Flight, December 1920

The Do. D.I, 1918

   Although being a land machine, and thus having no direct relation to the development of Dornier fiying boats, a machine produced early in 1918 is of more than ordinary interest, as being probably the first all-metal machine in the world in which the metal covering not only of the fuselage but also of the wings is designed to take part of the stresses. The machine referred to was a small single-seater with a 185 h.p. B.M.W. engine, and was given the series number Do. D.I. As the two photographs will show, it was of extraordinarly clean appearance with its cantilever biplane wings and its metal cocque fuselage. The radiator was placed in the nose, and appears to English eyes to be decidedly on the small side. From the accompanying table it will be seen that for its area the D. I was fairly heavy, the weight empty being 7.6 lbs./sq. ft. and the useful load only 400 lbs., bringing the total wing loading up to 9.6 lbs./sq. ft. That the cantilever wings were able to support such a heavy loading appears to indicate that the construction was sound.