Olham

Thank you, rjw. After your post I also did some research and found Sablatnig Flugzeugbau GmbH had been in a factory building in Schlesische Strasse, Berlin, located directly by the river Spree. They also seem to have had a place in Swinemünde, but I don't know when.

Yes, Sablatnig SF 7 - elephant nailed it first. Great photos, Jim! Does anyone know where Sablatnig was building these planes? Looks very much like Berlin to me???

There are again many new historical photos on the "WingnutWings" website. http://www.wingnutwi...togallery?cat=1 This is one of them, showing a DH-2. But I wonder - the riggers with their caps look German to me? Does anyone know the story behind this? Or did British rigger wear such caps too?

That's what I thought too, Jim.

Nope, it isn't.

Mmuahahahahaaa!!!!!

Welcome over Flanders fields, UnsoloCor! Are you flying OFF already?

Mmuahahahahahaaaa!!!!!

John Cussack is a good choice IMHO. Nicholas Cage had the right eyes - but he is definitely beyond the age of a fighter pilot. I like Robert Downey jr. - I guess he could play him. Or the German Jan Henrik Stahlberg?

According to "Their Flying Machines" and "Wings Palette" it is a Zeppelin Lindau (Dornier) CS.1 http://flyingmachine.../Craft30303.htm http://wp.scn.ru/ Beautiful plane and model, by the way.

Yeah, they were only yet finding out how to do it. Ridiculous the romanticised painting - how long could you fly like that and keep the red kepi on your head?

Very interesting info, thank you for sharing, Slarti!

Yep, colours and markings research are a tricky terrain, as many photos do not show the serial numbers of the planes. We must not forget that some pilots may have flown several Albatros D.III, and later more than just one Albatros D.V - and they may have varied some of their markings from one plane to the next. So it would be imaginable after this photo, that one of Goering's planes had not only a white nose, but a completely white engine hood. More evidence would be great to find.

You see no ghosts, elephant, I think you are spot on right - there must be a colour between the white chevrons. As the colour doesn't appear very dark, it could well be blue. Also green. Bavaria = blue and white, true. But they sometimes took the colours of previous units they came from. So it would be interesting to know more about that.

Cody, the Albatros D.III here shows the typical leader chevrons on Goering's top wing. So the craft is most likely his. (Profile by Bob Pearson; found on RoF forum)

Jim, you are right of course - so many possible variables. I meant specifically the situation, when the German pilot close behind you (with full advantage) would NOT shoot as he could, but instead point downwards repeatedly, to make you understand you should land. Many German pilots did so many times. Even MvR did so, until some observer fired his machine gun at the circling MvR. After that I think he gave up any mercy.

You must have hawkeyes - I cannot even say, if the wings are Lozenge? I would say the hood is a much brighter colour, not black. If it was black, it could appear brighter with the sun from above, but not that much, I'd say. The stripes on the wings may appear "rougly painted" because the fabric over the ribs 'makes hills and valleys'.

I think JFM meant the gun jam situation. But still, it would be a longer helpless situation, when you had to hit the breech with a hammer to clear the dud round - you couldn't do much evasive manoeuvering at the same time, or so I guess.

Well, what chance is left to fight anything out with an unclearable gun jam, flying in the opponent's gunsights? Lanoe Hawker did what you suggest, until he had to try to get back over the lines. And we all know that was the end of him. Naw, I would have put the kite down under such conditions. I do much prefer to live than to be a dead heroe.

Yes, could be the tank hit; it could also be a bad gun jam for example. What would I do with a German Albatros in my neck, and no gun to defend myself with? I would be more than happy, if the fellow behind me would only point downwards to tell me to land my helpless kite - instead of him pulling the trigger. As for pierced tanks - both WW1 air combat sims, OFF and "the other sim" have the tank only leaking out and slowly running dry so far. I don't think that "the other sim" will ever change anything about that. Would be great if WOFF did.

Nineteen? Jeeze, they were young... Thank you for the research, Flyby!

If we wanted to know, how hard the conditions could sometimes be for the flyers - the "Buddecke" website has the answer with this photo of Jasta 27 pilots in their winter gear. Damn, I don't know if I had been hard enough for flying in an open cockpit under such harsh weather conditions...

Good morning from Berlin to Greece, elephant! Yeah, that's what I thought. When you study the other photos of this session, you can recognise, that many of the rigging wires are hanging loose or rolled up - as if they took them off or replaced them.

That was new to me that the Border Collies are such a young race. Well made, your website and the video, Widow! I had a German Sheperd, when I was a teenager, and we were living on a farm fro three years. "Barrie" never had any sort of training. But it was in his genes - when he saw our herd of 32 cows out on the marsh meadows, he would constantly circle around them, and he could not accept any single animals trodding off - he would always chase those back to the herd. I was very impressed. And I felt from his looks into my eyes, that he was seeking for some reaction every now and then. If we only just said "well done, boy!", he would rush off and continue his work with great abandon. The Border Collie seems to have developed this heritage to even greater perfection. When we still see them as dogs, it's mostly because they can't speak our language. (They may see themselves as some of us - who knows) But they speak - one must only watch and listen. And often, when I meet a dog on a walk, I receive a smile - and I smile back in return.

No one mentioned this news from yesterday yet: a meteor came down in Russia. The sonic bang smashed hundreds of windows. Also - although it had nothing to do with the meteor - an asteroid with a length of 50 Meter passed planet Earth in a distance of only 28.000 Kilometers. The distance Moon - Earth is 356.000 - 406.000 Kilometers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHoy12qY4bU