Shot down German aircraft fabric

[Chris Liontass]

close ups and detail

[Chris Liontass]

From Alan Tolle, anything I could write would just be referencing his work.


Maltese Cross: The Maltese cross is painted on plain fabric which has been smeared with a black and orange-brown coating to achieve a camouflage effect. I removed a small piece of fabric from one edge for examination under the microscope. The fabric appears to be cotton based upon the regular helical twist observed among the fibers. The thread-count is 65.5 threads per inch. The fabric is not calendered. Some of the frayed ends of the yarns of the fabric are entirely coated and stuck together which indicates that the coating was applied after the fabric was cut to its present size. The dark paint smeared on the background has the appearance of having been applied within the confines of the present border or edge.

Contemporary literature indicates that German airplane fabric was linen, was usually calendered, and had a thread count of about 50 per inch. The 65.5 thread per inch corresponds to that observed on 12 fake specimens from the Rodney Gerrard collection. I have examined many authentic specimens from the period late 1917 through 1918. They all conform to the criteria described in the literature. I do not have specific data concerning earlier examples of German fabric. I suppose that there could be less standardization going back to 1914. All things considered, it does not appear that this specimen is authentic.

In 1982, I photographed a virtually identical piece in the collection of Bill Dion. It had a tag with the inscription: "Cut from Hun plane Nov 1917 RFC No. 136-17." It was further identified as "A gift from Sgt. Howard Hall Hung in British Regimental Museum." The dimensions of the cross were 18" x 18" in both specimens. Both are smeared with a rusty-orange color in similar locations and proportions. Both specimens had been folded in half leaving a visible crease with some of the black paint missing. The fold line in the Dion specimen is slightly off center whereas yours is folded exactly on the center axis which indicated that these are not one-and-the-same specimen. But they are certainly from the same artist.

[Chris Liontass]

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[Chris Liontass]

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[BenVK]

Thanks Chris, it was worth the wait!

I assume that "calendered" means the application of dope to the fabric?

[blinky]

Interesting thread! I have a piece of German aircraft fabric along with a piece of fabric from a German observation balloon brought back by and American infantryman. I'm curious about the material and thread count now too!