Eastern Express 72164 Hanza-Brandenburg D.I

The Hansa-Brandenburg DI was an Austro-Hungarian fighter plane in the biplane, wooden structure, with a fixed undercarriage, of wooden structure, from the First World War. The drive was provided by a single motor Austro-Daimler with 160 or 185 HP. The prototype flight took place in 1916. Serial production started shortly after, leading to the creation of approx. 90-120 aircraft of this type. The deck armament consisted of a single 8 mm Schwarzlose machine gun.

The DI was designed by Ernest Heinkel at the Hans und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke works on the order of the Austro-Hungarian Air Force (German KuK Luftfahrtruppe). Despite the fact that many elements of the successful Hansa CI machine were used in the new plane, it was characterized by poor flight stability and was difficult to pilot. Despite these disadvantages, the plane was ordered and put into production by the Austro-Hungarian side. The machine entered the line in 1916, but was not appreciated by the pilots. She was one of the primary fighter planes of the Austro-Hungarian Air Force in the period 1916-1917. After the end of World War I, a small number of Hansa-Brandenburg DI machines were used by Austria.