Length 4 1/8"
Wingspan 5 1/8"
Height on wheels 1 ¾"
Height on stand 2 ¾"
Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft manufactured by Albatros-Flugzeugwerke and used by the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Wilhelm Frankl, Erich Löwenhardt, Manfred von Richthofen, Karl Emil Schäfer, Ernst Udet, and Kurt Wolff? It was the preeminent fighter during the period of German aerial dominance known as "Bloody April" 1917. 1866 planes were built. Following the successful of earlier Albatros models D.I and D.II series, the D.III utilized the same semi-monocoque, plywood-skinned fuselage, but adopted a sesquiplane wing arrangement broadly similar to the French Nieuport 11 Fighter. The upper wingspan was extended, while the lower wing was redesigned with reduced chord and a single main spar. "V" shaped interplane struts replaced the previous parallel struts. For this reason, British aircrews commonly referred to the D.III as the "V-strutter."
St. Julius Buckler (28 March 1894 - 23 May 1960) was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 36 victories during the war. He shot down 29 enemy airplanes and 7 observation balloons; two other victories went unconfirmed.
He was one of only four German fighter aces to win Germany's highest decorations for valor for both enlisted man and officer.
He scored first aerial victory on 17 December 1916 over Bras, France. On November 18, 1917 he was commissioned as a Leutnant, wounded 4th times on November 30 and awarded the Pour le Mérite on December 4, 1917 while recovering from his wounds. By 16 April 1918 he was after returning to Jagdstaffel 17 Julius Buckler has two airplanes dedicated for his personal use named "Mops" and "Lilly". He flew "Mops" and "Lilly" to score three more victories before he was severely wounded yet again on 6 May 1918. His next victory came five months later on October 5, 1918. He scored twice more in the final days of the war, and had his second unconfirmed triumph on 8 November 1918.
