Here is a bit of time travel for you. You won't see this image premiering anywhere else on the web. Now in the study of this image what are some of the things that grab your attention?

Here is a bit of fun watching an E.IV type in the air. What tells you that these images are of two different machines?

The width of the fuselage cross?

Excellent Claudio!

The proportions of the crosses are different also note the depth of the cowlings in profile. The first is a normal size for the 9 cyl but the second is almost twice the depth and is for the 14 cyl arrangement.

Now what is different about the following image? Also how do you put a date to this image?

There is no engine . It has been blacken out and the cowl has a funny look about it same with under carriage . Lost me on dating the photo but this is an earlier Fokker . so I would say 1914

Good call on the engine Terri! The cylinders and the forward portion of the fuselage has been erased by the censors. This was a post card that you could buy at most apothocary shops / (Pharmacy). Sanke was the brand name. No if you had read the review on Max Immelmann that I just posted less than 24hrs ago you would have seen;

"Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke were awarded the Orden Pour le Mérite on 12 January 1916. Later that year on 16 June 1916, Immelmann was killed in a dogfight with seven British aircraft. . ."

So this tells us that since the pilot is Max Immelmann and he is wearing the Blue Max at his throat that the image was probably takes with in days after the award. Note the trees are bare as well. The Fokker E type appears to be an older E. I or an E.II brought up to E.III standards. No engine says we can't determine it that way. But the serial is barely legible. I see E. 39/15 If you look at the review I posted on this Ace's biography you will see an image of E.I 35/15. Also missing from the image is the machine gun and any of its fixtures.

Knowing what you are looking at brings everything into focus.

If that is the "Pour le merite" at his neck it has to be between January 1916 when he received it and june 1916 when he died. By the lack of foliage on the trees I would say earlier rather than later. Of course I guess this could be an earlier photo and the medal could have been added in a retouch (not to menton the extensivley retouched fokker, the original photo must has been pretty lousy)

That is the key! Is that a Blue Max at his throat? No! It has been added to update the Immelmann (Sanke Card) image for dispersal after he won the award. Look at the two images (one from the review as a title image of the book).



Here is what it should look like. Note in the first image the medal is too big. The awards bar is also an add on. None of the medals are present.

Good news! Casemate has sent an extra copy of the book! So now I get to offer it here on Aeroscale to one of the lucky members! Now How should I do this? Hhhhhmmmm. . .

There is also something on the upper left tunic front (looks like a different light condition) and a seam that does not seem to be in the tunic on the book cover (if it were, that could cause the light differentiation...it's only on the left shoulder front); as well, doesn't there appear to be a second 'Knight's Cross' in the photo on the book cover that isn't there in the row of medals in the photo on the top?
I'm not an expert in stringbaggers and those who rode them, so let me know if I'm looking and seeing right. This is fun.

Matt

The light situation seems, now that I look at it, to be a wrinkle.....?

Stephen:

A question for the master: in what aircraft did Immelmann first develop his famous maneuver that was named after him?

Thanks,
Matt

I didn't notice the medal at first until you mention it Stephen . Now looking back at the photo's it does stick out don't it !

With the medal in the top pic being larger than on the book cover , one could say that it was added after the fact ?

That would have been a Fokker Eindecker.

Yes definately. These awards were often faked on images after the pilot received them. When their star was rising they would sit for a photo. When the announcement came that they were awarded this or that, photographers would draw in or dupe the medal in to keep sales up. They were like sports bubble gum cards.

Retouching and even adding such details to photographs was quite common well before WWI. Lower class families that could afford to have a picture taken would often have watches, jewelry, shiny buttons etc, added to the photo afterwords to make them look a little better off.
The EKII (Iron Cross 2nd class) should be easily visible on the rack of medals, but the retoucher lacked the ability to add the finer details

My copy of " The Eagle of Lille" should be here at the end of the week, this discussion pushed me over the edge and I ordered it up.

Its an excellent read Mike. You may be inspired to read some of the other titles they have too. Get back with us and give your impressions on the forum thread please. This project is still underway and I have images I can post. But it will have to wait for a couple of days while we shift gears on the forum.

Stephen,
I will diving into the book as soon as I finish " The Guns of August" I hope to pick up the Mannock and Boelcke books as soon as the latter is printed.

On Nov 15, 1915 Immelmann flew to Lille to put on a display for his Saxon monarch , King Friedrich August III . ( See "The Eagle of Lille " pages 153-156 ). This is one of a number of photographs taken that day. To protect the secret of the synchronized machine gun it has been "removed " by retouching the photo along with removing the engine as well. The aircraft is Fokker E. II 37/15.

The Pour le Merite is not present on the original and was retouched in later. On the original Immelmann is wearing his pilot's badge and his Iron Cross 1st class. His Ribbon bar shows Military St. Henry Order, Knight's Cross (Saxon), Albert Order , Knight 2nd Class with Swords (Saxon) , Friedrich August Medal in Silver (Saxon), Iron Cross 2nd Class. He had received the Royal Hohenzollen House Order less than a week earlier and must have not yet received the physical award as he is not yet wearing it.

Marlon Schultz



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I was hoping to see you Marlon! I was just reviewing some of the older threads last night and was thinking of you! Thanks for your input.

Also Paul Leaman's "Fokker Aircraft of WWI" includes the report on Fok EIII 210/16 which has a document called "Notes on erecting a Fokker" attached. It mentions the painted turnbuckles, the upper cabane's being blue, the "right...(in direction of the machines)" lift cables being red, and the "left" lift cables green. No colour is stated for the lower cabane's. Only the blue turnbuckles were to be loosened when truing up the wing. "Leaded" turnbuckles were never to be loosened or unfastened. I'm not sure what "leaded" means. Does this bring us back to "Feste"?

Hi STephen

Just found this version of the Immelmann photo, No Engine, No Pour le Merit and no bad photo manipulation

Dave