FokDR1

Fokker DR-1 Triplane

Designed as a response to the Sopwith Triplane, the Fokker DR-1 was already obsolete when it began to reach squadrons in late 1917.

The Fokker DR-1 Triplane:

Historical Notes:

The Fokker Dr-1 Triplane was built as a response to the British Sopwith Triplane, but contrary to popular belief, Fokker's chief designer Reinhold Platz did not use the Triplane as a model. It is possible that he had a chance to inspect one, and what is known is that Manfred von Richthofen actually test flew one and shared his impressions with the Fokker firm. The plane frantically designed by Platz was quite different from the Sopwith machine, with some significant advantages. Yet, the Fokker design firm had difficulty breaking through the pro-Albatros bureaucratic mindset within the German high command, a frustrating state of affairs shared by von Richthofen, who vented such in a letter penned in the summer of 1917:

"Our airplanes are inferior to the English in a downright ridiculous manner.... Besides better quality aircraft they have quantity. Our fighter pilots, though quite good, are consequently lost! The D.5 is so antiquated and laughably inferior that we can do nothing with it. Yet the people in the homeland haven't produced any better machine than this lousy Albatros in almost a year.... What's going on with Fokker? He has two machines that are superior to the Albatros, and neither has been produced. There is his unbraced biplane.... It is unquestionably faster and has better qualities in the curve than the Albatros D5, and yet is not built. I believe Schwarzenberger [within the Inspectorate of Flying Troops] is behind this. Furthermore, he [Fokker] has a triplane that is certainly no longer in the formative stages and has already shown exceptional climb and speed, that must be unreservedly supported and sent to the front in large numbers as soon as we have rotary engines. You would not believe how low morale is among the fighter pilots presently at the front because of their sorry machines. No one wants to be a fighter pilot any more."

[quoted from Morrow, "German Airpower.... p. 109]

Richthofen is quoted at length for two reasons: first, his name is forever linked with the Dr-1 and furthermore he had personal, intimate knowledge and experience with the German political machine,' a machine which was anything but efficient or qualitative. Apparently, Albatros enjoyed special relations with members of the German bureaucracy and this helped shut out competitors, even at the expense of pilots at the front. By the summer of 1917 the heady days of "Bloody April" were over. The German air arm was clearly in decline.

If the German pilots were to get the advantage on their foes, they would need a better plane. Fokker's triplane offered significant advantages over the British counterpart and other extant machines. The wing span was shortened, yet without reducing wing area. This helped make the plane inherently unstable, providing it with excellent maneuverability. The wings were based on the cantilever principle (built around one primary cantilever beam) while the fuselage was welded steel tubing reinforced with wire bracing and mostly covered with doped fabric. This gave the fuselage excellent strength while saving weight. The trailing edges of the wings were formed by wire, which gave the Dr-1's wings its familiar scalloped look. The standard power plant was a 110 hp Oberursel rotary, a copy of the Le Rhone French engine (license built via Sweden). The rotary engine provided the Dr-1 with a unique characteristic caused by the cylinders rotating around the shaft. The rotating cylinders caused a tremendous amount of clockwise torque (from the pilot's perspective), allowing the Dr-1 to turn much more rapidly to the right than left... especially at slower speeds. The effect was so pronounced as to be downright dangerous, and pilots flying the Dr-1 had to be very careful to become familiar with such. Once understood, flyers of the Triplane found it an excellent maneuver in a tight dogfight and it wasn't long until the new Fokker machine left the fields of France littered with broken Allied planes and dead aviators. This was aided by its twin machinegun arrangement, something the Allies had yet to field in quantity.

August 1917 saw the introduction of the Dr-1, and some of the best German aces flew the type. Von Richthofen, now able to shed his "lousy" Albatros, flew the Triplane exclusively until his death. Werner Voss (48 kills) loved his Triplane, and daringly took on superior odds. He died in a lone dogfight with a patrol of Se-5as led by Capt. McCudden VC in Sept. 1917. Ernest Udet (62 kills) flew a Dr-1 with his girlfriend's name stenciled to the fuselage. The type remained in service until the summer of 1918.

