HISTORY

TAMER OF PAPER DRAGONS

EUGEN SIEMPELKAMP

Eugen Siempelkamp in front of his Pfalz D.IIIa with the artwork depicting a paper

dragon on the fuselage. He downed one aircraft with this plane.

RICHARD PLOS

Photo via Greg VanWyngarden

A slew of First World War pilots became successful businessmen after the war ended. Some started their own,

mostly aviation themed companies, while others picked

up on long standing family traditions. Not all succeeded,

though, forcing some into bankruptcy, some sold their

assets to more powerful competitors, or were simply

victims of fate. Eugen Siempelkamp was among those

that were successful and earned a spot among the more

significant of German industrialists.

Eugen Siempelkamp, an ace with five confirmed kills, attracted attention from aviation enthusiasts and historians alike mostly

via his Pfalz D.IIIa, which also became the

subject of the boxart of a recently released

Eduard kit (Catalog Number 8414). The attractive artwork and the instructions included with the kit depict this aircraft based on

the newest information uncovered by well-known researchers Bruno Schmäling and

Jörn Leckscheid (Jasta Colors, Volume 1;

Aeronaut Books 2020). As opposed to earlier interpretations of his aircraft, the new

research revealed that Siempelkamp’s Pfalz

had a yellow nose, which was consistent

with Jasta 29 coloring, and frankly, suited

them well. What sets the markings apart,

though, is the rather bizarre artwork on the

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eduard

fuselage. According to earlier assumptions,

this was the Tatzelwurm, a mystical being

coming out of Alpine folklore. Tatzelwurm

is reminiscent of a lizard, but only has two

legs, claws, and a head of a feline beast. The

problem is that Siempelkamp didn’t come

from the Alpine region. He was born, and resided his whole life in Krefeld, a town not far

from Duisburg, so a fair distance from any

Alpine peak. He himself later explained that

the artwork was a bit of a mundane reference to the company mentioned earlier…

Eugen Siempelkamp was born on June 11,

1894, in, as mentioned, Krefeld to his parents, Gerhard and Maria. At the time, his

father had been developing for eleven years

a company that specialized in the production

of industrial presses. In 1883, he develo-

ped hot plates that were directly heated by

means of drilled piping. These plates were

used to refine fabrics, giving them an elegant sheen in the process. This type of press

did a lot to liven up the textile industry, and

because it was particularly useful in the production of silk, it should come as no surprise

that among Siempelkamp’s business clients

were representatives of the Chinese companies. These would bring the young Eugen

Chinese paper dragons as gifts, which would

later become the inspiration for the unique

artwork on his aircraft.

Two Camels to start with

Eugen entered combat as a fighter pilot

on March 22, 1918 (though some sources

suggest March 2), after completion of his

training at Jagdstaffelschule II in Nivelles

and assignment to Jasta 4. Unfortunately,

not much is known about his previous flying history. Jasta 4 was a component unit

of Richthofen’s JG 1 and Eugen started out

there flying the Fokker Dr.I. On April 1, he

would also claim his first victory flying the

type. His victim was a Sopwith Camel (D1811)

of No. 64 Squadron, flown by 2Lt. Percy Reginald Cann. This event occurred at 0800h

southeast of Fouilloy and as such, Siempelkamp’s became the first victory of the Luftstreitkräfte over the RAF, that on that day

INFO Eduard - August 2021