Seimens Schuckert D1

[Dan_San_Abbott]

John:
From what information that I have on the SSW D.I, I have pea green as the light color and rust brown as the dark color with pale sky blue as the under color. This is on a drawing I did in 1994. Greg may be right, I would have to revisit the SSW D.I study. to see if it was a three color camouflage scheme.
I have the SSW.D.I in February 1917 in Jasta 7 and 11; March 1917 in Jasta 9; in April 1917, Jasta 1, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 14; in May 1917 in Jasta 5, 6, 9, 11 and 24. I have none listed after May 1917. This does not imply that any of thieses Jasta were solely equipped with the SSW. D.I, quite the contrary, they were most likely no more than 1, 2 or 3 in any unit at any time and were mixed with Alb. D.II and D.III which were superior aircraft.
Blue skies,
Dan-San Abbott

Dan, Can't thank you enough for your response. You had provided a friend of mine with a color five view of Udets SSW DIII. Could you do this for the D1 and if so how much will it cost? David Johnson did a fantastic job on the DIII and I am asking him to build the D1 for me also but I want to be as accurate as possible with the color(s). Thanks in advance for your help. Cheers!

Here is an excerpt from a letter by Friedrich Rüdenberg (of Flieger-Abteilung (A)259 and later Jasta 10)to his brother who worked for Siemens Schuckert. In early April he had seen the Siemens D.I while picking up a new two-seater for his unit. A few weeks later he commented to his brother in a letter on 21 May 1917: “Your little biplane [Siemens-Schuckert D.I] is going to be grounded soon, I believe, there have been a number of mysterious crashes that killed some good pilots. Cause unknown, the poor guys were incinerated.”

The two published photographs of Hptm. von Hühnerbein's fatal crash at his short-lived Jasta 5 assignment would seem to confirm this. I am not sure if von Hühnerbein's crash was from fire in mid-air or not, but the photos of the smoldering wreckage sure show that not much was left. In Neal O'Connor's vol. V it states that he was making a test flight and all of a sudden the aircraft had a problem in the air and then went into the ground. It would be good to know more about the nature of these crashes if available. The Siemens-Halske Sh.I was still a new engine that had its ideosyncracies. Looking at an old article sent to me by Dick Bennett shows the gearbox for the contra-rotating engine. The engine itself was based on the Gnome. Dick indicates that it must've been difficult to adjust and work on since the gearbox was in the front. Also, according to other articles the 110 h.p. Sh.I was also being experimented with and would be boosted to 140 h.p. with the help of the Schwade supercharger.

Oh, and re: the Harleyford book. I think it is outdated and the Eastern Front reference is an innaccuracy. It is the only source that I've read that states that. I could be wrong and would welcome any new information on this.

AW

Aaron this is really great stuff. I have one additional book that says the D1 was used "mostly on the Russian front" Aircraft of WW1 by Kenneth Munson, published 1968 by Doubleday& Co Inc. Page160, "The D1 served mainly on the Russian front, but others were encountered on the Western front and later several were used in a training capacity". The picture shows the D1 sitting on a snow covered field.

[Craig]

Teething problems with its new engine aside, the SSW D.I surely inherited the structural problems of the Nieuport 11, of which it was a copy.

Maybe a V strut problem like the Albatros had for awhile?

The Munson book from 1968... he probably used the Harleyford book as a reference. There were some rather better references from Cross & Cockade (US) 1961, an article in UK publication Scale Models in late 1978, and a later Windsock piece in 1990-91ish. I would trust those over the older references. Also, a lot more information has come to light both photographically and research wise since the 50's and 60's when those other books were written.

AW

I have to agree since the wording is almost identicale to the Harleyford book.Do you know if the purple and dark green scheme was used in 1917? I found a color profile of a Fokker DVI at the Russian front (1918)and it is in these colors with a blue-ish green undersides. It is in another Munson book from 1968 (pocket Encyclopaedia). The color plates were done by a Ian D. Huntley

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Gentlemen:
I have had several E-mails regarding the SSW D.I, again I would like to offer some information regarding this machine.
1.The question of purple keeps coming up in the camouflage schemes of 1916-1917. Purple is a myth. Purple was not used nor was it ever specified as a camouflage color. The German document a telegram from IDFLIEG Flz.A ,356263
dated 12 April 1917 states:
"Red, or red-brown paint on the top surfaces of the wings has lead to misunderstandings - being taken to be enemy colors - and led to fights between our own aircraft. Therefore DARK GREEN and LILAC should be used only."
Lilac is a specific color, it is not purple, it is a greyed pale pink. Mauve is one shade more intense. Methuen color code for lilac is 15B4 and mauve 15B5. Lilac and mauve are dilutions from the purple hue which is 15A8.
2. The SSW D.I were built and in service before the IDfLIEG Flz.A telegram of 12 April 1917.
3. All german aircraft manufacturers were using green/brown or light green, dark green and brown for the top and side surfaces and light blue or clear doped linen under surfaces. When the IDFLIEG Flz.A telegram was received the brown color was discontinued by some manufactures, i.e. the Albatros Werke on their Alb. D.III order , serial numbers D.600-649/17 and 750-799/17used light and dark green schemes on the top surfaces. The Albatros Werke started using lilac/mauve and Dark Green with the first order of the Alb. D.V s/n D.1000-1099/17.
4. The purple crap is a myth.
5. I have no information whatsoever that the SSW D.I machines were ever used on the Russian Front. They may have been, after they were withdrawn from the Western Front and that is SUPPOSITION!
6. Jasta 7 did not start using black as a Jasta color until sometime after Ltn Josef Jacobs was given command on 2 August 1917.
Blue skies,
Dan-San Abbott

Dan, Thanks for taking the time to do this. Can you clarify when production ceased for the D1? The Harleyford book says," All production ceased in July 1917, after ninety-four D-1's,one D1A and two D-1bs had been delivered". If this is true then the IDFLIEG FlzA, 356263 document would have been out while these planes were still in production, right? So, your item #2 says," The SSW D.1 were built and in service before the IDFLIEG Flz.A telegram of 12 April 1917" but this is contrary to what the Harleyford book says. I'm not looking for an argument here. Just want clarification on when production ceased and if my book is inaccurate because it is dated. Okay? Taking all this into consideration I would think that it was very possible for some of the later SSW D.1 to have been painted in accordance with the telegram, that is, if they were really still in production up to or in July of the same year.I guess the real question would be how many planes were built in May and June? Thanks for the clarification on the Jasta 7 color. Cheers!