German Insignia change

[kitti999]

What reason would there be for the Germans to change their
airplane insignia from the Iron cross to the straight sided(Balken) cross in
March of 1918?

If it was good for 3 years why bother changing it in 1918?

[Shooter]

Just a guess, pardner, but the Balkan cross is a helluva lot easier to paint onto an a/c than is the other. Labor savings--manhours of maintenance--would make it a slam-dunk decision

I actually believe that this is genuinely the case, but I have absolutely no documentary evidence to support it, so it remains no more than a SWAG, whatever.


Shooter sends

[Henry J.]

Originally posted by kitti999@Jul 23 2004, 10:25 PM
[b] What reason would there be for the Germans to change their
airplane insignia from the Iron cross to the straight sided(Balken) cross in
March of 1918?

If it was good for 3 years why bother changing it in 1918?
Well, I have wondered about the logic of this change too.

The official reason according to found Idflieg documentation was that the
Balkencross was deemed easier to identify than the Ironcross.
I think "Shooter" have a point in that the application of the Balkencross was both faster and easier too. Can`t help to think that it was meant as a means to make Idflieg officials seem somehow more useful (at least in their own eyes) in those late war desperate times. How the Jastas appreciated this relatively useless additional hassle would be interesting to know.

Best Regards,
Henry

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Kitti999:
The reason given by Idflieg in their directive, Idflieg. 4077/3.18 Flz.Zak.2. of 20 March 1918 states;
"To improve the recognition of our aircraft the following is ordered:-"
Blue skies,
Dan-San

[AchimEngels]

The iron cross was in their eyes more easily confused with a roundel than the straight cross.

[Shooter]

Originally posted by AchimEngels@Jul 26 2004, 02:57 AM
[b] The iron cross was in their eyes more easily confused with a roundel than the straight cross.
While this may be undoubtedly correct, it ignores one thing: national markings are not visible at any real distance that would make tactical identification possible. All id's are made by silhouette of the a/c. By the time a driver gets close enough to see national markings, it's too late. Anyone who has actually flown can verify this.

These decisions would probably have been made by the pouges topside who were not flying, not the drivers and the crews down on the jagdgeschwader level or lower--made by people who never strapped on a scout a/c at all.


Shooter sends