HISTORICAL MINIATURES JOURNAL ISSUE NUMBER 2

BY GEORGE GRASSE

BUILDING THE BLUE MAX 1:48 SCALE GERMAN HALBERSTADT D.II (Han)

PURPOSE

The purpose of the this study is to document the process of researching the Halberstadt D.II einsitzer scout-fighter so that I could build the Blue Max 1:48 scale Halberstadt D.II kit.  There were a number of "D" series fighters produced by Hannoversche Waggonfabrik AG from late 1915 to early 1916 the details of which I will summarize shortly.  There is a fair amount of information, specs, drawings, and history about this aircraft but the most significant was the historical context in which the Halberstadt D series were developed.  The more I read, the more I wanted to build this aircraft.  This limited-run plastic injection-molded kit contains white metal parts and decals to build two aircraft.  It is somewhat complicated because 1) there are no wing strut holes or marks; 2) the tail skid is fragile and a bit complicated to construct; 3) the cockpit is somewhat plain; and 4), my usual complaint, the landing gear is realistic but flimsy.  I will explain how I solved these problems in the construction section below.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The "Fokker Scourge" of 1915 was an aviation phenomenon because it introduced the first fixed, forward-firing, fighter aircraft fitted with an apparatus that allowed the pilot to firing his machine gun through the arc of the propeller without damage.  Prior to the introduction of the Fokker E.I in the Summer of 1915, the aviation flying personnel of both sides enjoyed a sort of medieval environment in the skies over the battle lines.  There were the exchange of shots using rifles, carbines, pistols, and the like.  The French pilot Garros flying various Morane-Saulnier types changed all of that with a bullet-deflecting Saulnier mechanism.  He was relatively successful but it was the Fokker in fairly significant numbers that turned the tide from a gentlemanly setting to vicious combat. The battles on the Verdun front of early 1916 saw the gradual introduction of Allied biplane fighters that gained air superiority and ended the “Fokker Scourge”.  By the Somme offensive in the Summer of 1916, the Royal Flying Corps' AMC DH-2 pusher and the French Nieuport 11 “Bebe” were able to secure air superiority for Allies.  For the German air service in general and Idflieg in particular, Allied successes had the effect of hastening the development and introduction of German biplane fighters which, by the end of 1917, clearly out-classed Allied fighters, especially the Albatros D series which mounted two fixed, forward-firing machine guns.¹

So, how did the German air service come so quickly to upsetting the war in the air?  The Fokker Eindecker E Series fighters were not necessarily out-gunned but simply out-classed in all other respects in “fighter vs fighter” air combat.  Allied aircraft could out climb, out turn, out dive, and generally out maneuver the Fokkers to the extent that fine German pilots and their machines were being shot down at an alarming rate.  This left fewer and fewer fighters with which to defend the front and this led to large numbers of two-seat reconnaissance and observation aircraft being lost to attacking Allied fighters.

The growing reality of Allied air superiority was anticipated by the Idflieg as early as late 1915 when specifications were released for a two-gun, single-seat, biplane fighter known as the D class to replace the Fokker Eindeckers.  Fokker, Albatros, and Halberstadt, and LFG Roland were among the larger companies to respond successfully to the challenge.  However, production capacity was foreseen as a serious problem.  If each manufacturer were allowed to build up production capacity to an acceptable level, fighter production would be seriously compromised.  To achieve large-scale production quickly, Idflieg purposely expanded the competition for D types to a number of companies and did not concern themselves with choosing the best one, at least for the time being.  This is how the D class fighters of several different companies along with existing aging aircraft made up the early Fall inventory of the newly forming Jagdstaffeln.  Eventually, by the end of 1916, the Albatros D series was the clear winner by virtue of its twin machine gun armament, large engine, rugged construction, and speed.  One of aircraft that did not win large contracts but played an interesting part in those formative months of September through November was the Halberstadt D.II.

