Knights of the Sky (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter MCKENNA77
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Nice choice, Moe. It is my favorite as well, though to be perfectly honest, that can change from day to day. But the Kempf really is the best looking tripe. I think the superb camo job is what makes it. The shade of blue and the green streaking is very attractive. The detail is superb. There are two marking errors but the one I am puzzled about is the faceplate on the cowling. It really should be white, not silver. Jasta Boelcke chose the Prussian state colors of black and white for their ID colors and the cowlings of most of their tripes were thus painted black with the faceplate picked out in white. This is not to say that a faceplate could not have been silver for some odd reason, but Kempf's was white. That said, the model really is outstanding. -- Al
ivanmoe
Command Sergeant Major
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Hi Al,
In reference to the faceplate, you might want to make inquiry with JJ. I suggest that because he really seems to research his models carefully. On more than one occasion, I've thought that he was mistaken in his treatment of a surface. However, research on MY part has always ended up confirming HIS choices. Those experiences would lead me to believe that John has documentation, somewhere, that would support his handling of the colors involved. If he errs in his approach to a KotS aircraft model in any way, it usually appears to be intentional (rather than a product of shoddy background work). BTW, my comments above have to be viewed through the prism of a 1:30 model and the fact that its not the actual aircraft!
Tripeoholic continued: It is a fact that only 320 Fokker tripes were made. It is also true that there were never anywhere near that number in service at anyone time, from the first frontline flight on August 29, 1917, to the last recorded use of the tripe in combat on October 3, 1918. It is also a fact that the Allied flyers claimed a total of 375 victories over the triplane in that same timespan. There were 5 captured, 41 claimed down in flames, 146 claimed crashed, 167 claimed out-of-control (OOC), 14 destroyed, and 2 probable. Obviously there is some optimistic overclaiming, common to all air combat, in all wars. The culprit in the overage falls mainly within the OOC category. It was a category common to the Allies, but only allowed as a confirmed victory by the RFC. It is a category where the enemy plane is seen to fall in an uncontrolled manner, but whose final fate is not witnessed. Good faith claim though the pilot may make, it is a certainty that many of the planes seen to fall OOC, were simply using it as a maneuver to escape and would later recover when out of danger. It is a plain truth that 375 triplanes could not have been shot down when only 320 were ever made to start with. There are no numbers that I am aware of (or have access to), that break down how many tripes survived to be phased out of combat during June/July of 1918, or survived to be surrendered/destroyed at the end of the war. -- Al
I accidently left out some pertinent numbers info in reference to the above post. As stated, only 320 Fokker tripes were ever made and the number at the front was far less than this at any one time. Introduced to combat at the end of August, 1917, delivery to the front took a while to build up. By end of October, 1917, there were 17 in action and by end of December, 1917, there were still only 35. Numbers in action continued to grow and reached 143 by end of February, 1918, and the tripeplane numbers in action peaked by the end of April, 1918, at the not very large number of 171. Numbers in action begin to fall off after that because of several reasons, the most important of which is the arrival of the Fokker D-7. By end of June, numbers are down to 118, and as the phase-out of combat use continued, numbers still in use are down to 65 by the end of August, 1918. Numbers continue to shrink as the war nears it's end, and as stated in the previous post, the last recorded use in combat occurred on October 3 or 19, 1918, (different sources cite different dates), in which triplane ace Josef Jacobs is shot down while flying Fokker Triplane Dr.1 #450/17, falling to RAF Camels during a raid on Jacob's Jasta 7 aerodrome. Jacobs survived, his famous black triplane did not. -- Al
Manfred von Richthofen is known to have flown the 7 different triplanes listed above. He scored a total of 19 victories in 5 of them.
F.I #102/17- victory #60 (9/1/17), an RE-8; victory #61 (9/4/17), a Sopwith Pup
Dr.I #152/17- victory #64 (3/12/18), a Bristol F2b; victory #65 (3/13/18), a Sopwith Camel; victory #66
(3/18/18), a Camel
Dr.I #477/17 - victory #67 (3/24/18), an SE-5a; victory #68 (3/25/18), a Camel; victory #69 and #70 (3/26/18), probable SE-5a and an RE-8; victory #72 and #73 (3/27/18), both Bristol F2b's; victory #75 (4/2/18), an RE-8;
victory #77 and #78 (4/7/18), an SE-5a and probably a Camel
Dr.I #127/17 - victory #71 (3/27/18), a Camel; victory #74 (3/28/18), an Armstrong Whitworth FK8; victory #76
(4/6/18), a Camel
Dr.I #425/17 - victory #79 and #80 (4/20/18), both are Camels
So it can be seen that MvR scored 19 of his last 21 victories while flying one of his tripes (the other 2 victories, #62 & #63, were scored while in an Albatros DV). The vast majority of MvR's victories, 61 of 80, were scored in aircraft other than the triplane, mostly Albatros types. But it is the last triplane he flew, the all-red #425/17 in which he scored just 2 victories, and the one he died in, that is the most recognized aircraft that he is associated with and, subsequently, the most famous and recognizable aircraft of WW1. Such is the power of the death in action of a hero and legend. -- Al
I find myself wondering if anyone else that is interested in WW1 aviation has, like I do, an interest in the Austro-Hungarian aces and the aircraft they flew, or their air service in general. There are plenty of personalities and different aircraft to get into but I know that the A-H fronts with Italy and Russia are rather obscure for most, with source material being rather hard to find, (but there are a few good ones available), as well. The A-H air service had some good manufacturers making some good aircraft, makers like Hansa-Brandenburg, Phoenix, Aviatik, Lohner, and the Austrian Albatros Works. The A-H aces that flew these aircraft were just as brave and skillful as their more famous counterparts from Germany and the various Allies. Names such as Brumowski, Arigi, von Banfield, Kiss, Linke-Crawford, and the other 44 or so A-H aces well deserve to be remembered, but because of where they fought and flew, they are largely forgotten. Anyone else like to see some of these planes/personalities done by JJD? I would love it and I would think something as 'outside-of-the-box', like one of Gottfried Banfield's Lohner or Hansa-Brandenburg seaplane fighters, would be highly collectible. The sheer variety of very interesting colors and markings used by the A-H flyers could make this a popular air force to collect. -- Al
Jack
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Al
I tend to buy only the ground crew from Jenkins and use plastic kits so my vote may well be worse than useless but a seaplane is an attractive option. They always have a certain appeal.
