Fokker Dr1

The Dr.I suffered other deficiencies. The pilot's view was poor during takeoff and landing.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} The cockpit was cramped and furnished with materials of inferior quality.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}
Furthermore, the proximity of the gun butts to the cockpit, combined with inadequate crash padding, left the pilot vulnerable to serious head injury in the event of a crash landing.

Wing failures


On 29 October 1917, Leutnant der Reserve [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], Staffelführer of Jasta 15, was performing aerobatics when his triplane broke up.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} Gontermann was fatally injured in the ensuing crash landing.

Leutnant der Reserve Günther Pastor of Jasta 11 was killed two days later when his triplane broke up in level flight.

Inspection of the wrecked aircraft showed that the wings had been poorly constructed.

Examination of other high-time Dr.Is confirmed these findings.

On 2 November, Idflieg grounded all remaining triplanes pending an inquiry. Idflieg convened a Sturzkommission (crash commission) which concluded that poor construction and lack of waterproofing had allowed moisture to destroy the wing.

This caused the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to disintegrate and the ailerons to break away in flight.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

In response to the crash investigation, Fokker improved quality control on the production line, particularly varnishing of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and ribs, to combat moisture.

Fokker also strengthened the rib structures and the attachment of the auxiliary spars to the ribs.

Existing triplanes were repaired and modified at Fokker's expense.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}After testing a modified wing at Adlershof, Idflieg authorized the triplane's return to service on 28 November 1917. Production resumed in early December. By January 1918, Jastas 6 and 11 were fully equipped with the triplane.

Only 14 squadrons used the Dr.I as their primary equipment.

Most of these units were part of Jagdgeschwadern I, II, or III.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}Frontline inventory peaked in late April 1918, with 171 aircraft in service on the Western Front.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

Despite corrective measures, the Dr.I continued to suffer from wing failures.

On 3 February 1918, Leutnant Hans Joachim Wolff of Jasta 11 successfully landed after suffering a failure of the upper wing leading edge and ribs.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}On 18 March 1918, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], Staffelführer of Jasta 11, suffered a failure of the upper wing leading edge during combat with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] of No. 73 Squadron and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] of No. 62 Squadron.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} Richthofen was seriously injured in the ensuing crash landing.

Postwar research revealed that poor workmanship was not the only cause of the triplane's structural failures.

In 1929, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (NACA) investigations found that the upper wing carried a higher lift
coefficient than the lower wing — at high speeds it could be 2.55 times as much.

The triplane's chronic structural problems destroyed any prospect of large-scale orders.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Production eventually ended in May 1918, by which time only 320 had been manufactured.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}The Dr.I was withdrawn from frontline service as the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] entered widespread service in June and July. Jasta 19 was the last squadron to be fully equipped with the Dr.I.
Surviving triplanes were distributed to training and home defense units.

Several training aircraft were reengined with the 75 kW (100 hp) Goebel Goe.II.

At the time of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], many remaining triplanes were assigned to fighter training schools at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], Belgium, and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], France.

Allied pilots tested several of these triplanes and found their handling qualities to be impressive.

Postwar

Very few triplanes survived the Armistice. Serial 528/17 was retained as a testbed by the Deutschen Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (German Aviation Research Institute) at Adlershof.

After being used in the filming of two movies, 528/17 is believed to have crashed sometime in the late 1930s.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} Serial 152/17, in which [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] obtained three victories, was displayed at the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] museum in Berlin. The triplane was destroyed by an Allied bombing raid during [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Today, only a few original Dr.I artifacts survive in museums.

Replica aircraft

While no Dr.I airframes survive, large numbers of flying and static replicas have been built.

In 1932, Fokker built a Dr.I from the spare parts of various aircraft.

The reproduction appeared in the 1939 film D III 88. Bitz Flugzeugbau GmbH built two Dr.I replicas for use in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]’s 1966 film [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

One of these aircraft currently operates in the United States.

Since April 1994, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] has displayed a reproduction Fokker Dr. I.

It is painted in the markings of a Jagdstaffel 19 aircraft flown by Leutnant [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in April 1918.

Large numbers of replica aircraft have been built for both individuals
and museums.

Due to the expense and scarcity of authentic [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], most airworthy replicas are powered by a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] or [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] radial engine.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} A few, however, feature vintage [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] or reproduction Oberursel Ur.II rotary engines.

A replica of a German Fokker Dr1 from World War 1. Picture taken at La Ferté-Alais Air Show (France)

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]