Zeppelin-Lindau D.I

The Zeppelin D.I, or Zeppelin-Lindau D.I or Zeppelin D.I (Do), as named in German documents, also sometimes referred to postwar as the Dornier D.I or Dornier-Zeppelin D.I, for the designer,[2] was a single-seat all-metal stressed skin[3][4] monocoque[3] cantilever-wing biplane fighter,[3][4] developed by Claude Dornier while working for Luftschiffbau Zeppelin at their Lindau facility.[3] It was too late to see operational service with the German Air Force (Luftstreitkräfte) during World War I.

D.I
Role Single-seat fighter
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Zeppelin-Lindau
Designer Claude Dornier
First flight 4 June 1918[1]
Status Work stopped on production examples
Primary user Luftstreitkräfte
Number built 7
Developed into Dornier Do H Falke

Development and design
Zeppelin-Lindau (Dornier) D.I on trestle

The Dornier D.I was one of several designs by Claude Dornier to have an all-metal stressed skin[3] monocoque structure,[3] and it was the first fighter to feature such construction and although production was halted prior to the completion of any production versions, it was also the first aircraft with these features to go into production. To reduce the hazards of inflight fires it also had an external fuel tank which may have been jettisonable, according to some sources[2][5] and thick-section cantilever wings for improved aerodynamics. The Dornier Do H Falke monoplane was developed from it with an enlarged upper wing compensating for the removal of the lower wing.

Operational history

Seven prototypes were built for the development program but it was never used operationally due to the end of World War I. Luftstreitkräfte (German Air Force) pilots evaluated the type in May and June 1918 and again in October.[6][7] German ace Wilhelm Reinhard was killed on 3 July 1918 after a structural failure when it was supposed to have been grounded for structural improvements.[6] There were reports of heavy aileron controls and poor climb rates at altitude. After being fitted with a more powerful BMW IIIa inline-six liquid-cooled engine that reduced the time needed to rate to reach 5,000 m (16,000 ft) from 25 minutes to 13 minutes, an order was placed for 50 aircraft either in October or November.[8] These were roughly 50 percent complete when production was halted following the armistice in early 1919.[7] One example went to the US Navy and another to the US Army Air Service, both purchased in 1921 and delivered in 1922, for evaluation of the novel construction methods used.[7]

Operators
 German Empire
 United States

Specifications (BMW engine)

Data from Kössler, 1985, p.78

General characteristics

  • Crew: One
  • Length: 6.37 m (20 ft 11 in)
  • Upper wingspan: 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)
  • Upper Wing chord: 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)
  • Lower wingspan: 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
  • Height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
  • Wing area: 18.7 m2 (201 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 725 kg (1,598 lb)
  • Gross weight: 885 kg (1,951 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × BMW IIIa water-cooled 6-cylinder inline engine, 138 kW (185 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed Axial[12], 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) diameter fixed pitch wood propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 200 km/h (120 mph, 110 kn) at sea level
  • Service ceiling: 8,100 m (26,600 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 13 minutes to 5,000 m (16,000 ft)[8]

Armament

See also

Related development

  • Dornier-Zeppelin C.II - two-seater with conventional wings but similar fuselage and developed roughly in parallel.
  • Dornier Do H Falke

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zeppelin-Lindau D.I.

Citations
  1. Grosz, 1998, p.8
  2. Grosz, 1998, p.12
  3. Grosz, 1998, p.0
  4. Grey, 1970, p.580
  5. Kössler, 1985, p.78
  6. Grosz, 1998, p.1
  7. Grosz, 1998, p.10
  8. Grosz, 1998, p.9
  9. Grosz, 1998, pp.3-4 and 8-10
  10. "1908-1921 USASC-USAAS Serial Numbers". Joseph F. Baugher. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  11. Grosz, 1998, pp.10-13
  12. Grosz, 1998, p.2

Bibliography
  • Grosz, Peter (1998). Dornier D.I. Windsock Mini datafile. Vol. 12. Hertfordshire, UK: Albatros Publications. ISBN 9780948414923.
  • Gray, Peter & Thetford, Owen (1987) [1970]. German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-809-7.
  • Hundertmark, Michael; Steinle, Holger (1985). Phoenix aus der Asche - Die Deutsche Luftfahrt Sammlung Berlin (in German). Berlin: Silberstreif Verlag. ISBN 978-3924091026.
  • Kössler, Karl (1985). Dornier - Die Chronik des ältesten deutschen Flugzeugwerks (in German). Friedrichshafen, Germany: Walter Biering GmbH. p. 78. ISBN 3-925505-01-6.
  • Ogden, Bob (1983). Dornier - Flypast Reference Library. Lincs, England: Key Publishing. ISBN 0-946219-05-2. LCCN 0263-5887.
  • Schmeelke, Michael (2020). Zeppelin-Lindau Aircraft of WWI: Claude Dornier's Metal Airplanes 1914–1919. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 42. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-83-4.
  • Sheppard, Milton (Winter 1968). "Dornier D.I Static Test". Cross & Cockade. Society of WW1 Aero Historians. 9 (4): 391–395.
  • Staff writer (23 December 1920). "Some "Dornier" Milestones". Flight. Flight Magazine. pp. 1269–1273, 1289–1292.
  • Terry, Gerard (1981). "The Development of Dornier Landplanes 1914-1918". Cross & Cockade Great Britain Journal. Society of WW1 Aero Historians. 12 (3): 97–117.
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