Hansa-Brandenburg D.1 - "The Proud Star" Print

Working for Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeug-Werke, chief designer Ernst Heinkel developed the D.1 in 1916 to meet a requirement for the Austro-Hungarian Air Force. The biplane featured a plywood covered fuselage as well as fabric covering the wings. Bracing between the upper and lower wings featured an unusual configuration of the inter-plane struts. Four V shaped steel tube struts were joined in the center of the wing bay resulting in a star arrangement. Due to this arrangement the aircraft became known as the “Spider” or "Star-Strutter".The airplane had a relatively deep fuselage and small rudder causing poor lateral stability. It was armed with a single Schwarzlose machine gun. There were difficulties in synchronizing the gun to fire through the propeller arc so the gun was mounted in a fairing on the upper wing so it could be fired outside the propeller arc.Despite the shortcomings of the aircraft, it was ordered and placed into service by Austro-Hungary. A total of 122 D.Is we