The Austro-Hungarian aviation units used the D.I widely until the end of the First World War on Eastern, Italian and Balkan fronts, mainly as an escort for reconnaissance aircraft, as most of the fighter units preferred the Albatros D.III for air superiority. During 1918, a single D.I was forced down in an undamaged state on the Italian font; this undamaged example was later shipped back to the United Kingdom where it was subject to an extensive evaluation, which found it to be comparable to its various peers of the time, being particularly light, strong, and simplistic in terms of its construction. The captured aircraft was later put on public display in London.