| D.I | |
|---|---|
 Postcard of the first prototype of the Friedrichshafen D.I circa 1917 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen |
| Status | Prototype only |
| Primary user | Luftstreitkräfte |
| Number built | 2 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1917 |
| Developed from | Friedrichshafen FF.43 |
TheFriedrichshafen D.I (company designationFriedrichshafen FF.46) was a German single-seatfighter plane developed by theFlugzeugbau Friedrichshafen during theFirst World War. Twoprototypes were flown in 1917, but it was judged inferior to theAlbatros D.III then in production and no further production ensued.
The Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen aircraft manufacturing company, after having failed to sell theFF.43 fighterfloatplane to theImperial German Navy's (Kaiserliche Marine) Naval Air Service (Marine-Fliegerabteilung) in 1916, modified its design for land service in an attempt to sell it to theGerman Army's (Deutsches Heer) Inspectorate of Flying Troops (Inspektion der Fliegertruppen) (Idflieg). The Army accepted Friedrichshafen's proposal in September and ordered three prototypes, only two of which are known to have been completed.[1]
Although the D.I was developed from the FF.43, they did not share any components. The D.I replaced thefloats with aconventional landing gear arrangement, but retained its predecessor'ssingle-bay, staggered-wing design, 160 hp (120 kW)Mercedes D.IIIstraight-six engine and its pair ofsynchronised 7.92 mm (0.312 in)LMG 08/15 Spandau machine guns. The two prototypes known to have been built differed only in thecabanes securing the upper wing to thefuselage; the first aircraft had vertical cabanes while the second had ones that were angled outwards for better pilot visibility.[2]
The two prototypes were tested by Idflieg until 28 April 1917, revealing that they possessed flight characteristics and performance inferior to that of the Albatross D.III, so it did not order the D.I into production and the project was abandoned. Idflieg did not retain performance data for aircraft that it did not accept.[1]
Data fromThe Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Built and Flown[3]
General characteristics
PerformanceArmament
Related lists
