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The Zeppelin D.I, or Zeppelin-Lindau D.I or Zeppelin D.I (Do) (as named in German documents) was also sometimes referred postwar as the Dornier D.I or Dornier-Zeppelin D.I for the designer, was a single-seat all-metal stressed skin monocoque cantilever-wing biplane fighter developed by Claude Dornier while working for Luftschiffbau Zeppelin at their Lindau facility. It was too late to see service with the German Air Force during World War One.
Design and development[]
The Dornier D.I was one of several designs, including the giant Zeppelin Rs series of seaplanes designed by Claude Dornier with an all-metal stressed skin monocoque structure, and it was the first fighter to feature such construction and although production was cancelled prior to the completion of any production versions it was also the first aircraft with these features to go into production. To reduce the hazards of in-flight fires it also featured an external fuel tank, that according to some sources may have been jettisonable, and thick section cantilevered wings for improved aerodynamics. The Dornier Do H Falke was largely similar, however it had an enlarged upper wing and dispensed with the lower wing.