Model Kartonowy - Marek Pacynski(Model Cardboard) 010 - Siemens Schuckert D-Iii(1-33), Digital Air Force
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Siemens Schuckert D.III
Ltn Ernst Udet
Jasta 4
Metz Aerodrome
September 1918
Ultimate successor of the S.S.W. D I was the D.III/ D.IV
series, which appeared almost a year later, after development
through a series of D.II prototypes, and represented a line of
advanced and original thought from the drawing-board of Dipl. Ing.
Harald Wolff (who was appointed chief designer after Steffen was
killed) and his assistant, a young engineer named Hauck.
With the relative success of the various D.II prototypes a pre-
production order for 20 D.IIIs was placed by Idflieg during the last
weeks of 1917; followed by an order for 30 more in February 1918.
During April and May some 41 S.S.W. D.IIIs were channeled to the
Western Front for operational trials. Most were received by
Jagdstaffel 15 of the Jagdgeschwader 11 commanded by Haupt.
Rudolph Berthold. A good deal of trouble was experienced with
piston seizure, and it became obvious the Siemens-Halske Sh.III
engine with which these D.IIIs were fitted was not yet ready for
operational service. This shortcoming was seized upon by
opponents of the D.III, one of whom had been Hermann Goring, in
an endeavor to discredit it completely and have it condemned.
Berthold none the less had achieved several victories on the D.III
and saw its potentialities; it was largely through his intelligent and
objective report on the type that development continued.
The Siemens-Halske Sh.III engine was a more powerful,
eleven-cylinder development of the earlier Sh.I engine, retaining the
same characteristic of crankshaft rotating in one direction at 900
rpm. and the crankcase and cylinders rotating in the reverse direction
also at 900 rpm., thereby achieving an actual engine speed of 1,800
rpm. Although advantageous in some respects, this system had its
disadvantages. Being a more powerful and bigger engine than the Sh
I, the Sh III tended to run a lot hotter, and this effect was magnified by
the slow speed at which the cylinders rotated, compared with a
normal rotary, resulting in a considerable reduction in the amount of
air cooling. Coupled with the low-grade castor oil available to the
Germans at this period of the war, recurrent piston seizure after some
seven to ten hours running seemed inevitable. The redeeming
feature of the engine was that its power did not drop off at high
altitude and held good prospects. The D.IIIs were withdrawn from
the Front during May 1918 for the fitting of improved engines and
some airframe modifications.
One such re-engined D.III, with a Rhemag built Sh IIIs, was
piloted by the Siemens test pilot Rodschinka, to the extraordinary
height of 8,100 m. (26,568 ft.) in exactly 36 min. These aircraft were
then returned to operational service during July 1918, when, by
virtue of their superb climbing powers, they were used mainly as
interceptors by Kampfeinsitzer Staffeln 4a, 4b, 5, 6 and 8 for defense
of the Fatherland.
Fritz Beckhardt, a friend of the late A. R. Weyl, flew
Siemens-Schuckert fighters to good account with Kest (the
abbreviated Kampfeinsitzer Staffel) 5, his aircraft being
characterized by the painting on the fuselage sides of a large
Hakenkreuze (swastika). On a single sortie during September 1918
he managed to shoot down a pair of French Breguet B 14s operating
at a height of more than 23,000 ft. The Breguets were by no means
sitting ducks, as Ernst Udet was able to testify when he had been shot
down by one earlier in the year and was only saved by his parachute.
When in December 1917 Idflieg gave the first D.III order, it
also requested development of the D.IV and placed an order for three
prototypes. A D.V development was similarly requested, but as this
was virtually a two-bay version of the D.IV, and offered no
improvement, it proceeded no further. Although the S.S.W. D.III had
excellent climbing abilities, its maximum level speed was not
comparable, being only about 180 km.h. (112-5 m.p.h.). In an
endeavor to achieve improved performance a redesigned top wing of
new section and reduced chord was experimentally fitted, and in this
guise the aircraft was re-designated D.IV. There was also some
revision to the cowling arrangement, in which the lower half was
almost completely cut away to give additional cooling to the
cylinders. The spinner was also impressed with four cooling louvers
in order to scoop cooling air on to the crankcase. Apart from these
modifications, the two types differed little. In performance an
immediate increase in level speed to 118 m.p.h. was obtained and the
rate of climb substantially improved. By March 1918 a production
order had been given for the D.IV, but it was not until August of that
year that it became operational; first deliveries went to Jasta 14 and
to the Marine Jagdgeschwader commanded by Osterkamp. Later
Kest 2 and Jasta 22 received some D.IVs, but production rate was
largely controlled by engine availability, and by the Armistice not all
the 280 machines that had been ordered had been delivered. Not
even the famous Richthofen Geschwader (after an initial antipathy)
had been able to get its belated request for the type fulfilled.
