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Most experts agree that the Fokker D.VII was the finest all-around fighter plane of World War I. Designed by Reinhold Platz, the prototype was test-flown in a January 1918 design competition by a number of notable German airmen, including Manfred von Richthofen. The D.VII was the clear winner, and was ordered into immediate production at Fokker, as well as under license at two Albatros factories. The different production lines worked from separate drawings, and their respective D.VII output and parts were not completely standardized. Regardless, by late April 1918, the first D.VIIs arrived to waiting combat units. By the end of the war in November, 775 were in service.
Pilots found that the Fokker had good visibility and was a maneuverable but relatively easy ship to fly. The D.VII remained very controllable even at its altitude ceiling, and pilots were able to make it "hang on its prop" to fire upward at higher-flying Allied machines. Famous German aces such as Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, and Hermann Göring achieved great success in the D.VII. Allied aviators began to dread the appearance of the "straight wings" with their "coffin noses." Although it couldn’t reverse the declining fortunes of the German Army on the ground in late 1918, the feared Fokker D.VII was the only airplane mentioned specifically by name to be handed over to the Allies under the Armistice terms.
Fokker D.VII armament consisted of two 7.92mm Maschinengewehr (MG) 08/15 machine guns, with interrupter gear to fire through the propeller arc. These guns were sometimes referred to as "Spandau," in reference to the arsenal where much of the German small arms development and production occurred.
The Museum's reproduction aircraft was started by the noted aircraft replica builder Joe DeFiore. After buying the basic steel-tube fuselage from DeFiore, Doug Champlin shipped it to Jim and Zona Appleby, who later completed the aircraft for museum display. Equipped with an original Mercedes water-cooled engine and two Spandau machine guns, it is authentically painted in the unique lozenge-pattern camouflage of the period and carries the winged-sword emblem of German ace Rudolf Berthold.
Most experts agree that the Fokker D.VII was the finest all-around fighter plane of World War I. Designed by Reinhold Platz, the prototype was test-flown in a January 1918 design competition by a number of notable German airmen, including Manfred von Richthofen. The D.VII was the clear winner, and was ordered into immediate production at Fokker, as well as under license at two Albatros factories. The different production lines worked from separate drawings, and their respective D.VII output and parts were not completely standardized. Regardless, by late April 1918, the first D.VIIs arrived to waiting combat units. By the end of the war in November, 775 were in service.
Pilots found that the Fokker had good visibility and was a maneuverable but relatively easy ship to fly. The D.VII remained very controllable even at its altitude ceiling, and pilots were able to make it "hang on its prop" to fire upward at higher-flying Allied machines. Famous German aces such as Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, and Hermann Göring achieved great success in the D.VII. Allied aviators began to dread the appearance of the "straight wings" with their "coffin noses." Although it couldn’t reverse the declining fortunes of the German Army on the ground in late 1918, the feared Fokker D.VII was the only airplane mentioned specifically by name to be handed over to the Allies under the Armistice terms.
Fokker D.VII armament consisted of two 7.92mm Maschinengewehr (MG) 08/15 machine guns, with interrupter gear to fire through the propeller arc. These guns were sometimes referred to as "Spandau," in reference to the arsenal where much of the German small arms development and production occurred.
The Museum's reproduction aircraft was started by the noted aircraft replica builder Joe DeFiore. After buying the basic steel-tube fuselage from DeFiore, Doug Champlin shipped it to Jim and Zona Appleby, who later completed the aircraft for museum display. Equipped with an original Mercedes water-cooled engine and two Spandau machine guns, it is authentically painted in the unique lozenge-pattern camouflage of the period and carries the winged-sword emblem of German ace Rudolf Berthold.
