[Gregvan]

Hi,

iart7 is correct, Mode One, as far as I can tell. It's my belief that the fuselage and tail of "Stropp" do not match the wings that were with the airplane when it arrived at the Smithsonian, in pretty bad condition. The aircraft was, IMHO, cobbled together with wings from at least two (perhaps three) different Albatros D.Va's - probably before the machine ever left France. The location of the Iron Crosses on the upper wing identify that component as having come from an O.A.W.-built D.Va, while the fuselage and tail are obviously Albatros (Johannisthal) built. The Balkenkreuz insignia on the lower wings that were with the airframe do not match those on the upper wing, and some of the wing components were covered in five-color printed fabric while others were painted in green and mauve, etc. When Bob Mikesh and the Smithsonian restored the aircraft, they (incorrectly, IMHO) chose to cover the wings with lozenge fabric because it looked "better", I guess.

Analysis of fabric samples from the original tailplane show that beneath the yellow and dark green stripes, the original fabric was painted in mauve and green above and pale blue below. This comes from analysis of fabric samples supplied by Frank Garove to Alan D. Toelle (who did the analysis). Therefore, I believe that all the fabric-covered surfaces were probably in green/mauve and pale blue painted finish when this machine left the factory.