Striping ideas for German aircraft
You may remember Carl Brisgamer's repainted Jentsch Albatros DVa, done up in a German naval pilot's scheme, for which he painted/decaled a red and blue stripe around the fuselage, based on the Oldenburg Friedrich August Cross...
I happen to have a modest collection of WW1 Iron Cross 2nd Class equivalents from various German states that made up Imperial Germany during the war. Perhaps you know that those various states/duchies/principalities/kingdoms had awards of their own that they could bestow upon pilots native to their 'countries', as well as to those from elsewhere in the German Empire. The Iron Cross 2nd Class (and the 1st Class version, too) were awarded by Prussia and the Kaiser, and it could be awarded to any constituent member of the military; there was even a 2nd Class version awarded to civilians, which reversed the colors on the 'normal' Iron Cross ribbon. Some of the various 'countries' even had equivalents to the 1st Class version that could be pinned on the uniform similar to the way the Iron Cross 1st Class was worn, on the lower left breast of the tunic.
The picture above shows those medals in my collection which are not framed - I have several framed and on display in the basement Man Cave...I have broken this picture into four 'close-ups' below.
From left to right: Saxon War Cross, Schaumburg-Lippe Cross for Loyal Service, and Lippe-Detmold War Merit Cross 2nd Class
From left to right: Hanseatic Cross for Bremen, Hanseatic Cross for Hamburg, and the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle with Swords on War Ribbon (which was the same ribbon as the Iron Cross 2nd Class)
From left to right: the ribbon for the Hanseatic Cross from Luebeck, the Brunswick War Merit Cross 2nd Class, and the Bavarian Ludwig Cross
From left to right: the Oldenburg Friedrich August Cross 2nd Class, the Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross 2nd Class, and the Anhalt Military Merit Cross
Typically, the Iron Cross 2nd Class was worn sewn in the buttonhole on the front of the tunic at an angle - I'm sure you've seen this in pictures of WWI German pilots. Sometimes you will see a second ribbon worn with the Iron Cross 2nd Class - often it is one of the other states' equivalent version, and sometimes it is 'the Hohenzollern', a Prussian order usually considered higher than the Iron Cross and a stepping stone on the way to the Pour le Merite (Blue Max) - it is the same ribbon as the Iron Cross 2nd Class but has crossed swords pinned on it.
So any pilot who was graced by his homeland with such an award might consider using its ribbon colors as a decoration on his plane. Conversely, pilots would use colors or abbreviations or emblems associated with their parent regiments (those they were in before transferring to the Air Service) - often the colors were associated with the facings/shoulder strap of their previous unit. This, too, is why so many pictures of pilots show them in such a wide array of uniforms - von Richthofen is a prime example - he is always wearing his Uhlan uniform in the vast majority of his pictures.
Some pilots used colors or emblems associated with the coat of arms of their home town or state, or family coats-of-arms, or even names of girlfriends (Udet is probably the most famous of these). So many options for a modeler/gamer wanting to change things up and repaint a plane or two...
There is a treasure-trove of info out there, in books and on the internet. As someone who likes to repaint planes, it's fun to do it with a bit of 'historical accuracy' involved. Thanks for letting me waffle on about this stuff...I really do enjoy this aspect of WWI history.
All the best,
Matt
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Originally Posted by matt56
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