| Fokker D.VII | |
|---|---|
 Fokker D.VII reproduction at theNMUSAF. The aircraft is painted in the colors ofLeutnantRudolf Stark ofJasta 35b | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Fokker-Flugzeugwerke |
| Designer | |
| Primary user | Luftstreitkräfte |
| Number built | Approximately 3,300 |
| History | |
| First flight | January 1918 |
TheFokker D.VII is a GermanWorld War Ifighter aircraft designed byReinhold Platz of theFokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with theLuftstreitkräfte, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft. TheArmistice ending the warspecifically required, as the fourth clause of the "Clauses Relating to the Western Front", that Germany was required to surrender all D.VIIs to the Allies.[1] Surviving aircraft saw much service with many countries in the years after World War I.
Fokker's chief designer,Reinhold Platz, had been working on a series of experimental V-series aircraft,starting in 1916. The aircraft were notable for the use ofcantilever wings.Hugo Junkers andhis aviation firm had originated the idea in 1915 with the first practical all-metal aircraft, theJunkers J 1 monoplane, nicknamedBlechesel (Sheet Metal Donkey or Tin Donkey). The wings were thick, with a rounded leading edge. The shape of the wings'airfoil gave greater lift, with its relatively "blunt" leading edge (as seen in cross-section) giving it more docilestalling behavior than the thin wings commonly in use.
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Late in 1917, Fokker built the experimentalV 11biplane, fitted with the standardMercedes D.IIIa engine. In January 1918,Idflieg held a fighter competition atAdlershof. For the first time, front line pilots participated in the evaluation and selection of new fighters. Fokker submitted the V 11 along with several other prototypes.Manfred von Richthofen flew the V 11 and found it tricky, unpleasant and directionally unstable in a dive. Platz lengthened the rear fuselage by one structural bay and added a triangular fin in front of the rudder. Richthofen tested the modified V 11 and praised it as the best aircraft of the competition. It offered excellent performance from the outdated Mercedes engine, yet was safe and easy to fly. Richthofen's recommendation virtually decided the competition, but he was not alone in recommending it. Fokker immediately received a provisional order for 400 production aircraft, which were namedD.VII byIdflieg.
Fokker's factory was not up to the task of meeting all D.VII production orders andIdflieg directedAlbatros andAEG to build the D.VII under license, though AEG did not ultimately produce any aircraft. Because the Fokker factory did not use detailed plans as part of its production process, Fokker simply sent a D.VII airframe for Albatros to copy. Albatros paid Fokker a five percent royalty for every D.VII it built under license. Albatros Flugzeugwerke and its subsidiary, Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW), built the D.VII at factories inJohannisthal [Fokker D.VII (Alb)] andSchneidemühl [Fokker D.VII (OAW)] respectively. Aircraft markings included the type designation and factory suffix, immediately before the individual serial number.
Some parts were not interchangeable between aircraft produced at different factories, even between Albatros and OAW.[2] Each manufacturer tended to differ in both nose paint styles and the patterning and layout of their engine compartment coolinglouvers on the sides of the nose.[3] OAW produced examples were delivered with distinctive mauve and green splotches on the cowling. All D.VIIs were produced with either the five-colorFünffarbiger or less often, the four-colorVierfarbigerlozenge camouflage covering, except for early Fokker-produced D.VIIs, which had a streaked green fuselage. Factory camouflage finishes were often overpainted with colorful paint schemes or insignia for theJasta or for a pilot.
In September 1918, eight D.VIIs were delivered to Bulgaria. Late in 1918, theAustro-Hungarian companyMagyar Általános Gépgyár (MÁG, Hungarian General Machine Company) commenced licensed production of the D.VII withAustro-Daimler engines. Production continued after the end of the war, with as many as 50 aircraft completed.[4]
The earliest production D.VIIs were equipped with 170–180 hp Mercedes D.IIIa.[5] Production quickly switched to the intended standard engine, the higher-compression 134 kW (180–200 hp)Mercedes D.IIIaü. Some early production D.VIIs delivered with the Mercedes D.IIIa were later re-engined with the D.IIIaü.
By mid-1918, some D.VIIs received the "overcompressed" 138 kW (185 hp)BMW IIIa, the first product of theBMW firm. The BMW IIIa followed theSOHC,straight-six configuration of the Mercedes D.III but incorporated several improvements. Increased displacement, higher compression and an altitude-adjusting carburettor produced a marked increase in speed and climb rate at high altitude. Because the BMW IIIa was overcompressed, using full throttle at altitudes below 2,000 m (6,600 ft) risked premature detonation in the cylinders and damage to the engine. At low altitudes, full throttle could produce up to 179 kW (240 hp) for a short time. Fokker-built aircraft with the new BMW engine were called D.VII(F), the suffix "F" standing forMax Friz, the engine designer.
BMW-engined aircraft entered service withJasta 11 in late June 1918. Pilots clamored for the D.VII(F), of which about 750 were built. Production of the BMW IIIa was limited and the D.VII continued to be produced with the 134 kW (180 hp) Mercedes D.IIIaü until the end of the war.
D.VIIs flew with different propeller designs from different manufacturers. Despite the variations there is no indication these propellers gave disparate performance. Axial, Wolff, Wotan, and Heine propellers have been noted.
