DFW Floh

Floh
DFW T.28 Floh circa 1915
General information
Type	Biplane fighter aircraft
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke
Designer	Hermann Dorner
Number built	1
History
First flight	1915

The DFW T.28 Floh (English: Flea) was a small German biplane fighter prototype designed by Hermann Dorner, the designer of the successful Hannover CL.II two-seat fighter of 1917, and built by Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke. ^[1]

Designed in 1915 as high-speed fighter, the Floh had a small 6.20 m (20.3 ft) wingspan and a rather ungainly tall and thin fuselage. ^[1] With a fixed conventional landing gear the Floh was powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Mercedes D.I inline piston engine, and on its first flight in December 1915 reached 180 km/h (110 mph), quite fast for the time. ^[1]

The aircraft suffered from very poor forward visibility and was difficult to land due to its narrow landing gear. The prototype crashed during the flight testing programme. ^[1]

View showing poor forward visibility.

Specifications

Data from DFW Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes ^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 15 m² (160 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 352 kg (776 lb)
• Gross weight: 596 kg (1,314 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.I water-cooled inline piston, 75 kW (100 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed

Performance

• Maximum speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn)

Armament

• 1 × 7.92mm (0.312 in) LMG 08/15 Spandau machine gun

References

1. Orbis 1985, p. 1297
2. Herris, p. 202

Bibliography

• Gray, Peter & Thetford, Owen (1987) [1970]. German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). Putnam. ISBN   0-85177-809-7.
• Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon (2001) [1994]. The Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Built and Flown (Revised and Updated ed.). Salamander Books. ISBN   1-84065-269-1.
• Grosz, Peter M. (2001). DFW T28 Flea. Windsock Mini Datafile. Vol. 18. Albatros Productions. ISBN   1-902227-33-5.
• Herris, Jack (2017). DFW Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 29. Aeronaut Books. ISBN   978-1-935881-54-4.