Schütte-Lanz D.III

Schütte-Lanz

Industry	Aerospace
Headquarters	Germany

Template:Infobox aircraft

The Schütte-Lanz D.III was a German World War I fighter prototype. It competed in the initial Idflieg D contest held at Adlershof, Germany, during January and February 1918. This aircraft was a traditional single-bay staggered biplane featuring N-shaped interplane struts. Built primarily from wood and covered with fabric, the D.III delivered modest performance results, leading to the decision not to proceed with mass production.

Variants

Dr.I

The Dr.I was a triplane variant that utilized the fuselage, tail assembly, engine, and landing gear of the D.III, with the exception of a slightly adjusted tailskid position. Its wingspan was reduced to approximately 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in), maintaining single bays and N-strut supports as before. The center wing was affixed directly to the upper fuselage, while the upper wing was mounted above the cockpit using an N-strutted cabane strut. Notably, there was stagger between the lower two wings but none between the upper pair. The Dr.I participated in the second D competition, which ran from 27 May to 28 June 1918.

Bibliography

• William Green and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. Colour Library Direct, Godalming, UK: 1994. ISBN 1-85833-777-1.

Further reading

• Herris, Jack (2020). German Aircraft of Minor Manufacturers in WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series (50). Vol. 2: Krieger to Union. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-86-5.