In the late spring of 1918 a new fighter plane appeared on the scene. It had a rate of climb
and maneuverability which was unparalleled through the end of the war. The Siemens
Schuckert was universally described as the ultimate fighter of WW1. With such stellar
performance and rave reviews, why have you never heard of it then? Its chief advantage
was also its Achilles heel. The SSW D-III was powered by a unique, revolutionary rotary
engine of eleven cylinders. The Siemens Halske rotary engine was rated at 160 H.P and
maintained it’s performance at high altitude due to a high compression ratio. Also unique
to this engine was the fact that while the propeller rotated in the conventional direction,
the engine itself rotated in the opposite direction. This was done to minimize the torque
effects of such a high output rotary. This engine’s development issues were to limit the
use of this exceptional fighter to the very end of the war. Even still, the Siemens
Schuckert D-III was to be used by aces such as Ernst Udet and Georg Von Hantelman. I
had wanted to build something different than the Fokkers and SE5s and Camels that are
more commonly seen. When I came across the SSW D-III I knew I had found my plane.
There are a variety of color schemes available and I highly recommend the Windsocks
Data File on this aircraft for ideas. The model is challenging to build but there is nothing
which the average modeler can’t tackle with a little patience and persistence. Those that
carry the project through will be rewarded with a plane that has no bad flying habits and
is accurate enough to have won the WW1 class at the WRAM show. Let’s get started
building!
Horizontal Stabilizer:
This is a good place to begin. The horizontal stabilizer is fairly simple to build with a
couple of twists to facilitate the final assembly of the aircraft. It is built up over the spar
on the plans and then assembled back onto the spar after it has been inserted through the
fuselage. Let’s begin by cutting the Spruce ¼” square center spar to length and pin it into
position over the plans. Build the outline of the stab around the spar from ¼” x 3/ 8”
balsa taking great care to not glue any of it to the spar. Add the ¼” square cross pieces,
again taking care not to glue them to the spar. Finally, sheet the two halves (joined by the
trailing edge) on top with 3/32” balsa sheet, again taking care to not glue it to the spar.
Remove the spar from the stab and wait until assembled on the plane to sheet the bottom.
Elevator:
Begin by stripping 6 pieces of 1/16” x 3/8” x 48” balsa to form the laminated outline.
These strips should be soaked in a tub of water for about two hours. During this time you
can begin pinning the inner outline of the elevator. The pins should be placed every ¼” or
so to maintain a accurate outline. Once you have removed the strips from the water, coat
them with carpenter’s glue to create a 3/8” thick 6 layer deep laminate. A hint to help
make this successful is to carefully align all 6 pieces after gluing as if it was a solid piece.
Next, beginning at one end, lay the laminate (multi side up) about 1” past the beginning
of the elevator. Carefully work the pieces as a group around your outline pins while
placing pins around the outside to hold the pieces in position. Once the whole shape has
been pinned in place, forget you ever saw it for about 24 hours minimum. After this
procedure, completing the elevator is a simple task. Glue in the ¼” x 3/8” cross pieces
followed by the ¼” x 3/8” front and rear supports. Add the 3/8 square leading edge
reinforcements and you are done.
