Fokker D.III
| Fokker D.III | |
|---|---|
| |
| Later D.III with balanced ailerons | |
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Fokker |
| Designer | Martin Kreutzer[1] |
| Introduction | 1 Sep 1916[2] |
| Primary users |  Germany Austria-Hungary
|
| Produced | 210[3] |
| Wingspan | 9.04 m (29 ft 8 in) [4] |
| Engine | 160hp Oberursel U.III |
| Armament | 2×sync. fixed MG |
| Crew | 1 |
| Max Speed | 160 km/h (99 mph)[5][6][4][note 1] |
| Climb | 1,000 m (3,280 ft) in 3:00[6][4] 2,000 m (6,560 ft) in 7:00[6][4] 3,000 m (9,840 ft) in 12:00[4] 4,000 m (13,100 ft) in 20:00[5][6][note 2] |
| Ceiling | 4,700 m (15,500 ft) [4] |
| Endurance | 1:30 [5][4] |
Though Fokker had won the love of German fighter pilots in 1915 with their Eindeckers, their early biplanes were uninspired and suffered from poor workmanship. The inline-engined Fokker D.I and D.IV and the rotary-engined Fokker D.II and D.III were substandard relative to competitors like the Halberstadt D.II and the Albatros fighters, and on 6 December 1916 all Fokker biplanes were withdrawn from front-line service due to structural failures both in static testing and in combat use.
Like the Fokker E.IV, the D.III was powered by a 160hp Oberursel U.III two-row rotary engine and armed with a twin fixed machine guns. Like the D.I and D.II before it, it premiered with wing-warping, but late production models seemed to have converted to ailerons (as had all contemporary fighters). Their first service was in September 1916. 210 were constructed, and though its service life was brief, it was flown by the likes of Boelcke, Udet, and von Richtofen.[1] After their short combat career, some D.III's were used as rotary-engined trainers.[2]
Austria-Hungary had an order with MAG for fifty as the Fokker D.I(MAG) Series 04.4, but only eight were built and only one made it to the front lines in October 1917, by which time it was quite obsolete.[8]
For more information, see Wikipedia:Fokker D.III.
Timeline
Game Data
Wings of Glory
| Availability | Maneuver | Damage | Dmg Points | Max Alt. | Climb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16Q3-16Q4 | P[note 3] | A | 13 | 10 | 4 |
Blue Max/Canvas Eagles
Miniatures and Models
1:144 Scale
1:285/6mm/1:288 Scale
1:300 Scale
- Metal kit: Heroics & Ros GWA309
Resources
Orthographic Drawings
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early model
-
late model
References
- Notes
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Peter Gray and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. Great Britain, Putnam, 1962, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-809-7.
- 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.
- P.M.Grosz. Fokker Fighters D.I-IV. Albatros Publications, Ltd., 1999. ISBN 1-902207-11-4.
- W.M. Lamberton and E.F. Cheesman, Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. Great Britain: Harleyford Publications Limited, 1960.