Jack
Quite agree. There are lots of interesting seaplanes that could be done, for all belligerents. And speaking of the very excellent plastic aircraft that Factory Jack turns out, where did that Gotha go?:wink2:^&grin -- Al
Jack
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Yes - I was pursuing my Head of Construction just the other day concerning the ETA of the Gotha. He fielded the following excuses:
1. Retirement has proven surprisingly busy
2. He has been distracted by an unco-operative Eindecker, two Camels, a De Haviland Comet and some Confederate infantry
3. Apparently his grandchildren have some magical hold over his time ... I mean really ... they're just small people, and three of them are girls so they do not have a toy soldier between them!
4. He has assured me that it is the next project
On the up side I found someone looking to dispose of a TG aircraft at a too good to be true price. The Father's Day gift potential of one of the figures (if my Father reads this, remember, its not the thought that counts, its the gift's value on the secondary market) made it even more of a must buy. Can you guess which aircraft has just touched down?
I can understand the production hold ups. Grandchildren ALWAYS come first.^&grin I do wonder how those non-flying Confederate infantry got into the mix though.:rolleyes2: Good news that the Gotha is next up.
Now, as to the TG aircraft, are you hinting that you got one of those super-limited, gorgeous Rumplers at a great price or one of those beautiful FW190's that TG did? The secondary market hint makes me think Rumpler.:wink2: -- Al
Jack
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It is indeed the Rumpler!
Mucho congratulations, my friend. That is a 'get' to be proud of.^&cool:salute:: I am extremely envious. ^&grin -- Al
Jack
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It is quite big and I have a Wingnuts Rumpler coming after the Gotha so my German airfield will be large. I will say this, though, after googling those AH float planes I would part with a few dollars for one of those!
There is an interesting fact about the early aces of the air war that a lot of people don't realize and that is the fact that the earliest aces were NOT the famous German flyers Oswald Boelcke or Max Immelmann. The Allies produced 4 aces before either of the Germans reached the 5 victory mark. The 2 earliest aces were French. Adolphe Pegoud takes honors as the first ace of the war, scoring his 5th victory on April 3, 1915. The second ace was Eugene Gilbert, scoring his 5th on June 17, 1915. The next 2 aces belonged to the British. The 3rd ace of the war was none other than Lanoe Hawker VC, who scored his 5th kill on August 11, 1915. Ace 4 was Lionel Rees VC with his 5th kill on Sept. 30, 1915. The 2 famous Germans take 5th and 6th place with Immelmann scoring his 5th on Oct. 16, 1915 and Boelcke scoring #5 on Oct. 20, 1915. Those two would become very famous to the German people as they continued scoring on a regular basis, one never being more than 1 or 2 up on the other in a friendly rivalry that went back and forth until Immelmann's death in action on June 18, 1916. So, despite the fame of Boelcke and Immelmann, it was the Allies that first took credit for the first aces in air war history. The only one of these men to survive the war was Lionel Rees VC. -- Al
Jack
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Jack, there was a good biography written about Rees. It is titled "Against the Odds: The Life of Group Captain Lionel Rees VC, OBE, MC, AFC" authored by Alister Williams and published by Bridge Books in 1989. A quick look on Abebooks shows several copies for sale at typically varied prices. -- Al
A white-winged Fokker tripe, serial #545/17, piloted by a certain Leutnant Hans Weiss of Jasta 11, has made a landing at my Germantown Aerodrome this day. I am very pleased with this latest triplane rendition by JJD. The same previous praise is applied to the model itself in terms of the details and paint. I find the white wing, fuselage, and tailplane to be a very handsome combination with the red Jasta 11 cowling, wheels and struts. Because of the excellent JJD weathering, the white does not have a clean, bright appearance, but rather a used and somewhat dulled down finish. A very nice effect. I also liked the detail of the national crosses on the bottom of the lower wing which are set in a white field as opposed to just outlined. This white field was the regulation before being switched to the white outline, (as on the von Richthofen red tripe #425/17 and the Udet stripped tripe), when time permitted. It is probable that since Weiss was KIA in this triplane on May 2, 1918, that the markings JJD presents were the final markings this plane had. This model is a more than worthy addition to my aerodrome which now sports all 6 JJD tripes. John has done an excellent job picking tripes with such varied paint schemes. I look forward to the next one.:wink2: -- Al