Hey, guys,
Okay, first, beauty skin! Above all else, let me state that up front.
Now, for the minutia. Voss’s DIII is an interesting one. Either 1) he had two similarly painted machines or 2) he had the same machine but with a replaced upper wing.
There are many photos of Voss’s plane taken during his leaves in April and June 1917. Also, shots from when he first painted the heart and swastika on his plane in what must have been late March or early April, just prior to his PLM leave that month, because photos from that leave show his plane so painted. At that time there was no heart on the turtledeck and no white stripes on the upperwing, and
without question , when the machine was first painted it had both a central radiator and a rounded footstep.
Voss painting the heart. The heart "points" to the footstep, which is unmistakeably rounded. Look above and note the radiator is centrally located.
Another shot of the central radiator. The machine is pristine and appears brand new.
Here's a shot taken during the same series as the first two, showing the finished product. The swastika is outlined in black. Look very closely at the wreath...the leaves have scalloped edges!
Now, here's a view of the starboard side in April. Again, swastika outline and scalloped leaves are evident:
Now, the photos from June show the white stripes and turtledeck heart had been added to the plane. However, a close look reveals that the plane now has an offset radiator!
Next to the right ear of the guy at far left, you can see one of the cowl vents that is associated with the 700-series DIIIs (although I just realized that recently I saw a shot of another production batch with similar vents so now I have to crawl through the archives and refind it lest I go mad). Is it another plane painted identically or were the upper wings replaced? This plane features extra vents around the nose cowl which were a hallmark of the 700-series D.IIIs, and several other planes in
Jasta Boelcke were 700-series and photos show many planes featured these vents. So, if a 700-series then Voss’s plane would have a square footstep—yet in every shot a friend or family member is standing in the way! Can never see the footstep. Furthermore, most of the photos in April show the starboard side while the photos in June show the port side, so comparison is mostly impossible! However, there are a couple pictures that show the same sides but the wreath appears identical on each machine—either it’s the same machine or they used a template do it. There is one spot where I see a slight variation but with the resolution photos I have I’m not prepared to make an in-stone determination; I want to be right about it first.
Now, the 700-series vents. I looked at the April photos because if the vents were missing then this would be a clue that it was different than the June machine, unless they recowled the airplane. Yet, in the April shots I can see these vents. The 700-series production batch was ordered March 1917 and Dan-San estimated a two-month delay between order and arrival, which would bring us to May with the arrival of the 700s. Yet Dan-San’s estimate—albeit well learned—was just that; did this machine arrive earlier than that? If a 700-series it should have the offset radiator, like Voss’s plane, too. But perhaps some first production batches had vents? However, I’ve not seen any in the manner that I’ve seen with the 700-series. If a 700-series in April, why have the central radiator and rounded footstep? If earlier than a 700-series, why the 700-series vents in April? Perhaps there was some crossover features between the batches? The biggest thing is we have a central radiator when the heart was first applied but on leave in April the radiator is now offset. New plane or new wings? It’s maddening…
I’m still looking for an absolute smoking gun to make a definite determination one way or the other. I will say the markings on the two different versions of the machine look so close as to be identical, even down to the slightly misshapen heart on the starboard side. In the shot of the machine just after its first painting it appears there is a 700-series vent visible but the resolution is just not nth degree enough for me to declare it so. In the April leave shots there is no question the vents are present, but the radiator is offset. Again, back to the beginning: either two different machines or a replaced wing and radiator.
LOL