Fokker D XIII1924 |
FIGHTER | Virtual Aircraft Museum / Holland / Fokker |
The D XIII was essentially a re-engined and more powerful variant of the D XI developed at the behest of the German Reichswehr and powered by a 570hp Napier Lion XI 12-cylinder water-cooled engine. Retaining the twin 7.92mm LMG 08/15 gun armament of the D XI, the D XIII was first flown on 12 September 1924, at which time it was claimed to be the fastest fighter in the world. On 16 July 1925, the production model was used to establish a series of world records for speed and load. Production was, in the event, restricted to 50 aircraft ordered by Hugo Stinnes for the clandestine Reichswehr air training centre at Lipetsk, where they arrived in the summer of 1925. The D XIIIs continued in use at Lipetsk until 1933, when the centre was closed and the 30 surviving fighters of this type (which included two replacements) were handed to the Soviet government.
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