Fokker Dr. I by Eduard

1/72 scale
Kit No. 7016
Retail: $24.00 – $40.00 (aftermarket, out of production)
Decals: Five versions, including two flown by Baron Manfred von Richtofen
Comments: Photo-etched details (cockpit controls, seat, seat straps, internal cockpit frame, gunsights, engine details, machine gun barrel jacket), paint masks, separate radial engine

History

In June 1917 with air superiority in the Flanders sector on the Western Front slipping rapidly from its grasp, the Imperial German Air Force combined four of their top Jagdstaffeln (fighter squadrons), Nos. 4, 6, 10 and 11 to form the first Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Wing). Its commander was the legendary Manfred von Richtofen — the Red Baron. It was hoped that this crack fighter wing would be able to move rapidly between sectors and restore air superiority, but it soon became obvious that German pilots believed the Allied fighters of the day were superior to their Albatros and Pfalz aircraft.

The Fokker Dr. I was Germany’s response to the impressive Sopwith tri-plane, which along with the S.E.5a, Bristol F.2B, Sopwith Camel, and Spad fighters, had by the Summer of 1917 outclassed the Albatros fighters which were the mainstay of the Imperial German Air Service. German pilots were particularly impressed by the Sopwith tri-plane’s phenomenal rate of climb and maneuverability. As a result, the Flugzeugmeisterei sent out a call to German aircraft manufacturers for tri-plane designs, and inviting them to inspect a captured Sopwith example at Adlershof. The belief at the time was that a tri-plane design offered extraordinary advantages in combat.

But aircraft designer Anthony Fokker was ahead of the competition. In April 1917 he had visited Jagdstaffel 11 at the front, and learned about the new Sopwith tri-plane from Manfred von Richtofen and his pilots. Fokker was taken to a forward observation post where he was able to see the Sopwith machine in action from the ground. He was also able to examine a captured one, very likely damaged, before it was sent to Adlershof for closer scrutiny. Von Richtofen’s pilots had battled a lone Sopwith tri-plane on April 7th, when it had attacked their flight of 11 Albatros D. III’s and outmaneuvered all of them. Subsequent engagements revealed that even the latest Albatros D. V was not a match for the British triplane.

Fokker returned to his factory at Schwerin where he and his chief designer Reinhold Platz set to work on developing a single-seat tri-plane fighter powered by a rotary engine. It would need the speed and maneuverability to outperform the best of the Allied fighters. The result succeeded brilliantly in one of these categories: maneuverability. The rotary powerplant was dictated by two factors: One was that production difficulties threatened the supply of water cooled in-line engines that were predominant in German single-seat fighters of the day. The second was that Fokker knew that Adlershof had recently received a large store of 110 h.p. Le Rhone rotary engines that were not yet claimed by existing production lines.

Platz’ resulting design had three short-span narrow-chord wings, with the middle and bottom wings bolted directly to the top and bottom longerons of the fuselage. Ailerons were fitted to the top wing only. The design showed successive improvement through four prototypes, resulting in a plane with a fuselage frame of welded steel tubing and wooden wings with the entire airframe covered by fabric. Undercarriage was standard V-strut steel tube construction with a plywood covered aerofoil between the wheels, big enough to help increase the plane’s lift. A single interplane strut on each side of the fuselage helped improve structural strength in the wings, particularly when diving, and two LMG 08/15 machine guns (7.92mm) were installed in front of the cockpit.

The first Dr. I’s entered service in August 1917, with Jadgdeschwader I at Courtrai, the fighter wing commanded by von Richtofen and consisting of Jadgstaffeln 4, 6, 10 and 11. These first Fokker tri-planes enjoyed spectacular success, notably with Leutnant Werner Voss, leader of Jasta 10. Voss reported that he shot down a British R.E.8 on August 30, 1917 while flying an early version of the Dr. I. By September 23rd he had shot down an additional 20 Allied aircraft. On that day, flying by himself, he pounced on what he thought to be a lone S.E.5a, only to become the target of an ambush by four additional S.E.5a’s of No. 56 Squadron. After a lengthy dogfight Voss was eventually shot down and killed.

