Siemens-Schuckert D.IV

Siemens-Schuckert D.IV
Type:	Fighter plane
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Siemens-Schuckertwerke
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

Replica of a Siemens-Schuckert D.IV in the Bundeswehr Air Force Museum

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

• List of aircraft types

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

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

• 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

1. ↑ according to Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918. Lohse-Eissing, Wilhelmshaven 1977, ISBN 3-920602-18-8 only 119 pieces
2. ^ MilitaryFactory.com: Siemens-Schuckert D.IV Fighter - History, Specs and Pictures. Retrieved February 17, 2013 . 
3. ^ Karlheinz Kens, Hanns Müller: The aircraft of the First World War 1914-1918. Heyne, Munich 1973, ISBN 3-453-00404-3 .
4. ^ Bob Pearson: History in Illustration: Siemens Schuckert D.III. Retrieved February 17, 2013 . 
5. ↑ Wolfgang Bredow: Siemens-Schuckert D-III - fighter aircraft from 1918. Retrieved on February 17, 2013 .