D.I
Role	Fighter Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Daimler
Designer	Karl Schopper
First flight	1918
Number built	6

The Daimler D.I (also known by the company designation L6 ) was a German fighter aircraft of World War I . It was a conventional biplane design with a very small interplane gap - the top wing nearly touched the top of the fuselage . Power was provided by a Daimler D.IIIb water-cooled V-8 engine.

Design and development [ edit ]

The L6 prototype competed in the second Idflieg competition for a new fighter design in 1918. The competition was held at Adlershof from 22 May through 21 June. This resulted in an order for 20 aircraft being placed. ^[1]

History [ edit ]

Production commenced in 1918. Six examples were built by the time of the Armistice , at which time production was abandoned. ^[2]

Specifications (D.I) [ edit ]

Data from ^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 9.9 m (32 ft 6 in)
• Height: 2.76 m (9 ft 1 in)
• Wing area: 22.6 m ² (243 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 750 kg (1,653 lb)
• Gross weight: 925 kg (2,039 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Daimler D.IIIb V-8 water-cooled piston engine, 138 kW (185 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 183 km/h (114 mph, 99 kn)
• Endurance: 2 hours
• Time to altitude: 6,000 m (20,000 ft) in 30 minutes

Armament

• Guns: 2 × 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 machine guns

References [ edit ]

Further reading [ edit ]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daimler D.I .

• Gray, Peter & Thetford, Owen (1987) [1970]. German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN   0-85177-809-7 .
• Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters . New York: Smithmark. ISBN   0-8317-3939-8 .
• Herris, Jack (2020). German Aircraft of Minor Manufacturers in WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes . Gret War Aviation Centennial Series (49). Vol. 1: Alter to Korn. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN   978-1-935881-85-8 .
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation . London: Studio Editions. p. 297.