The Fokker Dr.1 was a legendary aircraft used by the Imperial German Air Service during the latter half of World War One. In the hands of many skilled ace pilots of the Luftstreitkräfte it would gain recognition of being a very deadly aircraft. One of many aces that honed the aircraft was none other the Manfred von Richtofen, more famously know as The Red Baron.
History
In February 1917, the equally famous Sopwith Camel started to appear in the skies above the Western Front, overpowering the Albatros series of fighters which had previously been one of the best fighters to fly at that point in the war. German senior leaders knew that a solution was needed and needed fast. In 1917, Anthony Fokker of the Fokker aircraft manufacturer viewed a captured Sopwith Triplane while visiting the Jasta 11 squadron. Upon his return to the Schwerin factory he instructed Reinhold Platz, an aircraft designer working for Fokker, to design a Triplane fighter. The Fokker Dr.1 then first flew in July 1917, with it then being sent to the Western Front in August of the same year.
Compared with the Albatros and Pflaz fighters, the Fokker Dr.1 offered amazing mavoeuverability however it did lack in speed during level flight and sustained rate of climb, however this did not stop German pilots of the famous Jastas scoring many aerial victories with it. Here’s some of the more notable aces to fly the Fokker Dr.1:
Oberleutnant Kurt Robert Wilhelm Wolff of Jasta 11 was one such ace, being credited with 33 aerial victories over his time during the war. Wolff started flying the Dr.1 after he returned from injuries he received fighting against No.10 Naval Squadron. However just four days after Wolff started flying the Dr.1 he would be shot down and killed in another encounter with No. 10 Naval Squadron on the 15th of September 1917. The pilot credited with the kill was Norman McGregor in his Sopwith Camel.
Leutnant Werner Voss of Jasta 10 was an ace credited with 48 aerial victories. Voss would be given command of Jasta 10 on 30th of July 1917 where he would pilot the Dr.1 after it had been issued to his unit. Voss would fly it until his last stand on the 23rd of September 1917. Some hours after Voss had scored his 48th victory, he would fly his silver-blue painted Dr.1 against eight British aces. His actions during the fight would be described as “A dazzling display of aerobatics and gunnery”. Victory Cross winner James McCudden, one of the aces that fought in Voss’s last stand described him as, “The bravest German airman.” The pilot that would be credited with his shoot down was ace Arthur Rhys-Davids.
The most famous German ace to fly the Fokker Dr.1 and the highest scoring ace of the war is Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, best know as The Red Baron. Richthofen was credited with 80 aerial victories with the last 19 of his victories achieved in the Fokker Dr.1. During 1917 Richthofen would be given command of his own squadron, Jasta 11. Later during the war he would lead the larger fighter wing, Jagdgeschwader I, better known as The Flying Circus due to their aircraft being painted in bright colours. Richthofen would paint his Dr.1 a distinctive bright red after his Albatros D.III which he painted during his time with the aircraft. Richthofen was shot down and killed on the 21st of April 1918 flying over Morlancourt Ridge near the Somme River. He was pursuing a Sopwith Camel piloted by Canadian novice Wilfrid Reid “Wop” May of No.209 Squadron when he was shot with a single .303 round through the chest by Canadian Captain Arthur “Roy” Brown at which point Richthofen’s Dr.1 stalled and crashed into the ground near the Bray-Corbie road where he was found by Australian Servicemen. Richthofen was given a full military funeral with memorial wreaths inscribed with, “To Our Gallant and Worthy Foe”.
After the Treaty of Versailles the Imperial German Airforce was disbanded and no full Fokker Dr.1’s survived, with the last one being destroyed in an allied bombing raid of Berlin sometime during World War 2. Despite this large numbers of Fokker Dr.1 replicas and reproductions can be found in various museums. These were mostly built for the filming of the 1966 film The Blue Max. Two Airworthy Fokker Dr.1’s are in use with the Great War Display Team, they replicate 403/17 which was flown by Leutnant Johann Janzen of Jasta 6, an ace with 13 victories, and 556/17 flown by leutnant Ludwig “Lutz” Beckmann also of Jasta 6, he was an ace with 8 aerial victories. A an airworthy replica of the bright red Fokker Dr.1 was also made and was built by Paul Ford who is a co-owner of Derby Aero Club and has been seen flying in air shows partaking in replica dogfights, it now resides at the Imperial War Museum.
Performance
- Max Speed - 180kph (110mph)
- Stall Speed - 72kph (45mph)
- Range - 300km (190mi)
- Service Ceiling - 6,100m (20,000ft)
- Rate of Climb - 5.7m/s (1,120ft/min)
Specifications
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Weight
Empty - 406kg (895lbs)
Max - 586kg (1,291lbs) -
Engine
1 x Oberursel Ur.II 9-Cylinder Air-Cooled Rotary Piston Engine - 110hp (82kW) -
Size
Length - 5.77m (18ft 11in)
Height - 2.95m (9ft 8in)
Wingspan - 7.19m (23ft 7in)
Wing Area - 18.7m² (201sq ft)
*Armament
2 x 7.92mm Maschinengewehr 08 “Spandau” Machine Guns
Pictures
Dr.1’s of Jasta 26 at Erchin France
Manfred von Richthofen’s Dr.1, serial number 425/17.
The replica Fokker Dr.1’s flown by The Great War Display Team
The replica of Richthofen’s Dr.1 flown by Paul Ford of the Derby Aero Club
- Yes
- No
- 0.0
- 0.3
- 0.7
- New Reserve Aircraft (Move everything up by 1 BR)
- Have a separate TT for WW1 vehicles
- I Said No
- Standard TT (Lower than reserve tier, 0.0-0.7)
- Standard TT (Replacing current reserve tier, move everything else up 1 BR)
- Premium
- Event
- Separate WW1 TT
- I said I don’t want it
- Yes, they should be skins
- Yes, they should be premium aircraft dedicated to each ace.
- No, I don’t want the Dr.1 in-game
Sources
Wikipedia - Fokker Dr.1
The Aerodrome - Aces
Military Aviation Museum - Fokker Dr.1 Dreidecker 1917
Fantasy of Fight - 1917 Fokker DR-1 Triplane
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Fokker Dr.1
History Learning - Fokker Dr1 Triplane
The Great War Display Team
Daily Mail - The Red Baron flies again! Man spends £50,000 building himself an exact working replica of the German pilot’s Fokker triplane