Platz vs. Fokker vs. the Designer to be named later

Aceding to Norm's request, I'm splitting this off from the MG thread. I actually am quite interested in what the truth is here, if there is an objective truth to be found.

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Well ok, who then designed Fokker's later aircraft? Gray and Thetford say that Reinhold Platz was the design genius behind the Dr.I, D.VI, DVII, etc., and go on at some length about his prolific output.

Other sources I've read say the same thing, Platz was a great designer but a very reticent personality, who was happy to leave the credit to others.

(Confused, but interested)

Just so it wasn't Walter Musciano.

[leo]

As the war progressed I believe that Fokker had less and less to do with the design of the aircraft from the Fokker Works. He had to concern himself with political and business affairs.

[Volker_Nemsch]

After the death of Martin (?) Kreutzer in 1916 Reinhold Platz was responsable for the design of the Fokker aircraft starting with the Dr.1. Fokker alwaly insisted that his name had to be used when there was anything like an invention.

Perhaps (not necessarily) without men like Heinrich Lübbe or Reinhold Platz Fokkers name would have been forgotten in the last 80 years. Fokker was a brilliant salesman for his aircraft and a very good pilot, but this is only 50% of the whole Fokker story.

Just an opinion!
Volker Nemsch

Well that's pretty much what I had read. However, in the MG thread, Dan-San had stated that Platz was not the designer of the aircraft, that he was merely the manager of the experimental group. According to Dan-San, his name does not appear on any original drawings as either a designer or draftsman.

Considering Dan-San knows, to measure it scientifically, about a gillion times more than I do, I decided to ask for an some further explanation.

I'm wondering though, whether I've stumbled into a religious debate (anyone ever seen message boards where Linux and Windows believers clash?)

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Jay:
I thought I would add a little background about the Fokker -Platz issue.
While writing "Fokker, the Creative Years", the author A.R. Weyl committed suicide. The publisher, Putnam, London, contracted with Jack Bruce a noted British aviation historian to compile, edit and finish the book. The manuscript that Weyl had writen and not completed was about twice as long as the published book. Jack Bruce had edited and compiled the book as published, without much revision to the original text.
A. R.Weyl had been in Idflieg during the war and had amassed a hugh amount of documents, drawings and data of all sorts. For example there is 22 feet of shelf space in factory drawings alone. Peter M. Grosz bought the A.R.Weyl collection which he has to this day. Weyl disliked Anthony Fokker with a passion, I don't know why! Something had happened between the two and Weyl was out to ruin his name.
Point 1. Weyl states that Fokker did not have production drawings, which is an out right lie, there are in the Weyl collection, that I have seen production wing drawings for the Fok. DR.I, (1st version), D.VII and E.V. Peter has the drawings for the D.VII and E,V fuselages. it is impossible to produce anything in series production with out drawings. The parts built by Fokker ,Albatros and OAW are inter-changeable, the proof is the Fok.D.VII at the French air museum in Paris is assembled from component of all three constructors.
I have a copy of the Fokker DR.I wing drawing, upper, middle and lower. There are three names in the title block, the draftsman, checker and the engineer and Platz is not any of them. The names that appear on the middle wing title block are : Pelz (13.8.17)as the draftsman; Beyer (28.817) as the checker and approval appears to be Dahm (28.VIII.17). As can be seen none of these name are Platz.
Peter Grosz wrote an article about this question in great detail in "OVER THE FRONT", Vol.5 No.3 Autumn 1990, entitled "REINHOLD PLATZ AND THE FOKKER COMPANY", pp.213 - 222. The article has photographs of the personnel of the engineering department and Platz is NOT in any of the three photos. Dahm, was the Engineer in Charge of the Technical Bureau, Read the article , all your questions will be answered. One thing for sure, Fokker never screwed Reinhold Platz, this is very evident in the article.
Blue skies,
Dan-San Abbott

Dan-San, thanks. Sounds like a subject that when drilled down on, it's not nearly as clear as it first appears.

I'll see if I can dig up that article.

Forumites: Thanks for another great thread. If what I am reading here is correct, the amount of misinformation has been, is and, regretably, will continue to be staggering.
DD