The Pfalz D.III was a fighter of the Imperial German Air Service in the last few years of WWI. Though considered inferior to the designs of Albatros and Fokker, it was widely used both as a front line fighter and later as a trainer. The main difference between the D.III and D.IIIa was that in the former, the guns were buried in the engine cowling, making clearing gun jams very difficult if not impossible. The later D.IIIa raised those to the top of the cowling as was the case in contemporaries, eliminating that issue.

This is a modeling book and not a history of the type. It opens with chapters on interior colors, factory markings, and a section on the different field modifications of the wing crosses. Next is a colors section covering the type in every Jasta that flew it. This is a fairly large section and every image has been captured from war game. A section on digital skin-making closes out the initial chapters.

The rest of the book is on building and upgrading kits of the D.III family. It starts with a rigging guide, a useful section for any builder of kits of this plane. The actual builds start with the 1/144 Valom kit. It then moves to 1/72 scale, where kits by MAC and Roden are covered. A comparison of the two is then provided. In 1/48, it is the Eduard kit. Finally, in 1/32, the Roden kit is featured. Wingnut Wings also did a 1/32 Pfalz, but its availability is questionable at best. Since the company closed shop, those that can be found are usually exorbitantly priced, though well worth building if one can obtain it.

In all, it is a well done edition, keyed to the builder of the type and a nice introduction to unit markings, which for a WWI plane, are quite colorful.

October 2026

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Review book courtesy of  Casemate Publishing, where you can order your copy from this link.

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