Siemens-Schuckert D.III by Flashback

1/48 scale
Kit No. KLH: 89-18
Cost: $34.00
Decals: Two versions – German Imperial Air Service and Swiss Air Force
Comments: Re-issue of Eduard kit with resin and photo-etched details; engraved panel lines

History

The Siemens Schuckert D.III was one of the lesser known but more effective German fighters of the Great War, and entered service with the German Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Service) in January 1918. It originated from an mid-1916 order to manufacture a fighter whose performance equaled that of the Nieuport 17, accompanied by a captured example which was made available to German aircraft manufacturers. Of the earlier types built by Siemens Schuckert, the D. I was a near carbon copy of the Nieuport except for its powerplant, spinnered propeller and the presence of a tailskid. Although 150 of the type were ordered, deliveries were held up due to the slow production rate of the Siemens-Halske engines, and it was obsolete by the time it entered service. Follow-on orders were consequently cancelled.

The D.II was largely a test program leading directly to the D.III. The D.III represented the marriage of several great ideas. First, the monococque fuselage was a wooden frame consisting of four main longerons with transverse bulkheads connected with diagonal formers, with 3mm plywood panels as a skin, producing an extremely rigid structure. The rudder elevators and wings were fabric covered and conventionally built, and both the upper and lower wings had ailerons. The powerplant was a Siemens-Halske Sh III 160 hp, 11-cylinder counter rotary engine. A standard rotary turned cylinders and propeller on a stationary crankshaft, turning in one direction at 1800 rpm, but on the Seimens Schuckert, the propeller and the cylinders turned at 900 rpm in one direction, while and the crankshaft turned 900 rpm in the opposite direction. This counteracted the torque inherent in the standard rotary engine and produced a maximum of 210 hp.

Later a modified engine, the Sh.IIIa put out a maximum of 240hp. Another company named Rhemag developed the reliable Sh.III(Rh). These rotaries were to be the first to be equipped with a true form of throttle control, sensitive down to 350 hp, instead of a “blip” switch which prevented pistons from sparking altogether for as long as depressed. Being a highly maneuverable and fast climbing aircraft, the Siemens Schuckert D.III became ideal for Germany’s Home Defense units known as KEST (Kampf- einsitzer -staffeln). Several examples were flown successfully by pilots like Oberleutnant Ernst Udet, who would rise to a position of prominence in the WWIII Luftwaffe, and Ltn. Alfred Lenz. Though it looked like a barrel with wings, the Siemens Schuckert D. III was unequaled in maneuverability.

Jagdgeschwader 11 conducted operational service trials with the new fighter on the Western Front in April 1918, in time for the Spring Offensive. D.III’s flew patrols and engaged in offensive operations alongside Albatros D.V’s and D.Va’s, which by that time dominated front-line fighter squadrons. Pilots praised the D.III’s good flying qualities, overall sensitivity, and rocket-like rate of climb (a D. IIB prototype had reached 5000 meters (16,400 ft.) in 15.5 minutes, impressive for the time). The D. III quickly began to score victories, but its service debut was short-lived; a fault was soon discovered in that the early D.III’s fully enclosed cowling often caused its 160 hp Siemens-Halske engine to overheat, and due to the fact that the Germans lacked a good grade of castor oil, on occasion engines would also seize up completely. This was attributed to insufficient trials motivated by a rush to get the type into service. Consequently, all operational D.III’s were recalled by May 1918 for air frame modifications, but the engine was retained due to its ability to maintain power at high altitude.

Hauptmann Rudolph Berthold, in command of Jagdgeschwader 11, listed the pros and cons of the D.III in a formal report to the Luftstreitkräfte, concluding “It is an urgent requirement that this fighter be made available for front line use as soon as possible, for after rectification of its present faults, it could become one of the most useful fighters.”

Despite this qualified but nonetheless positive endorsement, as is often the case with new military aircraft suddenly yanked back to the factory for modifications after entering service, Luftstreitkräfte enthusiasm for the D.III cooled somewhat and once modified with cutaway cowlings, when it re-entered service it was mostly allocated to Home Defense squadrons rather than front-line units. Ironically, D.III’s served with distinction in Kestas (Kampfeinsitzer-Staffel) 2, 4b, 5, 6, and 8 over Western Germany, achieving considerable success due in part to their superior rate of climb. While a modified version, what became the D.IV, saw service on the Western Front during the months-long 1918 offensive, it served in too small numbers to be credited with any appreciable improvement in the air war. Significant numbers were available by September 1918, but by then the Spring offensive had stalled and Germany was on the defensive with the arrival of fresh American troops to the Western Front.