Von Richtofen himself shot down his 60th victim while flying a Dr. I on September 1, 1917. He had flown the plane for the first time earlier in the day and took an immediate liking to it. Tragedy struck before the Dr. I was in full-blown operational use. On October 29, Heinrich Gostermann, leader of Jasta 15, was killed when his Dr.I broke up in mid-air when the top wing separated from the aircraft. Two days later, Leutnant Pastor of Jasta 11 was also killed when his Dr.I broke up in a similar fashion. His demise was personally witnessed by von Richtofen.All Dr. I’s were immediately grounded pending an investigation. Richtofen launched his own examination, which found unmistakable evidence of faulty workmanship in the wings. There were structural assembly faults and the interior of the mainplanes had been affected by the damp. Wing modifications were ordered when the formal inquiry made identical findings as Richtofen’s.

Despite the fatalities and its grounding just weeks after its entry into service, the Fokker Dr. I had made a positive impression with the pilots who had flown it. They were eager to take it into combat. Werner Voss was among those who believed Allied fighters were superior to the Albatros fighter that the German Air Force relied upon heaviliy as of 1917. The shooting down and wounding of Manfred von Richtofen on July 6, 1917 while flying an Albatros served as an unoffiical endorsement of the need for a new fighter.

In mid-October 1917, with the wing modifications complete, six new Fokker Dr. I’s were delivered to Richtofen’s Geschwader. In addition to wing strengthening, wing tip skids had been added to the under surfaces of the lower wings, to address its vulnerability to gusts of wind while landing that could easily result in damage. Pilots flying the Dr. I, including Baron von Richtofen himself, immediately began racking up victories. For a time, due to its unsurpassed maneuverability the Dr. I turned the tables on the Allies and led to “the second Fokker Scourge” on the Western Front. It often emerged supreme in close proximity dogfights where victory went to the more agile aircraft. It was widely used and flown by most of the leading German fighter pilots, including both Manfred and Lothar von Richtofen, Ernst Udet, Adolf Ritter von Tutschek and Hermann Goering. Many of them added substantially to their scores while flying the Fokker.

But the Dr. I lacked the performance and altitude capability that had become necessary by late 1917. It also posed a continual threat to its pilots due to structural deficiencies that were never fully resolved. As the months passed, it became clear that the Dr. I’s initial edge in combat was eroding by early 1918. It needed a more powerful engine to get to higher altitudes, and its French powerplant had been a source of concern from the start. Germany’s Swedish source for the Le Rhone, a firm called Thulin which was building them under license, gave rise to the need for subterfuge. To protect Thulin’s licensing arrangement with Le Rhone, these engines would be fitted with special plates declaring that they had been captured; in German service they were known as Beute engines.

The Fokker was frequently tested with different engines in an effort to increase its performance, which continued until the end of the war. Oberursel, a German firm controlled by Anthony Fokker, began building copies of Le Rhone engines in an effort to keep up with demand, but the materials and workmanship of the German version were inferior to the Thulin-built Le Rhones. As a result, pilots went to a great deal of trouble to secure Thulin eingines for their tri-planes. The irony is that none of these engines were powerful enough to meet the air combat demands of 1918. Production of the Dr.I ended in May 1918, by which time German fighter squadrons were taking delivery of its successor, the D. VII.

The Kit

Eduard’s Fokker Dr. I is injection molded in tan plastic and consists of 35 parts on two sprues. In addition, given that this is a Profi-Pack Kit, there is a photo etch fret and a set of paint masks. For some reason, the sprue containing the fuselage bears three additional parts that appear to be wing spars, but their existence is not acknowledged by the kit instructions; they are to be ignored. The wings were molded with a very realistic stressed-fabric-over-frame effect that will help add realism to the finished kit.

The cockpit floor and rear bulkhead are plastic, but the remaining components are all photo etch parts — pilot’s seat, seat straps, side wall framing, side wall instrumentation (what little there is), right down to the control yoke and rudder pedals. With the cockpit complete, the fuselage is sealed up and assembly moves on to the wings, tail plane and machine guns. The kit instructions are clear and well illustrated.

