Floh
DFW T.28 Floh cica 1915
Role Biplane fighter aircraft
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke
Designer Hermann Dorner
First flight 1915
Number built 1

The DFW T.28 Floh (English: Flea) was a small German biplane fighter prototype designed by Hermann Dorner, the designer of the successful Hannover CL.II two-seat fighter of 1917, and built by Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke.[1]

Designed in 1915 as high-speed fighter, the Floh had a small 6.20 m (20.3 ft) wingspan and a rather ungainly tall and thin fuselage.[1] With a fixed conventional landing gear the Floh was powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Mercedes D.I inline piston engine, and on its first flight in December 1915 reached 180 km/h (110 mph), quite fast for the time.[1]

The aircraft suffered from very poor forward visibility and was difficult to land due to its narrow landing gear.[2] The prototype crashed during the flight testing programme.[1]

View showing poor forward visibility.

Specifications

Data from .[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 4.50 m (14 ft 9 in)
  • Wingspan: 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
  • Wing area: 15 m2 (160 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 420 kg (926 lb)
  • Gross weight: 650 kg (1,433 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.I water-cooled inline piston, 75 kW (100 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn)

Armament

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to DFW Floh.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Orbis 1985, p. 1297
  2. 1 2 "DFW T28 Floh". flyingmachines.ru. Their Flying Machines. Retrieved 18 July 2015.

Bibliography

  • Herris, Jack (2017). DFW Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 29. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-54-4.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
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