The D.III/ D.IV fighter series, the first-and last-S.S.W.
original rotary engined design to see service with the German Air
Force, differed radically in appearance from all previous production
fighters. Its stocky, barrel-like fuselage was of considerable strength
and continued the circular section dictated by the engine throughout
its length. In the initial production machines the Sh.III engine was
completely enclosed in a close-fitting circular cowl, and the four-
bladed propeller-of fairly coarse pitch-was fitted with a large
diameter spinner. This combination left an insufficient aperture for
the entry of cooling air, and later the cowling was drastically cut
away in the lower half, thereby exposing the front engine-bearer
spider frame. The fuselage consisted of a basic structure of spruce
longerons and circular plywood bulkheads additionally reinforced
with diagonally mounted ply formers, which, when the three-ply
skin was attached, resulted in an extremely strong structure. The
panel between the front undercarriage legs was of sheet metal
liberally endowed with louvers to allow the exhaust to escape; the
top panel between the center-section struts was similarly covered.
Handgrips adjacent to the cockpit and tail plane were fashioned by
the simple expedient of cutting away a small rectangle of the
plywood skin and exposing the longeron, which could be grasped.
All fin surfaces were of wooden framing and constructed integrally
with the fuselage, and were likewise plywood skinned. The vertical
fin was of asymmetrical
section, which helped to
counteract a tendency to
swing on take-off as a result
of the considerable torque
moment of the big engine.
The balanced, angular
rudder and the one-piece
balanced elevator were of
welded steel-tube
construction and covered
with fabric.
In the D.III the upper
wing was of considerably
greater chord than the lower.
Both were based on twin
hollow box-spars, and the
plywood ribs with pine capping strips were closely spaced and, with
the plywood sheeting of the leading edge back to the front spar,
dispensed with the necessity for false ribs to preserve the aerofoil
section. In the D.IV an improved aerofoil section was introduced and
the upper wing reduced in chord to 1 m.: the same as the lower wing.
Overhung, horn-balanced ailerons, of parallel chord (those of the
D.IV were slightly tapered towards the tips) were fitted at all four
wingtips and imparted a brisk rate of roll to the machine. They were
operated through torque tubes in all wing panels by a positive
linkage which made it unnecessary for them to be linked externally
by either struts or wires. As in the steering surfaces, they were of
welded steel tube and covered with fabric.
A conventional vee-type undercarriage was fitted, although
the vee struts were fabricated from alloy tube instead of the more
usual steel tube, and were wrapped with alloy sheet fairings. The
wheels were sprung with spiral steel springs. A substantial ash
tailskid was hinged to the under fin and bound at its upper end with
elastic cord. Interplane struts were of wood and wrapped with fabric
for additional strength, as
were also the center section
struts.
Fl i ght
characteristics of the series
were such as to demand
constant vigilance from the
pilot; there was no stall
warning and a spin rapidly
developed. Nevertheless,
although with such a
powerful engine the torque
was considerable, it could
be handled by any pilot of
good average skill. The
counter-rotation of the
crankshaft and cylinders did
nothing to lessen torque (as has been supposed), but did compensate
the gyroscopic reaction. This was extremely beneficial, as it gave no
fore-and-aft change of trim between right- and left-hand turns, as
was normally the case with rotary-engined fighters.
Without doubt these Schuckert machines were the best
German fighters to reach operational status, yet they were probably
the least known. For some odd reason, manufacture of the type did
not cease until the summer of 1919, and one D.IV survived in
Germany until as late as 1926.
Description
:
Manufacturer
:
Power Plants
:
Single-seat fighter
Siemens-Schuckert Werke G.m.b.H. Siemensstadt, Berlin and Nurnberg (SSW.)
One 160 h.p. Siemens-Halske Sh III and IIIa 11 cylinder geared rotary engine.
Dimensions
:
..............................................................................................
8.43 m. (27 ft. 7 3/8 in.)
Length
: ...........................................................................................
5.7 m. (18 ft. 8 1/2 in.)
Height
: ............................................................................................
2.8 m. (9 ft. 2 1/4 in.)
Area
: ...............................................................................................
18.82 sq.m. (203.5 sq.ft.)
Weights:
Empty
: ............................................................................................
534 kg. (1,175 lb.)
Loaded:...........................................................................................725 kg. (1,595 lb.)
Performance:
Max speed
: .....................................................................................
180 km.h. (112.5 m.p.h.)
Climb to:
1,000 m.
..........................................................................................
1.75 min
2,000 m.
..........................................................................................
3.75 min
3,000 m.
..........................................................................................
6.0 min
4,000 m.
..........................................................................................
9.0 min
5,000 m.
..........................................................................................
13.0 min
6,000 m.
..........................................................................................
20.0 min
...........................................................................................
8,000 m
........................................................................................
2 hr.
Two fixed Spandau machineguns firing forward
Ceiling
:
Duration
:
Armament:
Span
:
31
32
DÓ£
13a
30
29
6a
13
28
7c
7a
7b
To cut out
To cut out
6b
10A
10
7
6
To cut out
after gluing up
33B
33A
34
8
35
10a
33
10B
12A
12C
12C
12
12B
8a
9
11c
8A
9a
11
11b
17
11a
G
4a
F
17A
28A
4
1
- To cut out
3
3a 5
2
R
19
19
L
21b
21c
21c
21A
21b
21
21a
21A
20
e
d c
b
a
14
g
15a
R
f
a
h
e
g
26b
d
c
26a
18
R
26
25b
L
25a
15a
L
25
22a
22c
p. 22c
22b
22
27a
- To cut out
PARTS OF WIRE 0,5 mm
23b
23
23a
27
2 x
II
36
I
2x
22d
24
24a
III
24b
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