THE HALBERSTADT PROTOTYPES

It appears that Halberstadt produced two prototypes.  The first was a D.I powered by the Mercedes D.II in-line engine.  The second was a D.III powered by the Argus As.II 120 hp in-line engine.  The D.I prototype flew as early as the Fall of 1915.  The D.III prototype must have flown around the same time for it appeared in the February 1916 frontline inventory.  More than likely, several airframes were in work or completed during the same period but the record does not reveal what they were. 

THE FIRST ORDER – MARCH 1916

By early 1916, the Halberstadt D fighters were approved by Idflieg and the first order was placed in March 1916 for 12 aircraft in the serial number range of D.100 – 111/16.  This is a curious arrangement because it obviously allows Halberstadt to be paid for prototype and pre-production airframes in production in 1915 and possibly already completed by the date of this order.  It is likely that three different Halberstadt D models were among the 12 aircraft ordered: the D.I powered by a Mercedes D.I 100 hp in-line engine; the D.II powered by the Mercedes D.II 120 hp in-line engine; and the D.III powered by the Argus As.II 120 hp in-line engine.  Peter M. Grosz in his Halberstadt Fighters Windsock Datafile special  in the Albatros Productions "Classics of WW1 Aviation" series says that “only one or two Halberstadt fighters powered by the 100 hp engine were built . . . designated the D.I”.  At least one was completed as D.II D.100/16 in the winter of 1915-16.  One other D.II shows up in photos 25-26 in WDF Halberstadt Special as D.102/16.  One or more may have been fitted with the Argus As.II 120 hp in-line engine which carried the designation Halberstadt D.III.  The first order may be broken down as shown in Table 1 (number of aircraft shown by type is conjectural on my part). ²

Table 1

THE SECOND ORDER – MAY 1916

The D type biplane fighter by now had proven to be the obvious successor to the Eindecker scouts.  Idflieg placed an order for 24 Halberstadt D.II aircraft in May 1916.  Of course, other orders for similar biplane fighters were placed with Albatros, Fokker, and LFG Roland.  By the end of June 1916, 8 Halberstadt fighters were in the frontline inventory: 6 D.II and 2 D.III.  These were most likely from the first prototype/pre-production batch of March 1916.  It is also likely that Boelcke flew one of these aircraft in late June nearly scoring a victory.  Boelcke was not yet selected to create what would become Jasta 2.  Keep in mind that a Halberstadt D type would be part of the unit’s original equipment later in August.

THE THIRD AND FOURTH ORDERS – JULY 1916

The Halberstadt D.II and D.III machines were successful enough but Halberstadt’s production capacity was not large enough to produce their fighter in quantity suited to the needs of the air service.  As a result, Idflieg issued two orders in July 1916 each of 30 D.II aircraft.  One order went to Aviatik in the serial range D.582 – D.611/16 with the designation D.II (Av) powered by the Mercedes D.II 120 hp engine.  Note that I am using the later designation of February 1917.  These aircraft were, for a while, called the Aviatik D.I leading to some rather confusing situations.  As with previous Halberstadt D types, Aviatik did not consistently display the serial number on their aircraft except in black lettering difficult to see on period photographs.  The other order went to Hannover in the serial range D.800 – D.829/16 with the designation D.II (Han) also powered by the Mercedes D.II 120 hp engine.  Hannover-built D.II aircraft were consistently and clearly marked with light lettering on dark surfaces and dark lettering on light surfaces.  A summary of the production orders is shown in Table 2 and a summary of features of the different models is shown in Table 3. ²

Table 2

    ^a Number of aircraft from this batch of twelve is my estimate.  Known serials are D.II D.100/16 and D.II D.102/16.

