WW1 german lozenge camo - did the lozenge size vary?

[Simon]

Hello everyone.

 

A quick question - did larger German aircraft (such as the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI) use lozenge camo with larger sized individual lozenges, or was lozenge fabric standard across smaller fighters and larger bombers?

 

Simon

[Black Knight]

Standard size but the night bombers had their own colours

[Simon]

Thanks BK, much appreciated.

 

Simon

[Simon]

Follow-up question, if I may...

 

Did the lozenge fabric come in standard width rolls or sheets?

 

Simon

[Seawinder]

Standard width rolls.

[Black Knight]

Sort of standard width rolls which varied from 1.1m wide through to about 1.35m wide (afair)

[Simon]

Thank you both for the replies, much appreciated!

 

Simon

[derekS]

I`m sure I read somewhere that they used the standard "day pattern" printed fabric,

but with an overspray of dark blue or something similar.May be worth checking.

Derek S

[derekS]

 Further to the above reply,Windsock Datafile No.95-Staaken R.VI:

Hand painted irregular polygons in dark colours & /or day pattern printed fabric 

over washed with dark green or blue. To quote the Datafile,research is ongoing.

HTH

 

derek S

[Simon]

3 hours ago, derekS said:

 Further to the above reply,Windsock Datafile No.95-Staaken R.VI:

Hand painted irregular polygons in dark colours & /or day pattern printed fabric 

over washed with dark green or blue. To quote the Datafile,research is ongoing.

HTH

 

derek S

 

Hand painted? That's one job I'd definitely turn down...

 

Thanks Derek.

[dov]

Just to add: The navy pattern existed also!

This pattern generaly for all aircraft was designed by artists. And as far as I know handmade.

At the rules of this time: You had no choice to decide it not to do! Daily for 10/12 hours the day.

[Chief Cohiba]

Just stumbled across this, so if you don't mind throw all my gathered glimpses of what I think I know about Lozenge patterns on a heap.

The most common patterns where the lighter 4-colour pattern (Vierfarbendruck), which came on a 1301,5mm roll, and the darker 5 colour pattern (Fünffarbendruck) on a broader 1371,60mm roll. These where printed, as otherwise the plane became too heavy from the additional paint. Remember we're talking planes that weight about 600kgs empty, so adding some 30 kg of paint would significantly affect their behaviour in flight. These pattern where either applied diagonal or parallel to the spars, the ailerons where covered separately. After some field repairs usually there could be combinations of different fabrics on one plane as well.

 

I think there where lighter and darker prints of the same pattern available for lower and upper side of the wing.

 

On the G- or R-Type bombers like the Zeppelin Staaken or the Gothas a lozenge-kind pattern was painted on by hand, afaik.

 

On top of the lozenge linen there was rib tape glued on (other than on British planes not stitched) in lozenge pattern as well. This could loosen and disappear, so a irregular pattern could be the result.

 

So, as a result one could say that a large variety on hues and shades of lozenge patterns could occur, especially when different levels of fading are taken into consideration.

 

Please consider this is based on various sources, from books I read as a child to Wikipedia articles, to random internet pages or decal manufacturers. These sources as well as my memory might be wrong, so this is more of a rough direction.