Clever doggie!

Aerowallah · 30 April 2009, 10:50 AM

This is a very very strange photo I picked up on eBay years ago.

Can any sharp-eyed Deutchsprecher translate the back and, possibly, shed some light on the front?

Thanks

Aerowallah · 30 April 2009, 10:50 AM

crankcase · 30 April 2009, 10:59 AM

i get bits and pieces of it... the author is very well and has too much to do...
but i'll let an experienced eye translate from start to finish.

cute dog in the foreground, looks like he's trying to imitate the contortions of the aircraft!
marc

Dan_San_Abbott · 30 April 2009, 12:06 PM

Aerowallah:
This machine is Alb.D.III2132/16 and is Ltn.Ernst Udet's machine while he was Jasta 37. I was not able to translate the back of the photo.
Blue skies,
Dan-San

Varese2002 · 30 April 2009, 02:09 PM

The German hand written text is signed by Johannes Rost. It starts with best wishes for Easter [Die besten Ostergrüße....] for all colleagues.

Cheers

Kees

Aquilius · 30 April 2009, 03:50 PM

It's difficult for me to translate this very old style of german in a propper english but I believe you can get the meaning.

Quote:

Liebe Collegen,

Die besten Ostergrüße
und Wünsche sendet
Ihnen und bittet dergleichen
an meine Herren Chefs
gut bestellen zu wollen.
Mir geht es hier sehr gut.
habe zuvor viel zu tun, da
aber alles auch die Geheim-
sachen durch meine Hände
gehen, aber interessant.
Umstehend der erste
Bruch unserer E? [Einheit?]; hoffentlich
auch der Letzte. Von freundlichen
Fliegern werden wir hier
sehr reichlich heimgesucht,
nachts 3, 4 * Alarm ist ja
nicht gerade schön.

Mit besten Grüßen
Ihr Johannes Rost.

Quote:

Dear Colleagues

the best easter-greetings
and wishes sends
you and asks to present
suchlike well to my
Gentlemen of Chiefs.
I am doing well here.
have a lot to do, cause
all as well the „official
secrets“ run through my
fingers, but interesting.
Overlaef the first
crash of our [unit?]; hopefully
the last. By friendly
flyers we were visited
frequently here,
at night 3, 4 [times] alarm is
not quite fine.

With best regrads
Yours Johannes Rost.

I tired to put the text next to each other, just that didn't work.
You may compare it in this style as well.

My personal impression is that it looks like a kind of official printed post card and may not show the first crash of Rost's unit - or whatever he is referring to.
Also the "visit of friendly flyers" should be read ironically.

Aerowallah, thanks a lot for sharing this marvellous photograph.

Cheers

Aquilius

Aerowallah · 30 April 2009, 04:28 PM

Thank you all for your contributions. I will look next for Rost's record. Aquilius, up close this card looks like an original foto developed and printed out in AK format. The overall composition is too idiosyncratic (and when did either side mass produce images of their own aircraft destroyed?) to be printed in numbers.

I like it because it looks apocalyptic. In the war to end all wars, only the machines--and man's best friend--remain.

VtwinVince · 30 April 2009, 05:54 PM

Aquilius has it mostly right, but it should read "feindlichen Fliegern", which reads "enemy fliers".

Aerowallah · 30 April 2009, 06:03 PM

Thanks, Vince. Can you tweak that sentence about secrets running through his fingers?

Gregvan · 30 April 2009, 09:03 PM

Hi There,

As Dan said, this is a Jasta 37 Albatros D.III, and this photo was fairly widely circulated. I'm not certain if we can be sure that Johannes Rost should be associated with Jasta 37 or not (he could simply have acquired the postcard in any number of ways), but perhaps so.

There is at least one other view of the same scene. No doggie, though.