Udet's LO! Aircraft...how many different types?

[Michael Scarborough]

Greetings all,

I am considering doing a grouping of five 1/48 models to represent aircraft flown by Ernst Udet and all bearing the LO! inscription on the sides.

I know about the S-S D.III, the Fokker Triplane and D.VII, and the Albatros D.V. Was there another type of plane he flew that had that particular inscription on the side?

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks,
Michael

[Barry Hickson]

Originally Posted by Michael Scarborough

Greetings all,

I am considering doing a grouping of five 1/48 models to represent aircraft flown by Ernst Udet and all bearing the LO! inscription on the sides.

I know about the S-S D.III, the Fokker Triplane and D.VII, and the Albatros D.V. Was there another type of plane he flew that had that particular inscription on the side?

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks,
Michael

G'day Michael! Udet flew both Fokker Eindekkers & Pfalz E1V a similar looking aircraft but to the best of my knowledge did not have the LO sign on the fuselarge.
I know he flew a couple of different D V11s including the one with the tail message.
I have the Corgi 1/48th models of both that aircraft & the Black Albatross.
Bit of a Udet fan here, have read his book & he seems to have been a larger than life character. Shame how he was made a scapegoat by Goring in WW2.

That sounds a great idea to build the series of his aircraft.
I wonder if he flew a Pfalz D111 ? Could not find any confirmation in my Pfalz Scout Aces Osprey Book.

Good Luck.

[Gregvan]

Hi All,

Well, Udet flew at least two Albatros D.V's (4476/17, and the silver one) and one black Albatros D.Va in Jasta 37, all of which bore the LO insignia. Then, as you say, at least one Fokker Dr.I in Jasta 11 (which remains a bit of a mystery) and at least two more Triplanes in Jasta 4. Then several D.VII's in Jasta 4 and the famous SSW.

I've never seen any photo or evidence that Udet flew a Pfalz D.III or D.IIIa in combat.

He did some test flying in a Fokker E.V/D.VIII after the war, but not in combat and it didn't bear the LO emblem.

Greg

[Michael Scarborough]

Well, this is all helpful info, gents, and much appreciated. It makes me realise that, although it would be neat from the visual perspective, I don't necessarily need five completely different aircraft types. I think using the silver D.V and a black D.Va would be sufficiently different for contrast's sake. It would be neat if we could find a Pfalz bearing LO!, but I think you've given me enough info to be sure the project's doable.

It's my understanding that Dragon did a 1/12 scale bust of the man himself, so to have that mounted above and behind the five planes would be like icing on the cake.

Now to start tracking down decals!

Many thanks,
Michael

[coyotemagic]

Hey Michael,
He also flew a Fokker D.II and a D.III. Neither of which bore "Lo", though.
Cheers,
Bud

[dtomko]

Originally Posted by Michael Scarborough

It's my understanding that Dragon did a 1/12 scale bust of the man himself, so to have that mounted above and behind the five planes would be like icing on the cake.

Now to start tracking down decals!

Many thanks,
Michael

Hi Michael,

I'm also working my way through Udet's machines in 1/48. DML/Dragon issued a D.VII with Udet's bust a years ago. It's long OOP but shows up on ebay fairly regularly; you can also find the bust being auctioned separately. The likeness is not terrific, unfortunately.

As far as decals go, Roden has a D.VII with the LO! markings and my understanding is that the recent Revell reboxing of Eduard's Albatros D.V has Udet's silver machine with the LO! as well. FCM put out a decal sheet with the black Albatros with LO! and chevrons. And Lifelike has a set with another of Udet's Fokker D.VII's with LO!

The goldmine for Udet modelers was the Americal Jasta 4 set with Udet's SSW D.III, 2 Dr.Is, and 4 D.VIIs. It's also OOP. I have the set, but unfortunately the black sheet is almost unusable because of bubbling on the ink.

It would be nice if someone put out a sheet dedicated to Udet's machines!

Drew

[Gregvan]

Yes, there is quite a variety in finishes among the Albatros D.V/Va types, Fokker Triplanes and Fokker D.VIIs that Udet flew. There is the lozenge-fabric Fokker D.VII (OAW) he flew in Jasta 4 with the white chevron on the tailplane, the red D.VIIF 4253/18, and the ever-controversial "Du doch nicht!!' D.VII with the striped upper wing. You could in fact do about six different models, just having each display one of the various interpretations of the latter D.VII.

Just for fun, here's his black and white striped Triplane in Jasta 4 (which Dan-San and I have agreed to disagree on):


Here's the famous SSW, which has also seen its share on controversy on the forum.

[Michael Scarborough]

Thank you all! This is super.

While the other planes, like the Eindekker, are attractive, it's the LO! that's the unifying theme of the project.

I'll check out the Revell re-box of the D.V and start looking for the Americal sheet. Who is FCM? I'm a recent returnee to the hobby and some of these names are new to me.

Keep it coming!

Michael

[Michael Scarborough]

I just found FCM......it's amazing what a little Googling can do.

[dtomko]

Sadly, Americal has been out of business for a few years now and any sheets that do come up fetch very high prices.

The LO!s on Udet's machines are all slightly different as they were painted by hand. They also differed on the sides of individual machines.

Drew