Fokker D.VIII

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Fokker D.VIII

Type	Fighter
Manufacturer	Fokker-Flugzeugwerke
Designed by	Reinhold Platz
Maiden flight	May 1918
Primary user	Luftstreitkräfte
Produced	1918
Number built	approximately 289

Fokker E.V

The Fokker D.VIII (also E.V) was a late World War I parasol-monoplane fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz at the Fokker company. Dubbed the Flying Razor by Allied pilots, it had the distinction of scoring the last aerial victory of the war, but was otherwise better known for three lethal accidents due to wing failures.

1 Development
2 Operational service
3 Operators
4 Specifications
5 References
6 Related content

[edit] Development

In early 1918, Fokker produced several rotary-powered monoplane designs. Of these, Fokker submitted the V.26 and V.28, small parasol-winged monoplanes with his usual steel-tube fuselages, for the second fighter trials at Adlershof in May/June 1918. The V.28 was tested with both the 145 hp Oberursel UR.III and 160 hp Goebel Goe.III, though neither of these engines were ready for operational service. The V.26 was powered by the standard Oberursel UR.II engine, producing only 110 hp, but the V.26's low drag and light weight meant the V.26 was neverthess quite fast. The Fokker designs were only barely beaten by the Siemens-Schuckert D.III with the complex bi-rotary Siemens-Halske Sh.III engine.

In the end, the V.26 was ordered into production as the Fokker E.V. Four hundred were ordered immediately with either the UR.III or Goe.III. Because neither engine was available in any quantity, all production examples mounted the UR.II.

[edit] Operational service

Fokker D.VIII in Dutch markings

The first production E.V aircraft were shipped to Jasta 6 in late July. The new monoplane was also delivered to Jasta 1, Jasta 19, Jasta 24 and Jasta 36. Emil Rolff scored the first kill in an E.V on August 17, 1918, but two days later he was killed when his aircraft's wing collapsed in flight. After another E.V of Jasta 19 crashed, Idflieg grounded all E.V aircraft. Pending the investigation of these wing failures, production ceased at the Fokker Flugzeugwerke. According to Fokker, the wing failures were caused by the army technical bureau, which had forced him to modify the original design by strengthening the rear main spar. This faulty design allegedly caused the wing to twist and fail. Fokker claimed that this defect was resolved by reverting to his original design.

According to most other accounts, the source of the wing failures lay not in the design, but in shoddy and rushed construction. Fokker had subcontracted construction of the E.V wings to the Perzina Pianoforte Fabrik factory. Due to poor quality control, the spar flanges forming the upper and lower sections of the spar had been placed too far apart during the fabrication. Because the resulting spars were too large to pass through the ribs, excess material was simply planned away from the flanges, leaving the spars dangerously weak.

Tests showed that when properly constructed, the original E.V wing had a considerable margin of safety. Satisfied that the basic design was safe, Idflieg authorized continued production after personnel changes and improved quality control measures at the Perzina factory.

Deliveries resumed in October. At the suggestion of the Kogenluft (Kommandierenden General der Luftstreitkräfte), the Idflieg redesignated the modified aircraft D.VIII. Henceforth, the "E." and "Dr." designations were abolished and all fighters received the "D." appellation. The first new examples of the D. VIII started arriving at frontline units late that month and started operations on the 24 October with Jasta 11.

A total of 289 aircraft were produced, and some served in the post-war era. Eight (four according to other sources) E.Vs from the Polish Air Forces operated against Soviet forces in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-20. One of these planes was captured by the Red Army and used by the Soviets until the mid-1920s. Some planes reached Holland, Italy, Japan, the United States, and England as trophies, but most were scrapped in accordance with the terms of the Armistice. Today, the fuselage of one D.VIII has been preserved at the Caproni Museum in Trento, Italy.