Fokker A.I

The Fokker A.I was a pioneering German‑operated reconnaissance aircraft produced by the Dutch firm Fokker during the early years of World War I. First flown in late 1914, the type was derived from the company’s pre‑war M.5 monoplane and entered service with the Imperial German Air Service in 1915 as a single‑seat, unarmed scout. Its most striking feature was the exposed, wooden, cantilever wing built around a single spar, covered with fabric and braced by a modest set of king‑post wires, which gave the aircraft a clean aerodynamic profile and superior climb performance compared with contemporary biplanes. Power was supplied by an 80 hp Oberursel rotary engine that drove a two‑bladed wooden propeller, enabling a top speed of about 130 km/h and a service ceiling near 3,500 m. Though modest by later standards, the A.I’s simplicity, ease of maintenance, and reliable handling made it a valuable tool for early aerial reconnaissance and artillery spotting. Its success demonstrated the practicality of lightweight, single‑engine monoplanes and paved the way for Fokker’s subsequent fighter designs, most famously the E‑series “Eindecker” aircraft that reshaped air combat in 1915‑1916.