The Siemens-Schuckert D.VI was a single engine, single seat,

parasol wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

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 **Ge ...

fighter aircraft flown in 1919.

Design and development

The Idflieg ordered three prototypes of the parasol winged E.IV in April 1918. Renamed D.VI in September, two were completed early in 1919, after the

Armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

. In plan the wing of the D.VI was more complicated than most, with the chord narrowest in the centre section, increasing outwards then decreasing somewhat towards the

wing tips A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

from about mid-span. Most of the curvature was on the

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 199 ...

, assisting the pilot's vision from his cockpit there. The wing thickness also varied along the span, thinnest in the centre then increasing and decreasing again. The wing carried overhung, balanced ailerons and was braced with a pair of slightly converging, outward leaning struts to the thickest part of the wing from the lower

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 aircraf ...

. Its centre section was supported by a pair of short, vertical N-form cabane struts from the upper fuselage. The fuselage of the D.VI was circular in cross-section, with its 11-cylinder, Siemens-Halske Sh.IIIa

rotary engine The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and its ...

completely cowled in the nose driving a four blade propeller. The fuselage diameter decreased markedly to the tail but an unusual jettisonable fuel tank bulged out below for about 35% of the overall length. The blunt delta shaped

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyropla ...

was mounted at mid-fuselage height and had a single

balanced In telecommunications and professional audio, a balanced line or balanced signal pair is a circuit consisting of two conductors of the same type, both of which have equal impedances along their lengths and equal impedances to ground and to other ci ...

elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...

. The

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

was small, with a generous, balanced, swept back, blunt topped rudder. The fighter had a simple, fixed conventional undercarriage, with mainwheels on a single axle supported by wire braced V-struts to the lower fuselage. Its tall tailskid was faired aft forming a little ventral fin. The D.VI was test flown between February and May 1919 with promising speed and climb rates, though one of the two prototypes was lost. The other was reputedly destroyed by the Siemens-Schuckert staff to prevent its acquisition by the Aeronautical Inter-Allied Commission of Control, that began work in 1918.

Specifications

References

{{Idflieg D-class designations Parasol-wing aircraft 1910s German fighter aircraft D.VI Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1919 Rotary-engined aircraft