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Fokker E.III
Fokker E.III taking off
Role	Fighter
Manufacturer	Fokker-Flugzeugwerke
Designed by	Anthony Fokker
First flight	1915
Introduced	December 1915
Primary user	Luftstreitkräfte
Produced	1915-1916
Number built	249
Variants	Fokker E.I - Fokker E.II

Captured E.III 210/16 in flight at Upavon, Wiltshire in 1916.

The Fokker E.III was the main variant of the Eindecker (monoplane) fighter aircraft of World War I. It entered service on the Western Front in December 1915 and was also supplied to Austria-Hungary and Turkey.

Design and development

The E.III was basically an E.II fitted with larger, newly designed larger wings. It retained the same 75 kW (100 hp) Oberursel U.I engine, but had a larger 81 l (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 7.92 mm (.312 in) 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

Fokker E.111 downed in France during WWI

The E.III 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.

Surviving aircraft

The only known surviving original Eindecker 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 its internal construction.

Operators

Fokker E.III replica

 Austria-Hungary

• Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen
• Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine

 German Empire

• Luftstreitkräfte
• Kaiserliche Marine

 Ottoman Empire

• Ottoman Air Force was supplied with 22 E.III aircraft.

Specifications (E.III)

General characteristics

• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 10.04 m (32 ft 11 in)
• Height: 2.49 m (8 ft 2 in)
• Loaded weight: 349 kg (770 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Oberursel U.I 9-cylinder air-cooled rotary engine, 75 kW (100 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 150 km/h (93 mph)
• Range: 360 km (220 mi)
• Service ceiling: 3,600 m (11,810 ft)
• Endurance : 2 hr 45 min

Armament

• 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 08 machine gun

See also

Related development Fokker E.II - Fokker E.IV
Comparable aircraft Morane-Saulnier Type N

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of Germany
  

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Published in July 2009.

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