A spanking would be nice

Ha Ha!! You guys are killing me with laughter

Probably has something to do with how the Germans touted their fliers in the newspapers as daring heros. It was good for civilian morale. As the war went worse, the more they promoted these matinee idols. The British kept their heros anonymous. If a great bit of derring-do happened, the release to the press simply said it was the work of 'a British airman'.

Our little masochist, eyh?
No, no, no - we won't do you that favour - haha!

No, wait - that would reward a masochist again...

Looking through 'Combat Report' I see a picture of a captured Fokker DVII with a large white skull and crossbones n the side.

I found this passage in the book: "... with a blue fuselage, white tail and a large white skull and cross-bones on each side of the fuselage, is diving, an S.E.5 to the right pushing him hard from 40 yards away. I am 200 feet above and see the whole thing. The S.E pilot is Southey, making a deflection shot. [] Later, Major Robeson visited the German pilot in hospital. His name was Kurt Wüsthoff. It seems he had just left the Richthofen squadron to command Staffel 15 of J.G.II. This was his first flight with this outfit. He borrowed the machine he flew from Georg von Hantelmann and had been hit in both legs from the right by the first machine to attack him. This was Southey. Wüsthoff claimed he had destroyed 27 Allied planes and was fourth on the German list."

A nice picture of the aircraft in the book, black and white of course. The skull is the full height of the fuselage just behind the cockpit. No apparent cross to be seen.

Just as an aside, after I had read this book the first time quite a few years ago (1990?) I worked with a girl called Gill Southey. I knew from the book that Southey was a South African. I asked her about it and she thought it was her grandfather although like a lot of war veterans he never talked about it.

There is also a picture in the book of a D.F.W (does WOFF have this two-seater) which has the 1918-type cross and in front or that a light-coloured swastika with the arms pointing to the left. Apparently the pilot lost his way and was flying without an observer and the S.E.s forced him down unhurt. No mention of the pilot's name or his Staffel. It seems that swastikas with arms pointing in both directions were used as good-luck symbols by many pilots.

Thank you Olham, Im glad so many have had interest to search different skins. I have also the Jasta 17 Osprey book and there are many new albatros pictures. Some of these are in skins dvd. I also did this Rudolf Freiherr von Esebeck albatros skin which i like, because bright colors from his family crest. There isnt in book color profile of this i made is from b/W photo.



Cheers

Arto

Yes, before the Nazis used it, the swastika was just a symbol for good luck.
It came AFAIK from India, and seems to symbolise a "sun wheel".
See more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

The Finnsih airforce also used the symbol for their national emblem.

Arto, you are more advanced than the publishers with this skin, when they missed it.
Great job!
I really LOVE it when I have enlisted with a new Jasta, and at start and later in flight,
I see all those individual, amazing "paint-jobs" on my comrades' aircraft.
After a short time, you know who everyone is, when you meet them in combat -
that makes it so much more immersive!
Feels just wonderful!

Excellent skin Paarma

The Swastika (Sanskrit) was used as a good luck symbol before and after WW1. It was being used in advertising upto the early 1930's

jasta 23 used Swatikas as their identification symbol . Udet did too,..even Raoul Lufbery used a similar one,..AFAIk, even Jew pilots flying for the german forces wore one,..

It is from India, and it does mean 'good fortune'. In Western Europe from the 1890's right though the Great War years there was a huge upsurge of interest in mysticism and Hindu thought. Just like in America during the 1960's. There was Alistier Crowley and "The Order of the Golden Dawn" in England (and others) The "Thule Society" in Germany, and Madam Helena Blavatsky and her Theosophy movement, to name but a few. There was great interest in things occult, outrageous and oriental. Swastikas were quite common. People wore them as jewelry, pins, cuff links, and they were quite commonly sent to soldiers at the front and worn on a chain. Because it was a well known symbol of good fortune, and because Germans were in great need of some in the early 30's, Hitler's choice of the swastika resonated with voters. Contrary to much writing, Hitler was not much interested in the occult. That was Himmler's contribution.