    ^b Not known if all 3 were actually built

    ^c Aviatik-built aircraft batch

    ^d Hannover-built aircraft batch

Table 3

FORMATION OF THE JAGDSTAFFELN

The earliest fighters units were small flights, attached to existing Flieger-Abteiltungen as escorts or other specially formed units to defend a particular point, usually an industrial center close to the front.  As early as August 1916 orders were issued to form larger fighter units to consist of as many as 14 aircraft and twelve pilots not including the Staffelführer and Adjutant, a marked increase in strength over the three to six-aircraft flights spread out over the front.  To get these units up to strength required the availability of the new D type biplane aircraft of which few were available and this accounts in large part for the rather slow formation of higher numbered Jagdstaffeln (Jastas).  The focus of attention was on the Somme front of mid-1916 against which Allied air forces had concentrated troops, artillery, and aircraft to an alarming extent.  The available fighters that could be distributed among the 20 Jastas named in the August directive are shown in Table 4.^{2 and 3}

Table 4

If each Jasta was to have an establishment of 14 aircraft, the average available for 20 Jastas is just over nine aircraft.  Not all of the available fighters could be assigned to Jastas and no one Jasta could be entirely equipped with one type.  So, it was decided to equip each Jasta with a mix of aircraft to accommodate Idflieg's scattering of D type contracts over the available manufacturer landscape.  All of the Jastas were formed from a wide variety of existing KeK (Kampfeinsitzer-Kommando) fighter detachment and supplemented by drafts of men and aircraft from the area FEA (Flieger Ersatz Abtielung), FAA (Feldflieger Abtielung), or FFA (Feldflieger Abtielung – Artillerie).  You can imagine the disruption to existing units and the scrambling it took for the new Jasta Staffelführers to obtain pilots, ground crew, and aircraft.³

In most of the early Jastas' aircraft inventory could be found a scattering of Halberstadt D series fighters and from Table 4 above it can be seen that an average of just over one Halberstadt per Jasta was available, some had two and some had none.  Over time and well into 1917, Jastas known to have operated with the Halberstadt were: on the Western Front Jastas 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17, 21, 22, 30, II Marine Feldflieger Abteilung, 1 Marine Feld Jasta; in Macedonia Jasta 25 and Halbgeschwader 1; in Romania Flieger Abteilung 28 and 42.¹

This study is focused in the 1916 period when the Halberstadt D series was somewhat competitive with the other types available but it can’t be ignored that the Albatros D series was coming on in relatively greater numbers.  In studying the list of Jastas that operated the Halberstadt in September and October, 1916, I was interested in finding a Halberstadt D.II that was camouflaged in the 2-color dark green/red-brown scheme, assigned to a Jasta, that had an individual marking on the fuselage, a visible serial number, and a known pilot.  In reviewing photos and descriptions in the named sources of this study’s bibliography, I found three Jastas as candidates.  Jastas 1 and 4 used single letters in black representing the initial of the pilot’s last name.  Jasta 5 used a single numeral in white.  Known Halberstadt aircraft shown in photos with these markings are listed in Table 5.  I have chosen to list all types and schemes in order to establish a system of markings consistent with these Jastas.

Table 5

From this scant list of five aircraft, I decided to research each of the named Jastas from Table 5 (1, 4, and 5).  I was able to construct Table 6 below but much of it is conjectural on my part.  It is a compilation from a number of sources (listed below) of early pilot members of each Jasta to which I assigned a letter code using  their last name except in the case of Jasta 5 where assigning a number was even more speculative.  Of interest, then, would be a list of early pilots of these Jastas and then determine if they were likely to have been assigned a Halberstadt fighter with their initial on the fuselage.  Note that Jastas 1 and 4 used black letters and Jasta 5 used white numerals.

Table 6 (Conjectural)

With all of this research completed I was left with the idea that even if the above assignments were largely true, I don't have photographs to verify the aircraft.  Most Halberstadt-built D series aircraft were devoid of serial numbers and I wanted to display a serial number.  Some were camouflaged and some were in plain CDL.  I took the narrow path of the Hannover-built series which were all plainly marked with their serial number in white aft of the fuselage cross.  And, to my surprise this led to Jasta 25 operating in Macedonia.

