Fokker D.I

D.I
Type	Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer	Fokker
Designed by	Martin Kreutzer
Introduced	1916
Produced	July 1916
Number built	114
Developed from	Fokker D.II
Variants	D.III and D.IV.

The Fokker D.I (company model M18) was a development of the D.II fighter. Confusing the matter further, both aircraft arrived at the Front in German service at similar times, in July-August 1916. The main designer was Martin Kreutzer.

Similar to the D.II, the D.I was an unstaggered single-bay equal-span biplane. The upper fuselage was parallel with the upper wing. Unlike the D.II, the D.I was fitted with the 100 hp Mercedes D.I six cylinder watercooled engine.

Control was achieved using wing-warping. The wings were also tested in twin bay form. To improve visibility, the center section was cut into and the wings were slightly staggered.

These improvements were retained, and the airplane was ordered into production with a 120 hp Mercedes D.II inline engine and a single synchronized LMG 08/15 machine gun.

Deliveries began in July 1916. 90 were delivered to the German Fliegertruppen, and 16 to the Austro-Hungarian Luftfahrttruppen (as the B III). Eight were license produced by the Magyar Általános Gépgyár in Hungary.

One Austro-Hungarian B III was experimentally fitted with a 160 hp Mercedes D.III engine. Another had ailerons instead of wing warping, and still another had long span, swept back wings.

Compared with aircraft in service at that time, such as the Albatros D.II and the Nieuport 11, this Fokker's design and performance were decidedly unimpressive, and further production did not take place.

The D.I was the basis for the D.III and D.IV.

Operators

Template:Country data Austria-Hungary

Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops

Template:Country data German Empire

Luftstreitkräfte

Specifications (D.I)

General characteristics

• Crew: One, pilot
• Length: 6.30 m (20 ft 8 in)
• Wingspan: 9.05 m (29 ft 8 in)
• Height: 2.55 m (8 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 20.00 m² (215.3 ft²)
• Empty weight: 463 kg (1,020 lb)
• Loaded weight: 820 kg (1,809 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Mercedes D.II 6-cylinder water-cooled inline engine, 90 kW (120 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 150 km/h (81 knots, 93 mph)
• Rate of climb: 3.33 m/s (656 ft/min)
• Endurance: 1.5 hours

Armament

1 × forward-firing 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 machine gun

See also

Comparable aircraft
Albatros D.I - Nieuport 11 Designation sequence
D.II - D.I - D.III - D.IV - D.V - Dr.I - D.VI - D.VII - D.VIII - D.IX - Related lists

• List of military aircraft of Germany
• List of fighter aircraft

Aviation in World War I

Aces · Aircraft of the Entente Powers · Aircraft of the Central Powers · Zeppelins · Category: World War I Aircraft

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Fokker D.I".