Pohl Giant Triplane

The Pohl Giant Triplane was a gigantic triplane designed by Villehad Forssman for Germany. In mind that America had just entered the World War I in early 1917, the plane was designed so that it could fly from Germany to New York; for this end it had ten engines and an enormous wingspan. Also, it had no cable bracing and the insides of the fuselage were lined with a second plywood layer.

The prototype was constructed in Pohl and, after a brief delay because of a storm, it was secretly presented in Ahlhorn Naval Base to German officers and other specialists including Admiral Werner, General von Kramer, airplane designer Anthony Fokker and flying ace Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen. Although the machine was a wholly different approach than Fokker, who was versed in the design of small pursuit airplanes, the engineer was present there to inspect it, and in order to improve Forssman's idea.

The first task of the machine would be to travel to New York and drop fliers urging the Americans to withdraw from the war, and then it would to be used as a bomber.

Spy Indiana Jones, working for the French Intelligence, was sent to persuade Anthony Fokker to defect for the French, and heard about the existence of the secret invention while following the scientist. Having constructed a makeshift camera, he followed the convoy to the hangar and managed to take some pictures of the landing aircraft. However he was noticed by von Richthofen, and during a fray, an explosion in the hangar caused the whole vicinity to be engulfed in chain explosions and flames, including the prototype which was destroyed.

Behind the scenes
The Pohl Giant Triplane was in construction by Mannesmann-Werke during the War and its unfinished remains were discovered in a hangar after the War's end. It was speculated that Forssman was its designer.