The Schütte-Lanz D.I was a German single-seat biplane fighter, often said to be Germany's first biplane attack aircraft. The D.I was light-weight and made of wood covered in fabric, apparently based on the British design of the

Sopwith Tabloid The Sopwith Tabloid and Sopwith Schneider (floatplane) were British biplanes, originally designed as sports aircraft and later adapted for military use. They were among the first successful types to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The ...

Operational history

After

Idflieg The Idflieg (''Inspektion der Fliegertruppen'' - "Inspectorate of Flying Troops") was the bureau of the German Empire that oversaw German military aviation prior to and during World War I. Founded in 1911, the Idflieg was part of the ''Fliegert ...

testing in 1915, the plane was rejected on the grounds that the

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 ...

design afforded less vision to the pilot than a

monoplane 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 wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

and was as such unsuitable for use as a fighter. A modified version, the Schütte-Lanz D.II was produced in the same year.

Specifications

Bibliography

* William Green and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Complete Book of Fighters''. Colour Library Direct, Godalming, UK: 1994.

Operational history

Specifications

Bibliography

Further reading