Siemens-Schuckert D.III

Siemens-Schuckert D.III
	; Original engine cowling and big spinner
Type:	Fighter plane
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Siemens-Schuckertwerke GmbH , Siemensstadt ( Spandau district near Berlin)
First flight:	October 1917
Commissioning:	January 1918
Production time:	October 1917 to autumn 1918
Number of pieces:	about 80

The Siemens-Schuckert D.III was the end of the First World War by the Siemens-Schuckert constructed and on German side in the air force employed single-seat biplane - fighter .

development

The D.III was developed by engineer Harald Wolff from a series of D.II prototypes to the new Siemens-Halske Sh.iii - rotary engine to use. The D.II, D.IIa and D.IIb were tested with the new engines from June 1917, later the test types D.IIc followed. The last prototypes designated as D.IIe were renamed D.III .

commitment

Air-cooled rotary motor with a shortened bonnet

On December 26, 1917, the Air Force Inspection ordered a first pilot series of 20 aircraft with the numbers D.8340 / 17 to D.8359 / 17, which were delivered to the front from January 1918. Another order for 30 pieces was placed in February 1918. The pilots of Jagdgeschwader 2 were the first to receive the new machine, but after a while complained that the new Sh.III engine tended to overheat and, when using conventional lubricating oil, there was a risk of piston seizure and crankshaft breakage after just 10 hours of operation . Siemens-Schuckert therefore had to take back the aircraft they delivered and cut a piece out of the round engine hood for better cooling and reduced the size of the propeller hood ( spinner ). The commander of Jagdgeschwader 2, Captain Rudolf Berthold , urged that the combat aircraft be repaired for front-line use as soon as possible, as they promise to become the best single-seaters at the front once the teething problems have been eliminated. When the aircraft came back into service in July 1918, the order had meanwhile been increased to 200 units. Despite the average speed, the D.III and its successor D.IV, which appeared soon afterwards, now proved to be excellent fighters. No other aircraft of this time achieved their climbing performance , which made them particularly suitable for use as interceptors in the combat single-seater squadrons of Homeland Security.

A number of famous World War II pilots flew the Siemens-Schuckert D.III, including Lieutenant Ernst Udet (with the red paint on Jagdgeschwader 1), Lieutenant Fritz Beckhardt (a green plane with swastikas), Lieutenant Joseph Veltjens and Lieutenant Olivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay (Both machines with a blue-red paint job for Jagdstaffel 15).

Comparison of performance around May 1918

Surname	country	Engine power	Max. speed	Takeoff mass	Armament	Summit height
Siemens-Schuckert D.III	German Empire German Empire	160 hp	180 km / h	725 kg	2	8000 m
Fokker D.VIII	German Empire German Empire	110 hp	204 km / h	605 kg	2	6300 m
SPAD S.XIII	France France	220 hp	222 km / h	820 kg	2	6650 m
Sopwith Camel	United Kingdom 1801 United Kingdom	130 hp	185 km / h	659 kg	2 and four 11.3 kg bombs	5791 m
SE5a	United Kingdom 1801 United Kingdom	200 hp	222 km / h	880 kg	2	5185 m

Associations that use Siemens-Schuckert D.III

German Empire German Empire :
- Hunting squadrons (western front):
  - Jasta 2
  - Jasta 4
  - Jasta 12
  - Jasta 13
  - Jasta 15
  - Jasta 19th
  - Jasta 26
  - Jasta 27
  - Jasta 36
- Combat single-seater squadrons (homeland security):
  - Kest 4a
  - Kest 4b
  - Kest 5
  - Kest 6
  - Kest 8
- School units:
  - Hunting relay school No. 1

Swiss Air Force

Technical specifications

Three-sided view Siemens-Schuckert D.III with wing and spar section

Parameter	Data
crew	1
length	5.75 m
span	8.43 m
Tail span	2.17 m
Wing depth (top)	1.47 m
height	2.80 m
Wheelbase	1.70 m
Wing area	18.84 m²
Empty mass	523 kg
Takeoff mass	725 kg
Engine	an eleven-cylinder rotary engine Siemens & Halske Sh.III , 210 PS (approx. 150 kW )
Top speed	190 km / h
Rise time	at 1000 m: 1.75 min at 2000 m: 3.75 min at 3000 m: 6 min at 5000 m: 13 min at 6000 m: 20 min at 7000 m: 35 min
Service ceiling	8100 m
Range	360 km
Flight duration	2 h
Armament	two MG 08/15

literature

Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi: The planes. From the beginning to the First World War . Falken-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-8068-0391-9 , ( Falken manual in color ).
Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War , Lamberton / Cheesman / Russell, Harleyford Publ. Ltd., Letchworth 1964, page 168/169, ISBN 0-8306-8350-X
Profile Publications No. 86, The Siemens Schuckert D.III / D.IV 1966
Magazine: Aircraft Illustrated, No. 9 1971
Kenneth Munson: Warplanes 1914-1919. Orell Füssli Verlag, 2nd edition, Zurich 1976, page 72 & pages 155/156, ISBN 3-280-00824-7
Magazine: Air International, April 1982
German Aircraft of the First World War , Gray P. & Thetford O., Putnam 1962, 3rd edition 1987, page 213-217, ISBN 0-85177-809-7
Aircraft Archive, Aircraft of World War One, Volume 3, Argus Books 1989, page 70/71, ISBN 0-85242-998-3
Peter M. Grosz: SSW D.III – D.IV , Windsock Datafile 29, Albatros Productions Ltd. 1991, ISBN 0-948414-33-2
Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 . Lohse-Eissing, Wilhelmshaven 1977, ISBN 3-920602-18-8 .
Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Airplanes 1914–1918 . Lehmanns, Munich 1959.

Web links

Commons : Siemens-Schuckert D.III - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Description accessed February 17, 2013
Description accessed February 17, 2013

Individual evidence

↑ See [1] accessed on February 17, 2013.
↑ cf. [2] accessed on February 17, 2013

[1] See [1] accessed on February 17, 2013.

[2] . [2] accessed on February 17, 2013