Werner Voss Fokker Dr1
I have been looking at painting up one of my doubles as Werner Voss' Fokker Dr1.
There are two pictures of planes people have painted to represent his triplane, one has a yelloz nose with eyes and the other a green nose with eyes.
Did Voss fly with both schemes or is one more historically more accurate than the other?
Cheers in advance!
There is this thread from quite a while ago:
https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sh...eme-Fokker-Dr1
This from the (historical)Aerodrome archives:
http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/ar...p/t-11139.html
And another page from the net:
http://voss.hegewisch.net/color.html
Karl
Last edited by Jager; 08-09-2018 at 09:15. Reason: sp
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
Cheers Karl. I may stick to the yellow. I have a feeling that green was the colour though.
Its really your choice Steven & the Yellow will look best on a games table.
Whilst it is impossible to determine the exact colour from a black and white photograph, looking at these photographs of Werner Voss' Fokker Dr.I, it seems to me that the cowling looks too dark to be yellow.
http://www.fokkerdr1.com/103_17.htm
Trouble is, German orthchromatic camera film from that time shows yellow as very dark, often appearing "black".........................
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
Look in the background. All aircraft of that Jasta got repainted with yellow noses, yellow wheels, and sometimes yellow backgrounds to the cross on the rudder fin.
So we very likely have examples of yellow in those photos, on other aircraft.
I think we can safely say that the background colour on the voss rudder is not the same as the colour of the nose.
True, but if the rudder is white, the green/yellow nose question remains.Originally Posted by Zoe Brain
I'd not heard of the rudders being painted yellow - I thought Idflieg ordered white for all German rudders.
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
Cheers guys. There are a couple of photo's on that website where the nose clearly looks lighter than the fuselage.
It would appear that the answer will never be known.
the cowling couldve been every color reported. he might have repainted it one or more times.
The argument I find compelling is that if the cowling was yellow, the white eyebrows and mustache wouldn't show up very well.
Karl
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
That rather depends on the shade of yellow. This looks like being an argument neither side will ever be able to conclusively win.
Voss may well have had several different colours painted on the nose and tail of his aircraft. I guess it's up to us to do as we like.
That 'Voss' my plan!
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
One question I have is how long was he flying the Dr.I? As I understand it, it was a pre-production model (MvR had one too), so how long would he have had it to personalize?
Karl
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
A lovely repaint by Sparky, a present for me which has been in a few scraps since receiving. To go with my AVATAR.
https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/at...0&d=1464006632
See you on the Dark Side......
Lovely paint job there Neil.
He was a keen tinkerer with both his aircraft, and his motorcycle, so best guess is that he could have done it within a few days of arrival.
I have heard the colour debate several times on various sites and at meetings. While I agree that there is an issue about the way that WW1 film stock rendered colour as tones, and that the cowling could well be yellow, the artist, etc, in me queries the choice of yellow.
As anyone with a knowledge of basic medieval heraldry will know, there is a strict heraldic rule about not putting the 'metals' (yellow or white) upon each other. The colours ('tinctures') of black, red, orange, blue, green, purple, etc, should also never be put upon each other. The issue is one of contrast in combat and being able to see things at a distance. White upon yellow does not show up at all well while neither would red on orange, blue on green or black on purple.
However white, on any of the above stated colours, is great for contrast and visibility and so is yellow on any of those colours. Given that Voss' idea was probably to create something noticeable at a distance I cannot see why Voss would have chosen a white face on yellow. A black face on yellow would have been far more effective. I have nothing tangible or historic to add to this, just a feeling that something is not right.
Barry
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