Voss' dogfight is of considerable interest. The British pilots of the 56th Squadron noted that several times Voss could have disengaged since he had gained altitude on them. Yet, each time he threw himself back into the fight. McCudden related one item which astonished him:

"To my amazement he [Voss] kicked on full rudder without bank, pulled his nose up slightly, gave me a burst while he was skidding sideways, and then kicked on opposite rudder before the results of this amazing stunt appeared to have any effect on the controllability of his machine." (quoted in "Aircraft vs. Aircraft" by Norman Franks, p43). Indeed, Rheinhold Platz had designed a remarkable aircraft.

The Fokker Dr-1 Triplane will always maintain its legendary aura, and is usually the symbol of German airpower in WW One. A total of 320 were produced.

Basic performance statistics: Fokker Dr-1 "Dreidecker"

Engine: Oberursel 110 hp

Weight: empty 893 lbs; loaded 1290 lbs

Maximum speed: 103 mph at 13,120 ft

Climb rate: initial climb to 3,280 ft- 2 min, 54 sec.

Service ceiling: 20,000 feet

Flight endurance: 1.5 hours

Basic Specifications:

Manufacturer: Fokker Flugzug-Werke

Dimensions: Span 23 ft, 7.5in; Length 18 ft, 11 in; Height: 9ft, 8.5 in; Dihedral: none

Areas: Wings 201.5 sq ft (including axle)

Fuel: 16.5 gallons

Armament: twin Maxim machineguns synchronized to fire through the airscrew; each gun could be fired separately.

Typical ammo load: 500 rounds per gun

Primary sources: "Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I, 1919 (1990 reprint); "British Aeroplanes, 1914-1918," J.M. Bruce; "German Aircraft of the First World War," Gray and Thetford; "Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War," Lamberton, et. al.; "German Air Power in World War I," Morrow; "The First Air War," Kennett; "Aircraft vs Aircraft," Franks; "Who Down the Aces in WWI," Franks; "Aircraft Camouflage and Markings 1907-1954," Robertson et al; "Military Small Arms of the 20th Century," Hogg and Weeks.

Fighting and winning in the Fokker Dr-1:

What can be said! The Fokker Triplane is one of the classic dogfighters of the era. It was inherently unstable, and difficult for a novice to fly. Some of this is built into the AIR file and is more noticeable in the "Hard" flight mode settings. Unfortunately, a way was not found to simulate the torque effects of the rotary engine, so it can flip sharply to either side. Of course, you can fly it with autorudder on, but this will rob the Triplane of its very charm... its sharp maneuverability. The flight model is still more stable than it should be, and this was done simply to make it a little easier for novices to fly. Consideration was given for the fact that many of us don't have countless hours to practice! If you give it too much rudder, it will slide into a spin. Recovery is not that difficult. Reduce throttle and give it just a little opposite rudder and the machine will recover. However, if you go into such a spin at low altitude you may not recover quickly enough before "spinning in" to the ground.

The flight model allows you to work the Dr-1 hard, which is unfortunately another non-historical aspect of the dynamics. The actual Dr-1 was somewhat delicate, the wings unable to handle rough handling and overly sharp maneuvers. But there was no means to incorporate such, and therefore, you can kick the plane around. Practice hard with it, forcing it into spins and rolls. Learn the quirks of the machine so you can use them in combat. It is one of the most aerobatic machines in the WW One era, and is only equaled in this respect by the Sopwith Camel, and to a lesser degree the Sopwith Triplane and Fokker D.VIII monoplane. A well-handled Fokker Triplane can turn inside on nearly every "honest" WW One plane on the Zone, while the twin Maxims provide the firepower necessary to finish the job.

