Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard - Part two

The Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard was exported after the war to various countries as the RAF rejected it for service.
Ireland was one of those buyer countries as the Irish Government bought one (out of just four in the world) Martinsyde Type A Mk.II which was a transport variant of the Buzzard, to escape from the Anglo-Irish negotiations in case they failed. It was written off on 11th October 1927.
The Buzzard served also with the Irish Air Corps as at least four of them (this time in their fighter variant). They were bought from the Aircraft Disposal Company in  1922 which was the company that bought most of the Buzzards after Martinsyde went bankrupt. They served with the No.1 "The Humming Bird" Squadron based at the Baldonnel Aerodrome. Most of them were written off from 1925 until 1929.
It seems that the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service bought one airplane with testing purposes in the early 1920s from the Aircraft Disposal Company. Apparently they weren't impressed and didn't buy more of them. As we couldn't find graphical evidence of the Buzzard under Japanese command, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
The Karinės Oro Pajėgos (Lithuanian Air Force) bought two Buzzards in 1922 from the Aircraft Disposal Company where they served under the denomination of "Amerikietis" and "Amerikiete".
Under the command of the Wojska Lotnicze (Polish Air Force) it was bought in January 1921 and it served as a fighter until June 1923 when it was assigned to the Experimental section of the Military Aviation Research Centre. One year later, in winter 1924 it was repaired and repainted in white and red horizontal stripes to be the personal airplane of the Polish Air Force Commander who kept the airplane as his personal one until March 1926. 
The Buzzard was also gifted to Portugal in October 1919 and was assigned to the Arma de Aeronáutica Militar (Military Aeronautics Arm) where it served with the Grupo de Esquadrilhas de Aviaçao República (Republican Aviation Flight Group) formed in Amadora and later they were transferred to the Esquadrilha Mista de Depósito in the city of Tancos. A second batch of Buzzards arrived in 1923 and they were also assigned to the Esquadrilha Mista de Depósito which existed until 1926 when it disbanded and replaced by the Esquadrilha de Caça Nº1 (Fighter Squadron No.1) and served together with the Spad S.VII. They served until 1933. 

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinsyde_Buzzard
2. http://www.ipmsireland.com/forms-downloads/aercorpsaircraft1922-1997.doc
3. http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2428
4. http://www.samolotypolskie.pl/samoloty/1807/126/Martinsyde-F-4-Buzzard (translated)
5. https://altimagem.blogspot.com.es/2012/04/16-martinsyde-f-4-buzzard.html (translated)
6. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Albatros L.65/Memel A.F.G. 1

We have included this flag because, as Germany was forbidden to own an air force/air corps, every warplane manufactured (clandestinely) was, organically dependant of the Reichswehr, the armed forces of the German Republic.

The Albatros L.65, AKA Memel A.F.G.1 was a German/Lithuanian two-seat reconnaissance fighter airplane of the mid-1920s.

Under the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany couldn't have an air force or air corps, so, in order to evade those restrictions, the Albatros Flugzeugwerke stablished a subsidiay company in Lithuania called Allgemeine Flug-Gesellschaft Memel located in the Lithuanian city of Memel, hence the secondary name of this airplane.

Two prototypes were built and both of them were made out of wood and were covered in plywood skin in an staggered biplane configuration. Wings were joinced by interplane I-struts of broad aerofoil cross-section.
The first prototype was powered by a 450hp 12-cylinder Napier Lion engine, while the second one used the same up-powered version of the same engine, which had a power of 565hp.

The first prototype was demonstrated to General Kraucevicius, who was the chief of the Lithuanian Air Force at the time, as the airplane that would be the first native Lithuanian aircraft, but it wasn't followed by any acquisition order from the Lithuanian government.
The second prototype was evaluated by the Reichswehr, in order to equip the clandestine flying school located in Lipetsk, USSR, but the better Heinkel HD.17 was choosen.

 Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_L_65
2. Salamander Books - The Complete book of fighters
3. http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/McBrideBill/11500.htm

Albatros D.III - Foreign Users

We come up with this new airplane that played a very important role during the World War I. In this post we are centering into the foreign users.

The Albatros D.III was a German biplane fighter that was widely used by many German aces and it was the preeminent fighter during the period of time that Germany ruled the skies which was known as the "Bloody April".

As this post is about the foreign users for this one, the nations covered in this post are:

