1919 - What If?

If the war had continued...
How would each sides newest equipment have stacked up against each other.
Point being, a lot of new stuff was just emerging at squadron level or was to be introduced by spring.
In particular:

Sopwith Snipe vs
SSW D-VI or
Fokker D-VIII

Martinsyde F4 or
Sopwith Dolphin II or
Nieuport N-29 or
SPAD S-XVII
vs Pfalz D-XV

Sopwith Salamander
vs AEG DJ-I

Any comments? SHAG

[Barrett]

Shag: Interesting question, but IMO it wouldn't have made a pfennig's worth of difference. Even conceding some technical superiority to the Germans, allied production would have swamped the Central Powers to an even greater extent than in late 1918.
Also note that the Allies were producing more and better tanks & artillery. Germany simply could not have offset the disparity, even with some local air superiority.

Lord what a tall order!
1st the Nieuport 29 was an early 20s development and would not have seen 1919 service. The Nieuport you are probably thinking of is the "Nighthawk". This was a very promising design by H. P. Follard that failed due to an unreliable engine. It utilized mzny SE5 components. Some data on the Nighthawk; 150mph at ground level. mounted 3 vickers mgs. Engine was an air-cooled radial.
Regarding 1918 development for 1919 deployment, many good designs like the Nighthawk suffered from poor engines (How about the B.A.T "Bantam?). Engine development was as much hampered by the need for high compression for more power as any other consideration. High compression was hampered by the lack of good fuels. Just as scientists struggled with the sound barrier later, the engineers of '18 struggled with something known as 'detonation'. Today we call this 'engine knock', and use gas additives to prevent it. These additives, and the concept of 'Octane', which spurred fuel development, were unfortunately unknown then.
To planes that were coming out in '19 I think I would have really liked to see what the Nighthawk could do. From the US, the Packard company had an interesting 2-seater that might have compared favorably to the Bristol or Halberstadt.
Yes, I think probably the most looked-forward-to air battles of spring '19 would have to be the DVIII vs. Snipe
However the there was one great air fighter that was simply never given a chance to make its name- The bristol monoplane. Relegated to backwater air fronts we can only gnash our teeth over the 'might-have-been'.
One last. As a naval air enthusiast I wonder what havoc HMS Argus and her covey of sopwith cookoos could have wrought?

The new model Dolphin and the new Snipe would have given the Allies some equality. The multiple gun capability of the Dolphin, in particular, would have been a great advantage.

[leo]

One ship you may hav overlooked was the DVII with the 250 HP BMW. This engine was fitted into some of the DVii's that Anton Fokker squirreled across the border into Holland. There was also the V37 monoplane powered by a 195 HP Benz v-8. It would have proven formidable.

The Nieuport 29 was, in fact, scheduled to go into full production in 1919. That it continued in service through the mid 1920s (possibly later; I'm away from my library) is a tribute to the design, which may have been the best of the class of 1919.

The RAF would have been in serious trouble in 1919; its procurement was largely planned around the disastrous ABC radial engines (Wasp, Dragonfly, etc.); in the absence of those power plants, aircraft like the Snipe and Nighthawk had to be powered by rotaries or heavier, less efficient radials. The other British types planned for 1919 relied on Rolls-Royce engines (always in short supply because R-R stubbornly refused to implement assembly line production) or on the French-built Hisso. Those in the know at the Air Ministry were vastly relieved that the war didn't continue into 1919.

These aircraft were flown in combat against each other after the war, mostly in Eastern europe. I think there is a lot of scope for research in this area.

andy

[Cliff]

I just finished reading 'Fokker : The Creative Years' by Weyl. While very biased against Fokker it does deal with IdFlieg's plans for the last months of 1918 and into 1919.
The third 'D' class fighter trials were conducted from Oct.15-31/1918, which would have selected the types for quantity production during the winter in readiness for offensives planned for the spring of 1919.
IdFlieg had decided that rotary powered types would only be considered for home defence sqns. but would be included for comparison purposes. In-line prototypes were to have the 185 hp BMW IIIa engine with the intention of later replacement with the 240 hp BMW IV.
In the final assessment the winners of the trials were: Tied for first place the Fok V.29, - parasol monoplane and the Rumpler D.I, - biplane.
Tied for second the Fok. V.36, a Fok.D.VII derivative and the Pfalz D.XIV special - biplane.
The war ended before the final choice was made but knowing IdFlieg's preference for spreading out fighter production to reduce the risks of problems with any one type, the skies of early 1919 would probably be filled with all the above aircraft.

Cliff

If...if...I am reminded of Voltaire - "If Cleopatra's nose had been larger, would we all speak Greek today ?"

All,
I think by late 1918 Germany was simply going broke, and their civilian populace was starving. So they could not successfully prosecute the war any longer. They were having to use synthetic oils due to lack of the good stuff, and they could no longer feed their armies in the field. It doesn't matter how good a plane is, if you can't feed the pilot, or fuel the plane (gas/oil) IT AIN'T GOING ANYWHERE.
VBR,
Jim