World War One Aviation: Austrian Experimental Aircraft
The Lloyd FJ 40.05 was a very unorthadox Austrian experimental fighter/reconnaisence biplane built in 1915. The design's faults were many and virtues were few. The aircraft never went beyond initial testing before development was halted.
The primary stumbling block to the evolution of an effective fighter aircraft was the inability to fire into the forward arc without losing a propeller. Until the machine gun synchronization was invented, various aircraft manufacturers tried of solutions including pusher engine configuration attaching metal plates to the propeller, firing sideways, mounting a machine gun on the upper wing to fire over the arc of the prop, etc. None of these stop-gap measures proved to be the optimal method to achieve the goal of creating a truly efficient fighter-craft.The Lloyd Company designers tried a radically different approach to solve the problem. In 1915 they designed a two seat aircraft designated FJ (Flugzeugjäger) and received the Austro Hungarian Air Force designation 40.05.
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Their design was unusual to say the least. The over-sized nose section of the FJ.40.05 filled the entire space between both wings. Immediately behind the upper wing's trailing edge was the machine gunner's post with an excellent field of fire. However, this solution reduced the pilot's front view as he sat behind this portion of the plane. The plane first flew in January 1916 but was not accepted by the Air Force. During 1916 the Lloyd 40.05 was converted to a single seat fighter fitted with a 0.315 in (8 mm) Schwarzlose machine gun in a Type II VK gun pod which pilot's referred to as the "children's coffin"). The Austro-Hungarian Air Force (der Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen - K.u.K. LFT) wasn't interested in this version either and it was never put into production.
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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 was very 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 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.
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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.
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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 companies, 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.
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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.
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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.
When the Aviatik-Berg type 30.27 and 30.29 appeared early in 1918 it marked a radical change in design philosophy for Julius von Berg. The design was a lighter weight aircraft with a compact profile featuring a rounded cowling and forward fuselage. ALthough it was not successful it pointed toward more the form which would lead to future designs.
The design of both types was wooden construction with plywood fuselage skinning. The forward section of the aircraft was covered by light metal panels, and fabric-covered wings rounded out the design. Both the Aviatik 30.27 and 30.29 were fitted with the standard Austrian armament of twin synchronized fixed forward-firing 0.315 in (8 mm) Schwarzlose machine guns.
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Previously all of the single-seat fighters designed by Julius von Berg were fitted with Austro-Daimler inline engines.The Aviatik 30.27 and the similar 30.29, marked a departure from earlier designs. In an attempt to produce a lighter weight fighter both designs were powered by the Steyr Le Rhone 11 cylinder air cooled rotary engine producing a power rating of 160 hp (119 kW). The 30.27 and 30.29 were both initially flown with two-bladed propellers. The original engine cowling left the lowest three cylinders exposed. Later versions of both types were fitted with a four-bladed Jaray propeller and a full ring cowling.
Both prototypes participated in the D-Contest held in July of 1918. Unfortunately the 30.29 crashed when the leading-edge of the wing upper collapsed as its pilot initiated a loop. The project was canceled and the remaining airframe became the basis of the type 30.40 monoplane.
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Österreichische-Ungarische Flugzeugfabrik designer Julius von Berg was working on a new lighter type of Aviatik fighter departing from their previous reliance on the heavier Austro-Daimler inline engine. The first attempt was the unsuccessful type 30.27 and 30.29 biplanes. The Aviatik-Berg 30.40 was a parasol monoplane derivative of the Aviatik 30.27. In fact many of the components came from the surviving 30.27 airframes. The prototype was built and flown during the summer of 1918. Only one example of the aircraft was built.
The Aviatik 30.40 was was a fairly standard wooden construction. The forward fuselage was covered by light metal panels and the remainder of the fuselage was skinned with plywood. The wing had fabric skinning, and steel-tube bracing struts were employed. The power for the Aviatik 30.40 was provided by a similar 160hp Steyr Le Rhone 11-cylinder rotary engine. Armament would have consisted of the standard twin synchronized fixed forward-firing 0.315 in (8 mm) Schwarzlose machine guns
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