I got this poster years ago at Nut Tree CA for my dad, There is a post card as well with the individuals names and the a/c type on the back. Does anyone on this list have any idea of the colors of this Jasta B a/c?

It was one of my dad's prized possessions and I would like to do the model any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Mark

Hi Mark

The bands are white and black with a white tail section , light blue for under the wings and the top green and purple camo . Top of cowl and spinner grey/green ( RLM 02 ) or field grey , close to the colour of it at least for the metal panels .

Hope this helps and I right about it

Thanks Terri:

I sort of thought that as well, but I figured the collective knowledge here would offer more details. You did, I had no idea about the cowl panels or the wing surfaces.

It is truly an amazing photo and a testament to German lenscraft, as that is a large poster but the detail is as fine as a small photograph. You wouldn't happen to know who the pilot was?
The figures in front are Bessenge, Kempf, and Vallendor.

Mark

Damn thats interesting I found this one this morning, obviously somebody has been playing about with it...... totally wrong colour

Dave

Terri: What do you think? Red strips totally wrong? I tend to go with the black ones as they more closely resemble the color of the cross on the tail surface.

The colours of the fuselage bands are white and black. The machine is a Alb. D.V from Jasta Boelcke. The figures are Bassenge, Kempf and Vallendor. The three are (L to R) Gerhard Bassenge, Fritz Kempf and Hermann Vallendor (incidentally, all hailed from Baden). The D.V in the background was almost certainly striped in black and white. Yes, it did have a white tail unit but additional chordwise black stripes were applied to the tailplane. The machine probably belonged to Kempf.

1.Ltn. Gerhard Bassenge joined Jasta "B" on 2 May 1917. Was WIA on 6 Nov.1917. returned to duty on an unknown date.
2. Ltn. Friedrich Paul Kempf joined Jasta"B" on 4 April 1917 to 17 October 1917 to Jastaschule, return to Jasta "B" in January 1918.
3. Ltn Herman Vallendor joined Jasta"B" on 24 August 1917 to the EOW.
4. Jasta "B" had the Alb.D.V by 14 September 1917
and began receivng the Fok.DR.I by 14 January.
The earliest possible date was 24 August 1917 when Vallendor joined Jasta "B",another factor was earliest possible date was 14 September 1917 when they had the Alb.D.V on strength. The latest possible date was 17 October 1917 when Kempf went off to Jastaschule. So,this photo was taken between 14 September to 17 October 1917. The Location on 14 September was Varsenaere Airfield to 30 September 1917 and Jasta "B" moved to Rumbeke Aifield on 1 October and were there to 12 November 1917. Both airfields had sheds so it becomes a choice, my guess is Varsenaere Airfield, bright sunlight, strong shadows, sun still high. However it could be Rumbeke.

I picked up this same poster in 1973 at the Balboa Park aviation museum in San Diego before it burned down a year later. Though it was rebuilt it was such a tragedy. Below is another fellow's framed poster.

Thanks Stephen for all the info. It really fleshes out this photo and brings it to life. I have been fascinated by it ever since I first saw it.

Mark

Hi Mark/Stephen/Terri

I apologize if I seemed a little misinformed, I actually love this picture because of the time taken to get the best quality at such an early development period of both the camera and aircraft in general, I should have said I know the colours were completely wrong for the aircraft, it just shows how misguided some people are when they colour such a photo. I found this along with a photo of Werner Voss introducing his family to MvR, that also had been coloured, but it is quite a photo.

I Love the photo

Dave

No worries Dave. There is so much junk out there its hard to know what is what without good references. For Jasta Boelcke this is one of the best.

Osprey Publishing - Jagdstaffel 2 ‘Boelcke’



From the author;
". . .For the record, there are 125 photos in the book, 36 profiles and four planform views. With such a well-known unit as Jasta Boelcke, it's inevitable that some of the profiles have been published before in other Osprey works. However, the majority are new (and even most of the "old" ones have been revamped and improved just a bit). . ."

No need to apologize Dave . We have all done it before with ref's we have in the library . Never hurts to ask and this is a great place to do it Stephen is very correct when he says there is a lot junk out there as I have found out in the past . Thank-you for sharing your thoughts . It does look rather neat with the red and white bands and will make a great model sitting in front or by the poster .

Thank - you Stephen for adding the dates and time frame , learned a little more myself

Cheers all !

Thanks for the reference Stephen. I will have to pick that one up.