Fokker V.4 (Fokker D.VI)

History of Fokker V. 4 (Fokker D. VI)

Classic Triplane Fokker Dr. World War I reviewed several prototype fighter jets built by the company.

The entire line was inspired by the arrival of the Sopwith triplane in late 1916/early 1917, which was an immediate success for the Allies and boasted unparalleled maneuverability, high operating ceilings, and the Time for an excellent rate of climb on a heavier Fokker biplane.

Originally conceived as a combat biplane for the Austro-Hungarian government when ordered on 13 May 1917, with the advent of the Sopwith triplane, Fokker modified the type to be a combat triplane, and Equipped with a three-wing configuration (top, middle and base mounted) - this is how the Fokker V. 4 was born.

The wings are offset in front of the cockpit and behind the nose engine position. The fuselage of the general form of the aircraft is plate-side and has the usual features - fixed wheeled landing gear placed under the forward mass of the aircraft, a pair of horizontal tails and a (very rounded) vertical tail. The engine drives a standard two-blade wooden propeller in the nose, and the pilot sits in an open-air cockpit.

The aircraft was powered by a Le Rhone 9-cylinder 120 hp rotary engine.

Interestingly, the triplane wing configuration relies on a cantilever mount as no interplane struts are installed for extra support - which is not the same as the finished Dr. My Triplane yet.

In addition, the span of the upper wing assembly is larger than the span of the two lower wings, both of which have the same span.

The V.4 first flew in May 1917, with balanced ailerons and elevators installed for improved control. Wing flex proved to be a problem during these early flights, and "I" interplane struts were eventually added to the wings. A second prototype V.4 was ordered on July 5, 1917.

As a fighter-oriented development, the V.4 will carry 2 x 7.92mm LMG 08/15 series machine guns, firing synchronously through rotating propeller blades. They are mounted in front of the cockpit and shoot out over the nose of the aircraft in the usual way.

The V.4 was not submitted to the German Air Force for formal testing due to its high holding power, but was sent to the Austro-Hungarian authorities for review in late August 1917, while the Fokker focused on the other two triplanes Aircraft Design - Prototypes V. 5 and V. 6 (V. 5 became the direct basis for Dr.

I).

The performance figures on this page are purely estimates by the author.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes