German Pfalz D.III. (14023740066)

The Pfalz D.III was a fighter aircraft used by the Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Service) during the First World War. Built in April 1917, using a plywood monocoque fuselage, two layers of thin plywood strips were placed over a mold to form one half of a fuselage shell. The fuselage halves were then glued together, covered with a layer of fabric, and doped. This method gave the fuselage great strength, light weight, and smooth contours compared to conventional construction techniques.

The D.III slipped in turns, leading to crashes when unwary pilots turned at very low altitudes, also stalling sharply and spinning readily, which some pilots took advantage of to descend quickly or evade enemy aircraft. The Pfalz’s primary advantage was it could safely dive at high speeds due to its twin-spar lower wing and was well-suited to diving attacks on observation balloons.