German Navy Fokker D.VII

[Stig Jarlevik]

Originally Posted by Petrusja

Ah, yes, it does read (Alb) between the brackets, now I see. Thanks.

No, they only have one of the same photos. They say it was interned by the Dutch, and that the Dutch serial F-257 was probably allocated.

Indeed a very interesting aircraft/photos and also a very interesting site. Thanks for posting it. Pity they know so little about what they show.

There has been many articles written about aircraft interned/crashed in Holland during WW 1 such as Cross & Cockade (both the British and US version a la Over the Front) and Air Enthusiast, just to mention three.
In all of them the serial number is quoted as 5584/18.
All of them also states Flugm. Karl Engelfried landed at Ijzendijke 15.10.1918
The unit is interesting and new to me. The only reference I have says Seefront Staffel. Only one source mentions the odd '115' on the fin but then says it was 'F115' (no F visible to me...)
The very tiny serial number (Bestellnummer) on the rudder is indeed intriguing and to be honest, they look very odd. I don't believe any German would have written the type as D.7 for instance, only D.VII. I have never myself seen a serial number painted in this way. Asking my wife (who knows nothing about serial numbers and such things), her initial reaction was it looked more like graffiti than a serious attempt of numbering an aircraft. I have to agree. This cannot be a factory marking. Would the Germans themselves have done it? Does not sound very serious either, so the only alternative to me is that someone from Holland has done it after it came down. So for the time being I am still treating this aircraft as 5584/18 mostly due to former Dutch sources which must have been originally been taken from Dutch files. Which is correct and which is wrong? No idea really.
Unfortunately no serial number can be seen anywhere else....

Finally the aircraft did not become F257 (that number belonged to a batch of Schwerin built aircraft taken by Fokker to Holland after the Armistice) but F227.

Cheers
Stig
Cheers
Stig