Scale aviation modeller international

Eduard 1/48 SSW D.III by Jay Blakemore

A STRANGE BIRD

I

n 1993 the ledgeling Czech

model manufacturer Eduard

released their very irst kit, a

quarter-scale Siemens-Schuckert

SSW. D.III. It was a strange subject

matter with which to launch a new

model-making company onto the

world stage, as the pugnacious

little sesquiplane ighter was

doubtless unknown to many

modellers, and in fact saw very

little in the way of action during

WW1. In 2015 Eduard decided to

release an all-new, up-to-date

tooling of the same aircraft, which

is the subject of this build article.

In early April 1918, nine

examples of the new Siemens-

Shuckert DIII arrived at the

airield at Balatre, the home of

Jagdgeschwader II (JG II). Built

around the radical 11-cylinder

Siemens-Halske Sh III counter-

rotary engine, which saw the

propeller and the engine rotating in

opposite directions at 900 rpm, the

performance of the ighters initially

enthralled the Geschwader pilots.

On 22 April, Hptm Berthold said that

the DIII possessed a “brilliant rate

of climb, and that the combination

of the airframe coupled with the

Sh III engine was faultless.”

This trust would prove

misplaced, however, for problems

soon began to surface. After

only seven to ten hours of lying

time the engines began showing

serious signs of over-heating,

which resulted in piston seizure.

JG II went back to using its

FIGHTER

Fledgling





68 • DECEMBER 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

BY SACCO DE VRIES

SSW D.III

BY JAY BLAKEMORE

1/48