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Kondor D.VII

1918 WORLD WAR 1 X-PLANE

Condor D. VII Story

During the First World War (1914-1918), Kondor Flugzeugwerke des Deutschen Reichs was headquartered in Essen and the most important employees of the company were Walter Rethel and Paul G. Ehrhardt. In mid-1917, the company attempted to sell the German Flugdienst with the "Dreidecker" single-seat triplane, but failed because severe vibration problems prevented the design from landing. Then there were the D.I, D.II and D.VI fighters, which used a more traditional biplane wing layout - except for the D.VI, which went a step further and tried to separate the upper wing elements to give pilots a better aircraft. Wing layout viewed from the cockpit.

None of these designs were successful, but that didn't stop the company from moving forward with other design ideas.

The D.VII is the next evolution of the Kondor fighter family and an offshoot of the original triplane - albeit redesigned from the ground up in biplane form. This meant the loss of the top wing element common to triplanes, simplifying the design and reducing weight while reducing drag. An oversized spinner was added to the hub of the propeller for better aerodynamic efficiency. The fuselage is round and streamlined from nose to tail. The tail consisted of the usual three-plane arrangement, with the landing gear rolling on the main legs.

The two wing assemblies are joined together by a rather unique tripod-style strut support system, with the upper wing further attached to the top of the fuselage and the lower wing engaged with the landing gear brackets.

Internally, a tubular steel "cage" formed the frame of the aircraft, with metal used in key locations (such as the engine block). Plywood was found on the fuselage, lower wing and throughout the tail area.

Soon, the Mercedes D.III was used to power the new aircraft, which produced 160 horsepower when driving the twin-blade propeller unit in the nose.

Weapons should be Kondor standard - 2 x 7.92mm LMG 08/15 air-cooled machine guns mounted on the nose and firing synchronised by rotating propeller blades.

Testing of the D.VII took place in the spring of 1918, but the design did not enter the test phase in June 1918 to meet the Luftwaffe requirements for the D-type fighter. Nonetheless, by this time development of the D.VII appeared to be complete and attention shifted to the Kondor E.3 (D.I) with parafoils of July 1918 (described in detail elsewhere on this site).