The D.VIII was approved for production arising from German initiatives in 1918 to develop superior fighter aircraft. Its power unit, the Siemens-Halske Sh.III rotary enabled the type to achieve a top speed of 120 miles per hour (190 km/h) at sea level. Armament was twin 7.92mm Spandau machine guns.

Forty units were completed but as this was very near the end of the war, they were used mostly for evaluation purposes.

Data from German Aircraft of the First World War^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 5.65 m (18 ft 6 in)
• Wingspan: 7.52 m (24 ft 8 in)
• Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
• Wing area: 17.2 m² (185 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 543 kg (1,197 lb)
• Gross weight: 738 kg (1,627 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Siemens-Halske Sh.III 11-cylinder air-cooled geared rotary engine, 119 kW (160 hp)
  
• Alternative engines (prototypes only):

• Oberursel U.III 119 kW (160 hp)
• Goebel Goe.III 104 kW (140 hp)

• Propellers: 4-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 190 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn) ^[2]
• Endurance: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Time to altitude: 6,000 m (20,000 ft) in 25 minutes
• Wing loading: 42.9 kg/m² (8.8 lb/sq ft)
• Power/mass: 0.16 kW/kg (0.097 hp/lb)

Armament

• Guns: 2 × 7.92 mm (0.31 in) LMG 08/15 machine guns

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Siemens-Schuckert D.IV

• Cowin, H. W. (2000). German and Austrian aviation of World War I : a pictorial chronicle of the airmen and aircraft that forged German airpower. Osprey Pub. ISBN 1-84176-069-2.
• Herris, Jack (2012). Pfalz Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 5. Charleston, SC: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-12-4.

• YouTube May 2020 video of Mikael Carlson's authentic Pfalz D VIII biplane reproduction in ground-trials, with restored and operable Sh III engine
• Pfalz D.VIII