Notes on Jasta 25:

Jasta 25 was formed on 28 November 1916 in Macedonia.  Its Staffelfuhrer was Hauptman Fredrich Karl Burckhardt (1889-1962).³  From various website pages: A later Staffelfuhrer was Ltn. August Rose.  Two pilots KIA serving with Jasta 25 were Oblt. Bodo von Lyncher (KIA 18 February 1917) and Uffz. Wilhelm Weber (KIA 24 February 1917).  From information above, I know that Ltn. Meier was a pilot in this unit and his initial ‘M’ was carried on the fuselage of his Halberstadt D.II (Han) D.820/16.  Another ace of the unit was Reinhard Treptow who claimed 6 victories between May 1917 and July 1918 but the aircraft flown is not specified.  From a Czech website, is a list of 6 pilots and their tallies for Jasta 25 but no other details in terms of specific aircraft, markings, or serial numbers are known: Gerhard Fiesler (19), Reinhard Treptow (6), Otto Brauneck (5), Karl Burckhardt (5), Eric Schütze (2), and Otto Könnecke or Koennecke (1).

Several interesting photos from Windsock Datafile 47 “LFG Roland D.II” have shed some light on Jasta 25.  On page 14, photo 39, shows Vfw. Gerhard Fiesler sitting in the cockpit of a Roland D.II with the initial ‘A’ on the fuselage said to belong to Ltn. Ahlefeld with the additional comment that “most likely Fiesler’s own machine would be marked with an ‘F’. 

SPECIFIC HALBERSTADT D.II AIRCRAFT:

Halberstadt D,II (Han) D.820/16: Reference Formacal Decal Sheet 72-102 “German & Austrian WW1 Markings”, figure 1.  I don’t know the circumstances of how I acquired this decal sheet which consists of markings for 25 German and Austrian aircraft roughly 1916-18.  Each aircraft is depicted by a 1/72^nd scale left-side profile in black and white, the photo copy being in poor quality.  The first figure in the Formacal decal sheet as shown below depicts a Halberstadt (Han) D.II D.820/16 identified as belonging to Lt. Meier of Jasta 25 serving in Macedonia in early 1917.   The camouflage colors are noted as olive-green and reddish-brown.  The serial number D.820/16 is discernible on the original and is white.  All crosses are black on small white fields.  The letter ‘M’ is white and  repeated on the starboard fuselage side. 

Subsequent research using Osprey/Airwar 13, “German Fighter Units 1914 to May 1917, revealed a good looking topside and starboard side view along with underside details for this aircraft and is shown below.  Halberstadt D II, D.820/16: From Osprey Airwar #13 “German Fighter Units 1914 – May 1917” by Alex Imrie.  This Halberstadt D.II (shown below) was flown by Ltn Meier in Jagdstaffel 25 in Macedonia early in 1917.  The aircraft illustrated is one of 30 built under license by Hannoversche Waggonfabrik A. G. (serials 800–830/16) and can be identified as such by the white-painted serial number.  The finish is standard for late 1916, with upper and side surfaces sprayed in olive green and reddish-brown camouflage, and light sky blue undersurfaces.  No unit marking is applied; in Jasta 25 the pilot’s individual initial identification took the form of a letter (usually the pilot’s initial) painted on each side of the fuselage in white.³ 

Halberstadt D.II (Han)D.810/16 and (Han) D.813/16:  Reference Albatros Productions “Halberstadt Fighters” Classics of WW1 Aviation 1 by P. M. Grosz (used with permission from the P. M. Grosz estate (see full credit in References below)², page 18, photo 36, shows two Hannover-built Halberstadt D.II aircraft with the notation that they are probably serving in Macedonia with either Jasta 25 or Halbgeschwader I.  Note the clear view of the placement of the serial number, the white fields of the crosses, and the barely visible camouflage pattern.  The letter markings of ‘S’ and ‘D’ probably represent the last names of the assigned pilots, similar to Lt. Meier’s ‘M’.  Note that in each case, the letters in the photo are followed by, what appears to be, a white period dot.  The view of the upper wing on both aircraft does not reveal a repetition of the letter, however.  What is interesting is the faint camouflage color change on the upper wing of ‘S’ which tends to support the Hannover scheme of applying the reddish-brown color span-wise but I believe it is a photographic anomaly.  D.II 813/16 is one of two aircraft for which decals are provided in the Blue Max 1/48^th scale kit (D.II 818/16 is the other.

