The Fokker D.VII in Lithuania
Lithuania bought a number of D.VII’s illegal in Germany in 1919. Besides at least five complete D.VII’s, a lot of parts like wings and radiators were acquired. From these, four D.VII’s were completed and put into service. In 1928, two D.VII’s were rebuild, and they had a complete different outlook. The fuselage behind the cockpit was raised and a headrest mounted. One machinegun was mounted, and the ‘wing’ between the weels was deleted.
There were also three new D.VII’s built. One was built in 1928 with a 240hp Siddeley Puma engine. This was a complete different variant, where the front of the aircraft almost reached the upper wing. It was a very difficult to fly aircraft. In 1930 two more were build with a Mercedes D.III engine.
Profiles of Lithuanian Fokker D.VII’s by Kristjan Runarsson (click to show)
