Fokker D VII Anti-Glare Paint?

[PeeJay333]

In reviewing the color profiles in Osprey Publications' Fokker D VII Aces of World War I, I notice that the top cowling just forward of the cockpit is shown in an olive green on a number of aircraft, even when the rest of that portion of the cowl is painted in the squadron color. The olive color extends along the sides of the machine guns to the rear of the engine cutout. This is shown in Part I for the aircraft of Arthur Laumann, Erich Lowenhardt, Erich Just and Alfred Greven and in Part 2 for the aircraft of Hans Gorth, Harald Auffarth, August von Schonebeck,Hans von Boddien, and Franz Mayer. It appears that the olive panels may have also been on some of the aircraft with the streaked fuselage paint, but it is hard to tell if that is just to show the difference between the streaked fabric and the metal cowl.

I also noticed that Russell Smith has depicted the cowling of Lowenhardt's yellow-fuselaged Fokker D VII the same way in his beautiful painting on this site. I have been told by at least one Fokker historian, however, that he doubted that the squadron colors would not have also been painted over the cowling area that is depicted in olive, and I have seen some models of Lowenhardt's aircraft that do not have that coloring.

Because of the darkness or the angle of many of the photographs, it has been hard to confirm whether the panels were, in fact, colored that way, but I did find a photo of Franz Mayer's white/zebra striped plane that does show a darker color above the white side of the fuselage forward of the cockpit. It is at page24 of part 2 and shows Mayer in a white shirt next to two other men in front of his airplane. The caption notes that it is an OAW plane, but the profiles showing this coloration are not limited to OAW-manufactured aircraft.

I am interested in modeling at least one of the above-listed aircraft and would like to know if anyone can confirm whether this was a standard practice for painting the cowling area around the machine guns or at least provide a "second opinion." I am leaning toward doing Erich Lowenhardt's aircraft as depicted by Russell Smith.

PJ

[Dan_San_Abbott]

PJ:
Out of curiosity, is PJ, Parachute Jumper? Or it is just your initials.
Anti-glare paint was painted on WW2 aircraft that had natural aluminum finish.
Anti-glare paint was not painted on WW1 aircraft cowlings. Your WW1 historian is incorrect.
The "higher-ups" in the German Air Force encouraged the Jasta leaders to decorate their aircraft as a morale factor. If the cowling was painted it was completely painted.
Blue skies,
Dan-San

[PeeJay333]

Thank you, Dan San Abbott. "PJ" -- Initials. The only "parachute jump" I ever did was on a ride at Knotsberry Farm, and I think I may have done an ejection seat simulator at Corpus Christie several lifetimes ago.

Actually, my Historian friend was correct, who said if the cowling were painted in the staffel color, it would have also included the aft cowling panels beside the guns. So it appears that it is the Osprey publications profiles that are incorrect.

In going back over some of my earlier references, I see where the depiction of the olive color comes from. MAP Publication 2691, Aircraft Described, Number 97 Fokker D VII by P.L. Gray, a repront from the Septembner 1957 Aeromodeller, states in the "Color Details" section of a drawing, "Metal panels were either painted a plain dark green shade (olive); or in a patchwork of two or three shades roughly matching the fabric."

Wingspan Publications "Fokker Fighters of World War I," also by Peter Grey, has a drawing that also includes color notes listing a "dark green or grey cowling and struts." There is a photo of a fabric-covered Fokker D VII in that book that shows a solid color on the cowling top just forward of the cockpit, but that aircraft has no squadron color applied to the nose and cowling.

Given your input and my friend's, I will go with the staffel color on the entire cowling of my model. Thank you.

PJ

[Dan_San_Abbott]

PJ333:
What Peter Gray was explaining was the camouflage painting of the aluminum panels on the Fokker D.VII. Fokker and Albatros painted all the panels dark green, OAW, the Albatros subsiduary painted the panels dark green with a scatter greyish violet irregular polygons.
Blue Skies,
Dan-San

[PeeJay333]

OK -- here is where I am with this issue.

Dan-San confirms the olive color of the aluminum cowling panels was for camouflage purposes, not for anti-glare.

Since the color has no purpose other than camouflage, there is no point in leaving those panels unpainted when the staffel color or individual colors, such as Lowenhardt's yellow fuselage, are painted over the factory colors, as the camouflage is already compromised, to say the least. So I would agree that those panels must have been painted over too, contrary to the illustrations in the Osprey Publications "Fokker D VII Aces of World War I".

I did give some consideration to the fact that many of the theater applied colors would let the original color show through to some extent, but even if this were the case, the "bleed through" or lack of opacity of the field markings should not affect those panels much differently than the surrounding area, so they should not remain the factory color.

PJ

[StephenLawson]

The area was easier to leave in factory finish because it was under the machine gun jackets and had the fuel gauge sticking up through the center, sometimes with a large shroud. It was in shadows anyway so it mostly didn't matter.

[PeeJay333]

Works for me, Stephen.

PJ