It seems that for the Halberstadt D.II (Han) aircraft assigned to Jasta 25, a white letter was the pilot's personal marking.  In viewing other photographs of LFG Roland D.II "Haifisch" fighters assigned later to Jasta 25, the letter identifying the pilot was still used but now in black.  Researching this unit on the net from a variety of privately maintained pages, revealed a list of pilots which I have put together in my patchwork Table 7, below.  To repeat, of  particular note are the dark colored initials visible on most of the aircraft which more or less confirms the widespread use of initials on Jasta 25 aircraft – white on their Halberstadts and black (probably) on their Rolands.  What I can see in the photo are eleven Roland D.IIa aircraft with markings as follows, five are visible but the remained are not clear.

Table 7 - Jasta 25 LFG Roland D.II Markings

JASTA 25 CONCLUSIONS

It is interesting to note the number of known D.II fighters produced by Hannover that were associated with Jasta 25 in Macedonia in 1916 and 1917.  One conclusion that might be drawn is that a large number of that production batch of 30 aircraft D.II (Han) 800 -829/16 probably went specifically to Jasta 25 formed in Macedonia at the end of November 1916.  This makes sense from a maintenance aspect in that all of the staffel’s D.II’s would be from the same manufacturer who would have supplied spare aircraft and spare parts all of which could be interchangeable.

Most photos of camouflaged Halberstadt D.II’s show no markings other than the national cross and (on Hannover-built aircraft) the serial number.  Of the other photos, most show a single letter and a few show a number.  For Jasta 25, the letters were widely used and painted in white ahead of the fuselage cross.  My own reconstructed list of pilots and their initials from the information presented above that might have appeared on Halberstadt D.II aircraft in late-1916 and early-1917 is Table 8.  From this research and with a little guesswork, I decided to finish the Halberstadt D.II flown by Ltn Eric Schutze because I had a plausible serial number and individual marking.  I would appreciate additional information on pilots (full name, rank) and aircraft flown especially serial number.

Table 8 - Jasta 25 Halberstadt D.II (Han) Markings

CONSTRUCTION

1) I started with the fuselage.  When I was quite young, I simply slapped the two halves together and dropped in the seat.  That was all we had to work with in the early days.  Now, both fuselage halves require extensive prep including the addition of appropriate formers, wire-bracing, throttles, pressure pump, gauges, dials, control wires running under or next to the seat on the floorboard, and then there is the painting and weathering.  Then, its trial fit after moving some things until finally you have the detail you want.  You can't see most of it but you know its there and its part of the process.  In the photo below you can see (look hard) two of the rudder control cables running just right of the control column.  The dashboard is painted with stock dials.  You can see just a part of the seat belt.  The fuselage has already been painted in the red-brown/dark green scheme of adopted in April 1916.  The top wing shows the Humbrol olive drab base coat is use.

2) The next is the landing gear and tailskid.  Both are made from brass stock. In the case of the main landing gear, I used Strutz, cut the pieces to length, and soldered them.  The tailskid was likewise made from brass rod stock, assembled in subcomponents, soldered, and glued to the airframe.  I insist on heavy-duty touch points when the aircraft model is resting on the ground.  The rudder is braced with brass rod.  Note the extension of the control lines protruding from the bottom of the fuselage near the rear landing gear leg.  Engine detail was done using brass road for the radiator circulation pipe.

3) This underside view shows the completed landing gear, tailskid, and pale blue undersides.  White panels were painted on and the black crosses applied over them.  As soon as the decals go on, I overspray them thinly with satin gloss polyurethane for protection.  

4) This view shows the aircraft painted and only the rigging remains.  Ah, the rigging.  I have experimented with different mediums for rigging and having an emphasis on strength I exclusively use music wire of varying diameters.  My favorite is .008 which exhibits great strength but at the expense of a little bit of realism.  The sizes vary on aircraft with heavier wire for the two-seat aircraft and lighter wire for the single-seat aircraft.  I used .008 on the Halberstadt which is a little heavy looking.  The ideal would be .006 or .007.

