Hansa-Brandenburg KD (D.I)


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Hansa-Brandenburg KD (D.I)

Designed by Ernst Heinkel specifically for the Austro- Hungarian K.u.k. Luftfahrttruppen in 1916, the KD (Kampf Doppeldecker) single-seat fighter featured a novel system of wing interplane bracing in the form of four Vee struts joined in the centre of the wing bay by their apices to result in a "star'' arrangement, which led to the KD being dubbed a "star strutter". Flown as a prototype with the 160hp Mercedes D III six-cylinder water-cooled engine, the KD was manufactured in series as the D.I with the 150hp and 160hp Austro- Daimler engines by the Hansa- und Brandenburgische Flugzeug-Werke, and with the 185hp Austro-Daimler by the Phonix Flugzeugwerke of Vienna. Of wooden construction with fabric wing skinning, plywood fuselage skinning and having steel-tube interplane strutting, the D.I was armed with a single unsynchronised 8mm Schwarzlose machine gun which was enclosed by a fairing on top of the cabane and fired over the propeller. The D.I was reputedly difficult to fly, suffered inadequate directional stability owing to the rudder being blanketed by the deep fuselage, and had poor spin recovery characteristics. A number of Phonix-built Brandenburg D.Is survived World War I to serve briefly with the Deutschosterreichische Fliegertruppe.

Hansa-Brandenburg KD (D.I)A three-view drawing (1643 x 1275)

  Take-off weight920 kg2028 lb
  Empty weight672 kg1482 lb
  Wingspan8.50 m28 ft 11 in
  Length6.35 m21 ft 10 in
  Wing area23.95 m2257.80 sq ft
  Max. speed187 km/h116 mph

Kevin, e-mail, 19.11.2013 00:10

Germans rule


jerry k, e-mail, 27.04.2011 20:48

This plane was also known as "the spider" because of it's intricate, 8 legged struts.


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