Se5A. Stable, fast, easy to fly and fairly sturdy. Think the Lewis gun on the upper wing was a monument to bad design but I guess it's better than nothing (but not better than another Vickers in the fuselage). Probably the first of the boom and zoom fighters before boom and zoom had even been though of.
Whats your favorite aircraft from WWI??
- Thread starter DaveB.inVa
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I love it
Bullo Loris
Senior Airman
- 334
- Oct 14, 2006
Fokker DVII the best...
Yeah...I like the Fokker D.VII too!
Rivet
Airman 1st Class
If I had to reduce the prodigious list of all of the machinery produced for aviation use during the Great War down to one pick what criteria would I use? Hmmmmmm.....Well these things were built to fight; on consideration of the issue I'd have to place the Sikorsky Ilya Mouromentz at the header. About half of the seventy three bombers of this type constructed were used at the front. Proven rugged and reliable only two were lost to enemy action between February 1914 and October 1917. The records of the first sixteen operational bombers state that during the above mentioned time period those aircraft, in the course of 422 sorties, dropped 2300 bombs and took 7000 aerial photographs and are credited with the destruction of thirty-seven hostile aircraft.
This aircraft spurred the Germans to develop the R-planes, which fostered many developments still in use today. Stressed metal skin being one outcome of the program.
The Bolsheviks used the aircraft post-war, the last flight of the Ilya Morumetz occuring in 1923.
This aircraft spurred the Germans to develop the R-planes, which fostered many developments still in use today. Stressed metal skin being one outcome of the program.
The Bolsheviks used the aircraft post-war, the last flight of the Ilya Morumetz occuring in 1923.
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Do Zeppelin airships count?
If not, I've always had a soft spot for Pfaltz products, especially the D.III and the D.XII. Sleek, look better than they were, always second (or 3rd) best in a squadron, always assigned to the new guy, but in capable hands pretty sweet fighters nonetheless.
If not, I've always had a soft spot for Pfaltz products, especially the D.III and the D.XII. Sleek, look better than they were, always second (or 3rd) best in a squadron, always assigned to the new guy, but in capable hands pretty sweet fighters nonetheless.
Bullo Loris
Senior Airman
- 334
- Oct 14, 2006
Junkers D.I , the first all-metal, cantilevered monoplane fighter to enter service.
It was very fast too, experiments in November 1918 with a BMW IIIa engine with 185 hp gained 240 km/h.
Same...this plane was really modern for the WWI war...
bobbysocks
Chief Master Sergeant
they all enthralled me as a youth. to me that was real flying. a guy down the street ( in 1960 ) had the frame of a Jenny sitting in his front yard...i tried to talk my dad into buying that and fixing it up but he wouldnt bite. later ( 66/67ish ) we went to a local airshow and they had 3 ww1 aircraft from the rhinebeck airdrome... a fokker biplane, a spad, and a sopwith ?? i was amazed how short of runway they needed to take off and land...and the spad ( and maybe all of them ) had to keep turning the mag switch off and on...my dad said because they did not have a throttle. maybe someone could confirm or correct that for me. they gave a pretty good preformance dogfighting at pretty low altitude. i do have his old 8mm films and i believe have those on them. i am in the process of getting all that converted onto dvd. if i run across that and its worth viewing i will post it.
Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" - The Cradle of Aviation Museum
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome | America's Original Living Museum of Antique Airplanes! - Welcome!
Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" - The Cradle of Aviation Museum
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome | America's Original Living Museum of Antique Airplanes! - Welcome!
T Bolt
Colonel
BombTaxi
Tech Sergeant
From a purely aesthetic point of view, I have always liked the SE5A and Bristol Fighter. Although the RFC/RNAS/RAF were often eclipsed technologically and in terms of individual pilot skill, I believe they were among the first to grasp the significance of deep air support to the ground battle, and the use of heavy bombers as a strategic weapon as opposed to a pure terror weapon. They also showed the plodding determination to stay airborne and keep fighting in the face of horrendous casualties which has since proved vital to the success of aerial warfare.
It depended on what engine. The rotaries required an ignition cut out switch (OFF, 1/4 and 1/2 iirc) but the inline engines had regular throttles.
As far back as I can remember, the SE5a. A little later found the Sopwith Triplane which was the inspiration for Fokker Dr.1.
Lucky13
Forum Mascot
In no particular order....
Fokker DVII
Fokker DrI
SE5a
Albatros DIII
Albatros DV
Sopwith Camel
Nieuport 17
Spad 13
Most likely forgot one or two....
Fokker DVII
Fokker DrI
SE5a
Albatros DIII
Albatros DV
Sopwith Camel
Nieuport 17
Spad 13
Most likely forgot one or two....
I like the SE.5a. One of the fastest fighters of the era at approximately 138 mph. James McCudden had much success in it before he died in a flying accident during the war. It had sufficient dogfighting ability and could reasonably elect to stay in the fight or break it off and wait for a more advantageous circumstance. I always have liked the idea of being able to advance the throttle and out distance an adversary, or to close on them.
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
The Zeppilin Staaken R.VI
Fokker D.VII
Handley Page O/400
Fokker D.VII
Handley Page O/400
Njaco
The Pop-Tart Whisperer
Love the DVII
