Hansa-Brandenburg D.I KD

Hansa-Brandenburg D.I KD Imperial & Royal Austro-Hungarian Flying Service 1916

The KD (Kampf Doppeldecker - fighting biplane) was nicknamed "spinne" (spider) due to its bizarre strut arrangement. One of Ernst Heinkel's first fighter designs, it was hardly his most successful. Austria-Hungary, having no native aircraft industry, was forced to rely on their German allies for aircraft, and of course, the Germans saved their best designs for themselves Despite the fact that pilots referred to the KD as "der fliegende Sarg" (the flying coffin), it was the standard Austro-Hungarian fighter from late 1916 to mid-1917.