Fokker

A Little Information On The Fokker Tri-plane

The Fokker Tri-plane was one of the best known and most controversial aircraft of World War One. However, it was not as well-liked as many suppose.

Its designer, Anthony Fokker, a Dutchman offered to build airplanes for the allies but was turned down. Since he was also a businessman, he went to the next largest market, the Germans. The British were having great success with the Sopwith Tri-plane which could outrun and outmaneuver the German's popular Albatros. Fokker had already been working on a series of experimental aircraft with wooden cantilever wings, now seen as one of the most important inventions in aeronautical science during the war. ("Cantilever" means without external bracing. In other words, these wings were not held together with a bunch of outside wires like other World War One aircraft.)

The Fokker tri-plane was the first airplane to enter service with wooden cantilever wings. At the time, fighter aircraft were being rushed through production with not much thought to making a long lasting product. As a consequence, in the first two tri-planes to reach the front, both Kurt Wolff and Werner Voss were killed during dogfights against overwhelming odds. Shortly thereafter, the tri-planes of Heinrich Gontermann and Guenther Pastor both suffered catastophic wing failures. These events led to the grounding of the Fokker Tri-planes until the wings were redesigned.

It's not hard to imagine that given the difficulties with wings falling off and also considering that these airplanes were very challenging to fly, that they would be shunned by all. But the fact that they were so maneuverable and had an outstanding rate of climb made the risks worth taking. After all, maneuverability and rate of climb were the very things which could keep you alive in aerial combat. As a consequence, the Fokker Tri-planes were the best German fighters in the spring of 1918 during Germany's last great offensive of the war. The great Red Baron said of the Fokker Tri-plane, " they climb like monkeys and are maneuverable as the devil."

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During the Great War, air combat became the stuff legends were made of. The names and exploits of ace fighters were household names and newspapers printed the latest results of air duels between the German and Allied air forces. Rate of climb and general agility were essential in these aerial combats. After the Sopwith Tri-plane, the Luftwaffe had Fokker design and build their own tri-plane, code named DR-1.

Possibly the most famous fighting ace of the Great War was Baron Von Richthofen, who led Jagdeskader N° 1. He was nicknamed the Red Baron, after the color of the fighter planes he personally flew. The Red Baron was extremely pleased with the Fokker Tri-plane and he managed to increase his duel victories by several before being shot down himself. The Red Baron's Tri-plane model is made with silk fabric stretched over a lightweight frame, same as the original. Accents are in aluminum, brass, leather, wood and resin.