Armament:

Two 7.7 mm (0.303 in) fixed forward firing machine guns

History:

Siemens-Schuckertwerke was one of a number of branches of the Siemens Electrical firm, the company founded in 1847 by Werner Von Siemens and Johann Halske.  At the time of the outbreak of World War I it was involved in the production of aircraft, including the Siemens- Schuckert biplane with four 82 kw (110 hp) Mercedes engines, known as the Siemens Steffen Giant aeroplane; and a semi-rigid airship.

One the Company’s designs was the D.IV, described by Leutnant Alfred Lenz, leader of Jagdstaffell 22, as ”undoubtedly superior to any single-seat fighter at the front today.”  Captain Edward Rickenbacker, America’s top ranking fighter ace of World War I, stated he had a hellish respect for the Siemens-Schuckert fighter.  The first fighters produced by the Company were the E.I and E.III monoplanes, and the D.I, a copy of a French Nieuport.

Eventually Dipl Ing Harald Wolff was appointed chief of the design department and he, and an engineer named Hauck, initiated work on a new fighter to be powered by the Company’s own Siemens Halske Sh.III rotary engine.  In 1917, whilst testing this engine, a D.II climbed to 5,000 m (16,400 ft) in 15.5 mins; and to 7,000 m (22,965 ft) in 35.5 mins.  This lead to the D.III, the prototype (D7551/17) attaining 180 km/h (112 mph) and an altitude of 6,000 m (19,685 ft) in 20 mins.

The first pre-production machines commenced to be delivered in January 1918, these differing from the prototype in having a four-blade propeller. At this time orders were placed for further development aircraft known as the D.IV and D.V.  The D.III entered service with Jasta 15 but problems occurred with piston failure in the engine due to poor quality pistons and inferior oil.  Cooling of the engine was also a problem which required rectification.  By May 1918 the engine was providing up to 179 kw (240 hp), and one D.III climbed to 8,100 m (26,575 ft) in 36 mins in September 1918.  A total of 80 D.IIIs was built and allotted to kampfansitzerstaffeln (home defence fighter squadrons).

In June 1918 the first D.IV (7554/17) was completed, being a rebuild of the crashed D.III (D7551/17).  It was later modified to become the D.IV in the June 1918 fighter competition at Adlershof in Berlin.  In August 1918 deliveries of the D.IV were made to Jagdstaffel 14 and Marine-Jagdgeschwader. Other units commenced to receive the type, orders at that stage standing at 280.  At the time of the Armistice 119 had been completed.  In October 1918 the Richthofen Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG.1), which had expressed a dislike for the type, sought to be re-equipped with the D.IV but in the event the war ended before any could be delivered.

Reports indicate that, due to its compactness and relatively high wing loading, the D.IVC was a sensitive aircraft which called for respect on the part of its pilots but was undoubtedly the best German fighter to reach operational service.  The D.IV was developed to the D.VI and two prototypes were completed after the Armistice in 1919.  It possessed excellent flying characteristics and had a max speed of 220 km/h (137 mph), reaching 7,000 m (22,965 ft) in 22 mins.

One D.IV survived in Germany up to 1926 and was employed for high altitude research.  Units equipped with the D.IV reported some success with the type, being able to out-perform the Fokker D.VII.  On 7 September 1918 Vizefeldwebel Rodschinka attacked a flight of 24 de Havilland DH.4 bombers over Frankfurt and shot down two.  However, the method of building the series did not lend itself to mass production, the fuselage being of plywood rather than the welded steel tube and fabric covering of the Fokker fighters.

Last of the series was the D.VI, of which only two were completed, which was to replace the D.IV on the production line.  This was similar to the parasol wing D.Ic, the wings being internally braced, it having an Sh.III engine.  Tests in the first few months of 1919 indicated it had a max speed of 220 km/h (137 mph) and could climb to 7,000 m (22,966 ft) in 22 mins.

No examples of this series are known to survive but at least three replicas have been built by enthusiasts.  One of these is in New Zealand. Fitted with a 138 kw (185 hp) Warner Super Scarab seven-cylinder radial engine, it was built in the 1990s for the Frank Ryder Collection in Alabama, USA.  Later it spent some time in North Carolina before going to the Classic Fighters Collection of World War I aircraft at Omaka on the south island of New Zealand.

A replica Siemens-Schuckert D.IV built by Carl Swanson in the United States as N1094G, fitted with a Gnome Monosoupape 9N engine of 112 kw (150 hp), made its first flight in October 1981. It spent some time with the Planes of Fame Museum in Arizona before being imported in November 2019 to Ardmore, NZ, becoming ZK-SSW.

The type has also been of interest in the ultralight field, a scale replica being completed in Australia and registered under RAA regulations as 10-4542.  This latter machine was built to plans for a Nieuport 16 and was converted to represent a Siemens-Schuckert D.1.  The aircraft was only registered from 10 April 2006 to 10 April 2007 when it was damaged in an accident during early testing at Albion Park, NSW and placed in storage at The Oaks, west of Sydney, NSW.