Who, what, when, where and why?

Correct Identification on all counts gets the Aeroscale member a recently Aeroscale reviewed item.

I am completely baffled but venture to say.......... a Movie Set.(the markings seem a little out of "form" for the types etc.) Good luck Folks!
Cheers & all the Very Best in 2013!
Lance

Fokker Dr.I and D.VII replicas from The Blue Max?

Tricky one Stephen...

– My guess would be that they are replicas from the film "Pour le Merite" from 1938.

Its was a propaganda film by director Karl Ritter. Made by the Luftwaffe/Wehrmacht inGermany in order to gloryfy the illigal uppbuild of the Luftwaffe prior to the WWII.

Happy New Year everybody!



Mikael – who is feeling a bit today thanks to many last night

Nice guess Mikael but no cigar.

Argh, third time is the charmed...

Der Adler von Flandern/Ikarus, der fliegende Mensch 1918 Germany

Fokker Dr.I and a D.VII

Also a good try but not a winner.

Hmmmm, actually Stephen – I refine my answer from above (If this is OK?),

Same film/director/year and made for the same reason – but the Dr.I is not a replica, but the real thing – Fokker Dr1 528/17 fitted with a Clerget 130 hp.

It was a museum piece that was crashed shortly after the movie was finished... I still think the DVII in the background was a replica.

Cigar?

Mikael

The id on the Dr.I is correct. But it had the 7 cylinder Goebel Goe.II 100hp engine. W/n 2196, Fok. Dr.I 528/17 (D_EFOK)was flown by Willy Gabriel after is was reconditioned in 1938 for several movie productions. That was the "DVL" Triplane on display at Wassersport und Lufsport Ausstellung in Berlin in 1936. Alex Imrie indicated the Goebel Goe II were installed on Dr.I being sent to one of the Jastaschule's. It was Later refitted with a Clerget 120hp engine.

This is a DML kit with decals from the spares box.





The header image to this thread was not from "Pour le Merite". Dr.I 528/17 was not damaged during that movie. Here is a bit of a twist for you. The Fokker D.VII was a Swiss manufactured bird.

Intriguing, I'll dig a bit deeper and see if I can find something more

Mikael

Was Udet involved in this little adventure? (and believe me, this is a "WAG" in it's worst form!)
Cheers,
Lance

He actually flew one of the two triplanes. It was marked with a "LO!" But "Pour le Merite" is not the movie the header still is from. Since it is safe to show it, I'll give you a taste. Here is a 30 minute crop from "Pour le Merite". I have a storyline description but it won't help with the original question.



"In 1918 Lieutenant Fabian of Jagdgeschwader 12 received the high order "Pour le Mérite". When he want to party with his girlfriend Gerda, he is ordered back to the front by his commander Lieutenant Frank. When the war is lost, the 'soldiers' refuse to deliver their aeroplanes to the enemy. They fly them to Darmstadt, where in the end the machines are set on fire.

In the after war years Frank has nothing to do, till the moment when he meets his former deputy Moebius. Moebius shows him on his estate an old machine, that he had hided after the war. But the secret was revealed and both Frank and Moebius were put into jail. After the release Frank desperately leaves Germany.

In 1935 - when there was again a German air force - Frank comes back to Germany from his stay in South America. On the flying field Jüterbog a new squadron was posted. Here he meets his old comrades Fabian and Moebius. . .

OK, so I'm probably barking up the wrong tre again, but here's another guess:

Its a still from the filmset of the German film "D III 88", made in 1939 and directed by Herbert Maisch. And like Stephen said, the Dr.I (528/17) was piloted by Willy Gabriel.

It too was a "propaganda" film for the Luftwaffe...

If this is not correct, I'm out of ideas

Mikael

So you are saying that:

Who = directed by Herbert Maisch, piloted by Willy Gabriel?
What = The German film "D III 88", Dr.I 528/17 (D_EFOK)
When = 1939?
Where = a still from the filmset?
Why = It too was a "propaganda" film for the Luftwaffe?

D_EFOK was the only Dr.I in "D III 88" D_EFOK triplane was crashed sometime after the movie was made.

Historian Brad King says,
". . .Yes the proper title of the film is D III 88 and there is a good description of the aircraft (an original Dr.I) used in the film. "D III 88" is the second in a trilogy of Nazi films whch starts with "Pour Le Merite" (made in 1938, some of the storylines from this were used in The Blue Max 1966) and ends with "Kamppfgeschwader Lutzow" (1941).

It is set in 1938 in a squadron of Ju52 bombers. The film has excellent views of this bomber version. The squadron has a "history room" in which is stored the Dr.I from the WWI squadron. A crew chief, the "Old man" of the unit is a WWI vet. I quote from the official description of the film:

Action takes place in the German Air Force just before the 2nd world war. During an excercise a fighter bomber - bombing targets at sea has difficulties with its bomb release apparatus, bombs do not drop and the plane cannot land. All but one of the crew drop by parachute, his is jammed. He brings the plane back alone and suceeds in landing. The pilot of the plane is jealous, believes he did it on purpose and the ensuing emnity reaches its climax when they are on another excercise over the Bavarian mountains. They come into a fog-patch and, having ice on the wings, are forced to crash-land. The CO punishes them by forbiding them to take part in the forhtcoming sea and air excercise. The Crew Chief of the ground crews (who seems to be suffering form angina - I should know), pleads for them with the CO both of whom are 14-18 vets, we see flash-back scenes of that time and a similar experience they had with a plane D III 88 and its pilot. The CO relents, the two pilots, now friends again, suceed in locating the "enemy" Naval forces, but do not return. The Chief [Oh Brave Heroic Soul] wheels out the only plane available - yes you've guessed it D III 88 the faithful squadron Dr.I - the plane he's always looked after, locates them and guides naval ships to their rescue, but his petrol runs out (and I think he has a heart attack) on his return flight, he crashes and is killed.]
Nice scenes of the original Dr1 nd the engine sound of course.

Production values are very high. All three +films are held at the Imperial War Museum but not available on video. Copies will be in Germany as well. See "Imrie" for the story of the planes. PleM also has original D.VII aircraft in it - one of which is painted white to flatter Der Dicke (Fatso) Goering".

Greg VanWyngarden has said, ". . .I think the other "Triplane" seen on the ground sequences in D III 88 is actually the Sarotti SP-5a hybrid Triplane which used some Dr.I components and which was built (?) by the Sarotti Chocolate company to advertise their product, after Max Schueler crashed their real Dr.I in 1926. . ."

Hi there

If you like this sort of quiz, check out the Trivia in the General forum. No prizes on offer other than kudos, but it's a lot of fun and good way to learn some unexpected stuff.

All the best

Rowan

Hello Stephen – Yes, that would be my answers, the film set, I guess is in Germany somewhere... Thank You by the way for all the interesting info!

I thoght I'd seen the Dr.I with the commet motif before, and though I don't always trust the Squadron Signal publications – there is an image in the one about the Dr.I of two flying planes, one painted like your image. It states that it is two replicas from the movie D III 88. I had a very hard time finding any info on the film though. In the end I could only locate a German and a French site that mentiones it.

Incidently, one of the cast – Carsta Löck acted in a few Swedish childrens movies in the early 70's as an old woman. She of course spoke in German, and her voice was done by a Swedish actress instead...

Anyway, after all this – I guess I'm not correct this time either?

Best Regards

Mikael

According to the info I have you are correct this time!
I'll PM you.