WKF D.1 Series 85 by Alliance Models
1/48 scale
Kit No. 48002
Cost: $110.00
Decals: One version – by Propagteam
Comments: Cast resin kit, detailed engine
History
The WKF D.I (series 85) was a fighter aircraft built in Austria-Hungary in the final months of World War I. In the spring of 1918, at Wiener Karoseserie Flugzoygfabrik (WKF), a small Viennese aircraft factory which had built the Oeffag fighters under license, engineers drew up an original design for a fighter around the 230-hp Hieronymus motor.
The machine was similar to the German Albatros, but it employed a more advanced fuselage design of pre-cut sections, and a new scheme of the chassis trolley and wings with the usual twin wooden racks, instead of V-shaped metal. The aircraft received the factory designation of 80.06B. It had good performance, and being a simplified design it was cheap to manufacture.
The WKF fighter had a number of interesting features. In a rarity for the time, it was equipped with a radio, and its armament was a twin-barreled 1918.M Gebauer machine gun firing 8 x 50R ammunition (roughly equivalent to .30 caliber) powered by the propeller shaft of the aircraft engine. The Gebauer 1918.M could fire through a 4-bladed propeller at a rate of 25 rounds/second or 1500 rounds/minute, four times faster than the Schwarzlose machine gun, which had been adopted by all Austro-Hungarian armed forces in 1914. The Gebauer had previously been installed on the Aviatik D.II on a trial basis with good results.
In September 1918, the Austrian Air Command ordered 48 of the new fighters under the designation WKF D.I — the same month that the new Gebauer 1918.M was ordered into production for the Austrian armed forces. Production machines differed from the prototype by the increased size of the stabilizer and the wings.
Due to the weak production capacity of the WKF plant, until the beginning of November, when Austria-Hungary withdrew from the war and broke up into separate states, the company managed to build and deliver only two of the 48 aircraft. Another 20 machines were built by the end of December. Subsequent records are scarce, but the estimate is that at most only an additional 5 aircraft were completed by the end of January 1919, bringing the final production up to 27 aircraft. The rest remained unfinished.
The last fighter of Austrian design developed during the First World War never saw action at the front. Poland planned to buy several aircraft, but during a demonstration flight the plane crashed and the Poles walked away from the deal. The final fate of this fighter is not clear. There is a strong likelihood that all examples that could be rounded up were were destroyed at the request of the victorious Allies, who placed a premium on the destruction of combat aircraft of the Central Powers as one of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
The Kit
Alliance Models WKF D.I Series 85 is cast in pale beige resin and consists of 44 parts. Construction begins with an in-line, 6-cylinder engine featuring individually mounted cylinder heads. The cockpit is comprised of a floor, seat, control yoke, main instrument panel, and a set of rudder pedals. Some previous experience with resin kits will be advantageous; both the cockpit floor and a horizontal bulkhead for the assembled engine must be cemented to the fuselage interior, but there are no ledges or locator pins to assist with this step.
The wings, rudder and tail surfaces all have a pronounced but not overdone stressed fabric effect. Both upper and lower wings are a single part, which will help expedite construction. Each machine gun consists of two parts, the receiver and the barrel and will require some precision for proper alignment.
Interplane struts are provided which, unlike those in many World War I kits, actually look equal to the task. The instructions include a rudimentary rigging diagram and a four-view schematic of the WKF calling out paint colors in the clear. There is also a larger three-view drawing on a separate sheet offering improved guidance on rigging.
It may be necessary to use stretched sprue or separately purchased thin wire for some of the lesser supports, such as those attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the horizontal stabilizer for which the kit does not provide parts. The WKF is to be painted in a scheme of lacquered canvas with brown and green splotches. The spinner and upper engine decking are to be painted in aluminum, and the propeller in lacquered wood.
Markings
The kit decals are by Propagteam and are not extensive since the WKF D.I never entered service before WWI came to an end. The decals consist of four Balkenkreuz crosses, two markings for the aircraft number (85.04) and a single stencil for the left side of the nose below the aluminum upper engine decking.
Conclusion
An interesting kit of an advanced but little known fighter design of World War I, sure to present modelers with a challenge and tap their scratchbuilding skills. Highly recommended.
References
- www.airwar.ru
- www.scale-model-aircraft.com
