DFW Floh

The DFW T.28 Floh (English: Flea) was a small German biplane fighter prototype designed by Hermann Dorner, the designer of the successful Hannover CL.II two-seat fighter of 1917, and built by Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke.^[1]

Floh
DFW T.28 Floh circa 1915
Role	Biplane fighter aircraft
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke
Designer	Hermann Dorner
First flight	1915
Number built	1

Designed in 1915 as high-speed fighter, the Floh had a small 6.20 m (20.3 ft) wingspan and a rather ungainly tall and thin fuselage.^[1] With a fixed conventional landing gear the Floh was powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Mercedes D.I inline piston engine, and on its first flight in December 1915 reached 180 km/h (110 mph), quite fast for the time.^[1]

The aircraft suffered from very poor forward visibility and was difficult to land due to its narrow landing gear. The prototype crashed during the flight testing programme.^[1]

View showing poor forward visibility.

Specifications

Data from DFW Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 15 m² (160 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 352 kg (776 lb)
• Gross weight: 596 kg (1,314 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.I water-cooled inline piston, 75 kW (100 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed

Performance

• Maximum speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn)

Armament

• 1 × 7.92mm (0.312 in) LMG 08/15 Spandau machine gun