The D.I and D.II were flown during First World War by the Austro-Hungarian Flying Service, a few being fitted with cameras for high-speed aerial photo-reconnaissance work. Seventeen of the final batch of 122 Phonix D.IIs were completed as improved variants and transferred to the Swedish Army Air Service after the war.
Sweden built 15 of the WW1 Phoenix D2 and designated the type J-1.
The D.I and D.II were flown during First World War by the Austro-Hungarian Flying Service, a few being fitted with cameras for high-speed aerial photo-reconnaissance work.
Powered by a Hiero IV engine and designed by Ing. Hieronymus some were made at Skoda Mlada Boleslav Company in Bohemia.
The aircraft used by the Austrian Air Force for recce duties.
Phoenix C 1
Engine: Hiero, IV 230 hp
Span: 11 m
Length: 7.5 m
Empty weight: 820 kg
Loaded weight: 1240 kg
Maximum speed: 176 km.p.h
Service ceiling: 6 000 m
Endurance: 3 hr
Armament: one synchronized machine gun plus one flanking the cockpit
Seats: Two
Austria
This company manufactured a series of Phonix single-seat fighter aircraft powered by Austro-Daimler engines. The D.I and D.II were flown during First World War by the Austro-Hungarian Flying Service, a few being fitted with cameras for high-speed aerial photo-reconnaissance work. Seventeen of the final batch of 122 Phonix D.IIs were completed as improved variants and transferred to the Swedish Army Air Service after the war.
This aircraft was a biplane version of the E V monoplane. It was to the Walfisch format, with deep gap-filling fuselage and car-type radiator at the nose. Although not confirmed, the engine is thought to have been 100 h.p. Mercedes D I.
The Pfalz D 4 was the first biplane fighter design from Pfalz. With a fuselage resembling the earlier Pfalz E.V, the D 4 was powered by a 150 hp Benz Bz.III engine. The cutouts in the sides of the cockpit gave the pilot better visibility downwards to the front.
The Pfalz D 4 version without fixed fin or headrest is shown here. The exhaust pipe was also longer than that of the version with fixed fin and headrest. Iron crosses are painted on both sides of the elevators like Pfalz E-types.
The Pfalz Dr.I was a German fighter prototype of World War I. Official interest in the potential of the triplane configuration for single-seat fighters prompted Pfalz to develop the Dr.I. It underwent initial testing in October 1917, and an initial batch of 10 aircraft were shipped to the Front and arrived in April 1918.
Service pilots involved in testing the Dr.I considered it too slow and its Sh III engine too unreliable for frontline use and no further examples were produced. Jasta 73 was equipped with this aircraft in 1918.
Powerplant: 1 × Siemens-Halske Sh.III, 119 kW (160 hp)
Propeller: 2-bladed fixed-pitch
Wingspan: 8.55 m (28 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 17.2 m2 (185 sq ft)
Length: 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
Height: 2.76 m (9 ft 1 in)
Empty weight: 510 kg (1,124 lb)
Gross weight: 705 kg (1,554 lb)
Maximum speed: 190 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn) at 4,000 m (13,123 ft)
Service ceiling: 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
Time to 1,000 m (3,281 ft): 1 minutes 42 seconds
Time to 3,000 m (9,843 ft): 6 minutes 12 seconds
Time to 5,000 m (16,404 ft): 13 minutes 30 seconds
Armament: 2 x synchronised LMG 08/15 machine guns
Crew: 1
The last Pfalz design to be built in numbers was the D XII fighter, a type designed for the second German tighter competition held in May 1918. In layout the type was a sturdy twin-bay biplane with a plywood-covered semi-monocoque tuselage, a large tailplane and horn-balanced control surtaces. The prototype first flew with the Mercedes D.llla inline, but in the competition examples were flown with the Mercedes DIII and BMW Ill engines. The D XII was ordered into production mainly as an insurance against problems with the Fokker D VIII, and was generally used by Bavarian units. After initial disappointment that they had not received the Fokker tighter, these units soon came to appreciate the very real virtues of the Pfalz machine, which were adequate performance, good agility and extreme strength. Production totalled some 200 aircraft.
The two-spar wings, with plywood leading edges, had wire trailing edges, and ailerons on the top wing only. The fin and control surfaces were welded steel tube construction.
