Halberstadt D.I

History of Halberstadt D. I

The German Halberstadter Flugzeugwerke (halberstadt) made its first foray into fighter jet design with the 1915 "D.I". The design was a smaller version of the company's B.II product and had many of the qualities of fighter jets of the time - a biplane wing structure, fixed landing gear and an open-air cockpit.

The D.I initially failed to impress the German authorities, with only two prototypes completed on the line - but the work went into the manufacture of the more refined D.II model (detailed elsewhere on this site).

The D.I differed from the earlier B.II in that it had a smaller wing area and the attachments were staggered. As a fighter, it was also armed with a 7.92mm MG08 machine gun mounted on a fixed forward mount. The engine was mounted on the nose as usual, driving a two-bladed propeller unit. The radiator elements protrude significantly from the nose, limiting forward visibility somewhat.

The hull features the plank sides and the stern in a conventional arrangement.

The first of two prototypes was built for testing with a 120 hp Argus As II engine and recorded its maiden flight in late autumn 1915. The second is a 100-horsepower Mercedes D.I. The latter offer was so promising that a dozen orders were placed in March 1916.

During the evaluation, however, it was determined that the aircraft lacked certain qualities, which, after improvements, led to the development of the "D. II", described elsewhere on this website.

For the record, the D.I has a wingspan of 28.9 feet, an empty weight of 1,210 pounds, and a maximum takeoff weight of 1,630 pounds. Much of its performance data is unknown.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes