Where did Anthony Fokker get the model for his triplane?

Short answer

Of the British Sopwith Triplane: in April 1917 Anthony Fokker saw a captured one during a visit to Jasta 11. The English triplane had begun to appear over the Western Front in February that year and proved superior to the more heavily armed Albatros fighters used by the Luftstreitkräfte.

Published: November 2, 2026 · Updated: November 2, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Where did Anthony Fokker get the model for his triplane?

Manfred von Richthofen's red Fokker Dr I on the ground, 1917-1918

The triplane that dominated the front in 1917

The Sopwith Triplane began to appear over the Western Front in February 1917. Despite carrying a single Vickers machine gun as its only armament, it quickly gained the upper hand over the more heavily armed Albatros fighters then used by the Luftstreitkräfte. Its combat debut was very successful: an exceptional rate of climb and a high service ceiling gave it a clear advantage over the Albatros D.III. Its high degree of manoeuvrability has been attributed to relatively narrow-chord wings of short span. In April 1917, Manfred von Richthofen remarked that the Triplane was the best Allied fighter of the moment.

The visit to Jasta 11

Several Triplanes were captured and subjected to considerable evaluation and study. In April 1917, Anthony Fokker saw one of these captured aircraft while visiting Jasta 11. The Germans were so impressed by the aircraft's performance that a brief triplane craze broke out among German manufacturers. No fewer than 34 different prototypes came out of that work, among them the Fokker V.4, prototype of the successful Fokker Dr.I. The man who drew Fokker's aircraft, on commission from the company, was Reinhold Platz, who had never seen the British machine and who at first was not at all convinced by the three-wing formula.

From the V.4 to series production

The F.I was an improved version of the V.4 prototype, and three aircraft were built in 1917. The Inspectorate of Air Troops ordered one prototype on 7 July 1917 and, on 11 July, two pre-production aircraft for combat trials. Those three V.5s were designated F.I, while all subsequent triplanes received the designation Dr.I. Werner Voss, Manfred von Richthofen and Kurt Wolff were among the pilots who took the two F.Is into combat; the first and the last died flying them in September 1917. The Dr.I's front-line inventory peaked in late April 1918, with 171 aircraft in service on the Western Front. Dr.I production ended in May 1918, when only 320 had been built.