that all three of the photos that show the D-7 radiator, show the fill cap on the right (incorrect) side. This means that either they have 'flipped' each of the photos for some reason, or that they have rebuilt the radiator that way on purpose. Could be a technical reason as far as rebuilding a 1918 era engine/radiator in today's world. There were many different styles of radiators for the D-7, but I can find no plans, or photographic evidence of the fill cap ever being on the right side. All of them were either central or left located. This stays a mystery to me. Just as a note of interest, the excellent JJD Fokker D-7 has the fill cap correctly located on the left side. Many thanks for the effort to flip the photo. I appreciate it. -- Al
