The D.I was another of Ernst Heinkel's aircraft designs for the Hansa-Brandenburg firm (known formally as Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeug-Werke) during World War 1. The single-seat aircraft was categorized as a fighter, achieved first flight in 1916 and entered service with Austro-Hungarian pilots in the fall of that year. Though not without some notable (rather poor) handling issues in-flight, the type served in some number through to the end of the conflict and was known to make aces of some of her pilots.
Externally, the D.I was definitely a unique sort of aircraft design even when compared to her contemporaries. The fuselage was a deep though straight-lined and aerodynamic affair. The fuselage made vision out of the cockpit somewhat poor, adding only insult upon injury by the use of a biplane wing arrangement and a large forward engine compartment. The fuselage featured a raised spine extended aft to the empennage which itself sported some interestingly designed tail surfaces - of note was the rather smallish vertical tail fin. The pilot sat just forward of amidships behind and under the upper wing assembly. The equal span wings consisted of an upper and lower wing assembly joined to one another and the fuselage via a complex arrangement of crisscrossing struts that only added to the aircraft's distinct look. The wings were staggered in their placement, with the upper assembly set forward of the lower. The undercarriage was made up of a pair of fixed main landing wheels on struts joined to the underside of the fuselage while a simple tail skid was affixed to the rear underside. The engine powered a two-blade wooden propeller set low in the forward fuselage.
The D.I was meagerly armed with a single 8mm Schwarzlose machine gun fitted to the upper wing assembly within a clumsy-looking fairing. This was brought about through necessity for the complexities involved in synchronizing the Schwarzlose to fire through the propeller proved something of a grand mechanical undertaking. Installation of the weapon in the chosen fairing arrangement proved a drawback as it situated the machine gun far from the pilot's reach should he need to unjam the weapon. Conversely, it allowed for unobstructed firing over any spinning propeller - in a way becoming a simple solution to a complex problem. Several early British mounts took the same design course until the introduction of synchronized firing in the West.
Performance from the single Austro-Daimler 6-cylinder, air-cooled inline engine of 185 horsepower brought about a maximum speed of 116 miles per hour, a service ceiling of up to 16,400 feet and an endurance time of 2.5 hours. Hansa-Brandenburg D.Is produced in Germany were powered by a 150 horsepower Austro-Daimler powerplant (the 185 horsepower D.Is were produced in Vienna). While Hansa-Brandenburg handled production of 50 D.Is, Phonix of Vienna license-produced the type in a further 72 examples.
In practice, the D.I was limited in capability from the start. Handling proved something of a challenge for any level of pilot for the deep fuselage worked against the small vertical tail fin, limiting lateral stability of the airframe and promoting poor spin recovery. These attributes no doubt were a limiting factor for the D.I was produced in a rather lowly sum of 122 examples.
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(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
✓Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.
Length
20.8 ft (6.35 m)
Width/Span
27.9 ft (8.51 m)
Height
9.2 ft (2.79 m)
Empty Wgt
1,477 lb (670 kg)
MTOW
2,022 lb (917 kg)
Wgt Diff
+545 lb (+247 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Hansa-Brandenburg D.I (Type KD) production variant)
(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Hansa-Brandenburg D.I (Type KD) production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
1 x 8mm Schwarzlose synchronized forward-firing machine gun fitted in a fairing over the upper wing assembly.
Supported Types
(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 0
D.I (Type KD) - Base Series Production Designation; produced by Hansa-Brandenburg in Germany and Phonix of Vienna; German-produced aircraft yeilded output of 150 horsepower while Vienna-produced aircraft fitted a 185 horsepower engine.
Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.
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Austria; Austria-Hungary
