A competition for a new German fighter design was held in February 1918. The Fokker D. VII won the competition and was subsequently considered to be one of the best fighters produced during World War I. Most of the German aces piloted them at one time or another. (Ernst Udet was one of them.) Robust and manoeuvrable, they exceeded the performance of all the Allied fighter planes, except in the area of top speed. Over 3000 were built by Germany, and another 200 by the Austro-Hungarian Empire .