AIRCRAFT COLOURS AND MARKINGS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR ERA

Albatros D.III


Most D.IIIs left the factory with plain varnished fuselages, light grey (or green, or brown!) metalwork and camouflaged upper surfaces. Initially it was thought that they used just two colours on their wings/taiplanes, however it is now thought that most had three colours - light Brunswick green, dark green and reddish brown. Undersurfaces were in light blue. Rudders were in either CDL or one of the uppersurface colours
Use of the reddish-brown colour led to some aircraft being mistaken for enemy aircraft, and a switch to dark green and lilac was ordered on April 12 1917. It is unknown if any Johannisthal-built D.IIIs were delivered in lilac/green but some OAW examples surely were. The final batch of OAW D.IIIs ( D.2362-2561/17) had five-colour printed fabric on wings and tail surfaces. Interestingly, many of the early aircraft in this run exhibited a mix of painted and printed components as stocks of the former were used up.
Greg VanWyngarden provided a very good description of Albatros D.I-III finishes in the Albatros D.III Datafile Special section on Markings. The Datafile Special is recommended as the best single source of information on the D.III, and it supercedes the information in Datafile No.1 as well as the Albatros fighters Special

 

typical three colour
with central radiator


typical three colour
with offset radiator

 


typical Lilac/Green

Albatros D.III D.2125/16
Ltn von Stenglin
Jasta 1
-
Source: Windsock 5/4

Albatros D.III
Ltn Hermann Frommherz
Jasta Boelcke

Source: OTF 4/4
REVISED


Albatros D.III
Ltn Gerhard Bassenge
Jasta Boelcke

Source: OTF 4/4
REVISED

 


Albatros D.III D.751/17

Jasta Boelcke

Source: Albatros D.III Special

 


Albatros D.III
Ltn Werner Voss
Jasta Boelcke & Jasta 5
Summer 1917
Source: Jasta 5 Special

 


Albatros D.III 2244/16
Ltn Heinrich Bussing
Jasta 5
July 1917
Source: Jasta 5 Special


Albatros D.III
-
Jasta 5
July 1917
Source: Jasta 5 Special

 


Albatros D.III
Ltn Strobel
Jasta 5
Late 1917
Source: Albatros In Action

Albatros D.III
-
Jasta 6
 -
Source: GVW - MvR's Flying Circus


Albatros D.III D.789/17
Ritt Manfred von Richthofen
Jasta 11
April 1917
Source: OTF 3/3
Updated 2013

 


Albatros D.III
-
Jasta 11
April 1917
Source:

 


Albatros D.III
Ltn Karl Allmenroeder
Jasta 11
April 1917
Source: OTF

Albatros D.III
Ltn Otto Brauneck
Jasta 11
July 1917
Source: OTF

Albatros D.III 2274/16
Oblt Adolf von Tutschek
Jasta 12
-
Source: Dan-San Abbott


Albatros D.III
Ltn Paul Billik
Jasta 12
September 1917
Source:

 


Albatros D.III
Ltn Josef Veltjens
Jasta 14
Mar/April 1917
Source: Albatros in Action

 


Albatros D.III 1941/16
Ltn Ernst Udet
Jasta 15
January 1917
Source: Dan-San Abbott

Albatros D.III
-
Jasta 15
-
Source: GVW Photo


Albatros D.III
Oblt Ernest Turck
Jasta 18
Summer 1917
Source: C&C(GB)

 


Albatros D.III D.3096/16
Ltn Wichard
Jasta 24
-
Source: OTF 12/1

Albatros D.III
Off.Stv Friedrich Altemeier
Jasta 24

Source: Albatros D.III Special

Albatros D.III D.23xx/16

Jasta 24

Source: Albatros D.III Special

Albatros D.III 2049/16
Ltn Hermann Göring
Jasta 27
Summer 1917
Source: OTF 10/3


Albatros D.III D2041/16
Ltn Ernest Hess
Jasta 28
July 1917
Source: GVW

 


Albatros D.III D.774/16
Hptm Otto Hartmann
Jasta 28
Summer 1917
Source: C&C(INT) 21/1

 


Albatros D.III

Jasta 28

Source: OTF 15/1


Albatros D.III
Ltn Karl Bolle ????
Jasta 28

Source: OTF 15/1


Albatros D.III
Ltn Ludwig Dornheim
Jasta 29
Spring 1917
Source: WINGS Dec 1974

 


Albatros D.III D.2052/16
Ltn von Budde
Jasta 29
-
Source:Albatros in Action

Albatros D.III 2140/16
Ltn Paul Ergbuth
Jasta 30
-
Source: GVW Photo


Albatros D.III 760/17
Vzfw Hans Oberlander
Jasta 30
-
Source: Albatros D.III Special



Albatros D.III 767/17
Ltn Oskar Seitz
Jasta 30
-
Source: Albatros D.III Special


Albatros D.III
Oblt Hans Bethge
Jasta 30
-
Source: Albatros D.III Special


Albatros D.III
Ltn Joachim von Bertrab
Jasta 30
Summer 1917
Source: SEE FEATURE PAGE

 


Albatros D.III D.2090/16
Vzfw Fritz Jacobsen
Jasta 31
April 1917
Source: OTF 11/1


Albatros D.III D.2090/16
Vzfw Fritz Jacobsen
Jasta 31
June 1917
Source: OTF 11/1

 


Albatros D.III D.2063/16
Ltn Hugo Geiger
Jasta 34b
July 1917
Source:


Albatros D.III

Jasta 36

Source: Albatros D.III Special

 


Albatros D.III 2132/16
Ltn Ernst Udet
Jasta 37
June 1917
Source: Dan-San Abbott


Albatros D.III 2135/16
Ltn Kurt Grasshoff
Jasta 37

Source: Windsock 3/4

 


Albatros D.III D.1999/18
Ltn Heinrich Bussing
Kest 4

Source: OTF 6/3


Albatros D.III
Off.Stv Johann Dierle
Kest 4

Source: OTF 6/3

 


Albatros D.II

Kest 4

Source: OTF 6/3


Albatros D.III
Ltn Josef Rohe
MFJ I

Source: Albatros D.III DF Special

 


Albatros D.III 1996/16
Ltn Rudolf Hohberg
FAA 263
Early 1917
Source: Albatros D.III Special

Albatros D.III
Ltn Rudolf Hohberg
FAA 263

Source: GVW Photo


Albatros D.III
Ltn Rudolf Hohberg
FAA 263

Source: Albatros D.III Special