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Fokker DR1
The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', 'triplane' in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the aircraft in which Manfred von Richthofen gained his last 17 victories (plus two earlier ones in the Fokker F.I prototype in September 1917), and in which he was killed on 21 April 1918. The Fokker Dr.I was flown with great success by many German aces, most notably Josef Jacobs with 30 confirmed kills in the type. Design and development In February 1917, the Sopwith Triplane began to appear over the Western Front.Franks 2004, p. 9. Despite its single Vickers machine gun armament, the Sopwith swiftly proved itself superior to the more heavily armed Albatros fighters then in use by the ''Luftstreitkräfte''.Franks 2004, p. 21.Leaman 2003, pp. 30, 32. In April 1917, Anthony Fokker viewed a captured Sopwith Triplane while visiting ''Jasta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical bombing, tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets, and helps prevent the enemy from doing the same. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground-attack aircraft, ground attack and some types, such as fighter-b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reinhold Platz
Reinhold Platz (16 January 1886 – 15 September 1966) was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer in service of the Dutch company Fokker. Platz was hired by Fokker in 1912 as a welder. His first hands-on projects were to weld the frame parts for the Fokker Spin. Platz became the head designer at the Fokker factory in Schwerin in 1916. Platz had no higher education like Anthony Fokker, but was a man of practical knowledge. This turned the two men into a strong team, in which Fokker was able to bring forth new revolutionary ideas to aircraft design, while Platz implemented them in prototype aircraft. Platz became the head designer at the Fokker factory in Amsterdam after World War I. Platz is now largely credited with designing the innovative Fokker D.VII fighter aircraft. Some have suggested that Platz was merely the foreman of the welding unit at Fokker, however, and that his status was raised in Weyl's book (see below) in an effort to denigrate Anthony Fokker's design ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leutnant
() is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum tenens» (in English "place holder") was derived from the French word about 1500. In most German-speaking armies it is the lowest officer rank (in German-speaking navies (English "Lieutenant at sea")). In the German Bundeswehr the ranks and belong to the rank group. In some other armed forces (such as the former National People's Army) there is the lower grade of Unterleutnant. From about 1500 until the middle of the 17th century the designation of was commonly used for any deputy to a commanding officer. So at the army level there was the appointment of (English "lieutenant-general"), at the regimental level there was that of (English "lieutenant-colonel"), and at the company level the was deputy to a (English "captain"). Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurt Wolff (aviator)
''Oberleutnant'' Kurt Robert Wilhelm Wolff Pour le Merite, PlM (6 February 1895 – 15 September 1917) was one of Imperial Germany's highest-scoring Flying ace, fighter aces during World War I. The frail youthful orphan originally piloted bombers before being picked by Manfred von Richthofen to join ''Jagdstaffel 11'' (Fighter Squadron 11) in the burgeoning Luftstreitkräfte, Imperial German Air Service. Under the tutelage of Richthofen, Wolff would shoot down 33 enemy aircraft in four months, including 22 victims during the Royal Flying Corps' disastrous Bloody April, 1917. Wolff scored victories so rapidly he outran the Prussian awards system; although the Pour le Merite was customarily awarded after a fighter ace's 20th victory, Wolff's was not received until after his 29th. On 6 May 1917, after this 29th victory, Wolff was transferred to command ''Jagdstaffel 29'' and score two victories. When Richthofen moved up from ''Jagdstaffel 11'' to become the wing commander of the Jag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberleutnant
(English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberleutnant'' is also a designation for certain positions in the federal police and prison guards. In the former West Germany, it was also a rank in the Federal Border Guard (''Bundesgrenzschutz''). Occupied Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "first lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active-duty service. is used by both the German Army and the German Air Force. In the NATO military comparison system, a German is the equivalent of a first lieutenant in the Army/Air Forces of Allied nations. ;Other uses The equivalent naval rank is ''Oberleutnant zur See''. In Nazi Germany, within the SS, Sturmabteilung, SA and Waffen-SS, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jasta 11
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 11 ("No 11 Fighter Squadron"; commonly abbreviated to Jasta 11) was founded on 28 September 1916 from elements of 4 Armee's ''Kampfeinsitzerkommandos'' (or KEKs) 1, 2 and 3 and mobilized on 11 October as part of the German Air Service's expansion program, forming permanent specialised fighter squadrons, or "'' Jastas''". It became the most successful fighter squadron in the ''Luftstreitkräfte''. Founding Jasta 11's first commander was First Lieutenant (''Oberleutnant'') Rudolf Lang, from its mobilization at Brayelles, until 14 January 1917. ''Jasta'' 11's first months of operations were very undistinguished. It was not until the appointment of 24-year-old Cavalry Captain (''Rittmeister'') Manfred von Richthofen on 16 January 1917 as Commanding Officer that the unit commenced its path to fame and immortality. Von Richthofen, later known as the Red Baron (due to the practice of painting his aircraft red for easy identification during combat) wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jasta
