Pfalz Dr.I

Pfalz Dr. I
Pfalz Dr. I
	Pfalz Dr.I
General information
Type	Fighter
Manufacturer	Pfalz Flugzeugwerke
Primary user	Luftstreitkräfte
Number built	10
History
Introduction date	April 1918
First flight	October 1917
Retired	1918

Last updated November 09, 2025

The Pfalz Dr.I was a German fighter prototype of World War I. Official interest in the potential of the triplane configuration for single-seat fighters prompted Pfalz to develop the Dr.I. It underwent initial testing in October 1917, and an initial batch of 10 aircraft were shipped to the Front and arrived in April 1918.

Operational history

Service pilots involved in testing the Dr.I considered it too slow and its Sh III engine too unreliable for frontline use and no further examples were produced. Jasta 73 was equipped with this aircraft in 1918.

List of operators

German Empire

Luftstreitkrafte

Specifications

Data fromRand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980,^[1] German Aircraft of the First World War^[2]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 8.55 m (28 ft 1 in)
Height: 2.76 m (9 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 17.2 m² (185 sq ft)
Empty weight: 510 kg (1,124 lb)
Gross weight: 705 kg (1,554 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Siemens-Halske Sh.III 11-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine, 119 kW (160 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 190 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
Service ceiling: 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 1 minutes 42 seconds

3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 6 minutes 12 seconds

5,000 m (16,000 ft) in 13 minutes 30 seconds

Armament

Guns: 2 x synchronised LMG 08/15 machine guns

References

↑ Enzo Angelucci (1981). Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980. Crescent. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-517-41021-9.
↑ Gray, Peter; Thetford, Owen (1970). German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 507. ISBN 0-370-00103-6.

v t e Pfalz aircraft
Licensed designs and derivatives	A.I A.II C.I D.I D.II E.I E.II E.III E.IV E.V E.VI
Biplanes	D.4 D.III D.IV D.VI D.VII D.VIII D.XII D.XIV D.XV
Triplanes	Dr-Typ Dr.I Dr.II
Monoplanes	D.X

v t e World War I aircraft of the Central Powers
Fighters	AEG D.I AEG Dr.I Albatros D.I Albatros D.II Albatros D.III Albatros D.V Aviatik D.I Aviatik C.VI Daimler L.6 Euler D.I Euler D.II Fokker D.I Fokker D.II Fokker D.III Fokker D.IV Fokker D.V Fokker D.VI Fokker D.VII Fokker D.VIII Fokker Dr.I Fokker E.I Fokker E.II Fokker E.III Fokker E.IV Fokker E.V Halberstadt D.II Hannover CL.II Hannover CL.III Hannover CL.IV Hannover CL.V Hansa-Brandenburg W.12 Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 Junkers D.I Kondor D.6 Kondor E.III Naglo D.II Pfalz D.III Pfalz D.XII Pfalz Dr.I Pfalz E.I Pfalz E.II Phönix D.I LFG Roland D.II LFG Roland D.VI Siemens-Schuckert D.I Siemens-Schuckert D.II Siemens-Schuckert D.III Siemens-Schuckert D.IV Zeppelin-Lindau D.I
Bombers and ground attack	AEG DJ.I AEG G.I AEG G.II AEG G.III AEG G.IV AEG G.V AEG J.I AEG J.II AEG R.I Friedrichshafen G.II Friedrichshafen G.III Gotha G.I Gotha G.II Gotha G.III Gotha G.IV Gotha G.V Gotha GL.VII Gotha G.IX Hannover CL.II Junkers CL.I Junkers J.I Rumpler G.I Rumpler G.II Rumpler G.III Siemens-Schuckert L.I Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.II Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.III Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.IV Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI
Reconnaissance	AEG B.I AEG B.II AEG B.III AEG C.I AEG C.II AEG C.III AEG C.IV AEG C.V AEG C.VI AEG C.VII AEG C.VIII AGO C.I AGO C.II AGO C.III AGO C.IV AGO C.VII AGO C.VIII Albatros B.I Albatros B.II Albatros C.I Albatros C.III Albatros C.V Albatros C.VII Albatros C.IX Albatros C.X Albatros C.XII Aviatik B.I Aviatik B.II Aviatik C.I Aviatik C.VI DFW C.V LFG Roland C.II LVG B.I LVG C.II Rumpler C.I Rumpler C.IV Rumpler Taube
Trainers	Euler D.I
Prototypes	Albatros C.II Fokker V.1 Fokker V.2 Junkers J 1 Junkers J 2 Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.I

Pfalz Dr.I

Contents

Operational history

List of operators

Specifications

References

Further reading