Pflaz DIII report

**Lt. S.Kafloc** · 07-28-2014 00:27

Picked this little snippet up whilst perusing amazon for books:

Report on the machine that landed in the British lines near Bonnieul on the 26th February, 1918, the report noted that it was a serious attempt to produce a scout machine with good performance.

The plane was designed by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. German engineers were impressed by famous French Neuport fighter designed as one-and-a-half plane. Their design was based on the achievements of French engineers. First trial flight was carried out in May 1917. Design featured machine guns mounted at the sides of the engine, aileron control wire was placed in the lower wing. Half a year after Pfalz D IIIa was made that had a more powerful engine, larger tail fin, modified shape of the lower wing and machine guns mounted at pilot's eye line. 1010 Pfalz D.III and Pfalz D.IIIa were made in total. In June 1917 first fighters entered service with combat squadrons. Pfalz was used for bomber escort and also for engaging enemy fighter and balloons. Pilots noted exceptional cockpit visibility, good manoeuvrability, stability when firing guns, speed and climb rate were described as good. Some pilots claimed that controls sensitivity was even better then in Albatros D.V. Steep dives performed in combat and ditch landings proved structural durability. The plane participated in battles over Western and Turkish fronts.

**predhead** · 07-28-2014 02:32

I do not believe the Pfalz aircraft receive the love they should. Better than their Albatros counterparts in performance, the D.III and D.XII were solid planes. Berthold kept his Pfalz even when he had a Fokker D.VII. That has to say something about the Pfalz's ability (and the poor lubricants being used).

**csadn** · 07-28-2014 14:50

Originally Posted by predhead

I do not believe the Pfalz aircraft receive the love they should. Better than their Albatros counterparts in performance, the D.III and D.XII were solid planes. Berthold kept his Pfalz even when he had a Fokker D.VII. That has to say something about the Pfalz's ability (and the poor lubricants being used).

CP has Pfalz; Entente has Hanriot. :)

**predhead** · 07-28-2014 15:08

I would agree with that, but in Wings of War/Glory terms, that Hanriot is a nice bird!

**Flying Officer Kyte** · 07-29-2014 03:31

Interesting tidbit Neil.
Rob.

**prymus** · 08-04-2014 20:22

Am reading the Osprey title Pfalz Scout Aces of WW1. While the majority of pilots quoted liked the Albatros DV better, I was surprised at the number of comments praising the Pfalz, and yes, some even touting the Pfalz as being the better of the 2. One ace, sorry don't recall the name, said that the Pfalz required a better, more experienced pilot to bring out all she had to offer. It is an interesting book, and highly recommended. I too have always thought the Pfalz to be a beautiful craft, unfortunately I don't think it gets quite a fair shake in our games terms.

**flash** · 08-05-2014 00:52

Good looking type. Problem was it looked faster than it actually was in a time when even a few miles per hour could make a real difference. I like 'flying' it myself and have had some good success with it as an escort and when flown defensively, not so much when trying to chase aircraft down !