WOW585 Albatros D.1 Prinz Karl Von Preussen

Description

WOW585. ALBATROS D1 – PRINZ KARL VON PREUSSEN

The Albatross D.I was an early WW1 fighter aircraft.  It was the first of the Albatross D types which equipped the majority of the German and Austrian fighter squadrons for the last two years of the WW1.  During August 1916, the D.I was introduced into squadron service, displacing the early Fokker and Halberstadt D types. By late 1916, a total of 50 pre-series and series D.Is were in service. The D.I has been credited with giving real “teeth” to the newly-formed German fighter squadrons of the Luftstreitkräfte.
According to aviation authors Peter Grey and Owen Thetford, the D.I was the best all-round fighter available at the time of its introduction to service. The Albatross D.I  featured a then radical semi-monocoque fuselage design that was paired with a relatively powerful six cylinder water cooled inline engine. Unlike the majority of preceding aircraft, the D.I could be armed with twin fixed Spandau machine-guns without incurring a meaningful performance loss.

Our first Albatross D.I was flown by Prinz Friedrich Karl von Preussen, crown prince of Prussia. An all round excellent athlete who competed with the German Olympic equestrian team in the 1912 event and helped secure a bronze medal for his team.
Although commissioned a Guards officer, the Prinz transferred to the aviation wing but was not allowed to join a fighter unit because of his royal rank, he commanded aerial artillery spotting unit Fl.Abt.(A) 258.
The Prinz flew this D.I on patrols with Jasta Boelcke between his two-seater missions. On 21 March 1917 the Prinz was brought down in no man’s land by an RFC pilot and was then shot and wounded by Australian troops trying to escape back to German lines.
There was great excitement amongst the Allied troops that a royal prince had been captured and although attempts were made to treat his wounds, unfortunately the Prinz died on 6th April 1917, his 24th birthday.

The D.1 flown by the Prinz sported a very attractive grey/green colour scheme which was decorated on the fuselage with Totenkopf skull and crossbones insignia, these were also  applied to the spinner.

This is a limited edition of three only 1/30 scale warbirds.
The figures and accessories are shown for scale comparison purposes only and are not included.