The Pfalz D.VIII was a German
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 ...
fighter aircraft.
Development
The D.VIII was approved for production arising from German initiatives in 1918 to develop superior fighter aircraft. Its power unit, the
Siemens-Halske Sh.III
The Siemens-Halske Sh.III was an 11-cylinder, air-cooled counter rotary engine developed in Germany during World War I. The engine was a development of the earlier 9-cylinder Siemens-Halske Sh.I.
Design
The Siemens-Halske Sh.III was an 11-cyli ...
rotary enabled the type to achieve a top speed of at sea level. Armament was twin 7.92mm
Spandau machine gun
The MG 08 ( 08) is a heavy machine gun (HMG) which served as the standard HMG of the Imperial German Army during World War I. It was an adaptation of Hiram Maxim's 1884 Maxim gun design, and was produced in a number of variants during the war. Th ...
s.
Production
Forty units were completed but as this was very near the end of the war, they were used mostly for evaluation purposes.
Specifications (D.VIII - (Sh III engine))
See also
References
Further reading
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External links
YouTube May 2020 video of Mikael Carlson's authentic Pfalz D VIII biplane reproduction in ground-trials, with restored and operable Sh III engine
{{Idflieg D-class designations
1910s German fighter aircraft
D.VIII
Biplanes
Rotary-engined aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1918