Hans Goerth's Fokker E.V

[greenknight]

If I understand correctly, the Fokker E.V bearing the numeral "3" on the fuselage side shown in a picture on page 21 of the Fokker D.VIII datafile has been identified as belonging to Hans Goerth of Marine Feld Jasta III.

I know that this aircraft has been depicted in the box cover art of the DML Dragon 1/48th scale model, and the aircraft is depicted with a yellow horizontal tail with 3 black elevator stripes. This is I believe consistent with orders given by the commander of the MFJ I,II, and III Sachsenburg.

Regarding this I have a few questions:

(1) Are there known photos of Goerth's airplane, or other MFJ (I,II, or III) E.V's showing these stripes?

(2) I have been told something has been published in support of the marking scheme shown on the DML kit box, but do not know the reference. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

(3) The cowl, wheel covers, and the numeral 3 show up as rather light in the Datafile photo. In other WWI photos yellow (particularly chrome yellow I believe) shows up rather dark, sometimes almost black. Any insight on whether the tone shown in the photo indicates either a difference in the film used, or implies that a light yellow was used on this aircraft?

(4) Any recommended published references on the MFJ and their aircraft and operations? I have seen some good photos of other MFJ fighter types published recently.

(5) Has the serial number or serial number range of Goerth's E.V been identified?

I've made a search of previous forum posts regarding Goerth and am reading these with interest, and know that some forum-ites devote a lot of effort researching the MFJ's.

My inquiries are motivated by a flying-model of an E.V I am now building, and this is one of the color scheme possibilities I am investigating. Thank you for any help you can provide.

[Gregvan]

Hi Greenknight,

Yes, I believe that the cowling and tailplane/elevators of this E.V were indeed yellow. It may have been a lighter 'lemon' shade of yellow, but this is consistent with Sachsenberg's order. Yellow can result in a wide variety of shades on ortho film, depending on its pigment make-up and the lighting conditions. There is a sketch attached to Sachsenberg's order which shows the three black chordwise stripes applied to some crudely-drawn, generic elevators for MFJ III. As far as I know there are no photos which clearly show these stripes on an MFJ III aircraft. However, the same sketch shows one chordwise stripe for MFJ I, and there is a photo of Sachsenberg's Fokker D.VII which shows the single chordwise stripe in place - thus I think it's reasonable to speculate that the three stripes were applied to the MFJ III aircraft. These would be three equidistant black chordwise stripes on each elevator, probably inboard of the balanced part of the elevator.

Personally, I think the '3' on the fuselage was white rather than yellow, but others disagree with me. Take your pick !!

The thing is, Hans Goerth almost certainly flew this E.V for a very short period of time. Most of his victories were scored in Albatros D.Va or Fokker D.VII types.

The serial is not discernible in the photo. However, MFJ III records indicate that Fokker E.V 144/18 and 155/18 were delivered to MFJ III on 10 August 1918. These are the only known MFJ III parasols (to my limited knowledge) so you might just pick one of those !!You can find out more about the markings of the MFJ aircraft in "Fokker D VII Anthology 3" from Ray Rimell's Albatros Productions, or in the upcoming "Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1, Part 2" from Osprey (no, I don't know when that will be out).

Hope that helps.

Greg VanWyngarden

[greenknight]

Thank you very much Greg!

Your post contains exactly the type of insight I was looking for. I agree with you about the "3" on the fuselage; it looks like it could well have been white.

I have very much enjoyed Volume I of the Fok. D.VII Aces book. Looking forward to Vol. 2, but understand good publications take time. I'm more than willing to wait.

Very Best Regards