The Pfalz D.XII often flew in the shadow of its very successful contemporary -- the Fokker D.VII. The design of the Pfalz was influenced by the other fighter and they had similar enough characteristics that some Allied airmen, upon seeing the Pfalz for the first time, reported encountering a new kind of Fokker.

The Museum's Pfalz was one of a large group of German aircraft brought to the United States for evaluation after the war. When the tests were completed, this aircraft and another Pfalz were acquired by the motion picture industry. Adorned with strange and menacing paint schemes, they appear in both versions of aviation classic, The Dawn Patrol (1930 and 1938).

Later, the Pfalz was purchased by Colonel G.B. Jarrett for his New Jersey museum. In 1950, the well-worn Pfalz was purchased by collector and stuntman Frank Tallman who had the original fighter restored to flying condition. In 1968, the Pfalz changed hands again, becoming part of the Wings and Wheels collection in Orlando, Florida. Doug Champlin acquired the rare aircraft with its Mercedes D IIIa, 160-horsepower in-line engine and two 7.92mm Spandau machine guns in 1981.