Not only is the Dr-1 maneuverable, it also had a phenomenal climb rate. This can be crucial when positioning yourself for the attack. The Dr-1 is slow, so you must use the climb rate to get above your opponent and then dive down upon them (though historically you could not do this too steeply). Once engaged, use its superior turn to stay on your enemy until you shoot him down. However, a note of caution. While you are busy trying to get the guy in front of you, the "other guy" is closing in behind you and shredding the fabric from your wings with a hail of lead. So watch your back. This is not as serious in team games when you are flying with close cooperation and your partner is covering your back (though you still always check your "six"). But in loner games, where anything goes, you can become a victim really fast. Get your kill, then pull out of the fray, preferably climbing (unless you're being followed). If followed, turn sharply to shake him, and steer back into the fray. Hopefully he will be set upon by somebody else.

Because the Dr-1 is slow, do not try and out power many opponents, especially planes like the Spad13, Se-5a, or Fokker D.VII. These three machines can use "dive and zoom" tactics very effectively. Don't try and compete in this area. To take out the more powerful machines requires that your opponent is willing to fight. If he turns to take you on, out turn him, out roll him, out climb him, and flame him. Older planes (Albatros, Pfalz, Pup and Nieuport 17) will have difficulty competing with the Dr-1. Their own salvation will come in flying with partners. If they are alone, they are easy kills unless the heavier types have a height advantage and dive upon you. If you are the subject of a diving attack, one tactic is to wait until they are close (within 300 feet) or until they start shooting. Then climb and bank left or right, perpendicular to his angle of attack. This will reduce your exposure time to the enemy fire, and at the same time tempt your enemy to steer toward you and follow you..... setting him up for you to turn on him and take him out.

If you fly on the Zone alone, pick and choose your fights. Many guys on the Zone simply dive in and fight. It can be a lot of fun, but if you want to try simulating the real thing, hang out and pick your fight carefully. Dive in, turn on your opponent, flame him and then pull out. If followed, use the quick turns of the Dr-1 to turn on your opponent until he's yours. If you follow an enemy too long, somebody else will jump your tail and take you out. For the hard-core simmer, it is much more accurate to flame only one, maybe two planes in a session, and come out alive, than to shoot down 15, but get flamed 12.



	Fokker DR-1 Triplane


		Designed as a response to the Sopwith Triplane, the Fokker DR-1 was already obsolete when it began to reach squadrons in late 1917.

