According to Austin Robinson (who should know as he flew them) the painting of the Felixstowes was entirely an affair of the summer and autumn 1918. And that they were painted with dazzle schemes, not as an attempt at camouflage, but the exact opposite - to make them recognizable at a glance in the air and (as importantly) to be able to see a downed boat at sea. The first example of the benefit of this practice took place on June 4 1918, when three Felixstowe based boats and two from Great Yarmouth were involved in a fight with German seaplanes. One of the Yarmouth boats (either N4298 or N4289) was painted in red/yellow stripes and was the only one easily recognized of the five boats concerned. After this the others crews were allowed to paint their boats in similarly garish colours and patterns.
Further reading on the Felixstowe boats can be found in the following issues of C&C (GB/INT)
One of the more striking markings carried by any aircraft in WW1 was the dragon marked Albatros C.III flown by Bohme/Lademacher of Kasta 10 on the Russian front during the Summer of 1916. Until recently it was assumed that both sides of the aircraft featured the dragon, however photos in the possession of Dr.-Ing Niedermeyer show that the port side was in fact a crocodile. Besides the dragon & crocodile, the aircraft also featured small white silhouettes of Russian aircraft being chased by the reptiles. That on the port side being a pusher, while the starboard side had a tractor. The starboard side also has a rack for flares as well as the rigging notes in a small square below the observor's cockpit. The dark wheel covers are interpreted as black but could have been red.
For more information on Bohme, see the articles in OVER THE FRONT volumes 5/1, 6/4 and 12/2.
Thanks to Greg VanWyngarden for providing the photos, and to OVER THE FRONT (www.overthefront.com) for allowing me to make use of the profiles here.
B6313 went through many changes to it's appearance during it's year of combat flying. Initially it had No.28 Sqn's white square and wheel covers and flight number of '1' with a small 'C'. Possibly changed to 'N' when No.28 went to Italy. When Barker went to No.66 Sqn, B6313 most likely had their markings of a vertical bar in front of the roundel and a horizontal one behind it, but no photo has been found. Upon going to No.139 Sqn B6313 had two white bands behind the roundel, changing to 4 white and 3 black and later expanding to 7 white and 6 black extending from the roundel to the tailplane. B6313 also had an arrow through the heart on it's fin. At some point this was repainted as it is shown with the arrow facing both fore and aft at different times. Here B6313 is depicted in its ultimate appearance at No.139 Sqn RAF in September 1918.
PF Fullard is one of the many little known and unsung aces of the First World War. During only 5 1/2 months in 1917 he claimed 42 victories, before being withdrawn from combat after breaking his leg in a football game with another unit. This injury kept him from flying for over a year and had not the Armistice intervened he would have taken command of one of the first of the new Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard squadrons.
Fullard scored 17 of his victories while flying B'3459. Although shown as red, the squadron marking of a vertical bar may have been black.
JO Andrews downed 5 EA while flying DH2 5998, one of which was flown by Stephan Kirmaier, OC of Jasta 2 on November 22 1916. Andrews eventually ended the war with a total of 12 victories and command of No.209 Sqn.
No.3 Wing RNAS was sent to France in June 1916 to provide the British component of a combined Franco-British strategic bombing force to raid Germany. After a slow buildup of strength due to resources being diverted to the RFC after the opening of the Somme offensive, the first major raid took place on 12 October 1916. On this date 22 British and 34 French attacked the Mauser rifle factory at Oberndorf, Germany.
One of the three RNAS aircraft lost was 9660 flown by CHS Butterworth, a Canadian from Ottawa. Butterworth had been attacked by a Fokker D.II flown by Vzfw Ludwig Hanstein and forced to land at an aerodrome near Freiburg with a slight neck wound as well as damage to his engine and was taken POW.
The appearance of 9660 is interesting in that it is at odds to the rest of No.3 Wing in having a CDL fuselage and PC10 wings and tail surfaces, whereas all the others I have seen are PC10 overall. The red/white individual marking repeated on both stabilizers and was a feature of the aircraft of this unit.
Originally formed in March 1918 as 'Z' Flight and attached to No.34 Sqn in Italy for long range reconnaissance duties. By July 1918 a second flight had arrived and the combined unit was known as No.139 Sqn RAF. The original marking of two vertical white bands soon gave way to four white and three black bands and ultimately expanded to the 12 and 11 depicted here on D8084. This aircraft also carried a spanwise w/b/w stripe between the upperwing
Painted up as part of a war bond drive C1373 provokes many questions. First of which is what unit does C1373 belong to? The fuselage roundel (occasionally repeated under the fuselage as well), rudder stripes and r/w/b square on the fin point to it's use by No.90 CRS/CTS RFC/RAF(Canada) at Rathbun in 1918. However the red (or black?) tips to the white elevator could be from prior (or present service) with one of many number of other units.
The overall white colour is based on tonal values. In addition to the fuselage the radiator and cowl louvres were also white. While the elevators were white with red (or black) tips. There was a white stripe on the ailerons between the first and second rib from the tip. The propellor may have been r/w/b from the centre out with black on the rear side (I chose to leave this off the profile as I couldn't tell for sure). Besides the crossed flags and message ACHETEZ UN COUPON on the port side there is the message BUY A BOND on the starboard side under the rear cockpit. C1373 possibly carried roundels under the top wing as well. Wheel covers were divided into six equal portions of r/w/b.
Deseronto, Ontario is the location of the Camp Rathbun and Camp Mohawk aerodromes.
Thanks to Jim Lyzun for use of his photographs in the development of this profile. Notes on RFC/RAF(Canada) markings are from C&C(GB) 15/3.
Formerly of Fl.Abt.18, Müller served with Jasta 11 From 15 July 1917 until his death in a flying accident on 27 October 1917. His only victory was over a 'Sopwith' on 14 August. Müller's D.V features the typical Jasta 11 markings of the Summer 1917 period of Red nose, wheels and struts with the pilots personal colours on the rear fuselage and/or tail.