In the summer of 1916, the German engineer Julius von Berg became the chief designer of ?sterreichisch-Ungarische Flugzeugfabrik Aviatik. One of his first projects was a single-seat fighter, designated D.I. Work on it began in August 1916 and was completed in 2 months. October 16, 1916 - the first flight of the fighter ?sterreichische Aviatik D.I (aka Berg D.I).
D.I was a typical biplane for those years with a non-retractable landing gear. The Austro-Daimler 6 engine (197 hp) was installed on the 38 series aircraft, the maximum speed was 185 km / h, there was enough fuel for 2.5 hours of flight. The armament consisted of 2 ? 8 mm Schwarzlose MG M.07/12 machine guns.
Although the first flight of the D.I ended in an accident, the aircraft was brought to mass production. He became the first serial Austro-Hungarian fighter of his own design. In total, over 700 fighters were produced, which were actively used until the very end of the First World War.
