Part.1 German Glider Colours & Markings

[Paul_Williams]

In the 1970's I made a very small contribution to the VGC article on German Glider Colours & Markings, which is now on the SSUK website.
At that time there was a certain sensitivity about discussing the markings of the Nazi era and in those days only a tiny number of photographs were accessible for study. The passage of forty years, plus the internet, has made a lot more information available and its time to take a fresh look at the subject.
I aim to deal with the topic in segments, 1872-1918, 1919-1930 etc in a series of posts and hope that members will, criticise, correct and add to what I have written. At the end of the process, I will consolidate the material into a new article for SSUK.

German Glider Colours & Markings
Part 1 1782 to 1918

Approximately 85 gliders were built in Germany between 1782 and 1918.
The earliest examples, Meerwein 1782 and Berblinger 1811 (the Tailor of Ulm), date from well before the age of photography and despite many later illustrations, there is no reliable information about their colours.

In 1890 Otto Lilienthal constructed the first of at least 18 gliders, including nine of his Normalapparat - the first series built flying machine - which were sold to pioneers around the world.

Lilienthal's gliders were covered in a cotton twil cloth and proofed with Colloidon, a viscous solution nitrated cellulose in a mixture of alcohol and ether, which dried to form an elastic film. The wooden structure was mostly made from split willow, either left plain or clear varnished.

(Note at this time various pioneers around the world used everything from silk to bed sheets, painted with starch extracted from boiling rice or similar substances. Even rubberised balloon fabric was used. Specific details about the methods used by individuals are generally unknown)

Although Lilienthal's flights were widely reported, with accompanying photographs, it is astonishing that in Germany only Alois Wolfmuller followed his lead and constructed a glider in 1895 and another in 1906/7.

1908 was marked by Wilbur Wrights spectacular flights in France, which probably inspired the construction of two German gliders, followed by a further ten in 1909. In the September of that year Orville Wright made further demonstration flights in Germany.

Between 1911 and 1914, around 20-25 gliders were built, almost half by F.S.V. Darmstadt and three by Frederic Harth.

The available photos show that all the F.S.V gliders were covered in clear fabric, without any colour, names or club logo. Struts and woodwork appear to have been clear varnished or stained. Some portions of wings or tailplanes look markedly darker to other sections of the flying surfaces.
Its my interpretation that most of the wings had a single fabric surface and that the darker section have fabric covering on both top and bottom surfaces. The only use of colour I have spotted is the ply fuselage of the F.S.V XI which I believe was painted red.

Surprisingly, at least 16 gliders were built during the First World War, most notably four by (the) Willie Messerschmitt working in partnership with Harth. Again it seems that all the earlier Harth and later Hart-Messerschmitt gliders had clear fabric and no markings whatsoever.

It is worth noting that almost half the approximately 85 gliders built between 1782 and 1918 were constructed by Lilienthal, the F.S.V. and Harth / Harth-Messerschmitt and that none carried any markings.

It appears that Germany did not introduce a civil aircraft register until 1919 - hence the absence of registrations on early gliders. However, no one would have seen any need to register or control gliders whose flight times were measured in tens of seconds and a few minutes at best. Soaring had yet to be discovered.

Notes
Photographs of a few early gliders and many of the F.S.V. machines, appear in Start In Den Wind by Peter Reidel.
Lilienthal is the subject of several books.
I would be interested to learn of any other books or magazines that deal with German gliders of this era or any photos members might have unearthed, especially if they carry any names or club markings.

Part 2 will cover the period 1919 to 1930 when colours and markings become rather more interesting.
But first - your feedback and contributions to Part 1 would be welcome.

Paul

[Ray_Eggleston]

Very interesting read Paul. I look forward to reading the next parts.
Ray E.

[Paul_Williams]

Thanks Ray, it wasn't a period that I previously had an overall grasp of until I started digging.
Schiffer has published books on aircraft (and gliders) before 1914, one covering Britain and one France. These are effectively encyclopedias and do not provide any historical context. Nothing similar has been published for Germany as far as I know, nor any comprehensive study of these early German gliders, which I find really surprising.

Typically, this morning I received a book covering Wolfmuller and Geest which will mean a minor tweak to Part 1.
Does a biplane which has its top wing removed and is then flown as a monoplane count as one or two gliders ??
However, still no evidence of any markings, names or logos.

Part 2 has already been written and will contain some surprises but is currently being 'peer reviewed'.
Parts 3, 4 and 5 have also been drafted.

Paul