The Fokker DR-1 Triplane: Historical Notes: The Fokker Dr-1 Triplane was built as a response to the British Sopwith Triplane, but contrary to popular belief, Fokker's chief designer Reinhold Platz did not use the Triplane as a model. It is possible that he had a chance to inspect one, and what is known is that Manfred von Richthofen actually test flew one and shared his impressions with the Fokker firm. The plane frantically designed by Platz was quite different from the Sopwith machine, with some significant advantages. Yet, the Fokker design firm had difficulty breaking through the pro-Albatros bureaucratic mindset within the German high command, a frustrating state of affairs shared by von Richthofen, who vented such in a letter penned in the summer of 1917: "Our airplanes are inferior to the English in a downright ridiculous manner.... Besides better quality aircraft they have quantity. Our fighter pilots, though quite good, are consequently lost! The D.5 is so antiquated and laughably inferior that we can do nothing with it. Yet the people in the homeland haven't produced any better machine than this lousy Albatros in almost a year.... What's going on with Fokker? He has two machines that are superior to the Albatros, and neither has been produced. There is his unbraced biplane.... It is unquestionably faster and has better qualities in the curve than the Albatros D5, and yet is not built. I believe Schwarzenberger [within the Inspectorate of Flying Troops] is behind this. Furthermore, he [Fokker] has a triplane that is certainly no longer in the formative stages and has already shown exceptional climb and speed, that must be unreservedly supported and sent to the front in large numbers as soon as we have rotary engines. You would not believe how low morale is among the fighter pilots presently at the front because of their sorry machines. No one wants to be a fighter pilot any more." [quoted from Morrow, "German Airpower.... p. 109] Richthofen is quoted at length for two reasons: first, his name is forever linked with the Dr-1 and furthermore he had personal, intimate knowledge and experience with the German political machine,' a machine which was anything but efficient or qualitative. Apparently, Albatros enjoyed special relations with members of the German bureaucracy and this helped shut out competitors, even at the expense of pilots at the front. By the summer of 1917 the heady days of "Bloody April" were over. The German air arm was clearly in decline. If the German pilots were to get the advantage on their foes, they would need a better plane. Fokker's triplane offered significant advantages over the British counterpart and other extant machines. The wing span was shortened, yet without reducing wing area. This helped make the plane inherently unstable, providing it with excellent maneuverability. The wings were based on the cantilever principle (built around one primary cantilever beam) while the fuselage was welded steel tubing reinforced with wire bracing and mostly covered with doped fabric. This gave the fuselage excellent strength while saving weight. The trailing edges of the wings were formed by wire, which gave the Dr-1's wings its familiar scalloped look. The standard power plant was a 110 hp Oberursel rotary, a copy of the Le Rhone French engine (license built via Sweden). The rotary engine provided the Dr-1 with a unique characteristic caused by the cylinders rotating around the shaft. The rotating cylinders caused a tremendous amount of clockwise torque (from the pilot's perspective), allowing the Dr-1 to turn much more rapidly to the right than left... especially at slower speeds. The effect was so pronounced as to be downright dangerous, and pilots flying the Dr-1 had to be very careful to become familiar with such. Once understood, flyers of the Triplane found it an excellent maneuver in a tight dogfight and it wasn't long until the new Fokker machine left the fields of France littered with broken Allied planes and dead aviators. This was aided by its twin machinegun arrangement, something the Allies had yet to field in quantity. August 1917 saw the introduction of the Dr-1, and some of the best German aces flew the type. Von Richthofen, now able to shed his "lousy" Albatros, flew the Triplane exclusively until his death. Werner Voss (48 kills) loved his Triplane, and daringly took on superior odds. He died in a lone dogfight with a patrol of Se-5as led by Capt. McCudden VC in Sept. 1917. Ernest Udet (62 kills) flew a Dr-1 with his girlfriend's name stenciled to the fuselage. The type remained in service until the summer of 1918. Voss' dogfight is of considerable interest. The British pilots of the 56th Squadron noted that several times Voss could have disengaged since he had gained altitude on them. Yet, each time he threw himself back into the fight. McCudden related one item which astonished him: "To my amazement he [Voss] kicked on full rudder without bank, pulled his nose up slightly, gave me a burst while he was skidding sideways, and then kicked on opposite rudder before the results of this amazing stunt appeared to have any effect on the controllability of his machine." (quoted in "Aircraft vs. Aircraft" by Norman Franks, p43). Indeed, Rheinhold Platz had designed a remarkable aircraft. The Fokker Dr-1 Triplane will always maintain its legendary aura, and is usually the symbol of German airpower in WW One. A total of 320 were produced. Basic performance statistics: Fokker Dr-1 "Dreidecker" Engine: Oberursel 110 hp Weight: empty 893 lbs; loaded 1290 lbs Maximum speed: 103 