1917 FOKKER Dr.I TRIPLANE (representation)
The Dr.I, immortalized by Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, was inspired by the success of the British Sopwith triplane (essentially a Pup with a third wing surface added). Richthofen scored the final 21 of his 80 victories in his bright crimson craft. The "Dr" represents the German abbreviation for dreidecker, meaning three wings. Slower than most of its contemporaries, the small triplane's agility enabled Dr.I masters to amass great numbers of victories. German aces who flew the Dr.I were the Red Baron’s brother Lothar, Werner Voss, Ernst Udet, and Hermann Goering. By 1918 the Dr.I was being replaced by the superior D.VII biplane, however by then the war was all but over.
Specifications: span 23 ft. 8 in.; length 18 ft. 11 in.; takeoff weight 1,290 lbs.; engine 110 hp. Oberursel nine-cylinder air-cooled rotary (original); 165 hp Warner nine-cylinder air-cooled radial (representation); maximum speed 103 mph. Armament two Spandau 7.92 mm. machine guns.
Accession no. 1985L18.
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