Fokker V.26 / E.V

In June 1918, during the second D-Flugzeug Weitbewerb competition, for aeroplanes with a rotary engine, Fokker came second with the V.26 prototype with the fuselage and empennage of the D VI married to a rotary engine and parasol wing of thick-section cantilever construction and plywood-covered wooden structure, supported above the fuselage on each side by a forward tripod of short struts and an aft single long strut. In the trials the type displayed such excellent take-off, climb and agility characteristics that it was ordered straight into production as the E.V. Powered by the 110 h.p. Le Rhone engine, the E.V arrived at the Front in July 1918, but fatal accidents quickly occurred due to wing failure. The investigation of these accidents and the necessary constructional changes meant that the aeroplane, redesig-nated, V.III, did not return to service until October 1918.