WWI Aviation: Austrian Fighters 1917
The Austro-Hungarian version of the Albatros D-III was produced under license by the firm Oeffag. It had several minor external differences identifying it from the German made fighters. In the autumn of 1916, Oesterreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG (Oeffag) obtained a licence to build the D.III at Wiener-Neustadt. Deliveries commenced in May 1917.
The Oeffag aircraft were built in three main versions (series 53, 153, 253) using the 185, 200, or 225 hp (138, 149, or 168 kW) Austro-Daimler engines respectively. The Austro-Daimlers provided improved performance over the Mercedes D.IIIa engine. For cold weather operations, Oeffag aircraft featured a winter cowling which fully enclosed the cylinder heads.
Austrian pilots often removed the propeller spinner from early production aircraft, since it was prone to falling off in flight. Beginning with aircraft 112 of the series 153 production run, Oeffag introduced a new rounded nose that eliminated the spinner. Remarkably, German wind-tunnel tests showed that the simple rounded nose improved propeller efficiency and raised the top speed by 14 km/h (9 mph).
All Oeffag variants were armed with two 0315 in (8 mm) Schwarzlose machine guns. In most aircraft, the guns were buried in the fuselage, where they were inaccessible to the pilot. In service, the Schwarzlose proved to be somewhat less reliable than the 0.312 in (7.92 mm) LMG 08/15, mainly due to problems with the synchronization gear. The Schwarzlose also had a poor rate of fire. At the request of pilots, the guns were relocated to the upper fuselage decking late in the series 253 production run.
Oeffag engineers noted the wing failures of the D.III and modified the lower wing to use thicker ribs and spar flanges. These changes, as well as other detail improvements, largely resolved the structural problems that had plagued German versions of the D.III. In service, the Oeffag aircraft proved to be popular, robust, and effective. Oeffag built approximately 526 D.III aircraft between May 1917 and the Armistice
The Aviatik D.I, was a single-engine, single-seater fighter biplane. The Aviatik D.I represented the first wholly Austro-Hungarian designed fighter in the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (Luftfahrtruppen). It was also known as the Berg D.I or the Berg Fighter after its designer, Julius von Berg.
The D.I was a good combat aircraft. It was reasonably fast, had excellent flying characteristics and maneuverability, and could reach higher altitudes than most of its adversaries. In addition, it was provided with a roomy and comfortable cockpit which gave a good field of view.
Despite those desirable features, the new Aviatik fighter wasn't greeted with enthusiasm when it entered service in autumn 1917, as the type also had some serious defects which didn't endear it to its pilots. The early aircraft had structural deficiencies and their machine guns were installed beyond the reach of the pilot; if the gun(s) jammed, there was nothing he could do about it. These problems were later rectified with the strengthening of the airframe and the repositioning of the guns, but the main cause of complaints was the engine's tendency to overheat far too easily. To alleviate the cooling problems, operational units tended to fly their aircraft without the engine's top panels and sometimes also the side panels were left off.
The Aviatik D.I was manufactured under license by a numbers of subcontractors.
Ordered but not build were the 215 and 201 Series from Lohner and ThÖne und Fiala respectively.
Work on the prototype began in August 1916, the first flight of the Aviatik D.I prototype, 30.14, took place on October 16, 1916 at Aspern, killing the test pilot.
Further modifications were made, and three more prototypes of the Aviatik D.I were manufactured, labeled 30.19 (for tests on the ground), 30.20 (for tests in flight) and 30.21 (as a reserve airframe). These prototypes differed from the production aircraft in having a single unsynchronized Schwarzlose machine gun above the top wing, firing over the propeller.
Tests of the modified aircraft were positive and the first unit to receive the first serial batch (with two synchronized Schwarzloses, one on each side of the cylinder block) of the Aviatik D.I was Fluggeschwader I (FLG I, later to be renamed to Flik 101G) on the Divac(a airfield in Slovenia.
The Austro-Hungarian aviation units used the D.I widely until the end of World War I on Eastern, Italian and Balkan fronts, mainly as an escort fighter for the 2-seater reconnaissance aircraft, as the most fighter units preferred the Albatros D.III in air superiority role.
The D.II was a version of the D.I with a cantilever lower wing. The model went into production in late 1918 in two Series (39 and 339), but the production aircraft were too late for operational service. The D.III high-altitude version with a 230 hp Hiero engine and the Dr.I triplane development remained as prototypes only.
The main differences between the Series were in the power of Austro-Daimler engines used (185 hp in the early production aircraft, 200 or 210 hp in the mid-production, and 225 hp in the last ones), in exact positioning of the machine guns, and in structural and radiator modifications.
Until the 31st October 1918 a number of 677 Aviatik D.I airframes of all batches were handed over to the Austro-Hungarian Air Force.
The Aviatik (Berg) D.II, also known as the Aviatik 30.22, was an Austro-Hungarian fighter prototype towards the end of the First World War.
