AIRCRAFT COLOURS AND MARKINGS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR ERA

Halberstadt D.II


The first D type fighter accepted by the German Air Service was the Halberstadt D.II - D.100. Service use began when eight D.II/IIIs reached the frontline units in June 1916. The D.II and D.III were ordered at the same time and differed in powerplant, the D.II having a Mercedes, while the D.III had the Argus engine. The D.II was built by two other companies besides Halberstadt, Hannover - D.II(Han), and Aviatik - D.II(Av). All told betwen 85-96 D.IIs were delivered (the intial order for 12 a/c was split between the D.I with a 100hp Argus and the D.II, numbers of each being unknown), with a maximum of 55 being at the front in December 1916.

The Halberstadt D.II was in four basic finishes:. Plain, with the metal and ply paimted to match the fabric; sky or off-white overall; green/red-brown camouflaged and feldgrau overall. The Halberstadt fighters were withdrawn from frontline service at about the time that colourful markings began to be introduced in Spring 1917, therefore most just had a flight number or letter on the side if any markings were carried.

The only factory markings carried on Halberstadt-built D.IIs were the crosses in the usual eight positions. Hannover-built D.IIs carried white serials and a datum line, while Aviatik-built ones occasionally had the crosses outlined instead of on a field. They also applied their trademark decal to the centre of the tail cross.

The Halberstadt D.I-V is featured in the Halberstadt Fighters Special by PM Grosz. There is also a page of line drawings showing the individual markings carried by the D.IIs of Jasta 5 in the Jasta 5 Special.


 


Halberstadt D.II
Generic
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Source: Halberstadt Fighters


Halberstadt D.II
Generic
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Source: Halberstadt Fighters

Halberstadt D.II
Unknown
Jasta 5
Winter 1916-17
Source: Jasta 5 DF v.1