Pfalz D.IIIa lozenge questions

[BLOWHARD]

I looked through every post I could find here and I still have some unanswered questions about the D.IIIa factory finish with lozenge fabric.
How was the upper wing plywood section finished? I can't tell from photos but it looks dark, possibly 2 or more tones of sprayed color? It doesn't look like varnished plywood and certainly doesn't look like silver. The fuselages are still silver as standard Pfalz finishes?
The photo on page 20 of Datafile 21 shows what looks like factory finish; silver fuselage, horizontal stabilizer and struts. Dark colored strut plates and hardware? Black or what color? I take it aside from the small wooden section of the horizontal (edit) stabilizers, they were covered with lozenge fabric along with the elevators and tail? The wooden section of the vertical stabilizers would be silver as it's part of the fuselage? Metal panels are still silver?
I did see several questions about rib taps here and it was mentioned that only the full length ribs received rib tapes, not the short ribs. But on page 27 of Datafile 21 it looks like at least this machine has it's short ribs covered with tapes as well. Is this correct or just a misinterpretation? Could that have possibly been a variation of standard practice? The rudder has rib tapes applied on page 20. Elevators have rib tapes as well? What about the horizontal stabilizers?

[BLOWHARD]

One addition, I have been staring at D.IIIs for so long I had missed that D.IIIa horizontal stabilizers are plywood covered. The question of finish colors from the factory of this plywood area for a lozenge fabric plane still stand

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Blowhard:
There were a considerable number of Pfalz D.IIIa in the January 1918 order for 340 D.IIIa machines, serial numbers D.8000/17 to D8339/17 that were covered with the intermediate dark 5 color printed fabric on the upper surfaces of both wings, elevator and rudder. The ribs on the wings, ailerons, elevator and rudder were taped with cut strips of the five color intermediate dark pattern approximately 25 mm wide. The photo on page 27 is Pfalz D.IIIa 8052/17 is covered with five color fabric intermediate dark pattern, with matching rib tapes. The under surface of the wings and elevator were covered with the light pattern 5 color printed fabric linen fabric. The taping of the ribs on the under surface was done using cut strips of the light 5 color printed fabric about 25 mm wide. See photo on page 21 for an example, this is Pfalz D.IIIa 1306/18.
The 1918 order for 120 Pfalz D.IIIa serial numbers D1250/18 to 1369/18 were covered on the upper surface the same way, however, some had the lower surfaces of the wings and elevator with plain unprinted unbleached linen fabric. The under surfaces were taped with plain unprinted fabric, Pfalz D.IIIa
1284/18 is an example. See photos on page 20 of the PFALZ D.IIIa Datafile 21.
Blue skies,
Dan-san

[BLOWHARD]

Thanks Dan-San Your information is always just what I need I had missed the plain fabric lower surface, or didn't understand that they were used with the printed upper surfaces.

About the plywood wing section, do you care to guess what color or finish is used? Could it possibly have been covered with lozenge fabric? Silver seems to make the most sense for the plywood wing and tail surfaces but it just doesn't seem right

Also, were the large serials painted on the fuselage sides discontinued around the same time of the lozenge covered planes? I can't seem to find any photos showing printed fabric and fuselage serial numbers.

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Blowhard:
I believe the center-sectionofthe upper wing was covered with fabric. however,I would need to see better photos than what appears in Datafile 21, PFALZ D.IIIA. The fuselage is also covered with fabric.
On page 20, these two photos I think were taken at the Pfalz Flugzeugwerke, these photos are of Pfalz D.IIIa 1284/18 and this machine is unfinished. The fuselage and rudder crosses lack the white borders and the spinner has not been installed. There is a man in the bottom photo in a suit, white shirt and tie in the back ground. the strut end fitting are probably a black japaned finish. This was a fairly common method of finishing metal parts.
On page 27, is operational Pfalz D.IIIa 8052/17, with a dark band and a white E. The lower wing shows the five color fabric, the fuselage, struts were, wheel covers and axle-bar were finished in aluminum paint/dope. The upper wing faintly shows a lozenge, just forward of the trailing edge cut out, thison on the plywood area of the upper wing.
Blue skies,
Dan-San

[BLOWHARD]

Excellent! Thank you again Dan-San !
Between the poor photos that are available in the Datafile and personal markings, it's hard to get a good idea just how they were finished from the factory.
You believe that the cross type shown on page 20 would have had white borders? I take it silver finished planes with the same style of crosses would not have had borders the same as earlier practices?
It seems there are always more mysteries to uncover

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Blowhard:
Depending at what time period, the crosses, could be the balken cross and completely surrounded with a white border or the Latin crooses with the white forming right angles along the edge of the cross arms. Photographs or the month in question. Late March 1918 to lateMay 1918 would be the balken cross. Mid June to late July 1918 would be the 4:5 ratio cross. After that would be the 1:1 Latin or Greek cross.
The photo on page 20 could be the balken cross with the 150mm white borders. This is, I believe a new machine, probably getting ready for a flight or else it had been. Pfalz Flugzeugwerke will be completing the D.IIIa orders and getting on with the Pfalz D.VIII and the D.XII production. The cross style is the 4:1 arm width to length and was the balken (beam) cross with the 150 wide white border, see photo at the top of page 6 and page 11for the first form of the balken cross, and the amended form on page 28.
Blue skies,
Dan-San

[BLOWHARD]

Thanks once again Dan-San! I think I've got a clear enough picture now