W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters

LVG D 10 Germany

   The Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (LVG), which had initiated licence manufacture of 75 Albatros D II fighters in August 1916, began work during the course of that year on an original single-seat, single-bay fighter biplane. Of unusual appearance to the designs of engineers Ehrhardt and Rethel, it was designated D10. Powered by a 120 hp Mercedes D II engine, the LVG fighter was noteworthy for its extraordinarily deep fuselage which completely filled the wide wing gap. This Walfisch-type fuselage was of wrapped plywood strip semi-monocoque form, and the wing cellule featured exceptionally broad aerofoil-section interplane struts. The D 10 is known to have demonstrated unsatisfactory characteristics in flight, but no data are available.

J.Herris LVG Aircraft of WWI. Vol.3: Types C.VI-C.XI & Fighters (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 36)

LVG Fighters

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  Like some other German manufacturers, LVG attempted radical streamlining and odd proportions with their D 10 biplane. Speed matters in combat aircraft, but so do maneuverability and flying qualities, and LVG's fighter designs became somewhat more conventional but not more successful.


LVG Fighter Specifications
LVG D 10 LVG D.II LVG D.III LVG D.IV LVG D.V LVG D.VI
Engine 120 hp Mercedes D.II 160 hp Mercedes D.III 185 hp NAG C.III 195 hp Benz Bz.IIIb 195 hp Benz Bz.IIIb 195 hp Benz Bz.IIIb
Span, Upper - - 10.00 m 8.50 m - -
Wing Area - - 26.20 m2 18.06 m2 - -
Length - - 7.53 m 6.28 m - -
Empty Weight - - 773 kg 680 kg - -
Loaded Weight - - 1,028 kg 935 kg - -
Max. Speed - - 175 km/h - - -
Climb 5000 m - - 25 minutes 28 minutes - -


LVG D 10

  LVG's first original single-seat fighter design to be built was the D 10; this was an internal factory designation as no military designation was given. Built in 1916, the D 10 was a contemporary of the DFW Floh and Roland C.II that also used streamlined, wood-wrapped fuselages that were deep enough to provide sufficient wing gap without use of cabane struts. In addition to its very streamlined fuselage, the D 10 had an under-fuselage keel to which the under-carriage struts were attached. There was no fixed vertical fin, the design apparently depending on its rear fuselage side area for stability.
  This extreme streamlining usually gave good speed for the available power, which in the case of the D 10 was provided by a 120 hp Mercedes D.II. Certainly the Roland C.II and DFW Floh were both fast for their time, but there are no surviving performance specifications or pilot's evaluation for the D 10.
  However, flying qualities, maneuverability, and climb rate are also important attributes of a combat aircraft, especially a fighter, and the D10 was deficient in flight characteristics and perhaps more of these qualities. The D10 was heavy for its compact size, and that weight may have been a major contributing factor.