Black Fokker

[DEM]

Does anyone know who was flying the all-black Fokker Donald MacLaren encountered twice?
MacLaren says he was the leader of "the white-tail squadron, although his own machine was entirely black."
MacLaren was impressed with his fighting spirit and ability to get hmself out of a jam.
The accounts I have seen of his two fights do not give dates although he says the second encounter was near Roye. I assume this must have been in the late spring or early summer of 1918.

[PFFF]

That sounds like Edward Ritter Von Schleich's Fokker DV II
See Over the Front Vol 13 # 13 Fall 1999 .p.218 Black Fokker with white tail

[Cigogne]

Many units had black aircraft. The description that matches most is Jasta 40 that had black D.VIIs w/ white tails. Carl Degelow was the leader of the unit. Later thin black stripes were added to the tail sections.

Jasta 7 also had all black aircraft for the most part. An overhead view of the unit shows most of the aircraft w/ black fuselages, wings, etc. Personal markings were mostly in white. Only a few have the lozenge covering showing.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by DEM

The accounts I have seen of his two fights do not give dates although he says the second encounter was near Roye.

Roye would probably put it on the German 18. Armee front. Jasta 7 and 40 were in the 4. Armee. I, too, vote for von Schleich. FWIW. R.

[DEM]

In his book Knights of the Air, David Bashow quotes MacLaren on these two fights. This is how MacLaren, who was flying a Camel with 46 Squadron, described the fights:

First encounter:

At 10,000 feet we met, but when I made towards him he turned across my front. I had not seen a Fokker before, so I turned to have a good look at him, climbing at the same time. He seemed enormous in size, and looked very grim in his dull black with white crosses.
When he saw that I was alone he swung away from me, but I put my nose down and started to close up with him. He looked back at me once, and then went straight down; but I followed. When he flattened out of our dive I found I was being fired at from the ground, and also that his speed was superior to mine. I let loose a few rounds from my guns, but, try as I would, I could not get closer to him; so, giving it up, I climbed again. I had not gone far when, to my amazement, he began climbing after me. Evidently this was a Hun of some kidney!
In a few minutes we were at it again, but when I approached him he would dive towards the ground before a burst could be got on him; and when I climbed to a few thousand feet, up he came too. After this had happened several times, and each of us had missed the other by inches, I thought I should like to show my appreciation of his sportsmanship by flying alongside and waving. I was on the point of doing this, when the memory of what some of their chaps had done altered my decision, so I went after him again, and this time he flew straight for home and never looked back.
It was the last time I saw a Fokker alone, and, to the best of my knowledge, the last time that a German airman showed that he loved the game and was ready to take on any passing adventurer for the zest of the fight.

Seond encounter, near Roye:

MacLaren was with a flight of Sopwiths with SE5As for top cover when they encountered a formation of Fokkers. He says:

Some of them began to spin, others were doing extraordinary half-rolls, and over to my right was a good deal of smoke-tracer about, and looking to its source, I got a shock.
It was my friend of the black Fokker making quick flat turns and firing in every direction. This time I determined the air wasn't vast enough for both of us, and I gave him a heavy burst. He did not wait, but, up to his old tricks, put his nose down and made straight east. I had just started off after him, when I noticed a white-tailed Fokker to my right, about my own level, and about one hundred yards away. He did not seem to know what was happening, so I opened out, going under him, then pulled up, giving him a good burst from underneath at very short range. He turned over, made one large curve, and burst into flames.
But my grim enemy had managed to get clear away again. He was an undoubted adept at extricating himself from hot corners.

I note in Above the Trenches that MacLaren was credited with a Fokker D-7 in flames on Sept. 16 near Cambrai. It seems to be the only Fokker flamer he scored.