AIRCRAFT COLOURS AND MARKINGS OF THE FIRST
WORLD WAR ERA
Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
Series 28 and 65.5
The first biplane fighter for the LFT, the Brandenburg D.I was built
in two variants by Phonix and Brandenburg. The original Series 65 aircraft
were built by the German Brandenburg company, while Albatros' Austrian
subsiduary, Phonix, built the Series 28 aircraft. Series 65.50-69 aircraft
had the 160Hp Daimler, while the lightened 65.70-99 had a 150 hp Daimler.
The Phonix company made a few revisions to the original design, the most
apparent of which was the substitution of a 185hp Daimler. The most striking
feature of the design was its unique strut arrangment which led to the
name of 'Starstrutter', it was also known as the 'KD' (Kampf doppledecker
- biplane fighter). In an attempt to improve the poor directional control,
a larger fin and rudder were fitted to most aircraft, but still the type
was hard to fly, and only a few exceptional pilots were to make any gains
in the KD.
Armament consisted of a single Schwarlose machine gun in an enclosed
'baby coffin' mounted on the top wing. The 'baby coffin' was a self contained
system with ammunition stored internally. A few KDs had two guns mounted,
while at least two others had guns fixed directly to the top wing and
fed by a belt stored within the aircraft's fuselage
Almost all KDs were plain finished, with varnished fuselages, CDL wings
and tail surfaces and natural metal panels. The metal panels were frequently
riffed to reduce the appearance of wear and grime to them. Initial German
KDs had white fields to their crosses, while the Phonix built KD had the
cross painted directly unto the surface with no white field. The tpical
Austrian serials were applied to the side of the fuselage and personal
marking were usually in black and white. Struts were poften wrapped in
fabric as protection against splintering.
The first series 65 aircraft entered service in November 1916, with the
type being withdrawn from service by Autumn 1917, and ordered out of frontline
service in January 1918. A total of 122 KDs were built.
There is a fair amount of information on the KD available, with a monograph
on the type by Karl Meindl and Walter Schroeder published by FMP in 1997
and a Datafile in 2006.
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Generic top view
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 65.74
-
Flik 4
February 1917
Source: Aircraft Archives v.1 |

Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 65.53
Oblt Godwin Brumowski
Flik 12
December 1916
Source: Air Aces of A-H Empire
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.38
Ltn Benno Fiala von Fernbrugg
Flik 12
Autumn 1917
Source: Air Aces of A-H Empire
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.02
Oblt Frank Linke-Crawford
Flik 12
April 1917
Source: FMP -Brandenburg D.I
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.02
Oblt Frank Linke-Crawford
Flik 12
May 1917
Source: FMP -Brandenburg D.I
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.30
Raoul Stojsavlijevic
Flik 16
August 1917
Source: Air Aces of AH Empire |

Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.37
StabsFeldwebel Josef Kiss
Flik 24
Summer 1917
Source: Air Aces of AH Empire
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Hansa-BrandenburgD.I 28.11
Off.Stv Karl Kaszala
Flik 41/J
May 1917
Source: FMP-Brandenburg D.I
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
-
Flik 41/J
June 1917
Source: Air Aces of AH Empire |

Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.40
Oblt Frank Linke-Crawford
Flik 41/J
June 1917
Source: Air Aces of AH Empire |

Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.40?
Oblt Frank Linke-Crawford
Flik 41/J
Summer 1917
Source: FMP Brandenburg D.I
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.15
Oblt Frank Linke-Crawford
Flik 41/J
Summer 1917
Source: Air Aces of AH Empire
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.33
-
Flik 41/J
Summer 1917
Source: FMP Brandenburg D.I
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.13
-
Flik 41/J
Summer 1917
Source: FMP Brandenburg D.I
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.44
Oblt Frank Linke-Crawford
Flik 41/J
Summer 1917
Source: Air Aces of AH Empire |

Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.40?
-
Flik 41/J
Summer 1917
Source: FMP Brandenburg D.I
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.40?
-
Flik 41/J
Summer 1917
Source: FMP Brandenburg D.I
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.05
-
Flik 41/J
August 1917
Source: C&C(GB) 18/4
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Hansa-Brandenburg D.I 28.58
Feldwebel Johann Risztics
Flik 42/J
July 1917
Source: Air Aces of AH Empire |
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