Statement of Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the Fokker TriplaneIntroductionThis speech concerns a particular type of aircraft made famous for its use by the Red Baron of Germany during the First War worldwide. Many people know that the Red Baron was a real historical figure. Others may only know him as an adversary of Snoopy from the Peanuts comic strip, or as a ghostly magical man imagined by lonely housewives craving a particular brand of frozen pizza. Well, his real name was Manfred von Richthofen. He was the greatest ace of World War I, and toward the end of his career he flew a bright red, three-winged plane. The Fokker triplane was one of the most controversial aircraft of the First World War. Best known as the plane of aces such as the Red Baron, it was not as beloved as many think. I have been studying Fokker triplanes since I was a young boy; they have always fascinated me for some reason I can't explain. I will tell you about the development of the Fokker triplane, its operational history, and its strengths and weaknesses.I. DevelopmentA. Its designer, Anthony Fokker, was a Dutchman who built planes for the Germans after being refused by the Allies1. In addition to being a designer, Fokker was a gifted pilot and a shrewd businessman.2. Fokker built the first fighter plane with a machine gun synchronized to fire through the propeller.B. Its German rival Albatros developed a single-seat fighter powered by the excellent Mercedes D-III inline six-cylinder engine and armed with two Spandau.1 machine guns. Fokker's planes fell into disgrace. Weakly built and underpowered, they couldn't compete with the medium of paper for flying, which no one wanted. Some feared them, but most were valued for their exceptional climb and maneuverability, qualities that keep you alive in dogfights. They were far preferred to the lackluster Albatross and Pfalz fighters which they supplanted but never entirely replaced, and the Fokker Triplanes were Germany's best fighters in the spring of 1918 during the last major German offensive of the war. To summarize the triplane in the words of the Red Baron, they “climb like monkeys and are maneuverable like the devil”. Works Cited Over the past thirty years, I have drawn on dozens of sources in my research on this topic. However, for the purposes of this speech, I specifically cite: Imrie, Alex; The Fokker Triplane; Arms and Armor Press, London 1992. Titler, Dale; The Day the Red Baron Died; Bonanza Books, New York. 1970.