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Euler D.II

1917 WORLD WAR 1

History

Success during the First World War (1914-1918) often meant that tactics and techniques were often imitated by the opposing side. This is reflected in the various technical implementations of both camps, especially in air combat.

A prime example is the successful French-built Nieuport 11 "Combat Scout," a single-seat, single-gun biplane that helped turn the tide of air combat in favor of the Allies in 1916. The success of this hostile platform prompted German authorities to urge local industry to replace machines to replicate, and the best representative to emerge from this effort came in the form of the Euler D.I.

The D.I was not a huge success and went through a period of development, with only two men coming to the front for training positions before the end of 1916. Flight tests did not take place until early 1917, with 50 previously ordered and 50 more added.

The latter top 50 order was converted to cover these newer, possibly more powerful machines, by replacing the engine to produce the D.II combat standard.

Between these two marks, the fuselage is largely intact, its signature feature being the change from the earlier Oberursel U.O. 7-cylinder 80 hp rotary engine to the more powerful Oberursel U.I. 7-cylinder 100 hp rotary engine.

The engine is still used to drive the two-bladed wooden propeller on the nose, and its capabilities include a top speed of 90 mph (slightly faster than the original D.I model) and an increase in the aircraft's rate of climb.

The armament is still a 7.92mm machine gun mounted on a fixed forward firing bracket above the nose and fired synchronously by rotating propeller blades.

In March 1917, the German authorities ordered 30 prototypes of this type to be used in combat. However, the production of these machines eventually proved slow in wartime conditions, and the first machines were not delivered until December.

Replaced by other mounts, the D.II is only used for combat training characters with little more blood. The war ended with an armistice in November 1918.