Halberstadt D.II / D.III

History

The Halberstadt D.II is the embodiment of an early D.I prototype, of which only two were completed (and detailed elsewhere on this page). A more refined form, the D.II eliminates the bulky radiator seats of the previous model and improves cockpit visibility by raising the pilot's position.

In all other respects, however, the D.II remained faithful to the D.I, retaining the wings, fuselage, tail and 1 x 7.92mm LMG 08/15 machine gun mounted on the starboard side. Power for the new aircraft comes from a Mercedes D.II 6-cylinder 120 hp engine that drives a two-bladed propeller in the nose.

Early D.II aircraft were also equipped with the D.I's balanced ailerons, but these were dropped later in the production run and replaced with an unbalanced chord width setting.

The design of the aircraft is credited to Calthes.

The production of the D.II model was based on the evaluation of the D.I, starting with a batch order of 12, followed by an order of 24 fighters. Comes in two forms, D.II and D.III, the latter equipped with Argus As. 120's II engine (initially installed on the 1915 D.I prototype).

Another 30 D.III models that followed were replaced by improved D.V variants while still on the production line. Licensed manufacturing of the D.II was also undertaken by competitors Aviatik and Hannover, supplying the Aviatik D.I and Hannover D.I respectively, adding a total of 30 aircraft to each company.

As powerful as the D.II served in the war, but its now obsolete nature led it to withdraw from front-line combat as early as 1917 - such is the speed of wartime technology.

Halberstadt D. II also fought for the Ottoman army in the Middle East.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes