Mystery Plane - Input?
Having posted a couple of things related to the American 12th Aero Squadron, here's a puzzle for forum members. Here we see two Americans with a German plane. Notice that another plane with the 12th Aero's artillery-riding-vulture insignia is in the background.
Postwar, probably. Anybody know what the plane in the foreground is? Any other comments to help educate me?
My guess: LVG C IV?
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
Difficult without all the aircraft in shot - I thought an Albatros C.III perhaps but not convinced:
Could be....
Struts, fuselage, placement of landing gear look right...
I think you are correct, with the serial number starting 576 it is one of a batch of 100 built in June 1916 by AlbatrosOAW
Sapiens qui vigilat... "He is wise who watches"
Here is a picture of a Rumpler C. VII. However the C.IV-C.IX all had the same basic airframe.
I think David's on the right lines - 576 may well be the first three of a four digit serial (although it could be 576/17 - an early Rumpler C.IV serial - that making it to late 1918 seems iffy though,although loss rates among Rumplers were particularly low compared to most types, thanks to their high service ceiling.)
The Albatros is too early for a lozenge pattern fuselage, and a 1916 build is very unlikely to have lasted long enough for the Americans to capture it - the vast majority of airframes lasted months, not years. More convincingly, though, the notably rounded rear fuselage deck, and accordingly pronounced "cylinder" for the gunner, is fairly distinctive on the Rumpler, and nowhere near as pronounced on the Albatros.
Last edited by Dom S; 07-25-2015 at 05:28.
Looking at Dave's image, I'd go with the Rumpler as well. Amongst other things, there are matching engine cowling holes under the exhaust manifolds.
The images I originally found had a few variations on the observer's cockpit that didn't match very well. I wrote that off to version differences, field modifications, and/or artistic licence. Kind of hard to argue with a photo that nearly matches the air frame.
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
Yeah, I think David's nailed it with the Rumpler !
Sapiens qui vigilat... "He is wise who watches"
Thanks, all! Yes, I think we've got a "final answer".
Yes I would go for a Rumpler & the crosses are the late war ones which might rule out the Albatross C.III.
As I'm new to WGF, I'd really like to fly a Rumpler C.IV in my games -- is there any chance Ares Games will include this plane in future waves, especially with the Albatros C.III on the horizon (which seems to me to be some kind of spiritual predecessor of the Rumpler)? Will the Albatros C.III even be worth buying, since this would be my first two-seater?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Wings-of-...item3a95bf35feOriginally Posted by Nachtschwärmer
http://www.e-minis.net/wings-of-war/...7-p-34197.html
http://www.e-minis.net/wings-of-war/...a-p-34196.html
The spanish site is selling them for 13 Eu, plus 17 Eu postage to Germany. So you can get two for 43 Eu.
$40 Aus is about 26.55 Eu.
Outstanding! Thanks a lot, Zoe.
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