Zeppelin-Lindau D.I
| D.I | |
|---|---|
_D.I.jpg) |
|
| Role | single-seat fighter |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Zeppelin-Lindau |
| Designer | Claude Dornier |
| First flight | 4 June 1918 |
| Status | abandoned |
| Primary users |
Luftstreitkräfte United States Navy United States Air Service |
| Number built | 7 |
| Variants | Dornier Do H Falke |
The Zeppelin D.I, or Zeppelin-Lindau D.I or Zeppelin D.I (Do) (as named in German documents) was also sometimes referred postwar as the Dornier D.I or Dornier-Zeppelin D.I for the designer, was a single-seat all-metal stressed skinmonocoquecantilever-wing biplane fighter developed by Claude Dornier while working for Luftschiffbau Zeppelin at their Lindau facility. It was too late to see service with the German Air Force (Luftstreitkräfte) during World War One.
The Dornier D.I was one of several designs by Claude Dornier to have an all-metal stressed skin monocoque structure, and it was the first fighter to feature such construction and although production was cancelled 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 in-flight fires it also had an external fuel tank, which according to some sources may have been jettisonable, and thick section cantilevered wings for improved aerodynamics. The Dornier Do H Falke was similar, but had an enlarged upper wing and dispensed with the lower wing.
Seven prototypes were built as part of the development program. It was never used operationally, due to the end of World War I. Luftstreitkräfte pilots evaluated the type in May/June 1918, and again in October 1918. Despite German ace Wilhelm Reinhard being killed on 3 July 1918, as a result of a structural failure while supposedly grounded for structural upgrades, and negative reports at that time regarding its heavy aileron control and poor climb performance at higher altitudes, after being fitted with a more powerful BMW engine that boosted the climb rate to 5000m from 25 minutes to 13 minutes, an order was placed for 50 aircraft in October or November. The airframes for this order were roughly 50% complete when the production was halted in early 1919.
One of the prototypes 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.
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