LFG Roland D.I

{{Infobox aircraft | name = D.I | logo = | logo_size = | image = Roland D.I 002.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Fighter | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = Germany | manufacturer = LFG, Pfalz | design_group = | designer = Dipl Ing Tantzen | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = ''Luftstreitkräfte'' | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = ca. 20 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = July 1916 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = }}

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").<ref name="WAIF">''World Aircraft Information Files'' File 900 Sheet 06</ref> The I-struts that had been used to brace the C.II's wing were replaced by more conventional struts. Other changes to the wing included the removal of stagger from the design and the introduction of slight sweepback.<ref name="WAIF" />

The prototype flew in July 1916 and was accepted by the Idflieg for military service. Production was interrupted, however, by a fire at the factory after only around twenty machines had been built. When production eventually resumed, it was of the improved Roland D.II.

==Variants== ;LFG Roland D.I: The standard fighter. ;Roland D.I (Pfal) : D.I production from Pfalz. Originally designated Pfalz D.I. Twenty aircraft licence-built by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke, s/n: 1680-1699/16, from February 1917 renamed '''Roland D.I (Pfal)'''.<ref>Herris, Jack. ''Pfalz Aircraft of World War I''. Great War Aircraft in Profile, Volume 4. 2001. {{ISBN|1891268155}}. P.27</ref> ;LFG WD: Two float seaplane version first flown 29 June 1917 and tested at Warnemünde in July. It was found wanting both in its flight characteristics and the view forward and downwards. The latter criticism was frequently made of the D.I and its descendants, visibility blocked by engine radiators and the lower wing.modifications were made, but further official testing in September lead to the refusal of a production order. Modified yet again, the single example ended with the seaplane single-seat fighter school. It is sometimes referred to as the '''LFG W''', though this name is also used for a LFG floatplane version of the Albatros C.Ia.<ref name=G&Th>Green & Thetford 1970, p.464</ref><ref name=G&S>Green & Swanborough 1994, p.338</ref>

==Operators== ;{{BUL}} *Bulgarian Air Force ;{{flag|German Empire}} *Luftstreitkräfte

==Specifications==

{{Aircraft specs |ref=''Die deutschen Militärflugzeuge 1919-1934'' <ref name="Kroschel">{{cite book |last1=Kroschel |first1=Gunter |last2=Stutzer |first2=Helmut |title=Die deutschen Militärflugzeuge 1919-1934 |date=1994 |publisher=Weltbild |location=Augsburg |isbn=3893506934 |page=139 |edition=Lizenzausg |language=de}}</ref> |prime units?=met  |crew=1 |length m= |length note= |span m= |span note= |height m=2.9 |height note= |wing area sqm=23 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg=699 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg=932 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity={{cvt|129|kg|0}} |more general=  |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Mercedes D.III |eng1 type=6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine |eng1 hp=160 |eng1 note=

|prop blade number=2 |prop name=fixed-pitch propeller |prop dia m= |prop dia note=  |max speed kmh=165 |max speed note= |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed note= |range km= |range note= |combat range km= |combat range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling m=5000 |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ms=2.8 |climb rate note= |time to altitude={{cvt|4000|m}} in 14 minutes |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |power/mass= |more performance=  |guns= 1 × fixed, forward-firing 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 machine gun

}}

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== * {{cite book|author1-last=Gray|author1-first=Peter|title=German Aircraft of the First World War|orig-year=1970|year=1987 |publisher=Putnam|isbn=0-85177-809-7|edition=2nd|author2-first=Owen|author2-last=Thetford|name-list-style=amp}} * {{cite book |author1-last= Green|author1-first= William |author2-last=Swanborough|author2-first=Gordon |title= The Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Built and Flown |orig-year= 1994 |publisher= Salamander Books |isbn=1-84065-269-1|name-list-style=amp|year=2001 |edition=Revised and updated}} *{{cite book |last1=Herris |first1=Jack |title=Roland Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes |date=2014 |publisher=Aeronaut Books |isbn=978-1-935881-20-9|series=Great War Aviation Centennial Series|volume=9}}

==Further reading== *{{cite book |last1=Herris |first1=Jack |title=German Seaplane Fighters of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Seaplanes |date=2012 |publisher=Aeronaut Books |location=Charleston (S.C.) |isbn=978-1-935881-09-4|series=Great War Aviation Centennial Series|volume=2}} * {{cite book|title=World Aircraft Information Files |publisher=Bright Star Publishing|location=London }}

==External links== {{commons category|LFG Roland D.I}} * [http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww1/lfgd1.html Уголок неба]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lfg Roland D.I}} Category:1910s German fighter aircraft Category:LFG aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1916