The D.I and D.II represented Germany's second successful bid within a year to gain total air superiority over the Allies (the first with the Fokker E monoplanes in 1915-16). They were vast improvements over the Fokker and Halberstadt biplane fighters that had filled the gap. Each was an unequal-span biplane with a wooden semi-monocoque fuselage, having the famous Albatros rounded tailplane (C.III) coupled with the new rounded fin and rudder of C.V/16 type. The major difference between the versions was that the upper wing of the D.II was lowered to reduce the gap between it and the fuselage so as to improve forward and upper vision. Power was provided by either a 112kW Benz Bz.II or 119kW Mercedes D.III engine on the D.I and by the latter only on the D.II. These beautiful fighters each had the shattering firepower of two Spandau machine-guns - the first successful installation of twin guns on a German fighter.

D.I and D.II were first flown on an operational mission in September 1916, led by the legendary ace Oswald Boelcke. He had recently given up flying Albatros C and Fokker monoplanes and returned to the Western Front from a tour of other battle areas to take command of the new Jagdstaffel Nr 2 (Jasta 2). Although Boelcke's career on the aircraft was short - he was killed on 28 October when the undercarriage of a colleague's aircraft struck his upper wing - the fighters ravaged Allied D.H.2, B.E.2 and Nieuports throughout the winter, making up for slightly inferior manoeuvrability with a much higher maximum speed and rate of climb. Twenty D.II, powered by 138kW Austro-Daimler engines, were also licence-built by the Oeffag company for the Austro-Hungarian Air Force. At the peak of their operational careers with the German Air Force, about 260 D.I and D.II fighters were in service.