• France: On 21st April 1917 the German pilot Lt. Friedrich Wilhelm tried to attack a French artillery observation balloon, but he was shot down by the French lieutenant Languedoc which managed somehow to capture the airplane intact. This airplane would later be sold to the United States which sent it to McCook airfield in Dayton, Ohio in order to perform aerial experiments between 1917 and 1927.
• Lithuania: The Lithuanian air force used many German leftovers in order to equip their newly created air force.
• Ottoman Empire: The Albatros D.III started to be delivered to Ottoman Empire in March 1918 and, in October 1918 a total of 29 D.III had been delivered, 10 of which had no engines at all.
• Turkey: Some of the Albatros employed by the Ottoman Empire were employed by the newly created Turkish Army which used them in their independence war. They were writen off in 1922. The colours of this one are speculative.
• Bulgaria: Some few Albatros D.III were seized from retreating German forces in late 1918. Some sources claim that it was just a pair of airplanes, however it's very hard to know considering that they never were officially  'taken on charge'. It's known, however, that they were used by some Bulgarian pilots for training after some reparations, performed at the workshop of the Bojurishte airfield, were made. As there aren't graphical evidence on these airplanes, the colours should be considered speculative.
• United Kingdom: Originally piloted by the German lieutenant Georg Simon, it was shot down by a Nieuport belonging to the Royal Flying Corps on 4th June 1917 and he was made prisoner. After that his airplane was repainted and showed as a war prize even if the radiator water pipe was missing.
• Poland: The newly created Polish government employed many German leftover airplanes, and also bought some of them, specially those manufactured by OAW and used them in the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920, mainly in ground attack duties. Some of them were used by the famous Kosciuszko Squadron which was mainly equipped with the Austro-Hungarian improved variant, the Oeffag Va.253.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.III
2. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/bulgaria/af/types/albatros.htm
3. http://www.traditions-air.fr/unit/avion/avions_ww1_02.htm

Halberstadt CL.II - Foreign users

We start with a new airplane and with an entry shorter than usual.

The Halberstadt CL.II was a German escort fighter/ground attack airplane designed during the first World War that excelled during that conflict.

As we are centering in the foreign users of this airplane, and they were rather... scarce, only two non-German nations employed it after the war. Lithuania and Poland.


Under Lithuanian command, they were among the very first (if no the first) attack airplanes that equipped their air force. They may have seen some action at any of the Lithuanian independence wars (1918-1920).

Under Polish command, they saw action specially in the Polish-Soviet war where they served in at least two squadrons, the 2nd squadron and the 14th, both dedicated to the ground support role, where this airplane excelled.

Ansaldo SVA - Foreign Users, Second Entry

We continue with the Ansaldo SVA, this time with more foreign users of this multi-role airplane.

• Lithuania: Lithuania kept some SVA.10 used in observation role during the 20s. There's not much more many information.
• Paraguay: As many of you have already guessed, the Ansaldo SVA played an important role in south American countries not just for being one of the first airplanes in many of these countries air force's, but also for being the protagonist of the first aerial combat ever in that territory when two opposing SVA.5 faced together in a dogfight. It was also used as a trainer, and not just as a fighter.
• Peru: Peru had some SVA.5 in active during the 20s. Their fate or where they were based is unknown.
• Poland: The newly created Wojska Lotnicze (Polish Air force) adquired some trainers in order to equip their flying schools. The one that employed the SVA was the advanced pilot's school, based first at an ex-German airfield in the city of Poznan but moved to Grudziądz in December 1920.

Albatros D.II - Foreign Users

We keep going with the Albatros fighter series. This time we deal with the foreign users of the D.II.

The Albatros D.II was a German fighter, an evolution of the D.I intended to solve the poor upward visibility issues by repositioning the upper wing closer to fuselage and slightly forward and re-arranging the cabane struts. Otherwise, it was basically the same aircraft as the D.I.

We have to note that at least three variants of this airplane existed:

• D.II Early production model: The initial production version with the upper repositioned in order to achieve better upward visibility and Windhoff 'Ear' radiators on the sides. 
• D.II Late production model: The late production model had the Windhoff radiators removed and replaced by a Teves und Braun type radiator placed on the center of the upper wing. This was done because the German Inspectorate for flying troops banned the usage of 'ear' radiators due to their position at a lower level than the crankcase of the engine they were intended to cool down. 
• Oeffag Va.53/Oeffag series 53: License built Austrian version of the D.II featuring it's own engine, a 138Kw (185hp) Austro-Daimler engine which was intended to achieve better results than the standard Mercedes D.III. It was manufactured during a brief period of time before switching production to the more advanced Albatros D.III. However, as the Austrian D.III proved, the Austro-Daimler engine, with the cylinder heads covered by a cowling proved to be much more suitable for winter operations.

It was employed by the following nations:

• Austro-Hungarian Empire: As we have said, Oeffag produced 16 examples before switching the production to the Albatros D.III. It should be noted that those 16 airplanes were unarmed since they were intended to be equipped with an fuselage-integrated Schwarzlose machine gun. The fate of those 16 airplanes it's unknown. Most probably they were reconverted into Albatros D.III
• United Kingdom: The Royal Flying Corps manage to capture at least one D.II and used it for testing purposes.
• Lithuania: After the Germans retreated from the baltic area many of the leftover airplanes were pressed into service in the newly created countries. It probably saw action at the Lithuanian war of Independence. (1918-1920)
• Ottoman Empire: The 6.Boluk (6th Squadron) was composed entirely by German pilots. It was equipped with D.II until the armistice and it saw action in the famous battle of Gallipolli.
• Poland: As Lithuania, some leftovers were taken over and pressed into service with the newly created Polish Air Force. Although liked by the pilots, it was outdated and, just as the Albatros D.III, it was used in the ground attack role during the Polish-Soviet war.