Fokker V.5 (Fokker F.I)

History of Fokker V. 5 (Fokker F. I)

Before the "Red Baron" made the Fokker triplane his final choice during World War I (1914-1918), the company took an incremental approach to perfecting the British Sopway Triplane inspired triplane design (see details elsewhere on this page). The Sopwith triplane debuted in February 1917 and was very successful and immediately changed Fokker's design plans with their early V.4 prototypes. This model was eventually passed on to Austria-Hungary for evaluation, and Fokker's work was carried out in parallel on the V. 5 and V. 6 triplane prototypes. The V. 5 - essentially an improved form of the V. 4 - beat the competing V. 6 and, for Fokker Dr. Me, was seen in the last years of the war.

V.5 is also known as "F.I".

The design of the V. 5 is credited to Reinhold Platz, who also designed the triplane prototypes V. 4 and V. 6.

As expected, the tri-wing arrangement was carried over from the earlier V.4 and involved many design features common to fighter jets of the period - open-air cockpit, wheeled fixed undercarriage, forward-facing The engine, a driven two-bladed wooden propeller and a traditional single-bladed tail. Power for the series comes from a 110 hp Le Rhone rotary engine.

Three V. 5 aircraft were completed and used to test the nuances of triplane flight.

The stage is now ready to move the production line to the Fokker V.6 - which also ends its days as a prototype, no more.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes