__NOTOC__ The DFW T.28 Floh ( en, Flea) was a small

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

fighter

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

Hermann Dorner Hermann Dorner (May 23, 1882 – February 6, 1963) was a German pioneer of aviation. During the First World War he designed two-seat combat aircraft for Hannoversche Waggonfabrik, most notably the Hannover CL.II through Hannover CL.IV design ...

, the designer of the successful

Hannover CL.II The Hannover CL.II was an escort fighter, produced in Germany during World War I, designed in response to a 1917 requirement by the '' Idflieg'' for such a machine to protect reconnaissance aircraft over enemy territory. It was a compact biplane o ...

two-seat fighter of 1917, and built by

Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke, usually known as DFW, was a German aircraft manufacturer of the early twentieth century. It was established by Bernhard Meyer and Erich Thiele at Lindenthal in 1910, and initially produced Farman designs under licence, lat ...

. Designed in 1915 as high-speed fighter, the Floh had a small wingspan and a rather ungainly tall and thin

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

. With a fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

the Floh was powered by a

Mercedes D.I The Mercedes D.I (also known as the Type E6F) was a six-cylinder, water-cooled, SOHC valvetrain inline engine developed in Germany for use in aircraft in 1913. Developing 75 kW (100 hp), it powered many German military aircraft during t ...

inline piston engine, and on its first flight in December 1915 reached , quite fast for the time. The aircraft suffered from very poor forward visibility and was difficult to land due to its narrow

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

. The prototype crashed during the flight testing programme. DFW T

Specifications

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DFW aircraft 1910s German fighter aircraft Floh Aircraft first flown in 1915