Unlike many World War I aircraft models, the Fokker tri-plane will not present the usual headache as its biplane counterparts, for the Dr. I’s wing structure was so strong that only two interplane struts were needed. Eduard’s engineering of this part of the kit is simplicity itself, since the rather thick interplane struts are to be fitted through openings in the middle wing and cemented only to the top and bottom wings, which should simplify the challenge of positioning the interplane struts considerably.

Photo etch parts are provided to represent actuators for the ailerons of the top wing, the rudder and the elevators of the tail. PE parts are also provided to add detail to the rotary engine. The construction of the five parts comprising the main landing gear looks as if it will be worry-free. A tail skid and support struts, along with two PE parts serving as horn balancers located on the under surface of the elevators will complete the tail assembly.

Eduard has accurately reproduced the skids on the under surfaces of the outer edge of the bottom wing. These were necessary to prevent damage to the lower wings during take-offs and landings, since the Dr. I could be quite unstable and was a handful for less than experienced pilots. The kit instructions call for minimal bracing wires, for the cabane struts connecting the upper wing and the fuselage, the main landing gear, and the elevator actuators.

Markings

The kit provides decals for five versions, all for Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Army Air Service) aircraft of the late war period of 1917-1918. The first is for Fokker Dr. I 213/17 of Jasta 2 – Boelcke, flown by Lt. Friedrich Kempf in 1918. This is the aircraft depicted on the box art, with Kempf’s name emblazoned on the top surface of the upper wing. It is painted in Olive upper surfaces, with streaks of brown and dark grey, and light blue under surfaces. The vertical tail and rudder are white, and the right tail plane/elevator is white, while the left one is black, and the aircraft has a black cowling. The upper surface of the middle wing bears the phrase “Kennscht mi noch?” which roughly translates to “Do you still know me?”

The second set of markings is for a Fokker Dr. I of Jasta 18, flown by Lt. August Baumer in 1918. The forward half of the fuselage is painted Olive, the rear half is painted white, and the vertical tail is outlined in black. This machine also has light blue under surfaces, with the right tail plane/elevator painted white, while the left one is black. This aircraft also has a black cowling, with three diagonal stripes of red, white, and black, the colors of Imperial Germany, located mid-fuselage. Curiously, this aircraft bears a third Balkenkreuz (the cross of Imperial Germany) atop the fuselage just forward of the tail, in addition to the two on the upper surfaces of the top wing.

The thrid set of markings is for another Fokker Dr. I of Jasta 18, this one flown by Lt. August Raben in 1918. All wing surfaces and the forward half of the fuselage is painted Light Blue, and the rear half of the fuselage is White. This machine bears the straightened Balkenkreuz of the late war period, and bears an image of a bird, perhaps a sparrow, on both sides of the fuselage just below and slightly aft of the cockpit.

The fourth and fifth set of markings are for a machine, Fokker Dr. I 425/17, flown by Rittmeister Mandred von Richtofen. The fourth version bears markings depicting how the plane appeared in the winter of 1917, in overall Red and bearing the traditional Imperial Balkenkreuz. The fifth version is also in overall Red but has a white tail and bears the late-war straightened Balkenkreuz. Richtofen flew this machine during the March 1918 period, so this is likely the aircraft he was flying when he was killed in action in April 1918.

Conclusion

This kit is a splendid little gem representing the iconic German fighter of World War I. The main challenges will likely be handling the photo etch parts, which can be quite fiddly in 1/72 scale, and deciding on the appropriate paint scheme, since there are multiple attractive options. Highly recommended.

 

References

• Profile Publications: The Fokker Dr. I by J.M. Bruce; Copyright J.M. Bruce, 1965.
• Fighter by Ralf Leinburger; Copyright 2008 Parragon Books Limited, United Kingdom.
• Classic World War I Aircraft Profiles: Volume 1; Copyright 2002 Cerberus Publishing Limited, Bristol, United Kingdom.