The Siemens-Schuckert D.III was denied a more prominent place in WWI aviation history in part because of its relatively late entrance into the war, coupled with an initially abortive debut and the need for post-delivery modifications. But by all accounts, once the problem of engine overheating was cured, it was an exceptional fighter on par with the Albatros D.V and Fokker D.VII. Had it not had “bugs” to be worked out, it might well have had a larger role in the final year of the air war. For a full preview of this kit, click here.

Construction

This kit is actually a re-issue of an Eduard kit first released in 1993. Construction begins with a resin cockpit insert featuring an integrally molded pilot’s seat and photo etch details for the seat straps, control yoke rudder pedals and sidewall detail. The fuselage is a multi-part affair with separate upper decking forward of the cockpit, separate two-part tail unit for the rudder and horizontal stabilizer, and tail skid, in addition to the two fuselage halves. The engine and cowl are a six part assembly including two photo etch parts.

The airscrew has four individually mounted propeller blades, and the upper and lower wings are each a single part. The biggest challenge will be assembling the Spandau machine guns, which will entail rolling two small photo etch parts for the perforated barrel jackets. Interplane struts are to scale and unlike some WWI kits, actually look as though they can bear the load of the upper wing.

This is an early Eduard kit and is not quite up to the standards of their more recent offerings, with many parts having rather thick connecting rods on the sprues, and machine guns that are fairly crudely molded, looking more like American .30 caliber machine guns than Spandaus. These deficiencies aside, the kit builds up well with patience, although modelers should just be prepared for some puttying and sanding to get the fuselage into presentable condition, particularly in the area forward of the cockpit. Given the appearance of the kit machine guns, I opted for aftermarket Spandau guns by Eduard, Set No. 648177. Consisting of resin and photo etch parts, they are superior in detail to the kit parts provided, although they have other small, remarkably fiddly parts including cocking handles and gun sights.

Painting

The Siemens-Schuckert D. III is mostly airbrushed in acrylics, starting with Tamiya’s Semi-Gloss Black for the fuselage and Mr. Color Super Italian Red for the rudder. The wing under surfaces are a camouflage pattern of colors commonly used by the German Air Service during World War I: Mauve (by Polly Scale) along with Ochre and Olive Green (both by AK Interactive). The cockpit interior is done in Humbrol enamels, Natural Wood for the interior surfaces and Chestnut Brown for the seat. All lozenge decals were carefully outlined by hand with Model Master acrylic Insignia Blue.

Markings

The kit decals were fully serviceable so far as I could tell, but for my money the colors were a bit faint. For the D.III’s markings I wanted the best quality lozenge decals I could find, and purchased a 5-color lozenge set by Aviatik for the Siemens-Schuckert D.III, Sheet No. ATT48038. These decals are excellent: realistic color, not too flimsy and ready to grip the surface of the model yet amenable to repositioning. Best of all, they respond readily to decal solvent. Although made specifically for the Eduard/Fly kit, they will still have to be carefully trimmed, as they are not quite an exact fit for the wing and tail surfaces. A bit pricey at around $25.00, they are well worth it. The Aviatik decals were unusual in that they included markings to completely cover the interplane struts with the lozenge pattern as well. This presented a challenge since these markings adhered well to the kit elsewhere, but were a little reluctant to wrap around the interplane struts as intended; it required a combination of decal solvent followed by a generous coat of clear gloss lacquer applied with a paint brush get them to cooperate.

Conclusion

This is an interesting kit of one of Germany’s best but ironically less well-known fighters of World War I, in part because it did not arrive at the front in appreciable numbers until the final weeks of the war, seeing most of its action in the Home Defense Squadrons. The resin and photo-etch detail parts combined with the lozenge decals provide the basis for transforming an average kit of yesteryear into a first-class model. Although an older Eduard offering, this kit is remarkably well engineered, moreso than many WWI fighter kits. Highly recommended.

References

Classic World War I Aircraft Profiles: Volume 1 by Terry Treadwell and Edward Schacklady; Copyright 2002 Cerberus Publishing, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Profile Publications No. 86: The Siemens-Schuckert D.III and IV by Peter L. Gray; Copyright Profile Publications Ltd., Leatherhead, Surrey, England (no copyright date provided).
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, Volume 12, Issue 143, “Air War over the Western Front.”
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