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Austro-Hungarian Empire: Aircraft markings

Österreich-Ungarn

Last modified: 2004-08-20 by marcus schmöger
Keywords: aircraft marking |
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Information about the early days of the Imperial Austrohungarian Air Service is quite hazy. This quite small airforce (1916 - 35 planes and 1 airship) probably used few kinds of marking.
[cos98] reports that after its formation in 9 August 1914, the aircrafts were marked in red-white-red stripes on the wingtips and (vertical) rudder. in 1915 the German "cross patte'e" was adopted alongside the former markings, later to become the sole marking of all planes but the naval machines. The only difference with the German planes was the white border used by the Germans. See http://www2.gol.com/users/ransell/PageMill_Resources/1.48.M.5L.00.13.gif
In 1918, the "German cross" was substituted with a thin plain cross (see http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter1/phonix/phonix_german-222126.jpg ). Sometimes a thin saltire cross was on the fin.
Imperial Naval planes kept the formation of the national colors wingtips, German cross (and later a thin cross) on wings and fuselage and red-white-red horizontal stripes on the fin and rudder with inperial arms on the rudder's white stripe. A photo at http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter1/phonix/phonix_a-h_j41.jpg shows the later version of the cross with only rudder stripes with the arms.
Dov Gutterman, 11 June 2004


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