Original Item: Only One Available. The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the Luftstreitkräfte, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft. The Armistice ending the war specifically required, as the fourth clause of the "Clauses Relating to the Western Front", that Germany was required to surrender all D.VIIs to the Allies. Surviving aircraft saw much service with many countries in the years after World War I.

The actual piece of fabric measures approximately 1 ⅛” x 1 ¾” and is glued to a lovely display board with a beautiful black and white sketch of the aircraft as well as a brief history on the U.10.

On November 9, 1918,the “U.10” landed on a forward Allied airfield east of Verdun, France, and was captured by Captain Alex H. McLanahan, Lieutenant Edward Curtis and Lieutenant Sumner Sewall, pilots of the American First Pursuit Group. The U.10 is now a part of the Collection of the National Air and Space Museum.

The Fokker D.VII in the NASM collection is an Albatross-built example, produced at Schneidemühl. At the time of its capture, it was assigned to Jasta 65. On November 9, 1918, two days before the end of the war, Lieutenant Heinz Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay landed the NASM Fokker D.VII at a forward American airfield being used by the 95th Aero Squadron, near Verdun. The pilot and airplane were captured by three American officers before Beaulieu-Marconnay could set fire to his aircraft. It is uncertain whether or not Beaulieu-Marconnay was lost and mistakenly landed at what he thought was a German airfield (as he claimed), or simply surrendered, knowing that the war would soon be over and fabricated the story. The Fokker D.VII was brought to the United States after the war and given to the Smithsonian Institution by the War Department in 1920. The airplane was fully restored by NASM in 1961. Further minor work was done on the D.VII in 1991 to prepare it for the museum's new World War I exhibition, Legend, Memory, and the Great War in the Air.

This is a lovely piece that would be welcomed into any caliber of aviation related collections! Comes more than ready for display.

Olivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay
Leutnant Olivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay (14 September 1898 – 26 October 1918) was a German World War I ace fighter pilot credited with 25 victories. Having joined the military at age 16, his success in shooting down 13 enemy aircraft led to his being appointed to command a fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 19, at age 19. He was credited with another dozen victories before being mortally wounded Because Germany's highest award for valor could not be granted posthumously, it was hurriedly approved just hours before his death. He is notable for being World War I's youngest recipient of the Pour le Merite.