Fokker E.I

The Fokker E.I was the first successful fighter aircraft, entering combat with the German Army Air Service in mid-1915 which marked the start of a period known as the "Fokker Scourge" during which the E.I and its Fokker Eindecker successors ruled the skies over the Western Front.

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The E.I was essentially a Fokker M.5K single-seat reconnaissance aircraft (military designation A.III) fitted with the newly-developed interrupter gear firing a single Parabellum lMG 14 or Spandau lMG 08 machine gun. Indeed the first five E.Is had been ordered and were under construction as A.IIIs but were completed as E.Is. Subsequent production E.Is had their wings lowered from the M.5's shoulder configuration (level with the top of the fuselage) to a central position which improved pilot visibility. (These were designated by Fokker as the M.14 which was also used for the following two Eindecker variants.)

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The E.I was mainly flown by the Fliegertruppes of the German Army. Two were supplied to the Austro-Hungarian air force and five to the Kaiserliche Marine in April 1916. The E.I was soon joined by the improved Fokker E.II and, as the first E.Is were entering service in June 1915, the first of the E.II type was being demonstrated by Anthony Fokker. However, E.I production continued in parallel with the E.II and output of the types depended on the availability of the Oberursel engines; the 80-hp U.0 for the E.I and the 100-hp U.I for the E.II. In fact, E.Is were still being produced in 1916 well after E.II production had ceased, having been supeseded by the Fokker E.III. In all 54 were delivered.

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Fighter aircraft: A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. Fighters are comparatively small, fast, and highly maneuverable, and have been fitted with increasingly sophist...

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