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This is a photo of American fighter ace William P. Erwin in the cockpit of a Fokker D.VII, apparently captured/turned-over to the United States after the Armistice of 1918. Bill Erwin would perish while participating in the search for aviators lost during the 1927 Dole Air Race. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Portwood_Erwin Here is another photo of Erwin in the SDASM's Paul A. Smith Collection: www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/8560887758/

The five Fokker D.VIIs used by the Victory Loan Flying Circus, Mid-West Flight were taken from a cohort of factory-new machines that the German government turned over to American forces at Koblenz, Germany on January 1, 1919, in accordance with the armistice of November 1918. This photo of Capt. Erwin was taken at the Jackson, Mississippi air show on April 11, 1919. During his flight that afternoon, he made a forced landing on account of motor trouble. He landed in the only cleared field available, but due to a ditch in the center of the field, he broke his propeller. This was the only damage to the plane and Erwin was uninjured. Afterwards, they requested new Fokker propellers from the Curtiss Airplane Co. in Buffalo, NY. (Reference source: their War Diary and Library of Congress)

A group of these veteran airplanes toured the country to promote bond sales in 1919.

Fokker DVII (OAW) 8508 parked in front of Hangar 8 at Mather Field, California on 14 April 1919. Maj. Carl Spatz flew this machine over Sacramento on that day, and that is presumably him in the cockpit. On 16 May 1919, it was one of the airplanes paraded through the streets of Los Angeles to promote the Memorial Day air show that was to be held two day later at De Mille Field, Hollywood.

Fokker D.VII with RAF SE.5's

The officer second from left is 1st Lieut. L. R. Hewett. This is a Victory Loan Flying Circus, Mid-West Flight photo, but the location and date remains a mystery at this point.