ABOUT FACTS NET

Air Space Craft

German Fokker E-IV Eindecker fighter; 1916 [ukn via Martin Copp]

This plane was considered old fashioned even in 1916. It used wing warping instead of flaps as did the Wrights Brothers plane. The tail wing was a single surface. Strange as it seems, some aviation companies are again testing the concept of wind warping.

British DeHavilland DH-2 fighter; 1916 [National Archives via Martin Copp]

By 1916 the British and French were starting to produce planes that were superior to the Eindecker. The British had a problem however, they couldn't figure out how to synchronize the machine gun to fire through the propeller as the Germans did. They came up with the short term solution of putting the engine behind the plane in a pusher configuration.

French Nieuport 17fighter; 1916 [National Archives via Martin Copp]

The Nieuport 17 was what is known as a sesquiplane, meaning the lower wing on the double winged craft was smaller than the upper wing. The plane sported an engine with a 110 horse power rotary engine.

French Nieuport 17fighter with gun mounted [Peter C. Boisseau]

 

Front & Side View of German Albatross D-III fighter 1917 [Pict 1 ukn via Martin Copp] [Pict 2 Peter M. Bowers via AAHS]

Manfred von Richthofen scored most of his eighty kills flying an Albatross fighter plane even though most people think of him and his Fokker. This plane gave the Germans air superiority for a time in 1917.

British Sopwith F. I Camel fighter; 1917 [William T. Larkins via AAHS]

Perhaps the most famous plane of World War I was the Sopwith Camel fighter although this would be a point of argument among many. This was the first British plane with two machine guns synchronized to fire through the propeller. It got the name camel because of the slight hump behind the cockpit. The greatest amounts of these planes came with a 130 horsepower rotary engine.

French SPAD XIII C. 1 fighter; 1917. Captain Edward V. Rickenbacker is in front of the airplane. [USAF]

The SPAD XIII was powered with the Hispano-Suiza 8BA engine of 220 horsepower. The engine was water cooled and arranged in two banks of four cylinders each and in a 'V'. It looked like a V8 engine. Many people think that this engine was the best one in World War I.

German Fokker D-VII fighter; 1918 [Merle Omstead via Martin Copp]

This plane exhibited excellent climb performance yet it was of the heaviest fighters of the war. Pilots claimed the D-VII had superb handling characteristics.

British Sopwith 5F. 1 Dolphin fighter; 1918. [ukn via Martin Copp]

A closer look at this craft reveals that the wings are configured in an unorthodox fashion, with the lower wing located ahead of the upper wing. An aircraft with this wing arrangement is described as having negative stagger. The earlier DeHavilland DH-5 (a limited success) had this wing arrangement, as did the well-known Beech model 17 which appeared about 15 years after the Dolphin. The plane was designed to give the pilot greater visibility but made the plane much more dangerous in a turnover since the pilot was completely exposed.

German Fokker D-VIII fighter; 1918. [USAF via Martin Copp]

The configuration of the Fokker D-VIII is known as a parasol monoplane. This type is characterized by a single wing supported above the fuselage by an arrangement of cabane struts and has the advantage of giving the pilot good downward visibility, as compared with a mid wing or low-wing design, but has the disadvantage of the drag-producing cabane struts.

German Junkers D-I all metal fighter; 1918. [ukn via Martin Copp].
[Note: the scanning of this photo changed the "stripes" on this airplane from horizontal to vertical]

The Junkers D-I received a limited production contract. Both the Junkers D-I and Fokker D-VIII arrived on the scene too late to make any sort of reputation in combat, but both are included in the present discussion because of their technical significance.