Roden Plastic Model Kit Roden Fokker D.VI — 1:32

Manufacturer

Roden is a Ukrainian manufacturer particularly well known for its extensive range of First World War aircraft. The company's WWI subjects include many relatively uncommon aircraft that are not widely represented by other plastic-kit manufacturers.

Kit 603 was added to specialist catalogues in October 2006 and represents the Fokker D.VI, an aircraft produced in very small numbers during the final year of the First World War.

The kit is moulded in plastic and requires assembly and painting. Paint, modelling cement and other finishing materials are not included. A current product specification gives the completed model's length as approximately 18 cm.
Kit contents

A detailed contemporary review of Roden 603 identifies six light-brown sprues, three decal sheets and a comprehensive instruction booklet. The review counts 107 parts, with 12 unused/spare parts.

The kit provides:

Fuselage components

Detailed cockpit

Pilot's seat and cockpit fittings

Engine and engine installation

Oberursel rotary engine representation

Propeller

Upper and lower wings

Interplane and cabane struts

Main landing gear

Wheels

Tailplane and rudder

Twin Spandau machine guns

Wing and fuselage detail

Decals

Large lozenge-camouflage decal sheets

Illustrated assembly instructions

The kit provides markings for three individual aircraft. The decal package includes both individual markings and extensive lozenge camouflage material for the wings and other surfaces.

The three aircraft represented include:

Fokker D.VI 1689/18, Flugpark Armee Abteilung B, Alsace-Lorraine, 1918

Fokker D.VI, Kampf-Einsitzerstaffel Kest 1a, Mannheim, summer 1918

Fokker D.VI “Fratz”, Jasta 80b, Lieutenant Kurt Seit, Western Front, summer 1918

History of the full-size aircraft

The Fokker D.VI was a German single-seat fighter developed by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke during 1917–1918. It was designed by Reinhold Platz and was derived from Fokker's V.13 prototype family.

The aircraft was essentially a hybrid of several existing Fokker design features. Its development used elements of the Fokker Dr.I and the emerging Fokker D.VII, particularly in the fuselage, tail and wing design. The resulting aircraft was a compact single-seat biplane with a particularly distinctive appearance.

Two V.13 prototypes were constructed in late 1917. The first used a 110 hp Oberursel Ur.II rotary engine, while the second was fitted with the more powerful 160 hp Siemens-Halske Sh.III rotary engine.

The prototype participated in the German fighter competition at Adlershof in January 1918. The aircraft was found to be manoeuvrable and relatively easy to fly, leading to a production order. The official type approval, or Typenprüfung, took place on 15 March 1918.
Production

The D.VI's production history was unusually short.

Fokker received an order for the aircraft in early 1918, but the German aviation authorities were simultaneously placing much greater emphasis on the new Fokker D.VII.

Ultimately only 59 D.VIs were completed, with production taking place between approximately April and August 1918. Seven aircraft were delivered to the Austro-Hungarian Air Service.

Some historical references give slightly different production figures depending on whether partially completed airframes are included, but 59 completed aircraft is the commonly cited figure.
Engine

Production D.VIs were primarily powered by the 110 hp Oberursel Ur.II, a nine-cylinder air-cooled rotary engine.

The engine was derived from the French Le Rhône rotary design and was relatively compact and light. Rotary engines were common in WWI fighters because the entire engine rotated with the propeller, providing a high power-to-weight ratio.

However, the D.VI's relatively low-powered production engine became one of its principal limitations.

Contemporary operational experience indicated that the aircraft was manoeuvrable at low altitude but had poor performance at higher altitudes. Engine reliability was also affected by shortages of suitable castor oil and the use of substitute lubricants.
Performance

Representative specifications for the production Fokker D.VI include:

Crew: 1

Engine: 1 × Oberursel Ur.II

Power: approximately 110 hp

Maximum speed: approximately 120–122 mph / 193–196 km/h, depending on the source and configuration

Armament: 2 × LMG 08/15 Spandau machine guns

Role: Fighter / interceptor

Configuration: Single-engine biplane

Historical specifications vary somewhat because the D.VI existed with different experimental engines and published figures sometimes refer to different prototypes or production configurations.
Armament

The standard production aircraft carried two 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 Spandau machine guns.

The guns were mounted forward of the cockpit and synchronised to fire through the propeller arc.

This was the standard German fighter arrangement by 1918 and gave the pilot a concentrated forward-firing armament.
Operational service

The D.VI entered service during the final stages of the First World War.

Although its handling was regarded positively, its performance was increasingly inadequate compared with newer fighters, particularly the Fokker D.VII.

The aircraft was therefore used only in limited numbers. Some examples served with fighter formations and home-defence units, while others were employed as trainers. A historical account describes D.VI operations in the Alsace-Lorraine region, where the aircraft was used for interception and training duties.
Relationship to the Fokker Dr.I and D.VII

The D.VI occupies an interesting position in Fokker's development history.

It was effectively a bridge between the company's famous triplane and the much more successful D.VII:

Fokker Dr.I → Fokker D.VI → Fokker D.VII

The D.VI retained elements of the Dr.I's compact fuselage and overall character while using a biplane configuration incorporating ideas that would also appear in the D.VII.

The D.VII ultimately proved considerably more successful and effectively ended further development of the D.VI.
Why production ended

The main problem was not that the D.VI was an unsuccessful aircraft in absolute terms. Rather, it was overtaken by a better alternative.

The Fokker D.VII offered superior overall performance and development potential, and Germany had already placed substantial orders for that aircraft.

As more powerful engines became available, the D.VII programme received priority. Consequently, further D.VI production was abandoned.
Historical significance

Although only 59 aircraft were completed, the D.VI is an interesting aircraft historically because it represents a transitional stage in German fighter development.

It demonstrates how Fokker was moving away from the earlier Dr.I configuration toward the biplane designs that would culminate in the highly successful D.VII.

The D.VI is also significant because so few were produced. Unlike the Fokker D.VII, which became one of the most numerous German fighters of 1918, the D.VI remained a relatively obscure type.

According to the Fokker historical archive, no original Fokker D.VI survives today, although replicas have subsequently been constructed and flown.