A ''Jagdstaffel'' (plural ''Jagdstaffeln'', abbreviated to Jasta) was a fighter ''Staffel'' (squadron) of the German Imperial ''Luftstreitkräfte'' during World War I. Background Before April 1916, ''Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches'', which had been established in 1912 as the aviation service of the Imperial German Army, was largely organised in small general purpose units ('' Feldfliegerabteilungen, FFA'' Field Flyer Detachments). The first specialist bombing and close support units began forming during 1915. The ''FFA'' were subordinate to the Army command to which they were attached. By the end of the spring of 1915, the first German fighter aircraft were being issued in small numbers to the ''FFA''. At this period their function was seen almost entirely as "protection" for the reconnaissance missions which were the primary duty of the ''Fliegertruppe''. Pilots like Kurt Wintgens, Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke pioneered the aggressive use of the early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idflieg Aircraft Designation System
The '' Idflieg'' (Inspektion der Fliegertruppen/Inspectorate of Flying Troops) designation system was used to classify German heavier-than-air military (as opposed to naval) aircraft from the early days of the ''Fliegertruppe/Luftstreitkräfte'' to the end of World War I. The system evolved during this period as new classes of aircraft came into use. The specific, official "name" of a ''Luftstreitkräfte'' aircraft type consisted of the name of the manufacturer, the designation allocated to its class or category, and finally a Roman numeral. Thus the first "D"-class aircraft built by Albatros was named the Albatros D.I, the second was the Albatros D.II and so on. Application A complication in identifying wartime German aircraft is that German manufacturers typically used their own designations; and sometimes gave experimental productions unofficial "Idflieg-style" class numbers, perhaps in the hope of production orders. The "Rs" (giant seaplane), and "CLs" (two-seater seaplan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fokker Dr
Fokker (; ) was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1912 to 1996. The company was founded by the Dutch aviator Anthony Fokker and became famous during World War I for its fighter aircraft. During its most successful period in the 1920s and 1930s, Fokker dominated the civil aviation market. The company's fortunes declined over the course of the late 20th century; it declared bankruptcy in 1996, and its operations were sold to competitors. History Fokker in Germany At age 20, while studying in Germany, Anthony Fokker built his initial aircraft, the ''Spin'' (Spider)—the first Dutch-built plane to fly in his home country. Taking advantage of better opportunities in Germany, he moved to Berlin, where in 1912, he founded his first company, Fokker Aeroplanbau, later moving to the Görries suburb just southwest of Schwerin (at ), where the current company was founded, as Fokker Aviatik GmbH, on 12 February 1912. World War I Fokker capitalized on having sold several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idflieg
The Idflieg (''Inspektion der Fliegertruppen'' - "Inspectorate of Flying Troops") was the bureau of the German Empire that oversaw German military aviation prior to and during World War I. Founded in 1911, the Idflieg was part of the ''Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches'' (Imperial German Flying Corps) which became the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' in 1916, handling administration, including regulation of service names applied to aircraft produced by domestic companies, characterised according to the armament, wing configuration, crew and role which was intended for the aircraft. Inspectors of Flying Troops * Colonel Walter von Eberhardt (1913–1914) * Major Richard Roethe (1914–1916) * Major, later Lieutenant-Colonel Wilhelm Siegert (1916–1918) * Captain Wilhelm Haehnelt (1918–1919) See also * Idflieg aircraft designation system The '' Idflieg'' (Inspektion der Fliegertruppen/Inspectorate of Flying Troops) designation system was used to classify German heavier-th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interplane Strut
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in compression or tension as the need arises, and/or wires, which act only in tension. In general, bracing allows a stronger, lighter structure than one which is unbraced, but external bracing in particular adds drag which slows down the aircraft and raises considerably more design issues than internal bracing. Another disadvantage of bracing wires is that they require routine checking and adjustment, or rigging, even when located internally. During the early years of aviation, bracing was a universal feature of all forms of aeroplanes, including the monoplanes and biplanes, which were then equally common. Today, bracing in the form of lift struts is still used for some light commercial designs where a high wing and light weight are more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
