LFG Roland D.I

what is it?

The LFG Roland D.I was a German fighter designed by Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft (LFG) during World War I. It was a single-seat aircraft based originally on the Roland C.II two-seat reconnaissance type. It shared its predecessor's unusual design feature of having a deep fuselage that completely filled the interplane gap, but in comparison, the fuselage was much sleeker. While the C.II's appearance had earned the Walfisch ("Whale"), the D.I became known as the Haifisch ("Shark").

base stats

• speed 165 km/htop speed
• size 932 kgmax take-off weight
• built 20made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 110 years ago, in 1916.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1916-07

number built

20

role

fighter

origin

🇩🇪 Germany

makers

Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft

engines

1× Mercedes D.III

crew

1

height

2.9 m

max take-off weight

932 kg

top speed

165 km/h

range

—

ceiling

5,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.