mph at 13,120 ft Climb rate: initial climb to 3,280 ft- 2 min, 54 sec. Service ceiling: 20,000 feet Flight endurance: 1.5 hours Basic Specifications: Manufacturer: Fokker Flugzug-Werke Dimensions: Span 23 ft, 7.5in; Length 18 ft, 11 in; Height: 9ft, 8.5 in; Dihedral: none Areas: Wings 201.5 sq ft (including axle) Fuel: 16.5 gallons Armament: twin Maxim machineguns synchronized to fire through the airscrew; each gun could be fired separately. Typical ammo load: 500 rounds per gun Primary sources: "Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I, 1919 (1990 reprint); "British Aeroplanes, 1914-1918," J.M. Bruce; "German Aircraft of the First World War," Gray and Thetford; "Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War," Lamberton, et. al.; "German Air Power in World War I," Morrow; "The First Air War," Kennett; "Aircraft vs Aircraft," Franks; "Who Down the Aces in WWI," Franks; "Aircraft Camouflage and Markings 1907-1954," Robertson et al; "Military Small Arms of the 20th Century," Hogg and Weeks. Fighting and winning in the Fokker Dr-1: What can be said! The Fokker Triplane is one of the classic dogfighters of the era. It was inherently unstable, and difficult for a novice to fly. Some of this is built into the AIR file and is more noticeable in the "Hard" flight mode settings. Unfortunately, a way was not found to simulate the torque effects of the rotary engine, so it can flip sharply to either side. Of course, you can fly it with autorudder on, but this will rob the Triplane of its very charm... its sharp maneuverability. The flight model is still more stable than it should be, and this was done simply to make it a little easier for novices to fly. Consideration was given for the fact that many of us don't have countless hours to practice! If you give it too much rudder, it will slide into a spin. Recovery is not that difficult. Reduce throttle and give it just a little opposite rudder and the machine will recover. However, if you go into such a spin at low altitude you may not recover quickly enough before "spinning in" to the ground. The flight model allows you to work the Dr-1 hard, which is unfortunately another non-historical aspect of the dynamics. The actual Dr-1 was somewhat delicate, the wings unable to handle rough handling and overly sharp maneuvers. But there was no means to incorporate such, and therefore, you can kick the plane around. Practice hard with it, forcing it into spins and rolls. Learn the quirks of the machine so you can use them in combat. It is one of the most aerobatic machines in the WW One era, and is only equaled in this respect by the Sopwith Camel, and to a lesser degree the Sopwith Triplane and Fokker D.VIII monoplane. A well-handled Fokker Triplane can turn inside on nearly every "honest" WW One plane on the Zone, while the twin Maxims provide the firepower necessary to finish the job. Not only is the Dr-1 maneuverable, it also had a phenomenal climb rate. This can be crucial when positioning yourself for the attack. The Dr-1 is slow, so you must use the climb rate to get above your opponent and then dive down upon them (though historically you could not do this too steeply). Once engaged, use its superior turn to stay on your enemy until you shoot him down. However, a note of caution. While you are busy trying to get the guy in front of you, the "other guy" is closing in behind you and shredding the fabric from your wings with a hail of lead. So watch your back. This is not as serious in team games when you are flying with close cooperation and your partner is covering your back (though you still always check your "six"). But in loner games, where anything goes, you can become a victim really fast. Get your kill, then pull out of the fray, preferably climbing (unless you're being followed). If followed, turn sharply to shake him, and steer back into the fray. Hopefully he will be set upon by somebody else. Because the Dr-1 is slow, do not try and out power many opponents, especially planes like the Spad13, Se-5a, or Fokker D.VII. These three machines can use "dive and zoom" tactics very effectively. Don't try and compete in this area. To take out the more powerful machines requires that your opponent is willing to fight. If he turns to take you on, out turn him, out roll him, out climb him, and flame him. Older planes (Albatros, Pfalz, Pup and Nieuport 17) will have difficulty competing with the Dr-1. Their own salvation will come in flying with partners. If they are alone, they are easy kills unless the heavier types have a height advantage and dive upon you. If you are the subject of a diving attack, one tactic is to wait until they are close (within 300 feet) or until they start shooting. Then climb and bank left or right, perpendicular to his angle of attack. This will reduce your exposure time to the enemy fire, and at the same time tempt your enemy to steer toward you and follow you..... setting him up for you to turn on him and take him out. If you fly on the Zone alone, pick and choose your fights. Many guys on the Zone simply dive in and fight. It can be a lot of fun, but if you want to try simulating the real thing, hang out and pick your fight carefully. Dive in, turn on your opponent, flame him and then pull out. If followed, use the quick turns of the Dr-1 to turn on your opponent until he's yours. If you follow an enemy too long, somebody else will jump your tail and take you out. For the hard-core simmer, it is much more accurate to flame only one, maybe two planes in a session, and come out alive, than to shoot down 15, but get flamed 12.