Kondor Dreidecker

Excessive vibrations, even after an engine change, doomed the Kondor Dreidecker triplane fighter attempt of World War 1.

Detailing the development and operational history of the Kondor Dreidecker Single-Seat, Single-Engine Triplane Fighter Prototype.  Entry last updated on 8/8/2017. Authored by Staff Writer. Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com

Kondor Flugzeugwerke of Essen, Germany (then the German Empire) was committed to building Albatros B.II and B.IIa series biplane fighters during World War 1 until, in mid-1917, the company benefitted from the arrival of designers Walther Rethel and Paul G. Ehrhardt who, previously, had served with competing LVG (Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft). The first original aircraft put forth by the company then became the Kondor "Dreidecker", a triplane-winged single-seat, single-engine fighter.

In prototype form, this aircraft recorded a first-flight during October 1917. However, the design underperformed with its original engine (unknown make and model) and was re-engined with a Mercedes D.III 6-cylinder liquid-cooled powerplant of 160 horsepower output (this still driving a two-bladed propeller at the nose). In this form, the triplane did no better for excessive vibrations, unable to be overcome, ultimately doomed the project to the single prototype.

The Kondor D.1, a more conventionally-arranged biplane fighter design, was being developed at the same time but even this model appears to have fared no better.

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