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Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker)


Triplane Fighter Aircraft


Imperial Germany | 1917



"With a three-wing arrangement inducing substantial drag, the Fokker Dr.I was slower than her contemporaries but made up for this in maneuverability and rate-of-climb against fighters of the period."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker) Triplane Fighter Aircraft.
1 x Oberursel U.R. II air-cooled rotary engine developing 110 horsepower driving a two-bladed wooden propeller unit at the nose.
Propulsion
103 mph
165 kph | 89 kts
Max Speed
19,997 ft
6,095 m | 4 miles
Service Ceiling
186 miles
300 km | 162 nm
Operational Range
1,090 ft/min
332 m/min
Rate-of-Climb
Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker) Triplane Fighter Aircraft.
1
(MANNED)
Crew
18.9 ft
5.77 m
O/A Length
23.6 ft
(7.20 m)
O/A Width
9.7 ft
(2.95 m)
O/A Height
895 lb
(406 kg)
Empty Weight
1,290 lb
(585 kg)
MTOW
Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker) Triplane Fighter Aircraft .
STANDARD:
2 x 7.92mm Spandau LMG 08/15 machine guns synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades.
Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker) family line.
V.3 - Prototype Model Designation
V.4 - Prototype Production Model
V.5 - Prototype Model fitted with Goebel Goe.III series engine.
V.6 - Prototype Model fitted with Mercedes D.II series engine.
V.7 - Prototype Model fitted with Siemens-Halske Sh.III series engine.
V.10 - Prototype Model fitted with Oberusel Ur.III series engine.
Dr.I - Production Series Designation
Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 07/30/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Fokker Dr.I ("Dr" for "Dreidecker" meaning "triplane") series is most closely associated with Manfred von Richthofen (aka "the Red Baron") as the triplane aircraft was his chosen mount in the final months of his life, accounting for his last 20 kills. Designed to match the Sopwith Triplane and appearing by October of 1917, the Dr.I was a capable aircraft made more so by the pilots that flew her than the unique three-wing design. In the end, the system was limited in production quantity and saw a career spanning just the final year of the conflict, which by 1918, was being used as a defensive system over Germany.

Obviously the most identifying feature of the type was the three wing design made popular by the Sopwith Triplane - and proved itself a worthy design overall. Though inducing drag (which in turn caused a decrease in overall speed) the arrangement made for a highly maneuverable aircraft, quick to turn, and offered up a tremendous rate of climb while delivering in a steady dive. Overall the design was typical, featuring the pilot sitting in an open cockpit seated just behind the large wing structures. The undercarriage was fixed and dominated by two large wheels with a tail skid at the rear. Armament consisted of twin Spandau machine guns of 7.92mm caliber firing forward through the synchronized propeller system. The Dr.I was also one of the last aircraft types to feature a rotary piston engine in the Oberursel Ur.II 9-cylinder series.

The initial 100 Dr.I's on order were delivered to Richthofen's fighter squadron in October of 1917 after combat evaluation. By the end of that month, it soon became apparent that there was trouble in the assembly of the wings to the point that some Fokker Dr.I's had broken up in mid-flight resulting in several fatal crashes. This, of course, forced the entire type to be grounded upon further review by an authorized crash commission. The resulting verdict was found to be in the construction of the wings. With adjustments made along the production lines at Fokker, the Dr.I was given the green light back into the air by end of November with all Dr.I wings checked and repaired/replaced if necessary. This setback no doubt attributed to the low production numbers overall, numbering just some 320 examples by the time the lines closed in May of 1918. By then, the fine machine was highly outclassed by her rivals and gradually disappeared into aviation history.

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Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 320 Units

Contractor(s): Fokker Flugzeug-Werke GmbH - Germany
National flag of the German Empire

[ German Empire ]
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Image of the Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker)
Image from the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, OH.
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Image of the Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker)
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Image of the Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker)

Similar
Developments of similar form-and-function, or related, to the Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker) Triplane Fighter Aircraft Specifications and Pictures.
Going Further...
The Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker) Triplane Fighter Aircraft appears in the following collections:
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