Phönix D.II of Alexander Kasza

Feldwebel Alexander (Sándor) Kasza was born in 1896 in the Hungarian town of Tacskosuthfalva, today’s Stara Moravica in Vojvodina, which is part of northern Serbia. He was called up to join the 86^th Infantry Regiment in 1915, but in September of that year he transferred to the air force, and he completed his pilot training in Germany, and more specifically Brandenburg and Hamburg. Kasza was considered a very good pilot, and he served for quite some time as an instructor at Wiener Neustadt. However, in August 1917 he was posted to the Italian Front at Haidenschaftban with Fliegerkompanie (Flik) 55J. He scored his first victory on November 15, when he shot down an Italian Savoia-Pomilio. Another two followed before 1917 came to an end, and in 1918 Kasza became the wing-man of Austro-Hungarian ace Joseph Kiss until Kiss was shot down by Lieutenant Gerald Birks of No. 66 Squadron on May 24, 1918. Kasza subsequently adorned his Phönix with three hearts to honor his fallen comrade. It should however be noted that Kasza flew an Albatros D.III scout for most of his career, and the Albatros was exchanged for a Phönix, probably in late May of 1918. He was eventually posted to Flik 11F before the Armistice. Kasza survived the war with six victories, but he was killed with his family during the Soviet bombardment of Budapest in 1945. 

Victories Date Time Unit Aircraft Opponent Location 1 15 Nov 1917 Flik 55J Albatros D.III (153.19) Savoia-Pomilio N of Bassano 2 17 Nov 1917 Flik 55J Albatros D.III (153.19) Nieuport Scout N of Valstagna 3 23 Nov 1917 Flik 55J Albatros D.III (153.40) Nieuport Scout Bassano-Rubbio 4 12 Jan 1918 Flik 55J Albatros D.III R.E.8 Casa Rigoni 5 22 May 1918 Flik 55J Albatros D.III Sopwith Camel S Cima Maora 6 09 Jun 1918 Flik 55J Phönix D.II (422.14) Bristol F.2b E of Acqua Viva

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Feldwebel Alexander Kasza

Kasza's Phönix D.II in 1918.



The kit is the Mac 1/72 Phönix D.II that can be seen below. Mac has issued several Phönix scouts, and it is scalewise a quite accurate model of the Phönix. The kit comes with a small photoetch fret that contains an underscale seatbelt harness, a nice instrument panel as well as gun sights, radiator piping and support struts for the tailplane. The engine is a tad less detailed than, say, the Roden engines, but it is adequate. The model has a low parts count, and it is fairly easy to build. The painting was moderately challenging, and is it were, the best way to create the brown mottling was by using a q-tip. There were some issues regarding the mottling, and various representations indicate that the mottling might have been dark green, a brown-green mix or just brown, but I selected brown for Kasza's Phönix. The decals were extremely thin, so great care had to be taken while applying the decals, and yet I caused some minor damage that had to be painted over.

The Phönix D.II was a slightly improved version of the D.I. It had a slightly increased wing span, and it had a completely redesigned tailplane, Phönix D.IIs began reaching front line units in May of 1918, but Flik 55J was probably the only one to be wholly equipped with the D.II. The Phönix was arguably the best scout of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and pilots who flew the Phönix ckaimed that it could match any Allied warplane on the Italian Front. It was fast, and it could out-climb the Sopwith Camel. However, some pilots found the Phönix perhaps a little too stable. About 327 Phönix scouts were built during the war, while Sweden built an additional ten as the J1.

Sources:

Martin O'Connor. Air Aces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

George Haddow. The Phoenix Scouts 

http://wp.scn.ru

aerodrome.com

SPAD XIII of Georges Felix Madon, SPA38, 1918

 Caporal, later capitaine Georges Felix Madon was born on July 28, 1892 in Bizerte, Tunisia. He was a short but remarkably strong man who played soccer and boxed. Madon became interested in aviation at the young age of 15, and he tried to build his own aircraft. This venture was not successful, but he continued building kites and models, including a bicycle-powered "aviette". As he grew older, he attempted to become a pilot in service of the Ottoman Empire, but he was not accepted into the Sultan's service. Manon then enlisted in the First Engineering Regiment in Versailles, where he became a cook. However, he continued requesting pilot's training, and he qualified as a pilot in June 1911 after 19 lessons, and he received a military pilot's license in January 1913 after training at Avord in France.

Madon was initially assigned to Escadrille BL30, where he reconnaissance missions in Bleriots. He also flew some of the first night-time bombing missions of the war. Madon was already a very experienced pilot, and this served him well when he was hit by a 77mm shell on October 30, 1914. He managed to perform a dead stick landing against the wind, but behind the French lines. 

 Madon

On April 5, 1915, Madon was thrown off course by heavy fog while qualifying on a new Farman, and he landed by mistake in Switzerland, where he was promptly interned. Madon had little interest in remaining in Switzerland. It took him two attempts, but on December 27 he escaped by chloroforming and kidnapping his guard.

Madon was subsequently posted to MF218 and promoted to sergeant. He flew fire-direction missions for some time, but he requested transfer to a fighter escadrille. Madon was re-qualified for fighter aircraft at Pau and Cazaux, and he was posted to the Nieuport-equipped escadrille N38 on September 1, 1916. He shot down his first enemy aircraft on September 28.Three more followed in 1916, and he was promoted to Adjutant.  

Madon remained in action through most of 1917. He was wounded on July 2, 1917, after a mid-air collision with an enemy aircraft, and was commissioned a sous-lieutenant in August. Madon seems to have favored engaging the enemy at very short distances. Besides the mid-air collision in July, it is said that he returned with blood and brain tissue on his propeller on three separate occasions, and he once snagged an enemy observer's spectacles in his rigging. By October 1917 Madon's score had risen to 17 confirmed victories with another 20 unconfirmed, and by March 9, 1918, he had claimed 25 aircraft.

