Pfalz Dr.I

History

Triplanes briefly ruled the skies as military aircraft during the First World War (1914-1918). Its design provides unprecedented maneuverability and close-range handling, making it an ideal firing platform for air combat operations.

However, the battle cry of the air battle quickly regained speed as the call of the day and the triplane quickly fell out of favor in the major air campaigns of World War I - a design with little success. The Dr.

Palatinate I was developed by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke des Deutschen Reichs at a height of interest in triplanes, but it proved unreliable enough to limit its production to 10 planes, which began service in April 1918.

The aircraft features a typical three-wing layout, retaining the upper and lower wing sections of a traditional biplane, but adding a third element between the two existing aircraft. The wings are all supported by thick strut assemblies that form individual brackets on each side of the fuselage. The fuselage is very rounded and therefore rather streamlined, and the engine is metal-wrapped in the nose and drives a twin-bladed propeller unit. The machine guns (2 x 7.92mm LMG 08/15) were mounted above the nose and fired synchronously via rotating blades, with the pilot's open air cockpit just behind the guns (and below/behind the top wing element).

The tail uses the usual single tail (round) and a low horizontal plane. The landing gear is a trailing arrangement with the main legs on wheels and fixed in flight. The stern slipped to form the stern.

Dimensions include a length of 5.5m, a wingspan of 8.5m and a height of 2.7m. Curb weight is 1,125 lbs and MTOW is 1,555 lbs. The power supply is from Siemens-Halske Sh. The III 11-cylinder, 160-horsepower rotary gear engine could propel the aircraft to an altitude of 19,680 feet at 118 mph.

The flight time is about 1.5 hours.

From looks alone, this aircraft should have been a suitable contender for air supremacy from the Allied products of the time, but the choice of engine ended up making the product unreliable. A formal review of the aircraft noted that, in addition to its vigorous engines, it lacked speed, leading to the procurement and use of a small batch of only 10 aircraft in 1918.

The war ended with an armistice in November, and this Pfalz triplane attempt was subsequently included in the History of Aviation.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes