Siemens-Schuckert D.IV
Siemens-Schuckert D.IV | |
---|---|
Type: | Fighter plane |
Design country: | |
Manufacturer: | |
First flight: |
Late 1917 |
Commissioning: |
August 1918 |
Production time: |
May 1918 - summer 1919 |
Number of pieces: |
123 |
The Siemens-Schuckert D.IV was a single-seater fighter designed by Siemens-Schuckertwerke for the German air force from the final phase of the First World War and was considered the best fighter aircraft of the German air force.
development
From the prototype version D.IIc and the previous model Siemens-Schuckert D.III , graduate engineer Harald Wolff developed an altitude fighter with narrower wings under the designation D.IV , of which 280 pieces were ordered. With the wings only 1 m deep, the speed performance is improved compared to the previous model without sacrificing maneuverability or altitude.
As a further variant, the designer Wolff presented the Siemens-Schuckert DV in May 1918 during the comparison flight in Adlershof . In 1919 two high-decker Siemens-Schuckert D.VI were tested, the type, equipped for the first time with dropping additional tanks, reached a top speed of 220 km / h, achieved a range of 450 km, climbed to an altitude of 8,000 m in just 8.3 minutes and received the name Siemens-Schuckert EI . At the same time, a three-decker Siemens-Schuckert Dr.I was developed, but not completed.
commitment
First World War
The first D.IV arrived in April 1918 at Jagdgeschwader 2 for front testing. The first series aircraft reached the front in August 1918, but only about 60 aircraft were used in the Jasta 11, 14 and 22 squadrons by the end of the war. The machine was not easy to land because of the large propeller and high chassis , but it only needed a short runway and was easy to control. The aircraft had excellent flight communities, especially at altitudes above 4000 m, which were even superior to those of the Fokker D.VII .
After numerous comparative tests, the Siemens-Schuckert D.IV was named the best fighter aircraft available in October 1918. By the end of the war, only 123 D.IV could be produced.
Performance comparison
Performance comparison of single-seaters in the front line at the end of the First World War :
Surname | Country | First flight | Commissioning | Engine power | Max. speed | Takeoff mass | Armament ( MG ) | Summit height | number of pieces |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albatros D.III | German Empire | 1916-08-01 | 1917-01-15 | 170 hp | 165 km / h | 886 kg | 2 | 5,500 m | 1352 |
SE5a | United Kingdom | 1916-11-22 | 1917-03-15 | 200 hp | 222 km / h | 880 kg | 2 | 5,185 m | 5205 |
Sopwith Camel | United Kingdom | 1916-12-31 | 1917-06-15 | 130 hp | 185 km / h | 659 kg | 2 | 5,791 m | 5490 |
Sopwith Dolphin | United Kingdom | 1917-03-23 | 1918-02-15 | 200 hp | 211 km / h | 890 kg | 2 | 6,100 m | 2072 |
Albatros D.Va | German Empire | 1917-04-15 | 1917-07-15 | 185 hp | 187 km / h | 937 kg | 2 | 6,250 m | 2562 |
Palatinate D.IIIa | German Empire | 1917-04-15 | 1917-08-15 | 180 hp | 181 km / h | 834 kg | 2 | 6,000 m | 750 |
SPAD S.XIII | France | 1917-04-30 | 1917-05-31 | 220 hp | 222 km / h | 820 kg | 2 | 6,650 m | 8472 |
Nieuport 28 | France | 1917-06-14 | 1918-03-15 | 160 hp | 195 km / h | 740 kg | 2 | 5,200 m | 300 |
Fokker Dr.I | German Empire | 1917-07-05 | 1917-09-01 | 130 hp | 160 km / h | 585 kg | 2 | 6,500 m | 420 |
Sopwith Snipe | United Kingdom | 1917-10-31 | 1918-08-30 | 230 hp | 195 km / h | 955 kg | 2 | 6,100 m | 497 |
LFG Roland D.VIa | German Empire | 1917-11-30 | 1918-05-15 | 160 hp | 190 km / h | 820 kg | 2 | 5,500 m | 353 |
Siemens-Schuckert D.IV | German Empire | 1917-12-31 | 1918-08-15 | 160 hp | 190 km / h | 735 kg | 2 | 8,000 m | 123 |
Fokker D.VII | German Empire | 1918-01-24 | 1918-04-15 | 180 hp | 189 km / h | 910 kg | 2 | 6,000 m | 800 |
Fokker D.VIIF | German Empire | 1918-01-24 | 1918-04-15 | 226 hp | 205 km / h | 910 kg | 2 | 7,000 m | 200 |
Palatinate D.VIII | German Empire | 1918-01-24 | 1918-09-15 | 160 hp | 190 km / h | 740 kg | 2 | 7,500 m | 120 |
Palatinate D.XII | German Empire | 1918-03-31 | 1918-07-15 | 160 hp | 180 km / h | 902 kg | 2 | 5,640 m | 750 |
Fokker D.VIII | German Empire | 1918-05-31 | 1918-07-31 | 110 hp | 204 km / h | 605 kg | 2 | 6,300 m | 289 |
Post-war use
Series production continued after the end of the war and the machines that were no longer accepted by the military were sold to private customers. The Schweizer Flugwaffe acquired a number of aircraft and used them until the late 1920s.
A replica of a D.IV is on display in the Military History Museum (formerly the Bundeswehr Air Force Museum ) on the Berlin-Gatow airfield .
Technical specifications
Parameter | Data |
---|---|
crew | 1 |
length | 5.70 m |
span | 8.35 m |
height | 2.70 m |
Wing area | 15.12 m² |
Empty mass | 540 kg |
Takeoff mass | 735 kg |
engine | an eleven-cylinder rotary engine Siemens & Halske Sh.IIIa with 210 PS (154 kW) |
Top speed | 190 km / h |
Rise time | at 1000 m: 1.9 min |
Rise time | at 3000 m: 6.4 min |
Rise time | at 5000 m: 12.1 min |
Rise time | at 6000 m: 15.5 min |
Rise time | at 8100 m: 36 min |
Service ceiling | 8000 m |
Range | 380 km |
Flight duration | 2 h |
Armament | two MG 08/15 |
See also
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 ).
- Peter M. Grosz: SSW D.III - D.IV. Windsock Datafile 29, Albatros Productions Ltd. 1991, ISBN 0-948414-33-2 .
- Kenneth Munson: Fighter Planes 1914-19. Zurich 1968.
- 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
- The Siemens Type D IV Single-Seater Fighter. Flight International , March 13, 1919, pp. 332–339 , accessed June 30, 2014 .
- Description accessed on February 17, 2013
Individual references / comments
- ↑ according to Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918. Lohse-Eissing, Wilhelmshaven 1977, ISBN 3-920602-18-8 only 119 pieces
- ^ MilitaryFactory.com: Siemens-Schuckert D.IV Fighter - History, Specs and Pictures. Retrieved February 17, 2013 .
- ^ Karlheinz Kens, Hanns Müller: The aircraft of the First World War 1914-1918. Heyne, Munich 1973, ISBN 3-453-00404-3 .
- ^ Bob Pearson: History in Illustration: Siemens Schuckert D.III. Retrieved February 17, 2013 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Bredow: Siemens-Schuckert D-III - fighter aircraft from 1918. Retrieved on February 17, 2013 .