The D.II's fuselage was virtually identical to that of the D.I. It was characterised, however, by its short-span cantilever lower wing. Through 1917, 19 D.IIs were built for front-line evaluation. They were either powered by the 200 hp Series 39 engine or the 225 hp Series 339 engine, both made by Austro-Daimler. The propeller was a four-bladed Jaray, and armament consisted of the usual paired 8 mm Schwarzlose machine guns.
The first three series aircraft were tested in November 1917, and seven were evaluated at the front later in that year, showing good promise. but the decision that O-UF Aviatik should licence-manufacture the Fokker D.VII terminated any plans to build the D.II in quantity. One D.II airframe was experimentally fitted with a 200hp Hiero engine as the Aviatik 30.38, and participated in the July 1918 D-Contest. With the 225hp Austro-Daimler engine the D.II attained 220km/h.
The Aviatik 30.24 (this designation indicating that it was the 24th experimental aircraft produced by O-UF Aviatik) single-seat fighter triplane designed by von Berg in May 1917. The Aviatik 30.24 employed a similar structure to that of the D.I and the fuselage wasvery similar. Based on a contract with Aviatik for four experimental fighter planes powered by 185/200 hp Daimler engines in Sept 1917. Flight testing of 30.24 on Oct 1917, the 185 hp powered 30.24 had inferior performance compared with a similar engined Aviatik D.I. The 200 hp Daimler also shows little improvement. The Triplane was referred to FLEK (FLiegerErsatzKompanie) 6 in Wiener Neustadt, where a variety of experimental radiators were installed to improve the pilots forward view on Aviatik fighters. 30.24 was accepted by LFT inspectors in Sep 1918. The remaining three prototypes (designations unknown), completed but disassembled, were accepted at the end of Oct 1918. The 30.24 was offered for sale to the Czechoslovakian government in April 1920.
The Hansa-Brandenburg L.16 was a single-seat equi-span fighter, developed by Hansa-Brandenburg for the Austro-Hungarian K.u.k. Luftfahrttruppen. It had a distinctive triplane configuration with aerofoil-section I-type interplane bracing struts. The L.16 was powered by a 185 hp (138 kW) Austro-Daimler six-cylinder water-cooled engine. The proposed armament for the L.16 consisted of two synchronized Schwarzlose machine guns. Various coolant radiator arrangements were evaluated on the single prototype built. Evaluation flights proved the fighter did not perform well enough to warrant series production. The development of this design was abandoned.
The Lloyd C.V was a reconnaissance aircraft produced in Austria-Hungary during the First World War. It was a departure from Lloyd's previous reconnaissance types, which had all been based on a pre-war design. The C.V was a more compact and streamlined aircraft with an unusual wing structure.
The design was fairly conventional, ex;cept for the interplane struts. These were arranged in two sets, front and rear, with the rear sets consisting of two struts per wing, and the forward sets of only one strut per wing. When viewed from the front of the aircraft, the rear struts formed a V-shape, converging to the point where they met the lower wings. From bottom wing to top, the single forward struts sloped inwards towards the centreline, matching the angle of the inboard rear struts. The fin was triangular and similar to the unit on earlier Lloyd designs, but featured an extension at the top of the rudder that reached over the top of the fixed part of the fin. With its curved leading edge and scalloped trailing edge, this rudder resembled the tail of a rooster.
The wings departed from the conventional structure of one or more spars surrounded by airfoil-shaped ribs and were built instead from ribs surrounded by longerons that stretched span-wise along the wings. This was all then covered in plywood sheeting. While this made for a strong, light structure, it also meant that repairs to damaged wings were difficult, and proved impossible to carry out in the field. Damaged aircraft were sent to depots for exchange. Another problem was that moisture trapped inside the wings had no way to escape quickly. This could cause the plywood skin to buckle or delaminate.
[Read more]
Lloyd built 96 C.Vs in 1917, powered by Austro-Daimler engines, while WKF built another 48 with Benz engines. The type saw only brief front-line service before being relegated to secondary duties. A number of continued in service after the war with the military forces of Poland, Hungary, and the Ukraine. In Poland, six; aircraft were operated until 1924
[Close]
The Lloyd Luftkreuzer was a very bizzare and unsuccessful triplane bomber which was first proposed in 1916. It was plagued with design flaws which were never solved to the degree that never let it leave the ground. It never made it past the prototype stage of development.
The prototype Lloyd Luftkreuzer was based on the requirement of LFT (Luftfahrtruppen) to develop a modern and powerful bomber powered by three engines. In August of 1915 LFT approached two compnies, Lloyd and Oeffag Phönix who were awarded funding to construct two prototype triplane heavy bombers. The machine should be driven by one powerful engine in the main hull and two engines in smaller side mounted boom style fuslage. The next requirement was the ability to carry a 200 kg bomb load and endurance of at least 6 hours. Defensive armament would provided by four machine guns, two of the guns should be mounted on the main fuselage and the other two guns would be mounted in the side hulls.
