Pfalz D.VIII

The Pfalz D.VIII was a German World War I fighter aircraft.

D.VIII
Role Fighter
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Pfalz Flugzeugwerke GmbH
First flight 1918
Introduction 1918
Primary user Luftstreitkräfte
Produced 1918
Number built 40

Development

The D.VIII was approved for production arising from German initiatives in 1918 to develop superior fighter aircraft. Its power unit, the Siemens-Halske Sh.III rotary enabled the type to achieve a top speed of 120 miles per hour (190 km/h) at sea level. Armament was twin 7.92mm Spandau machine guns.

Production

Forty units were completed but as this was very near the end of the war, they were used mostly for evaluation purposes.

Specifications (D.VIII - (Sh III engine))

Data from German Aircraft of the First World War[1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 5.65 m (18 ft 6 in)
  • Wingspan: 7.52 m (24 ft 8 in)
  • Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
  • Wing area: 17.2 m2 (185 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 543 kg (1,197 lb)
  • Gross weight: 738 kg (1,627 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Siemens-Halske Sh.III 11-cylinder air-cooled geared rotary engine, 119 kW (160 hp)
  • Alternative engines (prototypes only):
  • Oberursel U.III 119 kW (160 hp)
  • Goebel Goe.III 104 kW (140 hp)
  • Propellers: 4-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 190 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn) [2]
  • Endurance: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Time to altitude: 6,000 m (19,685 ft) in 25 minutes
  • Wing loading: 42.9 kg/m2 (8.8 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.16 kW/kg (0.097 hp/lb)

Armament


See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References
  1. Gray, Peter; Thetford, Owen (1970). German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. pp. 502–503. ISBN 0-370-00103-6.
  2. Green, William; Swanborough, Gordon (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Salamander. p. 468. ISBN 1-85833-777-1.

Further reading
  • Cowin, H. W. (2000). German and Austrian aviation of World War I : a pictorial chronicle of the airmen and aircraft that forged German airpower. Osprey Pub. ISBN 1-84176-069-2.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.