WWI Aviation: Austrian Two-Seaters 1917
In early 1917 the chief designer of this company, Julius von Berg designed the original multi-purpose airplane Aviatik-Berg CI. The C.I or "double Berg" was based on the D.I fighter. It used the same wings with a thin flexible profile, which varied depending on the speed of flight. Power was provided by either a 185 hp (138 kW) or 200 hp (149 kW) Austro-Daimler 6-cylinder water cooled in-line engine.
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The test flights were generally successful. The top-notch pilots appreciated the speed and maneuverability of these machines. However, less skilled pilots preferred the more manageable, but less nimble, Hansa-Brandenburg C.I. One issue was the large wing loads putting stress on the aircraft and the C.I had a relatively high landing speed making landing on the short front-line runways difficult.
The C.I had a very reasonable performance and was built in considerable numbers by five several factories: Aviatik (Series 37 and 137), Lloyd (Series 47), Lohner (Series 114 and 214), WKF (Series 83 and 183) and MAG (Series 91) . In total more than 500 copies of the machine were built. Only its inherent structural weakness prevented it from receiving the acclamation that might otherwise have come its way. Nevertheless, it remained operational until the end of the war on the Italian-Austrian front.
Several schemes were used for armament on the C.I. Due to the urgent need for aircraft the first series were armed with one 0.315 in (8 mm) Schwarzlose machine gun fired by the pilot attached to a pivoting mount, fastened to the fuselage which allowed firing over the wing. There were versons which used a wing mounted "baby coffin" style gun pod. Some had a synchronized forward gun mounted in the fuselage, close to the engine. The observer fired into the rear arc with a ring mounted 0.315 in (8 mm) Schwarzlose machine gun.
The serial number scheme for Austro-Hungarian aircraft follows a format where the first numbers indicates the manufacturing company and production batch, while the numbers after the decimal point refers to the individual aircraft's place within the batch. Unlike the German system, there is no indication of the year in which construction took place
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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, except 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.
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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
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