Eduard Fokker D.VII “The Seven Swabians”

There is nothing known about the pilot. This airplane, which is only known through two photos (fortunately of the two sides, since they are different). This airplane is guessed to be an OAW-built D.VII "The Seven Swabians" is an old German fairy tale.

Albatros obtained a license in February 1918 for both the original factory and the Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW)factory in Schneidenmuehl in the state of Silesia. OAW had established a strong reputation for production quality going back to the Albatros D.II, and this was maintained with their production of the D.VII. In fact, Fokker's reputation for shoddy workmanship -which was undeserved with regard to D.VII production - led pilots to prefer the Albatros and most particularly the OAW-built D.VII aircraft, which were considered the best of all D.VIIs. While Fokker distinguished the BMW-powered D.VII from the Mercedes-powered airplanes as the D.VIIf, neither Albatros nor OAW had a particular distinguishing designation for the different powerplants.

Over half of all production of the D.VII between March 1918 and the end of the war came from the Albatros and OAW factories.

The OAW-built D.VIIs came in four different versions from the four different production runs. The first run was indistinguishable from the early Fokker-built Mercedes-powered D.VIIs. Early on, it was recognized that additional cooling was necessary for the engine, to prevent in-flight fires when the gas tank immediately behind the firewall was overheated or explosion of the ammunition tanks immediately to the rear of the gas tank from overheating. OAW instituted the production of cowling panels with differing patterns of louvers in them for cooling. The most common were those of the third production run, distinguished by numerous small louvers, and the fourth and final run, which used a very effective system of larger louvers developed by the main Albatros factory for their final production aircraft.

Here is the story of the Seven Swabians, as told by the Brothers Grimm:

Seven Swabians were once together. The first was Master Schulz, the second, Jackli, the third, Marli, the fourth, Jergli, the fifth, Michal, the sixth, Hans, the seventh, Veitli. All seven had made up their minds to travel about the world to seek adventures and perform great
deeds. But in order that they might go in safety and with arms in their hands, they thought it would be advisable that they should have one solitary, but very strong, and very long spear made for them. This spear all seven of them took in their hands at once and the boldest and bravest, Master Schulz. walked In front. All the others followed in a row, and Veitli was the last.

Then it came to pass one day in the month of May, when they had walked a long distance, and still had a long way to go before they reached the village where they were to pass the night, that as they were in a meadow in the twilight a great beetle or hornet flew by them from behind a bush, and hummed in a menacing manner. Master Schulz was so terrified that he all but dropped the spear, and a cold sweat broke out over his whole body.

Hark, hark, cried he to his comrades, good heavens. I hear a drum. Jackli, who was behind him holding the spear, and into whose nose some smell had risen, said, something is most certainly going on, for I smell the powder and the match. At these words Master Schulz began to take to flight, and in a trice jumped over a hedge, but as he just happened to jump on to the teeth of a rake which had been left lying there after the hay-making, the handle of it struck against his face and gave him a tremendous blow. "Oh dear. Oh dear," screamed Master Schulz. "Take me prisoner! I surrender, I surrender." The other six all leapt over, one on the top of the other, crying, "If you surrender, I surrender too. If you surrender, I surrender too." At length, as no enemy was there to bind and take them away, they saw that they had been mistaken, and in order that the story might not be known, and they be treated as fools and ridiculed, they all swore to each other to hold their peace about it until one of them should speak of it by mistake.

Then they journeyed onwards. The second danger which they survived cannot be compared with the first. Some days afterwards, their path led them through a fallow-field where a hare was sitting sleeping in the sun. Her ears were standing straight up, and her great glassy eyes were wide open. All of them were alarmed at the sight of the horrible wild beast, and they consulted together as to what it would be the least dangerous to do. For if they were to run away, they knew that the monster would pursue and swallow them whole. So they said, "We must go through a great and dangerous struggle." Boldly ventured, is half won, and all seven grasped the spear, Master Schulz in front, and Veitli behind. Master Schulz was always trying to keep the spear back, but Veitli had become quite brave while behind, and wanted to dash forward and cried, "Strike home, in every swabian's name, or else I wish you may be lame!"

But Hans knew how to meet this, and said, "Thunder and lightning, it's fine to prate, but for dragon-hunting you are always late." Michal cried, :Nothing is missing, not even a hair, be sure the devil himself is there." Then it was jergli's turn, and he said, "If it be not he, it's at least his mother, or else the devil's own step-brother."

And now Marli had a bright thought, and said to Yeitli, "Aadvance, Veitli, advance, advance, and I behind will hold the lance." Veitli, however, did not obey, and jackli said, "Tis Schulz's place the first to be, no one deserves that honor but he." Then Master Schulz plucked up his courage, and said, gravely, "Then let us boldly advance to the fight, thus we shall show our valor and might."

Hereupon they all together set on the dragon. Master Schulz crossed himself and prayed for God's assistance, but as all this was of no avail, and he was getting nearer and nearer to the enemy, he screamed, "Oho, Oho, ho, ho, ho!' in the greatest anguish.

This awakened the hare, which in great alarm darted swiftly away. When Master Schulz aw her thus flying from the field of battle, he cried in his joy, "Quick, Veitli, quick, look there, look there, the monster's nothing but a hare."

But the Sabian allies went in search of further adventures, and came to the Moselle, a mossy, quiet, deep river, over which there are few bridges, and which in many places people have to cross in boats. As the seven Swabians did not know this, they called to a man who was working on the opposite side of the river, to know how people contrived to get across. The distance and their way of speaking made the man unable to understand what they wanted, and he said, what, what, in the way people speak in the neighborhood of treves. Master Schulz thought he was saying, "Wade, wade through the water!" and as he was the first, began to set out and went into the Moselle. It was not long before he sank in the mud and the deep waves which drove against him, but his hat was blown on the opposite shore by the wind, and a frog sat down beside it, and croaked, wat, wat, wat. The other six on the opposite side heard that, and said, "Oh ho, comrades, Master Schulz is calling us. If he can wade across, why cannot we?" So they all jumped into the water together in a great hurry, and were drowned, and thus one frog took the lives of all six of them, and not one of the Swabian allies ever reached home again.

Whoever this pilot was, he obviously knew the Grimm's fairy tale, since it is told on both sides of the airplane (they're different), and had a sense of humor. In the summer of 1918, Germany was playing out the story of the Seven Swabians.

I think what we're seeing here is a creative pilot who was able to make the first anti-war statement on an airplane, that the military morons who commanded him were too stupid to understand.

14 additional images. Click to enlarge.