Kondor D 1

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National originGermany
ManufacturerKondor Flugzeugwerke, Essen
Designer
Walter Rethel and Paul Ehrhardt
D 1
General information
TypeFighter aircraft
National originGermany
ManufacturerKondor Flugzeugwerke, Essen
Designer
Walter Rethel and Paul Ehrhardt
Statusprototype only
Number built1
History
First flightAutumn 1917
VariantKondor D 2

The Kondor D 1, given the unofficial name Kondorlaus, was a German single seat, biplane fighter aircraft designed and built close to the end of WWI.

The Kondor D 1 was an unequal span single-seat biplane of wooden construction, powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine and armed with two 7.92 mm (0.312 in) LMG 08/15 Spandau machine guns. The D 1 had a single spar lower wing with V interplane struts, similar to Nieuport 11 practice.

The first flight of the Kondor D 1 occurred in the autumn of 1917, but test flights showed it to be underpowered and Walter Rethel, with Paul Ehrhardt, developed an improved version of the design, the Kondor D 2, which Rethel completed after Ehrhardt retired due to ill health.

Confusion reigned after the second D-type competition at Aldershof because the Idflieg referred to the two Kondor D 2 prototypes as the D.I and D.II during the competition, which were actually fictitious designations.[1]

Specifications (D 1)

References

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