Fokker D.VII – Kaiser’s Best Fighter: Kaiser’s Best Fighter

Description

When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils. (Luke 11: 21-22)
The above words taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke perfectly reflect the conditions in which a defeated Germany was put by the victorious Allied powers. Item 4 of the Armistice of November 11, 1918 demanded immediate demobilization of Germany’s air force and the surrender of 2,000 military aircraft, particularly Fokker D.VIIs. The Fokker D.VIl was the only type listed by name – for what reason? Why should this machine have been of such particular importance to those dictating the armistice conditions? The answer is simple and obvious: the Fokker D.VII clearly outclassed the machines operated by the victorious coalition’s air forces. It was a design that was to influence many fighters conceived in the inter-war period and was good enough to remain in service with various air forces until the mid-thirties.