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1 March 2002, 05:58 PM

A Fokker by Any Other Color, or Streaky Eindeckers Redux

The thread “More Streaky Fokkers” went its way to dusty death a month or so ago. *It is, I know, hubris to disturb the rest of the departed, but the secondary question raised then of just what the actual factory finish of Fokker Eindeckers was—putting aside the issue of streaking—will not quite go gentle into that good night. *Revisiting David Johnson’s reborn Web site gave the question a new lease on life with some images that, if new to me, are doubtless as old as Methuselah to many. *

In contrast to the image originally posted by Peter L. at the head of the earlier thread, these photographs are of factory new machines where the confounding influence of staining and weathering is minimized if not eliminated altogether. *Even so, the supposition that oil staining could be responsible for darkening a CDL finish might need to be reconsidered—at least regarding external surfaces—in light of the photograph below, where the hot escaping exhaust actually scours the existing camouflage.

Nor should the tonality of the Eindeckers be explained as a photographic artifact due to the limitations of orthochromatic film to reproduce yellow, an oft-repeated but nonetheless mistaken claim about the color sensitivity of these emulsions.

Previously I had suggested that it might be that “Fokker covering and finishing practices—fabric type and dope and/or varnish composition—varied across the production run” of Eindeckers. *Comparison of the E-series machines with the Doppeldeckers that followed them, where it is much clearer that a factory camouflage was applied, certainly presents a tonal family resemblance, and must, consequently,
suggest the possibility that the practice was experimented with on the earlier type.

A view of E.IVs under construction on the Fokker factory floor presents an interesting problem of understanding the tonal difference between the darker horizontal tails and the much lighter covered fuselages in the foreground. *

It would be easy to dismiss the problem as the result of differences in the illumination falling on the two components—and one often sees remarkable tonal differences in photographs that can be so explained. *However, the fact that the elevators of the various machines are deflected at different angles but nonetheless retain their relative tonal identity, none of which correspond to the “color” identity of the fuselages (which also show differential illumination) suggests the difference is real. *An explanation that would conform to an aircraft assembly-line work-flow practice that persisted at least through the next war is that the tails are finished units, whereas the fuselages are not, and that whatever finish has been applied to the former has yet to be applied to the latter: in my view, some camouflage finish.

Regards to all,
Stefen

c 2002

1 March 2002, 05:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
StefenK Guest Posts: n/a	A Fokker by Any Other Color, or Streaky Eindeckers Redux The thread “More Streaky Fokkers” went its way to dusty death a month or so ago. It is, I know, hubris to disturb the rest of the departed, but the secondary question raised then of just what the actual factory finish of Fokker Eindeckers was—putting aside the issue of streaking—will not quite go gentle into that good night. Revisiting David Johnson’s reborn Web site gave the question a new lease on life with some images that, if new to me, are doubtless as old as Methuselah to many. * In contrast to the image originally posted by Peter L. at the head of the earlier thread, these photographs are of factory new machines where the confounding influence of staining and weathering is minimized if not eliminated altogether. Even so, the supposition that oil staining could be responsible for darkening a CDL finish might need to be reconsidered—at least regarding external surfaces—in light of the photograph below, where the hot escaping exhaust actually scours the existing camouflage. Nor should the tonality of the Eindeckers be explained as a photographic artifact due to the limitations of orthochromatic film to reproduce yellow, an oft-repeated but nonetheless mistaken claim about the color sensitivity of these emulsions. Previously I had suggested that it might be that “Fokker covering and finishing practices—fabric type and dope and/or varnish composition—varied across the production run” of Eindeckers. Comparison of the E-series machines with the Doppeldeckers that followed them, where it is much clearer that a factory camouflage was applied, certainly presents a tonal family resemblance, and must, consequently, suggest the possibility that the practice was experimented with on the earlier type. A view of E.IVs under construction on the Fokker factory floor presents an interesting problem of understanding the tonal difference between the darker horizontal tails and the much lighter covered fuselages in the foreground. * It would be easy to dismiss the problem as the result of differences in the illumination falling on the two components—and one often sees remarkable tonal differences in photographs that can be so explained. However, the fact that the elevators of the various machines are deflected at different angles but nonetheless retain their relative tonal identity, none of which correspond to the “color” identity of the fuselages (which also show differential illumination) suggests the difference is real. An explanation that would conform to an aircraft assembly-line work-flow practice that persisted at least through the next war is that the tails are finished units, whereas the fuselages are not, and that whatever finish has been applied to the former has yet to be applied to the latter: in my view, some camouflage finish. Regards to all, Stefen c 2002