Hi,
Well, as Greybeard mentions the book "The Pfalz Aces" and as I am the author of Osprey's
Pfalz Fighter Aces of World War 1, I suppose I should step up here (I really thought I
did find "someone to mention"?). Since I wrote that book, I have found additional information on the Pfalz D.III flown by
Rudolf Berthold, and the D.IIIa fighters flown by
Otto Kissenberth and some of the aces of Jasta 29.
First, I must state that I am neither an engineer nor a pilot. I don't even know what a
PflazIIIa is, nor do I know anything about computer games or flight simulations crafted by techy types. I have researched quite a few accounts by pilots who flew in the Pfalz D.IIIa, or who flew against it. That will have to do.
Yes, there are plenty of accounts by German pilots who found the Pfalz mediocre at best. These especially come to the fore when they were comparing the Pfalz D.IIIa against the much-more-desired Fokker D.VII, or against later generations of Allied fighters and two-seaters. One can also easily find plenty of accounts from Allied fighter pilots who had very low opinions of the Pfalz D.IIIa as a foe (see
Winged Victory). Yet, I have found some bits of evidence that seem to show it wasn't a complete dud, especially when flown by competent pilots who knew how best to maximize its strengths and minimize its weaknesses.
Max Holtzem flew the Pfalz D.III and D.IIIa considerably in Jasta 16b in 1918. Of course, he came to the unit with unusually extensive experience as a Pfalz company test pilot. When interviewed circa 1970, Max had fond memories of the Pfalz D.III/IIIa. To quote an interview: "Building up combat operational flight time in the Pfalz D.III(a) fighter, Max developed a keen admiration and respect for it. Its ability to spin beautifully to the left saved his life more than once. Several times, as tracers burned past his head in a dogfight, his agile Pfalz snapped over into a tight left spin, literally flying him out of trouble. He believes that the Pfalz, at full power, could outdive most of the Allied and German fighters at the front at that time...Max flew the Pfalz with complete confidence that it would not shed its wings in combat maneuvers. With full power, he recalls, you had to keep slight forward stick pressure, as it wanted to go into a slight climb. Power off, it got nose heavy and dropped off to the right in a shallow dive. Max claims, "
You flew this little bird. It was a real pilot's airplane."
"Like most aircraft of the period, it was inherently unstable and could not be flown hands-off, the mark of a flying machine. It did all of the combat maneuvers well, and was a delight to land. According to Max, it glided in at 55 mph, with a flareout at 45 mph for a perfect 3-point touchdown. It was so stable at slow airspeed that Max recalls he often wheel-landed his Pfalz to save his tail skid from damage in rough terrain."
"The D.IIIa could take a lot of punishment, was a stable gun platform...Max insists that the Pfalz D.IIIa was a better aircraft that the Albatros D.III series...While admitting the Albatros climbed better, Max terms the Pfalz "
a great airplane on low level missions such as trench strafing and ground attack." Diving was its forte and although performance did fall off slightly over 10,000 feet, in the hands of a competent pilot the Pfalz D.III could hold its own..."