Editing Fokker D.VII (section)

==Development and production==
[[File:Fokker D VII 2.jpg|thumb|Fokker D.VII (OAW) 8909/18]]

[[Anthony Fokker|Fokker's]] chief designer, [[Reinhold Platz]], had been working on a series of experimental V-series aircraft, [[Fokker V.1|starting in 1916]]. The aircraft were notable for the use of [[Cantilever#Aircraft|cantilever]] wings. [[Hugo Junkers]] and [[Junkers|his aviation firm]] had originated the idea in 1915 with the first practical all-metal aircraft, the [[Junkers J 1]] monoplane, nicknamed ''Blechesel'' (Sheet Metal Donkey or Tin Donkey). The wings were thick, with a rounded leading edge. The shape of the wings' [[airfoil]] gave greater lift, with its relatively "blunt" leading edge (as seen in cross-section) giving it more docile [[stall (flight)|stalling]] behavior than the thin wings commonly in use.

[[File:Fokker V.11, voorloper van de Fokker D.VII (2161 026109).jpg|thumb|left|Fokker's V.11 prototype, direct precursor to the production D.VII.]]
Late in 1917, Fokker built the experimental '''V 11''' [[biplane]], fitted with the standard [[Mercedes D.III]]a engine. In January 1918, ''[[Idflieg]]'' held a fighter competition at [[Adlershof]]. For the first time, front line pilots participated in the evaluation and selection of new fighters. Fokker submitted the V 11 along with several other prototypes. [[Manfred von Richthofen]] flew the V 11 and found it tricky, unpleasant and directionally unstable in a dive. Platz lengthened the rear fuselage by one structural bay and added a triangular fin in front of the rudder. Richthofen tested the modified V 11 and praised it as the best aircraft of the competition. It offered excellent performance from the outdated Mercedes engine, yet was safe and easy to fly. Richthofen's recommendation virtually decided the competition, but he was not alone in recommending it. Fokker immediately received a provisional order for 400 production aircraft, which were named '''D.VII''' by ''Idflieg''.

[[File:D7f.jpg|thumb|Fokker D.VII (F)]]
[[File:A Fokker looping LCCN2014711445.tif|thumb|Fokker D.VII looping]]

Fokker's factory was not up to the task of meeting all D.VII production orders and ''Idflieg'' directed [[Albatros Flugzeugwerke|Albatros]] and [[AEG (German company)|AEG]] to build the D.VII under license, though AEG did not ultimately produce any aircraft. Because the Fokker factory did not use detailed plans as part of its production process, Fokker simply sent a D.VII airframe for Albatros to copy. Albatros paid Fokker a five percent royalty for every D.VII it  built under license. Albatros Flugzeugwerke and its subsidiary, Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW), built the D.VII at factories in [[Johannisthal Air Field|Johannisthal]] [Fokker D.VII (Alb)] and [[Piła#First World War and Imperial German military aviation technology|Schneidemühl]] [Fokker D.VII (OAW)] respectively. Aircraft markings included the type designation and factory suffix, immediately before the individual serial number.

Some parts were not interchangeable between aircraft produced at different factories, even between Albatros and OAW.<ref name="Thetford German p105-108">{{cite book |last1=Gray |first1=Peter |title=German Aircraft of the First World War |url=https://archive.org/details/germanaircraftfi00thet |url-access=limited |year=1970 |publisher=Putnam |location=London |isbn=978-0-370-00103-6 |edition=2nd |last2=Thetford |first2=Owen |pages=[https://archive.org/details/germanaircraftfi00thet/page/n71 105]–108}}</ref> Each manufacturer tended to differ in both nose paint styles and the patterning and layout of their engine compartment cooling [[louver]]s on the sides of the nose.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aerofile.info/wordpress/?page_id=94 |title=The Aerofile - The Fokker D.VII File - Production differences |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2019 |website=aerofile.info |access-date=June 12, 2019 |quote=Basically, there are four different cowling layouts of D.VII’s. First, there’s the original V.11 and early Fokker built production aircraft, with the twin exhaust pipes on the right side of the 160 hp Mercedes engine. This type of cowling can also be seen on D.VII(Alb.) 527/18, the first Albatros production aircraft. Later Fokker D.VII(F) aircraft had a different exhaust pipe for the 175 hp Mercedes or 185 hp BMW engine, and the cowling had more cooling louvres...D.VII’s built by Albatros had also more cooling louvres, in a different layout...The O.A.W. built D.VII’s can be easily identified, since they have cowlings with 20 round shaped cooling openings on both sides. Some sources state that only O.A.W. painted the cowlings in a lozenge camouflage pattern.}}</ref> OAW produced examples were delivered with distinctive mauve and green splotches on the cowling. All D.VIIs were produced with either the five-color ''Fünffarbiger'' or less often, the four-color ''Vierfarbiger'' [[lozenge camouflage]] covering, except for early Fokker-produced D.VIIs, which had a streaked green fuselage. Factory camouflage finishes were often overpainted with colorful paint schemes or insignia for the ''Jasta'' or for a pilot.

In September 1918, eight D.VIIs were delivered to Bulgaria. Late in 1918, the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] company ''[[Magomobil|Magyar Általános Gépgyár]]'' (''MÁG'', Hungarian General Machine Company) commenced licensed production of the D.VII with [[Austro-Daimler]] engines. Production continued after the end of the war, with as many as 50 aircraft completed.<ref name="Owers1p67-8">{{harvnb|Owers|1995|pp=67–66}}</ref>

===Powerplants===
The earliest production D.VIIs were equipped with 170–180&nbsp;hp Mercedes D.IIIa.<ref>Some sources erroneously state that the D.VII was equipped with the 120&nbsp;kW (160&nbsp;hp) Mercedes D.III engine. The Germans used D.III as a generic term to describe later versions of that engine.</ref> Production quickly switched to the intended standard engine, the higher-compression 134&nbsp;kW (180–200&nbsp;hp) [[Mercedes D.III#Variants|Mercedes D.IIIaü]]. Some early production D.VIIs delivered with the Mercedes D.IIIa were later re-engined with the D.IIIaü.

By mid-1918, some D.VIIs received the "overcompressed" 138&nbsp;kW (185&nbsp;hp) [[BMW III]]a, the first product of the [[BMW]] firm. The BMW IIIa followed the [[overhead camshaft|SOHC]], [[straight-six engine|straight-six]] configuration of the Mercedes D.III but incorporated several improvements. Increased displacement, higher compression and an altitude-adjusting carburettor produced a marked increase in speed and climb rate at high altitude. Because the BMW IIIa was overcompressed, using full throttle at altitudes below {{convert|2000|m|ft|abbr=on}} risked premature detonation in the cylinders and damage to the engine. At low altitudes, full throttle could produce up to 179&nbsp;kW (240&nbsp;hp) for a short time. Fokker-built aircraft with the new BMW engine were called D.VII(F), the suffix "F" standing for [[Max Friz]], the engine designer.

BMW-engined aircraft entered service with [[Jasta 11|''Jasta'' 11]] in late June 1918. Pilots clamored for the D.VII(F), of which about 750 were built. Production of the BMW IIIa was limited and the D.VII continued to be produced with the 134&nbsp;kW (180&nbsp;hp) Mercedes D.IIIaü until the end of the war.

D.VIIs flew with different propeller designs from different manufacturers. Despite the variations there is no indication these propellers gave disparate performance. Axial, Wolff, Wotan, and Heine propellers have been noted.