- Yes!
- No!
The Fokker D.VIII was the last fighter-plane design fielded by Germany during the Great War, with the first planes, designated Fokker E.V, arriving in July 1918 at Jagdstaffel 6 (fighter-squadron 6). The first kill of this type was achieved by Lieutenant Emil Rolff on the 17th of August. Tragically, he died two days later due to wing-failure. It turned out, that the planes had issues with wing-structure stability, resulting in the complete grounding of all Fokker E.Vs until the fault was corrected. According to Fokker, this issue was a result of over-strengthening of the rear main-spar. However, other sources indicate it was a result of shoddy worksmanship, as Fokker had subcontracted some of the production to the Brothers Perzina Pianoforte Fabrik (factory), which had substandard quality-control, resulting in inferior timber being used for the wings, as well as spars being mounted too far apart.
After the issues were corrected by replacing supervisors and introducing basic control-measures at the Perzina factory, the plane was re-designated as Fokker D.VIII, with deliveries resuminng in October. A total of 289 E.V/D.VIII were produced, however after production resumed in October, only around 80 D.VIII were in possession of the German airforce by the end of hostilities.
The plane had, besides the issue of the early type, superb overall performance, being praised by pilots for the speed and maneuverability. The plane was similar in performance to the D.VII and comparable to allied fighters of the same time.
Two major variants existed, they had the same designation of D.VIII, however, their engines differed. The D.VIII was equipped with the “Oberursel Ur.” engine, a license produced variant of the Le Rhône 9J aircraft engine. Two variants existed; the original Ur. II had 110 HP, while the German modified Ur. III type engine had 160 HP.
Of the 289 built airplanes, only 26 received the improved 160 HP Ur. III type, while the other 263 planes were equipped with the baseline, and inferior, Ur. II pattern. This was not a significant issue, as the plane was among the lightest fighters of the war, and retained excellent performance even with the weaker engine.
For the sake of this suggestion, I will suggest the D.VIII with the Oberursel Ur. III engine, simply to give this plane a better chance to be added to the game, as War Thunder is primarily a game that starts in the interwar era.
Specifications:
Crew: 1
Length: 5,86m
Width: 8,34m
Empty-weight: 405kg
Takeoff-weight: 605kg
Top speed: 204 km/h
Service-ceiling: 7000m
Range: 300km
Flight-time: 1,5h
Engine: 1x Motorenwerke Oberursel Ur. III (160 HP)
Armament: 2x 7,92mm lMG 08/15
I think this would be a great addition to the game, especially if we ever see a “rank 0”, which personally I would adore to see. The Great War is a fascinating period, and being able to play more of the vehicles used and created during this period in War Thunder would be a dream come true!
