Schutte-Lanz D.III

History

The Schutte-Lanz D.III continued the company's line of biplane fighters established in 1915 and introduced the D.I (described in detail elsewhere on this page). The D.I and its successor, the D.II, were not adopted by the German Empire, but laid the groundwork for an improved design that was yet to come.

The D.III was another prototype biplane fighter developed for the D-type competition organized by the Luftwaffe (planned in early 1918) to find the next combat platform. In this regard, only one airworthy prototype failed and succeeded.

The D.III has a completely traditional design with an open-air cockpit, biplane wings and fixed landing gear. The wing planes are offset and supported by N struts, creating a single cabin appearance. The engine was accordingly mounted on the nose, driving a two-blade wooden propeller in front of the single-seat cockpit - which was placed under the stern and upper wing elements.

The upper wing itself is positioned lower above the fuselage to give the pilot better visibility. The fuselage tapers towards the rear of the aircraft and is attached with a traditional tail. The landing gear relies on wheeled main legs and tail skids. Weapons are 2 x 7.92mm LMG 08/15 series machine guns, firing synchronised through rotating propeller blades.

Inside the aircraft is a wooden structure covered with a fabric skin.

Dimensions include a length of 21.3 feet and a wingspan of 26.2 feet. The loaded weight is 860 kg.

The engine of choice was the Mercedes D.III, a 160 hp liquid-cooled 6-cylinder in-line engine that propelled the aircraft to a speed of 121 mph. The climb rate is 515 feet per minute. An interesting design approach to this engine is that each cylinder has its own exhaust pipe.

The D.III was tried out in the D-type competition, but found to be fairly average, and was eventually passed on by the authorities. Schutte-Lanz also jointly developed their D.IV, but continued problems with this design led to their abandonment.

The company continued to produce other post-war products, such as the DVI and D.VII, but none went beyond the development of airworthy prototypes.

Specification

Basic

Production

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Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

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