Brandenburg D.I

From Wings of Linen
Brandenburg D.I
Role Fighter
Manufacturer Brandenburg, Phönix
Designer Ernst Heinkel
First flight early 1916 [1]
Introduction late 1916[2]
Primary user Austria-Hungary
Number built 122[2]
Wingspan 8.51 m (27 ft 11 in) [3][4][5]
Engine 185hp Daimler inline or
160hp Daimler inline
Armament 1 Schwarzlose M7/12 or M.16
Crew 1
Max Speed see table
Climb see table
Service Ceiling 5,000 m (16,400 ft) [6][4]
Endurance 2:00[5] - ~2:30 [6][4]

The Hansa-Brandenburg D.I was Austria-Hungary's first native fighter. It was also known as the "KD" Kampf-doppeldecker, or "Star-Strutter" for its unusual strut arrangement, which eliminated the need for bracing wires at the cost of extra weight. This gave the D.I a good amount of speed for its time, but the climb rate and maneuverability suffered.

For armament, a Schwarzlose M7/12 or M.16 machine gun was usually provided in a VKII canister on the top wing, which made it impossible to clear a jam during flight. On some machines the canister was removed and a top-wing gun was mounted firing over the propeller at an angle -- it had the advantage that jams could be cleared during flight. On at least five D.Is a synchronized gun was fitted below the exhaust manifold of the 185hp Austro-Daimler engine.

122 machines were built in four batches. Phönix built the most successful planes: the Series 28 and 28.5 D.I's, which had a deeper fuselage. The 28.5's had wings of deeper chord and a fin and enlarged rudder, though this latter was subsequently refitted on many original Series 28's. Brandenburg produced Series 65.5 and 65.7, though the latter, with only 150hp engines, were mostly used as trainers.

While it had its limitations, many of Austria-Hungary's top aces got started on the Star-Strutter before moving on to Aviatik and Albatros fighters. Combat flights began in December 1916, and they served with many Fliks in 1917. They started being withdrawn from the front in autumn 1917, and by early 1918 they had been delegated completely to a training role.

Brandenburg D.I Series
ManufacturerSeriesEngineBuiltSpeedClimb
Brandenburg Series 65.5 160hp Daimler 20 185 km/h (115 mph)[7] 1,000 m (3,280 ft) in 4:08[7][5]
Series 65.7 150hp Daimler 30 179 km/h (111 mph)[7] 1,000 m (3,280 ft) in 3:30[7]
Phönix Series 28 185hp Daimler 48 170 km/h (106 mph)[8] to 187 km/h (116 mph)[5] 1,000 m (3,280 ft) in 3:55[8]
Series 28.5 185hp Daimler 24 176 km/h (109 mph)[8] 1,000 m (3,280 ft) in 4:30[8]

For more information, see Wikipedia:Hansa-Brandenburg D.I.

Timeline [note 1]

Game Data

Wings of Glory

Unofficial Stats
Availability Maneuver Damage Dmg Points Max Alt. Climb
16Q4-18Q1 S B 14 11 3

Plane and Crew Cards

Card Links

Blue Max/Canvas Eagles

Aircraft Chart

Miniatures and Models

1:144 Scale

1:285/6mm/1:288 Scale

1:300 Scale

1:350 Scale

Resources

Orthographic Drawings

  • Series 28 early rudder

    Series 28 early rudder

  • Series 28.5, canister

    Series 28.5, canister

  • Series 28, top-wing gun

    Series 28, top-wing gun

  • Series 28, synchronized gun

    Series 28, synchronized gun

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Numbers are approximate
Citations
  1. ↑ Lamberton, p.18.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Meindl, p.2.
  3. ↑ Lamberton, pp.218-219.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Angelucci, p.43.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Argus Vol. 1, p.92.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Munson, p.32.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Grosz'93, p.443.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Grosz'93, p.117.
Bibliography
  • Enzo Angelucci, ed. The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980. New York: The Military Press, 1983 edition. ISBN 0-517-41021-4.
  • Argus Books, Airplane Archive: Aircraft of World War One, Volume 1. Great Britain: Argus Books, 1989. ISBN 0-85242-983-5
  • Peter M. Grosz, George Haddow, and Peter Schiemer. Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War One. Flying Machines Press, 1993. ISBN 0-9637110-0-8.
  • Karl Meindl and Walter Schroeder, Great Aircraft in Profile 2: Brandenburg D.I. Flying Machines Press, 1997. ISBN 1-891268-01-5
  • Kenneth Munson, Fighters 1914-19, Attack and Training Aircraft. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1976. ISBN 0713707607
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