The LFG Roland D.II was a German single-seat fighter of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The type was manufactured by

Luftfahrzeug Gesellschaft Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft, also referred to as LFG, was a German aircraft manufacturer during World War I. They are best known for their various "Roland" designs, notably the Roland C.II ''Walfisch'' (whale), Roland D.II ''haifisch'' (Shark) and ...

, and also by

Pfalz Flugzeugwerke Pfalz Flugzeugwerke was a World War I German aircraft manufacturer, located at the Speyer airfield in the Palatinate (German: Pfalz). They are best known for their series of fighters, notably the Pfalz D.III and Pfalz D.XII. The company went ban ...

under license.

Design and development

The D.II used a plywood

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

fuselage. Two layers of plywood strips were spirally wrapped in opposing directions over a mold to form one half of a fuselage shell. The fuselage halves were then glued together, covered with a layer of fabric, and doped. This design, which was known as the ''Wickelrumpf'', allowed the creation of a smooth, strong and light structure. The upper wing was attached to the fuselage by means of a large central pylon, greatly impairing the pilot's forward vision. Armament consisted of twin "Spandau" LMG 08/15 machine guns buried in the fuselage decking. The D.II was initially powered by a 160 hp

Mercedes D.III The Mercedes D.III, or F1466 as it was known internally, was a six-cylinder SOHC valvetrain liquid-cooled inline aircraft engine built by Daimler and used on a wide variety of German aircraft during World War I. The initial versions were introd ...

engine, giving a top speed of 105 mph at sea level. Later aircraft, designated D.IIa, were powered by a 180 hp Argus As.III. The As.III offered poor performance above 3,000 m and the D.IIa was mostly relegated to operations on the Eastern Front. Nicknamed ''Haifisch'' (shark) for its sleek appearance, the D.II and D.IIa proved generally unpopular in service due to poor fields of view and heavy controls. It was quite fast and strong, but had mediocre manoeuvrability and handling. However, it is also reported that the aircraft had particularly sensitive controls, particularly in the yawing plane.Cowin 2000, p. 49 The type is known to have been used by ''Jasta'' 25 at their Canatlarzi base in

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

in 1917.

Variants

* D.II: Single-seat fighter-scout biplane, powered by a 160 hp (119 kW) Mercedes D.III piston engine. * D.IIa: Single-seat fighter-scout biplane, powered by a 180 hp (134 kW) Argus As.III piston engine. * C.V: One-off two seat derivative with a 160 hp (119 kW) Mercedes D.III engine. * Pfalz D.II/D.IIa: aircraft licence-built by

, from February 1917 renamed Roland D.II/D.IIa (Pfal). There were built 100 D.II (s/n 2830-2929/16) and 100 D.IIa (s/n 300-399/17).Herris, Jack. ''Pfalz Aircraft of World War I''. Great War Aircraft in Profile, Volume 4. 2001. . P.27

Operators

; *

Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force ( bg, Военновъздушни сили, Voennovazdushni sili) is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and ...

; *''

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...

'' ** Jasta 25 **

Jasta 27 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 27 (german: Königliche Preussische Jagdstaffel Nr. 27), commonly abbreviated to ''Jasta'' 27, was a "hunting group" (fighter squadron) of the '' Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World ...

** Jasta 32 *''

Kaiserliche Marine {{italic title The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term wa ...

Specifications (D.II)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * Angelucci, Enzo (editor). ''World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft''. London: Jane's, 1981. . * Cowin, H. W. ''German and Austrian Aviation of World War I''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2000. . * Donald, David (editor). ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. London: Blitz, 1997. . * Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. ''German Aircraft of the First World War''. London: Putnam, 1962. * Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. ''The Complete Book of Fighters.'' London: Salamander Books, 1994. . * {{Authority control 1910s German fighter aircraft Military aircraft of World War I D.II Aircraft first flown in 1916