Phoenix D types

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Phönix DI of the 228 series with a 200 HP Hiero motor
Frigate Lieutenant Wollemann (kuk Seeflieger) with his Phönix DI "A 97" near Pola

The Phönix DI – III were fighter planes developed for the kuk aviation troops by Phönix Flugzeugwerke AG in Vienna- Stadlau during the First World War .

development

The single-seater Phönix DI was a further developed version of the "Combat Double Decker" (KD) Hansa Brandenburg DI built under license by Phönix with a more powerful engine and new wings. In the summer of 1917, Kirste developed a prototype with the 185 hp Austro-Daimler engine. A KD fuselage (28.48) got newly designed wings. During the flight tests, however, it soon became apparent that the fighter was fast, but too clumsy and heavy in the air. After the fuselage was extended, the prototype was given the Phoenix number 20.14, the flight characteristics remained poor. Sparmann constructed new, roughly identical wings, which were mounted on the KD fuselage 28.50, new aircraft number 20.15. The prototype 20.16 was built with a larger upper wing with the KD fuselage 28.73, which again had poorer flight characteristics despite a 200 hp Austro-Daimler. The 20.16 was only tested as a pre-series aircraft type DI with new wings. Because of the urgent need for fighter planes, the Phönix DI was ordered for series production and it was only much later that attempts were made to improve maneuverability. It became apparent right from the start that the wings had to be structurally reinforced, which delayed delivery.

Three series (128, 228 and 328) of 50 pieces each were ordered from the Phönix DI, equipped with Hiero motors with 200 hp. Another 40 machines of the type DI or the latest version were ordered by the Austro-Hungarian naval pilots who urgently needed interceptors to protect their naval aviation stations in Pola and Trieste . The Navy's Phoenix interceptor single-seaters were given the naval numbers A97-104, A107-118, A156-205, later renamed J1-70. In contrast to the phoenix of the aviation troops, they all had the more powerful 230 hp Hiero engine installed.

In addition to minor changes, the improved version D.II had a new upper wing compared to the DI and a completely new horizontal stabilizer with equalizing rudders. The type D.II was also ordered in three series (122, 222 and 322), all with 200 HP Hiero engines. There was also the type D.IIa (422) with a 230 HP Hiero engine. About 110 D.II and D.IIa aircraft each were completed. The D.II reached the Italian front from May 1918.

Towards the end of the war, the production of the type D.III (222.100) started, in principle a D.IIa with wings without V-position, but with four ailerons and a simplified rudder. Now the problem of the poor accessibility of the machine guns was finally solved, which were now installed within reach of the pilot and had been equipped with flash suppressors to protect the engine .

Kirste designed a new type, of which two prototypes were built (20.24 with 230-HP Hiero and 20.25 with 225-HP Austro-Daimler); they had a completely redesigned fuselage with an oval cross-section and a significantly smaller wingspan; if built in series, it would have been type D.IV.

commitment

Phönix D.III in the Swedish Air Force Museum

The DI reached the front in autumn 1917, the D.II and D.IIa followed in June 1918. Its speed and climbing ability was remarkable, but it was less agile than its allied opponents, which was only improved with the D.IIa. The placement of the Schwarzlose machine guns under the bonnet remained problematic ; they were barely accessible to the pilot when the load was jammed.

The D.III was tested after the war by the Swedish army , which then bought 17 machines from Phönix and built another 10 in the army workshops in Malmen and equipped them with 185-hp BMW engines. When the " Flygvapnet " was founded in 1926, nine D.III were still in service. Later used as training aircraft, the latter were not retired until 1930; one machine remained in service as a weather aircraft until 1936 and is now on display in the Flygvapenmuseum , the Swedish Air Force Museum.

Technical specifications

Parameter Phoenix DI Phoenix D.II Phoenix D.IIa Phoenix D.III Phoenix D.IV
Usage Fighter plane
Construction year 1917-18 1918
crew 1
length 6.62 m 6.60 m
span 9.88 m 9.80 m 9.90 m 9.80 m 8.50 m
height 2.79 m 2.90 m
Wing area 25.00 m² 23.50 m²
Empty mass 665 kg
Takeoff mass 805 kg 810 kg 960 kg
Maximum speed in NN 180 km / h 185 km / h 195 km / h
Climbing speed to 1000 m 3 min 2:10 min
Climbing speed to 2000 m 7 min
Climbing speed to 3000 m 12 min 10 min
Climbing speed to 4000 m
Climbing speed to 5000 m 18 min
Summit height 6000 m 6800 m
Range 320 km 500 km
Flight duration 2 h 3 h 2 h
6-cylinder in- line engine , liquid-cooled Hiero; 200 hp Hiero; 230 hp Austro-Daimler; 200 hp
Armament 2 MG

See also

List of aircraft types

literature

  • George Haddow: The Phoenix Scout. Profile Publications No 175, Leatherhead, 1967.
  • Reinhard Keimel : Austria's aircraft. Graz 1981, ISBN 3-900310-03-3 .
  • Kenneth Munson: Fighter Planes 1914-19. Zurich 1968.
  • Heinz Nowarra : The Development of Airplanes 1914-18. Munich 1959.
  • Peter Schupita: The kuk Seeflieger. Koblenz 1983, ISBN 3-7637-5426-1 .
  • Bernhard Tötschinger, Walter Schroeder: Phoenix marine single-seater. ÖFH-Nachrichten, special issue No. 10, Vienna, undated
  • Jan Zahálka, Petr A. Tesar, Sigmund Tyrlik: Phönix DI-D.III. Hradec Králové 2005 (Czech)
  • Heinz Linner: Construction plans of the Phönix DI Type 128.

swell

Individual references / comments

  1. ↑ 18 D.IIa went to the Austro-Hungarian Navy