The Fokker V.7 was a prototype German fighter
triplane
A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three vertically stacked wing planes. Tailplanes and canard foreplanes are not normally included in this count, although they occasionally are.
Design principles
The triplane arrangement m ...
of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, an attempt to improve upon the
Dr.I by using the experimental
Siemens-Halske Sh.III, double acting rotary engine. (A double acting rotary involved the crankshaft rotating one way, with the crankcase turning the other). To make use of the higher power and rpm, the aircraft had a four-bladed propeller of larger diameter than the Dr.I. This required longer landing gear. The rear fuselage had to be extended to compensate for the heavier engine. Four V.7 aircraft were built. The performance of the V.7 was outstanding, but the engine was not ready for service. The Fokker V.7/I was converted to a Dr.I.
The V.7/II was powered by a Gnome engine. The V.7/III used the
Goebel Goe.III, and while performance was excellent, the Goe.III was no more ready for combat than the Sh.III of the V.7/I.
The V.7/IV was supplied without an engine to the MAG firm of Austria-Hungary. MAG fitted it with a Steyr rotary. The aircraft was intended to compete in the Austria-Hungarian fighter fly-off in July 1918, but damage due to a landing mishap caused it to miss the competition.
[Herris & Phillips, pp. 80–81]
Citation
Bibliography
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1910s German fighter aircraft
V.07
Rotary-engined aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Triplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1918
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