Madon assumed command of escadrille SPA38 om March 24, 1918, a unit that had just been re-equipped with the new SPAD XIII. The unit was tasked with photo reconnaissance and patrolling, and it had already received two unit citations for having downed 60 enemy aircraft when Madon took command. SPA38 adopted the black thistle that was used as a personal symbol by Madon alongside his motto "Whoever rubs aginst me gets pricked". Like Manfred von Richthofen, Manon painted his SPAD red to make it easier to identify, both for friend and foe. An earlier SPAD XIII, S484, was painted with an all-red fuselage, but this later mount had a white radiator ring.

SPA38 fought in the skies above Cuvilly and the Mareuil and l'Epinette forests, and in May, SPA38 was assigned to the 7th Army. The escadrille was engaged against advancing German forces in the Courcy and Leuilly areas between May 27 and June 5, and on July 5 SPA38 became part of Groupe de chasse (GC) 22 together with SPA87, SPA92 and SPA152. This unit fought mainly in the Champagne area under the 4th and 5th Armies up to the final advances of the war. Besides Madon, SPA 38 included the following notable pilots:  Hector Garaud (13 victories), Jean Casale (12 victories), David Putnam (12 victories), Gustave Douchy (9 victories), and Jean Romatet (7 victories). Madon played a significant role in mentoring these pilots and developing their tactics. He also got to fly the SPAD XVII with a 300 h.p.Hispano Suiza engine. However, only about 20 of these excellent aircraft were completed before the Armistice, "for which", observed Madon, "let the Boches be thankful".

Madon ended the war with 41 confirmed victories out of 100 claims. This made him the fourth ranking ace in the French Air Force. When asked about his unconfimed victories, he simply claimed that "the Boche knows his losses". Madon was promoted to a temporary Capitaine on Armistice Day, and he was also made an Officier de la Legion d'Honneur. Madon was killed in a tragic flying accident in 1924 while flying in tribute to Roland Garros. The Avord Air Base in France is named "Base Aérienne 702 Capitaine Georges Madon" in honor of Madon's long service to his country.


The Model

The kit is an old Esci SPAD with all the shortcomings of a 1960s kit. It has, however, recently been re-boxed by Italeri. and it comes with a glorious decal sheet that will be saved for an Eduard SPAD at some later date. I do really like the SPAD, especially the SPAD XIII. It looks very art deco to me, having somewhat of the looks of a sports car, and lacking the blunt appearance of the Camel, the angular quirkiness of an SE.5a, or the steampunk radiator of a Fokker D.VII. I added a windscreen, rigging and a new propeller, but otherwise the kit is out of the box with decals from the spares drawer. The kit is actually a bit underscale for 1/72, and it probably measures up to 1/76.  


Sources

http://www.escadrilles.org/armee-de-l-air/spa-38/
http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille038.htm
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/madon.php
Jon Guttman. SPAD XII/XIII Aces of World War 1
Joseph A Phelan. Heroes & Aeroplanes of the Great War 1914-1918

Fokker Dr.I of Otto Löffler

The Revell Fokker Dr.I is a delight to build. Details are exquisite, and construction is quite simple. However, there are several fragile parts that need to be handled carefully, both when removing from the sprue and attaching. Also, the plastic is red, which is a tad frustrating. Decals are provided for Lothar and Manfred von Richthofen, but I decided to go for a third option: Otto Löffler, an option that can be completed without resorting to other decals.

Leutnant der Reserve Otto Löffler started his career with the Grenadier Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm Nr. 10 before becoming a pilot. After training, he was assigned to the Boelcke Staffel in the fall of 1917, scoring his first victory in early December that year. His second victory was a D.H. 4, which may have been claimed while flying this Dr. I on February 3, 1918. Löffler saw quite a bit of action during the spring of 1918, and he was shot down twice while flying a Dr. I.  His scores increased over the course of the summer, and by the end of October Löffler had claimed 15 aircraft shot down, most of them while flying a Fokker D.VII. He was also the acting commander of the Boelcke Staffel between September 4 and September 18, 1918. During World War II, his son Kurt would score 26 victories and became an ace while serving with JG 51.

The lemon yellow band of Löffler’s Dr. I were the colors of his old regiment. The black and white colors found on the cowling and the tailplane represent the Royal Prussian colors.

Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	05 Dec 1917	1030	Jasta 2		Nieuport Scout	S of Houthulst Forest
2	03 Feb 1918	1040	Jasta 2		D.H.4	Ghent Mariakerke
3	09 Aug 1918		Jasta 2		A.W.F.K.8	Mericourt
4	21 Aug 1918		Jasta 2		Bréguet 14	W of Champs
5	02 Sep 1918	1300	Jasta 2		Sopwith Camel (E1471)	Beugnatre
6	02 Sep 1918		Jasta 2		Sopwith Camel	S of Pelves
7	02 Sep 1918		Jasta 2		Sopwith Camel	S of Palluel
8	03 Sep 1918	1625	Jasta 2		D.H.9	Epehy
9	06 Sep 1918		Jasta 2		Bristol F.2b	NW of Bourlon Wood
10	16 Sep 1918		Jasta 2		D.H.4	N of Aveluy
11	16 Sep 1918		Jasta 2		D.H.4	NE of Arras
12	24 Sep 1918		Jasta 2		D.H.9	W of Cambrai
13	28 Sep 1918		Jasta 2		S.E.5a	Epinoy-Marcoing
14	09 Oct 1918	1440	Jasta 2		D.H.9	Thulin
15	30 Oct 1918		Jasta 2		D.H.9	N of Quieverain

 

(source: theaerodrome.com)