Fokker M.5

The Fokker M.5 was a single‑seat, high‑wing monoplane designed by Anthony Fokker in 1914 for the German Imperial Army. It evolved from earlier Fokker A‑type reconnaissance aircraft and introduced a brief‑staggered wing configuration that gave the type exceptional maneuverability for its time. Powered initially by a 60 hp Oberursel G.II rotary engine, the M.5 could reach 150 km/h and climb to 2,000 m in six minutes, performance that made it attractive for reconnaissance and training. The most significant variant, the M.5K, was fitted with a single synchronized LMG 08/15 machine gun firing through the propeller arc, creating the world’s first successful fighter aircraft. On 1 July 1915, Hauptmann Otto Parschau achieved the first confirmed aerial victory with an M.5K, demonstrating the combat potential of an armed monoplane. The aircraft’s success prompted the rapid development of the later Fokker E.I “Eindecker” series, which dominated the early air war over the Western Front. The M.5 thus marks a pivotal transition from unarmed reconnaissance planes to dedicated fighter aircraft, establishing design principles—such as synchronized armament and aerodynamic efficiency—that shaped World War I aviation. Its influence persisted into the interwar period, inspiring monoplane fighter concepts worldwide.