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Few aircraft of the World War I period have received the attention given the Fokker Dr.I triplane. Often linked with the career of the highest scoring ace of that war, Germany's Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen, the nimble Dr. I earned a reputation as one of the best "dogfighters" of the war. The Fokker Dr. I was ordered into production on July 14, 1917, in response to the success earlier in that year of the British Sopwith Triplane. The first Dr. Is appeared over the Western Front in August, 1917. Pilots were impressed with its maneuverability, and several, including von Richthofen, soon scored victories with the highly maneuverable triplane. Nineteen of Richthofen's last 21 victories were achieved while he was flying the Dr. I. Fokker built 320 Dr. Is; for a brief period production was suspended while the wings were redesigned to prevent in-flight failures. |
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By May 1918 the Dr I was being replaced by the
newer and faster Fokker D VII. No known original Fokker Dr. Is have
survived. This reproduction is painted to represent the aircraft flown by
Lt. Arthur Rahn in April 1918
when he served with Jagdstaffel 19. Rahn is credited with six confirmed
victories. The aircraft was placed on display in April 1994.
SPECIFICATIONS Span: 23 ft. 7 in. Length: 18 ft. 11 in. Height: 9 ft. 8 in. Weight: 891 lbs. empty/1,291 lbs. loaded Armament: Two 7.92 mm Spandau LMG 08/15 machine guns. Engine: Oberursel Ur II of 110 hp. or LeRhone 110 hp. Crew: One PERFORMANCE Maximum Speed: 103 mph. Range: 185 miles Service Ceiling: 19,685 ft.
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