In June of 1918, during the Second Fighter Competition, Fokker Flugzeugwerke prepared some new planes. After the Competition, prototypes of the V9 and V11 received good flight reports from pilots. The German Idfiieg recommended building the V11 first (Later well known as Fokker D.VII). But the Fokker company made a decision to put the V9 into serial production because it had many common parts with the famous Dr.I - fuselage, tailplane unit, and undercarriage etc. The first aircraft, which received the name D.VI, left the factory in June. Fokker's D.VI was an interim construction between the Dr.I and the D.VII - from the D.VII would remain wing, but shorter in span. The Idflieg ordered 120 planes of this type, many Jastas received the D.VII at this time and its advantages were evident. The Fokker Company had a stock of 59 fuselages from the Dr.I, and started mass-production of new D.VII and the E.V.

During September of 1918, 27 of this type were seen at the Western Front, seven aircraft were purchased by Austria-Hungary, others were supplied to training units. Some sources indicated that one D.VI was used at the Russian-German front during the autumn of 1918.