The D.XII equipped ten frontline squadron in the last three month of the war.
Pfalz DXII
Powerplant: l x Mercedes D.IIIa, 134kW (180 hp)
Span: 9m (29ft 6.25 in)
Wing area: 233.6 sq.ft
Length: 6.35m (20ft 10 in)
Height: 8 ft 10.25 in
Empty weight: 1578 lb
Max T/O weight: 900 kg (1984 lb)
Fuel capacity: 18.75 Imp.Gal
Max speed: 106 mph at 10,000ft
Service ceiling: 18,500 ft
Operational endurance: 2 hr 30 min
Armament: 2 x 7.92-mm (0.312-in). Spandau LMG 08/15 mg.
Seats: 1
The Pfalz Flugwerke GmbH did not develop a biplane fighter design of its own until the Pfalz D.III prototype appeared in the spring of 1917. It had its roots in the Roland fighters that Pfalz had been building under license until then.
The type was an unequal-span biplane with an almost sesquiplane layout, a fuselage of very clean lines, and a 119-kW (160 hp) Mercedes D.III inline in a commendably low-drag installation. The D III entered service in the autumn of 1917, mainly with Bavarian units, and was complemented from 1918 by the D IIIa with a more powerful engine. By the end of 1917 approximately two hundred and fifty D.IIIs were at the Front. Many Jagdstaffein had mixed equipment at this period and it was not unusual for the new fighter to operate m the same formation with Roland and Albatros machines
Compared with its contemporaries, the Pfalz D.III had a poor rate of climb, a tendency to catch fire rapidly and average manoeuvrability. On the other hand, it was an excellent gun platform thanks to a fuselage-upperwing; gap kept to a minimum to afford a good all-round view from the cockpit. Twin Spandau guns were mounted inside the fuselage with only their muzzles protruding. It also featured a tailplane of inverted aerofoil section, made of ply-covered wood. This resulted in the capacity to dive hard and fast, a factor that led to its extensive use as a balloon-buster. Except for the tailplane, the fuselage was constructed of thin layers of plywood round a wooden frame of longerons and formers, covered with fabric.
The Pfalz D.III was powered by the Mereedes D.III six-cylinder liquid cooled inline 160hp engine. This gave it a maximum speed of 180 km/hr and an endurance of 2.5 hr.
The Pfalz D.III continued to operate until mid-1918. Then it was already looked upon by the Allied fighter pilots as a sitting duck.
Production totaled about 600 machines, including D.IIIa’s with 180 hp Mercedes engines.
About 350 were still operational in August 1918.
Replica:
Bellamy Pfalz D.III
Personal Plane Services Ltd Pfalz D.III
Pfalz D IIIa
Powerplant: l x Mercedes D.III, 160 hp
Span upper: 9.40m (30ft 10 in)
Span lower: 26 ft 8 in
Wing area: 238.5 sq.ft
Length: 6.95m (22 ft 9.5 in)
Height: 8 ft 9 in
Fuel capacity: 21.5 Imp.Gal
Empty weight: 1532 lb
Max T/O weight: 935 kg (2,061 lb)
Max speed: 103 mph at 9,845 ft
Operational endurance: 2 hr 30 min
Armament: 2 x Spandau mg
Crew: 1
Pfalz D IIIa
Powerplant: l x Mercedes D.IIIa, 134kW (180 hp)
Span: 9.40m (30ft 10 in)
Length: 6.95m (22 ft 9.5 in)
Armament: 2 x 7.92-mm (0.31 2-in) LMG 08/15 mg
Max T/O weight: 935 kg (2,061 lb)
Max speed: 103 mph at 9,845 ft
Operational endurance: about 2 hr
Crew: 1
The Pfalz E-series of monoplane fighters was produced in parallel with the Fokker E-series, and the manufacturer then built the LFG (Roland) D I and D II fighters under licence.
Pfalz Flugzeug Werke GmbH was founded at Speyer-am-Rhein in 1913, The company built the Otto biplane with Rapp engine in the First World War, and subsequently obtained a license to build Morane parasol monoplanes. Later built a series of single-seat biplane fighters, most notably the D.III and D.XII. Pfalz aircraft manufacture came to an end when the Armistice was signed.
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