[Read more]
In January of 1916, Ungarische Lloyd Flugzeug und Motorenfabrik AG was supplied with the first drawings and specifications for two triplane bombers called Luftkreuzer I (type I, LK), designation was changed to the Lloyd 40.08 and the Luftkreuzer II (type II, LV) was renamed the 40.10 Lloyd. The name "Luftkreuzer" means Sky Cruiser.
The aircraft was a triplane with unequal span wings. The upper wing had a span of 23.26 meters and a width of 2.40 m. The middle wing was 22.38 m long and 2.20 meters wide. The lower wing span was 16.84 meters and 2.00 meters wide. The middle wing was mounted to the bottom of the booms and center fuselage. The upper and lower wings were connected by struts and bracing. The gap between the two upper wings was 2.10 meters and the two bottom gap was 1.75 meters. The total wing area was 110 square meters. Below the main body between the upper and lower wings was an enclosed gondola, apparently the bomb aimer rode in this position
The forward section of the central fuselage had a large enclosed cabin for two gunners. The design provided an excellent field of vision in all directions. In the rear section of the main hull there was a engine compartment for the 12 cylinder 300 hp Daimler water cooled engine, driving a wooden two-blade pusher propeller.
The gun stations were also equipped with a spotlight. The side hulls were built from modified Lloyd C. II fuselage. Both were fitted with a six-cylinder water cooled inline Daimler engine producing160 hp each. Both ot the two blade wooden propellers revolved in the same direction.
The machine was completed on June 8, 1916 and was ready for engine testing at the airport in Aszód. The aircraft was found to be very nose-heavy and the center of gravity was too high. During ground tests prototype suffered some minor damage. This prompted a redesign of the chassis and the addition of a third wheel under the nose to keep it from toppling nose first into the ground. After the redesign the prototype was ready for its test flight in October of 1916,. Oberleutnant Antal Lany-Lanczendorfer was the test pilot for the flight. The flight seems to be unsuccessful because there is no evidence that the aircraft actually got airborne. In early November Flars (Fliegerarsenal) considered reducing the bomb load in order to reduce the total take-off weight. Development continued at a snail''s pace. In December Flars recommended the installation of additional chassis rails. These were added to the main undercarriage.
In March 1917 Lloyd applied for a revision of the airplane, but the application was rejected and the work came to a halt. The Lloyd 40.08 airframe placed in storeage until January of 1918 when it was ordered to be transported to aircraft cemetery in Cheb.
[Close]
The Austro-Hungarians built many bizzare aircraft, and the Lloyd 40.15 was no exception. The Lloyd 40.15 triplane fighter prototype was a rather ungainly aircraft with a lot of unique features. It had fully cantilevered wings, probably of mixed veneer and fabric construction. It appears that the wings were originally designed to be all veneered with tipperons. Then the wing construction was changed to a veneer/fabric construction. On the middle wing, rotating wingtip ailerons were fitted. The lower wing was mounted behind the undercarriage struts. The plane was powered by a 185 hp (138 kW) Daimler and was armed with twin fixed, forward-firing 0.315 in (8 mm) Schwarzlose machine guns, mounted within the pilots reach.
[Read more]
The Lloyd 40.15 was designed in September of 1917 at the Hungarian plant ot the firm Ungarische Lloyd Flugzeug und Motorenfabrik. Generally, there is only little known about this aircraft. According to FLARS - FLiegerARSenal - records, the aircraft was delivered in December 1917; another reference from March 1918 reported the plane in process of being assembled. Because any flight or performance data is lacking, it is rather improbable that an extensive testing took place. No data on tests and its fate has not been preserved.
[Close]
The Lohner Series 111 aircraft company was an Austria-Hungarian prototype single seat biplane built in 1917 by Lohnerwerke GmbH. The fuselage was a laminated wood construction. The wing struts were an "I" requiring no wires tor structural stability. Power was provided by an Austro-Daimler engine generating 185 hp (138 kW) The design went through several changes during the development process. Three prototypes were built. The performance of the aircraft was not an improvement on existing models already in production. Lackluster flight results led to Flars not approving the D.I for production.
The Phönix D.I was an Austro-Hungarian First World War biplane fighter built by the Phönix Flugzeug-Werke and based on the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I.
[Read more]
The Phönix D.I was the second design developed by the Phönix Flugzeug-Werke based on Hansa-Brandenburg designs which it has produced under licence. The D.I was a single-seat biplane fighter with improvements over the original Hansa-Brandenburg design which included more efficient wings, a more powerful engine and structural improvements.
A prototype was first flown in 1917 and proved to be fast but difficult to handle but because of the urgent need for fighters the D.I entered production. To improve the problems a modified variant, the D.II was introduced with balanced elevators and balanced ailerons on the upper wings. A further development was the D.III which had balanced ailerons on both wings and a more powerful 230hp (172kW) Hiero in-line engine. The last of 158 aircraft of all three types was delivered on 4 November 1918.
[Close]
