Fokker E.III

Infobox Aircraft
name = Fokker E.III
type = Fighter
manufacturer = Fokker

---

caption = Fokker E.III taking off
designer = Anthony Fokker
first flight = 1915
introduced = December 1915
retired =
status =
primary user = Imperial German Army Air Service
more users =
produced = 1915-1916
number built = 249
unit cost =
variants with their own articles = Fokker E.I - Fokker E.IIThe Fokker E.III was the main variant of the Dutch Fokker "Eendekker" (monoplane) fighter aircraft of the First World War. It entered service on the Western Front in December 1915 and was also supplied to the Austria-Hungary and Turkey.

Design and development

The E.III was basically an E.II fitted with larger, newly designed wings and it was a far greater success than the E.II. It retained the same 100 hp Oberursel U.I engine but had a larger 21.5 gal main fuel tank which increased the Eindecker's endurance to about 2½ hours; an hour more than the E.II. Most E.IIIs were armed with a single Spandau LMG 08 machine gun with 500 rounds of ammunition however after the failure of the twin-gun Fokker E.IV as a viable successor, some E.IIIs were fitted with twin guns.

Fokker production figures state that 249 E.IIIs were manufactured however a number of the 49 E.IIs were upgraded to E.III standard when they were returned to Fokker's Schwerin factory for repairs.

Operational history

It was the first type to arrive in sufficient numbers to form small specialist fighter units, "Kampfeinsitzer Kommandos" (KEK) in early 1916 — previously Eindeckers were allocated singly to the front-line "Feldflieger Abteilungen" that carried out reconnaissance duties. On 10 August, 1916, the first German "Jagdstaffeln" (single-seat fighter squadrons) were formed, initially equipped with various early fighter types, including a few E.IIIs, which were by then outmoded and being replaced by more modern fighters. Standardisation in the "Jagdstaffeln" (and any real success) had to wait for the availability in numbers of the Albatros D.I and Albatros D.II in early 1917.Turkish E.IIIs were based at Beersheba in Palestine while others operated in Mesopotamia during the Siege of Kut-al-Amara.

urviving aircraft

The only known surviving original Fokker Eindecker of any version exists at the London Science Museum, a Fokker E.III that has been in the Science Museum's possession since its capture in World War I. It is currently on display fully assembled, but without its fabric covering, to illustrate the construction of a typical early WW I aircraft. [http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects/aeronautics/1918-210.aspx]

Operators

;flag|Austria-Hungary
*"Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen"
*Austro-Hungarian Navy;flag|German Empire
*"Luftstreitkräfte"
*"Kaiserliche Marine";flag|Ottoman Empire
*Turkish Air Force was supplied with 22 E.III aircraft.

pecifications (E.III)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=Winchester, 12]
crew=one, pilot
capacity=
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 7.30 m
length alt= 23 ft 11 in
span main= 10.04 m
span alt= 32 ft 11 in
height main= 2.49 m
height alt= 8 ft 2 in
area main=
area alt=
airfoil=
empty weight main=
empty weight alt=
loaded weight main= 349 kg
loaded weight alt= 770 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=
engine (prop)= Oberursel U.I
type of prop=9-cylinder air-cooled rotary engine
number of props=1
power main= 100 hp
power alt= 75 kW
power original=
max speed main=150 km/h
max speed alt= 93 mph
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 220 mi
range alt=360 km
ceiling main= 3,600 m
ceiling alt= 11,810 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
* Endurance : 2 hr 45 min
armament=
* 1 × 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 08 machine gun
avionics=

References

*citebook|last=Winchester|first=Jim|title=Fighter - The World's Finest Combat Aircraft - 1913 to the Present Day|year2006|publisher=barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc. and Parragon Publishing|isbn=0-7607-7957-0

ee also

aircontent
related=
Fokker E.II -
Fokker E.IV
similar aircraft=
Morane-Saulnier Type N
lists=
* List of military aircraft of Germany
* List of fighter aircraft
see also=