The Daimler D.I (also known by the company designation L6) was a German
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. Domina ...
of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. It was a conventional
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
design with a very small interplane gap - the top wing nearly touched the top of the
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
. Power was provided by a
Daimler D.IIIb
The Daimler D.IIIb was a V-8, water cooling, water-cooled, piston engine developed in Germany by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, for use in aircraft in 1918 in aviation, 1918.
Design and development
Little is known of the Daimler D.IIIb, (not rel ...
water-cooled V-8 engine.
Design and development
The L6 prototype competed in the second ''
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 ''Fliegert ...
'' competition for a new fighter design in 1918. The competition was held at Adlershof from 22 May through 21 June. This resulted in an order for 20 aircraft being placed.
History
Production commenced in 1918. Six examples were built by the time of the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...
, at which time production was abandoned.
[Gray & Thetford 1970, p. 315.]
Specifications (D.I)
References
Further reading
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{{Idflieg fighter designations
1910s German fighter aircraft
D1
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1918