Markings Albatros D.III 1/48
Oblt. Rudolf Berthold, Jasta 18, Harelbeke, Belgium, September 1917
Shortly after taking command of Jasta 18, Rudolf Berthold introduced a new livery for the unit’s aircraft. It consisted of a red nose and blue fuselage and possibly also of blue on the upper surfaces of both wings. These were the uniform colors of the infantry regiment with which Berthold served before the war. The red and blue livery was first applied to Berthold’s Albatros D.III, built in Johannisthal, but during the autumn of 1917 Berthold flew one more Albatros, this one built in Schneidemühl (O.A.W.). This aircraft carried the same paint scheme, but it is likely that the upper surfaces of the lower wing retained the original camouflage paint. Berthold crashed this aircraft under unclear circumstances, probably shortly before suffering a devastating gunshot wound to his right arm while flying a second Albatros on October 10, 1917. This injury took him out of combat for a long time and left his right arm permanently paralyzed. After the war, Berthold formed his own Freikorps infantry unit and fought against the Bolsheviks. These battles proved fatal for him, however, when he was attacked and lynched by an angry mob in Hamburg as he retreated from combat on March 15, 1919.
D.2006/16, Lt. Lothar & Rtm. Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, Jasta 11, La Brayelle, France, March–May 1917
What is interesting about this Albatross D.III manufactured by the Johannisthal factory is that both von Richthofen brothers scored aerial victories when flying it. However, it is not clear exactly how many of them. Lothar himself stated that after joining the unit commanded by his brother (Jasta 11) in early March 1917, he, as a rookie, was provided with an aircraft on which Manfred scored ten victories. However, this is contradicted by a number of facts and the famous Red Baron probably only scored three or four kills with this aircraft. Lothar himself flew this Albatros until May 13, when he was seriously injured. By that time, he had already scored 24 kills. It is not known how many of these he achieved flying the D.2006/16, he himself stated that it was ten of them. The aircraft was scrapped on June 7, 1917, as badly worn and damaged many times. Apart from a red band around the fuselage behind the cockpit, it bore the standard color scheme with wooden fuselage.
D.2049/16, Oblt. Hermann Göring, CO of Jasta 27, Ghistelles, Belgium, May 1917
This aircraft was used by Hermann Göring from February 24, 1917, i.e., already during his service with Jasta 26. At that time, its only decoration was a black band with white bordering around the fuselage behind the cockpit and diagonal stripes of the same color combination on the upper side of the upper wing. When Göring took command of Jasta 27 in May, the aircraft received a more distinctive livery, corresponding to the Staffelführer’s position. The entire fuselage was painted black, the nose and tail were white, as were all struts and wheel discs. The crosses on the rudder and vertical stabilizer were given a thin black line to make their white bordering obvious against the white background. The stripes on the upper wing have been significantly widened compared to the previous design. According to some sources, these were just double white stripes with camouflage paint between them, but in a picture of the Albatross D.V used by Göring a little later, the black paint between the white stripes is clearly visible. We are inclined to think that the stripes on the wing were black and white on this aircraft as well.
Lt. Emil Schäfer, CO Jasta 28, Wasquehal, France, May 1917
Karl Maria Emil Schäfer achieved thirty confirmed aerial victories and became the nineteenth German pilot to be awarded the Pour le Mérite. He was one of the pilots highly respected by Manfred von Richthofen himself, and his brother Lothar even owed him his life when, with his crippled aircraft he was just waiting for a “coup de grace” from an attacking British pilot. Instead, the enemy aircraft burst into flames just before firing the fatal shot, and Schäfer’s Albatros raced past! It was recognizable by the black tail that adorned aircraft number D.2062/16, but later it was given a red fuselage paint job, following von Richthofen’s coloring. It is not clear whether the black tail was covered with red paint or whether the aircraft retained the black color. In any case, in the photographs the rear fuselage looks darker. We are inclined to believe the reason is that the red paint was darkened by the overpainted black color. With the aircraft so colored, Schäfer took command of Jasta 28 in late April 1917 and was shot down by a trio of attacking FE.2d’s from No. 20 Squadron RFC on June 5. However, it is not clear whether this was D.2062/16 or another aircraft of the same coloring.
D.1996/16, Lt. Hans-Georg Edward Lübbert, Jasta 11, La Brayelle, France, March 1917
This attractively colored Albatross D.III was a personal mount of Edward Lübert during his service with Jasta 11. According to the interpretation of the black and white photographs, the aircraft most likely bore a yellow and blue fuselage livery, with the order of colors being reversed on the left and right sides, as well as on the rudder and vertical stabilizer. However, the serial number was left unpainted on the wooden base on both sides. Lübbert was wounded in combat with this aircraft on March 6, 1917 (shoulder gunshot wound) but managed to land it and Manfred von Richthofen flew it back to the unit. The Red Baron also borrowed Lübbert’s aircraft on March 17 and scored his 27th kill with it. Less than two weeks later, on March 30, Lübbert was shot down and killed, but he did not fly this aircraft on that occasion. It remained with the unit until May 11, 1917, after which it was used by Lt. Rudolf Hohberg of FF(A) 263 for photo reconnaissance purposes. Edward Lübbert was nicknamed Kugelfang (bullet catcher), as there was perhaps not a single engagement from which his aircraft did not bring some sort of damage. On the D.1996/16 there are patches of shots-through of the vertical stabilizer clearly visible.
Lt. Franz Ray, Jasta 28, Varsenare, Belgium, autumn 1917
Franz Ray began his career as a fighter pilot on October 1, 1916, when he joined Jasta 1. He achieved his first kill on November 23 that year, then was transferred to Jastaschule 1 in mid-December, where he remained until mid-January 1917. Subsequently, together with Max von Müller, he was tasked to form the new Jasta 28w (w as the Württemberg). Ray did not achieve his second kill until September 10, 1917, but thereafter further successes began to rapidly accrue and on September 23 he became the fighter ace after achieving his fifth victory. At the end of 1917, Jasta 49, one of the new units formed in response to the US entry into the war (the so-called “Amerika Programm”, i.e., doubling the number of Jasta units from 40 to 80) was established. Franz Ray became its commander and achieved eight more kills there, raising his score to a final 17 victories. He achieved his last one on September 30, 1918, then was called to Germany in October to test new aircraft and never returned to the front. His Albatros D.III he was flying in autumn 1917 had the rear half of the fuselage painted blue-violet, the upper surface of the upper wing having a reversed order of camouflage colors compared to the standard.