When the Fokker D.VII entered squadron service withJasta 10 in early May 1918, Allied pilots at first underestimated the new fighter because of its squarish, ungainly appearance. However, their experiences in combat quickly forced them to revise their view. The type quickly proved to have many important advantages over the Albatros andPfalz scouts. Unlike the Albatros scouts, the D.VII could dive without any fear of structural failure. The D.VII was also noted for its high manoeuvrability and ability to climb, its remarkably docile stall and reluctance to spin. It could "hang on its prop" without stalling for brief periods of time, spraying enemy aircraft from below with machine gun fire. These handling characteristics contrasted with contemporary scouts such as theCamel andSPAD, which stalled sharply and spun vigorously.
Several aircraft suffered rib failures and fabric shedding on the upper wing. Heat from the engine sometimes ignitedphosphorus ammunition until additional cooling louvers were installed on the metal sides of the engine cowling panels and fuel tanks sometimes broke at the seams. Aircraft built by the Fokker factory at Schwerin were noted for their lower standard of workmanship and materials. Despite faults, the D.VII proved to be a remarkably successful design, leading to the familiar aphorism that it could turn a mediocre pilot into a good one and a good pilot into an ace.
Richthofen died days before the D.VII began to reach theJagdstaffeln and never flew it in combat. Other pilots, includingErich Löwenhardt andHermann Göring, quickly racked up victories and generally lauded the design. Aircraft availability was limited at first, but by July there were 407 in service. Larger numbers became available by August, by which point D.VIIs had achieved 565 victories. The D.VII eventually equipped 46Jagdstaffeln. When the war ended in November, 775 D.VII aircraft were in service.
The Allies confiscated large numbers of D.VII aircraft after theArmistice. The United States Army and Navy evaluated 142 captured examples.[6] Several of these aircraft were re-engined with American-builtLiberty L-6 motors, very similar in appearance to the D.VII's original German power plants. France, Great Britain and Canada also received numbers of war prizes.
Other countries used the D.VII operationally. The Polish deployed approximately 50 aircraft during thePolish-Soviet War, using them mainly for ground attack missions.[7] TheHungarian Soviet Republic used a number of D.VIIs, both built by MAG and ex-German aircraft in theHungarian–Romanian War of 1919.[8]
The Dutch, Swiss, and Belgian air forces also operated the D.VII. The aircraft proved so popular thatAnthony Fokker completed and sold a large number of D.VII airframes that he had smuggled into the Netherlands by rail after the Armistice. As late as 1929, theAlfred Comte company manufactured eight new D.VII airframes under license for the SwissFliegertruppe.
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Argentina:Argentine Naval Aviation (one ex-French captured aircraft postwar)
Austria-Hungary:Austro-Hungarian Navy
Belgium
Kingdom of Bulgaria:Bulgarian Air Force
Czechoslovakia: (postwar)
Denmark:Royal Danish Air Force (postwar) - operated a single D.VII from 1922 to 1927.[11]
Finland:Finnish Air Force (postwar)[12]
Free City of Danzig:Police air squadron (postwar)
German Empire
Hungarian Soviet Republic: Hungarian Red Air Force (postwar)
Kingdom of Hungary:Royal Hungarian Air Force (postwar)
Netherlands:Netherlands Naval Aviation Service (postwar) - operated 20 D.VIIs from 1920 to 1937.[13]
Latvia:Latvian Air Force (postwar)[11]
Lithuania:Lithuanian Air Force (postwar)[11]
Poland:Polish Air Force (postwar)
Kingdom of Romania:Royal Romanian Air Force (postwar)
Soviet Union:Soviet Air Force (postwar) - purchased 50 D.VIIs from Fokker in 1920.[14]
Sweden:Swedish Air Force (postwar) - operated a single D.VII from 1920.[11]
Switzerland: Swiss Air Force[14]
Ottoman Empire:Ottoman Air Force
Ukrainian People's Republic:Ukrainian People's Republic Air Fleet (postwar)[15]
United States:
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Many modern D.VII reproductions have been built. Most flyable examples are powered by 7.2 litre (440 cu. in.) AmericanRanger, or 9.2 litre (560 cu. in.) displacement BritishGipsy Queen inverted-six cylinder inline engines, both of which are substantially smaller in displacement than either the Mercedes or BMW engines that powered wartime D.VIIs. A few flying reproductions, such as the one at New York State'sOld Rhinebeck Aerodrome, are equipped with original Mercedes D.IIIa engines.[16]
Data from[17]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
"A. - CLAUSES RELATING TO THE WESTERN FRONT. - IV. - Surrender in good condition by the German Armies of the following equipment:-5,000 guns (2,500 heavy, 2,500 field)...25,000 machine guns...3,000 trench mortars...1,700 aeroplanes (fighters, bombers - firstlyall D.7's and night-bombing machines).
Basically, there are four different cowling layouts of D.VII's. First, there's the original V.11 and early Fokker built production aircraft, with the twin exhaust pipes on the right side of the 160 hp Mercedes engine. This type of cowling can also be seen on D.VII(Alb.) 527/18, the first Albatros production aircraft. Later Fokker D.VII(F) aircraft had a different exhaust pipe for the 175 hp Mercedes or 185 hp BMW engine, and the cowling had more cooling louvres...D.VII's built by Albatros had also more cooling louvres, in a different layout...The O.A.W. built D.VII's can be easily identified, since they have cowlings with 20 round shaped cooling openings on both sides. Some sources state that only O.A.W. painted the cowlings in a lozenge camouflage pattern.
Taking a new German Fokker up one day, he crashed, destroying the plane and his leg in the incident.The model is not mentioned but it is most likely a D.VII.
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