PHONIX D.II AUSTRO HUNG. WW I

The Phönix D.II was an Austro-Hungarian biplane fighter from the end of World War I. The prototype flight took place in 1917 or early 1918. It is estimated that about 190 aircraft of this type - in the D.II and D.IIa versions - were produced. The plane was about 6.6 meters long with a wingspan of about 9.8 meters. The drive was provided by a single Hiero engine with 230 HP. The maximum speed was around 180 km / h. The on-board armament consisted of two Schwarzlose machine guns. The Phönix D.II fighter was developed in an aviation factory Phönix Flugzeug-Werke for the needs of the Austro-Hungarian military aviation, i.e. Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen - KuKLFT for short. In essence, it was a modernization of a successful fighter plane The Phönix DI differed from its predecessor in the shape of the horizontal tail and the removal of the cockpit fairing. However, in the D.IIa version, a significantly stronger drive unit was installed. As a curiosity, it can be noted that also Austro-Hungarian pilots of Polish origin flew on the Phönix D.II machines, among them a fighter ace Frank Linke-Crawford, born in Krakow.