You know that:
- The designer of this aircraft was the Dutch Anton Herman Gerard Fokker. He was a man with a complicated nature who was not easy to get along with. His whole life was guided by one principle. He only did what he enjoyed and what he didn't, he simply didn't do it. He behaved the same way in school, which he did not finish because of this trait. Despite everything, and maybe just for that, he built the best airplanes in the world in his time.
- The first flight of the Fokker D. VII took place at the beginning of 1918 from Berlin Airport, still under the designation V.11. The test pilot was the already famous Manfred von Richthofen at that time.
- The flight tests did not go as expected and the pair of Fokker-Platz designers had to redesign the aircraft.
- By stretching the fuselage, the plane gained extraordinary stability, and after the final flight, M. Richthofen called it the best German plane. This was enough for Fokker to receive the first order for 400 units.
- The capacity of the Fokker factories was not sufficient, and the German command forced A. Fokker to hand over the production license to Albatros and AEG. The expansion of production was not without problems. There was no documentation for the planes. Why? Because Antony didn't want to do it, and what he didn't want, he didn't do.
- Spare parts were not interchangeable, which significantly complicated wartime logistics.
- The new aircraft were deployed for the first time on the Western Front in May 1918. Immediately during the first missions, the clear superiority of the Fokkers became clear. A major restriction was the ban on skydiving. This maneuver was only allowed for pieces produced in Albatros factories, which were able to ensure sufficient production quality.
- Problems were also caused by the original Mercedes D.IIIa engine, which overheated to such an extent that the ammunition in the box spontaneously ignited due to the heat from the engine.
- Despite all the shortcomings, the Fokker D. VII was such a good aircraft that there was a saying among the officers: "give a bad pilot a D.VII and he will be an ace".
- The famous Fritz Rumey also served briefly on this aircraft, who later switched to another D.VII machine with a distinctive yellow color. According to the color of the plane, F. Rumney was also called "The yellow Fokker flier".
- A total of about 1,700 units were produced.
Technical parameters:
- wingspan 8.92 m, length 6.95 m, height 2.75 m
- weight of empty aircraft 700 kg
- maximum take-off weight 878 kg
- power unit Mercedes D. IIIA 6-cylinder engine with a power of 138 kW
- maximum speed 187 km/h
- maximum flight level 6,000 m
- fuel tank volume 91 l
- radius of action 1.5 hours of flight
- armament 2x synchronized machine gun Spandau MG 08/15 caliber 7.92 mm
Australian pilot Harry Cobby about Fokker D. VII.:
,, the Germans deployed this aircraft frequently. It was very manoeuvrable. At speeds where our British Sopwiths were falling into uncontrollable corkscrews, the Germans were still able to manoeuvre. The only way to win the fight was to use the higher speeds to the maximum."
Assembly instructions
