Allgemeine Elektricitats-Gesellschaft AG (AEG) served the German Empire in World War 1 (1914-1918) as an aircraft maker. Among their contributions was the short-lived AEG D.I biplane fighter. This design managed only three prototypes for its time and a first-flight was held during May 1917. The AEG Dr.I was an off-shoot of the series, developed along the lines of a triplane fighter. It was no more successful with just one example constructed.
The D.I marked the first fighter to be developed by the company and it incorporated traditional biplane qualities - an over-under wing arrangement, fixed wheeled undercarriage (tail-dragger), and open-air cockpit. The wings were slightly unequal span with a single bay each and single struts reinforced the members outboard of the fuselage. The pilot sat in an open-air cockpit under and aft of the upper wing assembly. The engine was fitted forward of the pilot in a streamlined housing and drove a two-bladed propeller at the nose. Internally there was a steel-tubed understructure and fabric skinning was used along the wing surfaces. Proposed armament was 2 x 7.92mm LMG 08/15 machine guns set over the nose and synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades. Power was from a Daimler D.IIIa 6-cylinder liquid-cooled inline piston engine of 160 horsepower.
As tested, the D.I managed a top speed of 127 miles per hour and ranged out to 300 miles. Its service ceiling was 16,000 feet and initial rate-of-climb reached 1,313 feet per minute.
A total of three prototypes were eventually completed by AEG with the first arriving in May of 1917. Between August and September of that year, the aircraft saw a lengthening of its fuselage to improve stability. The radiators were changed in the second and third prototypes.
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Specifications
Allgemeine Elektricitats-Gesellschaft AG (AEG) - Imperial Germany Manufacturer(s)
AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.
X-PLANE
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.
20.0 ft (6.10 meters) Length
27.9 ft (8.50 meters) Width/Span
8.7 ft (2.65 meters) Height
1,510 lb (685 kilograms) Empty Weight
2,072 lb (940 kilograms) Maximum Take-Off Weight
+562 lb (+255 kg) Weight Difference
1 x Daimler D.IIIa 6-cylinder liquid-cooled inline piston engine developing 160 horsepower and driving a two-bladed propeller at the nose. Propulsion
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