What aircraft was the Aviatik "Blue Mouse"?

[Beardie]

A while ago I read the autobiography of Julius Buckler the WWI German ace and in the book he refers to an aircraft which he had really enjoyed flying, saying that it was a wonderful, exceptional aircraft though very tricky to fly. He says it was an Aviatik machine and that it was called the "Blue Mouse". Ever since coming across this reference I have wondered exactly what machine this was but so far I have been unable to find any reference to an aircraft called the blue mouse. Anyone happen to know what model of aircraft is referred to?

[Black Knight]

According to my Fighter encyclopedia, only the D1 entered service in any numbers, all the others DII to D,VII and the 30 - series were only prototypes.

Aviatik did build fighters for others and these had Aviatik build numbers. Perhaps it was one of these?

I'm assuming he flew it regularly and not as a test pilot?

[Beardie]

Ah well no, in the book he says he only flew it once while he was at Frescaty airfield near Metz I believe with Armee Flug Park 5. It is somewhat hard to make out exactly what he was doing but he does imply that he was in a sort of unofficial test-pilot role.

[Black Knight]

What year/month? Some of the prototypes [D.IV onwards] were for testing from in 1918 at Aldershof. One prototype crashed killing its pilot.

The D.II of 1916 has a shape which could encourage the nickname of 'mouse'.

[Beardie]

Quite early on, possibly mid 1916 as he says he was under the command of Oberleutnant Kurt Von Schmickaly and Schmickaly was killed in late 1916.

[Black Knight]

That only leaves the D.I or D.II. The D.III was 1917.

Or a version of the Abatros D.III which they built.

Aviatik [berg] built some C types but they were few and restricted to Austrian Air Force use only.

[JackG]

Possibly could be a reference to the paint scheme, and not aircraft type?

There is "Blaue Maus" found here, but no mention of the above pilot nor Aviatik:

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26551

regards,

Jack

[Beardie]

Hmmm the plot thickens, I think that, if it had been an Albatros then Buckler would have identified it as such as throughout his career he flew various marks of Albatros and ended flying Fokker D.VII's. In his early days he flew Aviatik C.!'s and he doesn't identify this aircraft as a C.1 either.

Here is the excerpt from the book in which he talks of the Blue Mouse:

My comeradeship with the good Hilbner which proved to be so profitable and pleasant for me, unfortunately came to an abrupt end. Once again my wild flying was to blame. I also test-flew machines at Metz and for a long time I had been accustomed to settling into each mahine and speeding away fearlessly. I had so far been able to handle each and every one of them.

"So Buckler today you are flying the Blue Mouse", Oberleutnant Von Schmickaly said to me one day. "Blue Mouse" sounded odd; it was an Aviatik machine, Blue Mouse, I will think of you for as long as I live. You were the most nimble, lively, cunning beast of an aircraft I have ever encountered. You were meant for an expert's touch. You were a delightful and dangerous pastime and one could not help being fond of you. Yet you bestowed your favour only on those who trusted in you completely, and devoted themselves to you entirely, and who controlled you totally-While keeping a tight reign on you. Woe to the poor soul who did not know how to treat you.

He certainly seems to have been very taken with the aircraft. I am guessing this was some sort of single seat fighter as the C class aircraft could never be described as nimble and I doubt it was a mount of a particular airman. Sounds more like a prototype or early model of something.