The last of the great WWI Fokker fighters, the D.VIII (Flying Razor, as it was called by the English) was built too late in the War to affect its outcome. The D.VIII was a very modern design featuring a steel-tube fuselage and a cantilevered wing. With box-type spar construction, a thick airfoil, and a plywood sheeted outer surface (still covered with fabric), Anthony Fokker was able to build a cantilevered wing that was light, strong, and efficient. Although the early examples suffered some structural failures, with some redesign this wing layout proved to be so successful that Fokker used its basic design into the early thirties on his civilian transport airplanes. The single-place D.VIII is said to be a nice flying airplane; with its high top speed, excellent rate of climb, and good maneuverability, the airplane might have been a deciding factor in the War had it had more time to prove itself in combat service.
FOKKER D.VIII