5) The completed Halberstadt D.II (Han) 810/16 marked white "S." flown by Ltn. Eric Schutze of Jasta 25 in Macedonia.

Additional construction photos can be seen here:  Halberstadt D.II Construction Article

CAMOUFLAGE

Camouflage colors used on the upper surfaces and fuselage sides is almost always referred to as irregular patches of olive green and reddish-brown.  Under surfaces are described as either CDL or pale light blue.  Wing struts can possibly be pale light blue or light gray.  Landing gear struts and wheel covers appear to be dark green on one side of the aircraft and reddish-brown on the other; sometimes the struts and wheel covers on one side are mixed and sometimes they are the same color, e.g. olive green struts with reddish-brown wheel covers, vice-versa, or both the same color on one side and the other color on the other side.  Note that the inside of the wheel covers were almost always the underside color, i.e., CDL or pale light blue.

The Blue Max 1/48^th scale kit of a Halberstadt D.II offers decals for two aircraft: D.II (Han) D.813/16 and D.II (Han) D.816/16.  Except for the random application of olive-green and reddish-brown to the fuselage, Halberstadt D.II (Han) are somewhat identical in camouflage color patterns.  Note the chord-wise camouflage application on the upper wing.  I can only presume that the lower wing is the same.  On the three-view drawings for each aircraft, note the following: struts are “grey”, wheel covers are a dark color but not specified, and the underside is CDL.  The “D” letter on D.813/16 is followed by a period dot in white.  However, more information is available in the kit narrative.  Struts are “greenish-grey” as are the twin wing walkways (see “Halberstadt Fighters by P. M. Grosz especially photos 18, 64, and 70 for placement).  Undersides could be either CDL or pale light blue.  D.II 813/16 is reported to have the outer wheel covers painted in olive-green (port) and reddish-brown (starboard). Table 9 repeats the color table found on the kit instructions.  Table 10 is an extract from "Halberstadt Fighters" by P. M . Grosz, Albatros Productions, Ltd.²

Table 9 - Blue Max Color References

Table 10 “Halberstadt Fighters” Color References

My of preference for painting World War1 aircraft is Misterkit for which I have several "back-ups" either straight from the bottle or mixed such as (Humbrol, Vallejo, Andrea, Model Master).  Here is a table of Misterkit colors I used on this model.

PAINT COLOR SWATCHES

	Misterkit MKGC05 Albatros Dark Green
	Misterkit MKGC01 Albatros Red Brown
	Misterkit MKGC03 Albatros Pale Blue
	Vallejo Acrylic Mix of VC0907 (Light Pale Blue Grey), VC0885 (Pastel Green), and VC0866 (Grey Green)

SPECIAL THANKS TO RAY RIMMEL OF ALBATROS PRODUCTIONS LTD

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND END NOTES

¹ The Fokker Monoplanes, J. M. Bruce, Profile Publications Ltd., Leatherhead, Surrey, UK, 1965.  A good summary of the Fokker Eindecker types; but, see also Windsock Datafiles 15 (E.III) and 91 (E.I and E.II), Albatros Publications, Ltd.

² Halberstadt Fighters, Classics of WW1 Aviation 1, by P. M. Gross, Albatros Publications, Ltd., Berkhamsted,  Hertfordshire, UK, 1996.

³German Fighter Units 1914 – May 1917, by Alex Imrie, Airwar Series 13, Osprey Publishing, Ltd., London, UK, 1978.

⁴German Air Forces 1914 -18, by Ian Sumner, Osprey Elite Series 135, Osprey Publishing, Ltd,  Oxford, UK, 2005.

⁵Early German Aces of World War 1, by Greg vanWyngarden, Osprey Aircraft of the Aces Series 73, Osprey Publishing, Ltd., Oxford, UK, 2006.

⁶German Aircraft of the First World War, by Peter Gray and Owen Thetford, Putnam & Company Ltd, London, 1962.

GERMAN PILOT & MECHANIC 1916 1:48 SCALE BY  JAGUAR

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© Copyright by George Grasse