Pfalz D.VIII
| D.VIII | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Fighter |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Pfalz Flugzeugwerke GmbH |
| First flight | 1918 |
| Introduction | 1918 |
| Primary user | Luftstreitkräfte |
| Produced | 1918 |
| Number built | 40 |
The Pfalz D.VIII was a German World War I fighter aircraft.
Development[edit]
The D.VIII was approved for production arising from German initiatives in 1918 to develop superior fighter aircraft. Its power unit, the Siemens-Halske Sh.III rotary enabled the type to achieve a top speed of 120 miles per hour (190 km/h) at sea level. Armament was twin 7.92mm Spandau machine guns.
Production[edit]
Forty units were completed but as this was very near the end of the war, they were used mostly for evaluation purposes.
Specifications (D.VIII - (Sh III engine))[edit]
Data from German Aircraft of the First World War[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 5.65 m (18 ft 6 in)
- Wingspan: 7.52 m (24 ft 8 in)
- Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
- Wing area: 17.2 m2 (185 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 543 kg (1,197 lb)
- Gross weight: 738 kg (1,627 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Siemens-Halske Sh.III 11-cylinder air-cooled geared rotary engine, 119 kW (160 hp)
- Alternative engines (prototypes only):
- Oberursel U.III 119 kW (160 hp)
- Goebel Goe.III 104 kW (140 hp)
- Propellers: 4-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 190 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn) [2]
- Endurance: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Time to altitude: 6,000 m (20,000 ft) in 25 minutes
- Wing loading: 42.9 kg/m2 (8.8 lb/sq ft)
- Power/mass: 0.16 kW/kg (0.097 hp/lb)
Armament
- Guns: 2 × 7.92 mm (0.31 in) LMG 08/15 machine guns
See also[edit]
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References[edit]
- ^ Gray, Peter; Thetford, Owen (1970). German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. pp. 502–503. ISBN 0-370-00103-6.
- ^ Green, William; Swanborough, Gordon (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Salamander. p. 468. ISBN 1-85833-777-1.
Further reading[edit]
- Cowin, H. W. (2000). German and Austrian aviation of World War I : a pictorial chronicle of the airmen and aircraft that forged German airpower. Osprey Pub. ISBN 1-84176-069-2.
- Herris, Jack (2012). Pfalz Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 5. Charleston, SC: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-12-4.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pfalz D.VIII.