Austrian Aviation (Berg) D. types
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The Berg D. types were fighters developed for the Kuk Luftfahrttruppen during the First World War . They were developed by Österreichische Aviatik and should not be confused with the D. test samples from the German company Aviatik .
development
This airplane, designed by Julius von Berg , was the first purely Austrian single-seater design; he developed the type parallel to the Aviatik (Berg) C-Type, Berg two-seater. A first prototype (30.14) was constructed in July 1916, but it crashed on a test flight on October 16, 1916 over Aspern , fatally injuring the test pilot Ferdinand Konschel. The three other prototypes 30.19-21 flew for the first time at the beginning of 1917. After military testing by a field pilot team under the direction of Captain Fekete, the Aviatik DI, referred to only as Berg DI or Berg Einsitzer, replaced the difficult-to-fly Hansa -Brandenburg DI (kuk Type KD) determined. Five manufacturers were involved in the production:
- Austrian Aviation (Series 38, 138, 238 and 338)
- Vienna body factory (series 84, 184, 284, 384)
- MÁG (Series 92)
- Thöne & Fiala (series 101, 201)
- Lohner (series 115, 315)
Of the 1200 aircraft ordered, only 700 were built.
The aircraft was initially armed with an unsynchronized machine gun mounted on the upper wing, later with two synchronized 8 mm Schwarzlose M 7/12 machine guns and later M 16s, which fired rigidly through the propeller circle . It initially appeared with 185 hp, later 200 (in list 210) hp Austro-Daimler engines, especially in summer the engines tended to overheat, so that the troops often temporarily removed engine panels for better cooling, various coolers were tested in the aviation arsenal. Machines with 225 hp Austro-Daimler engines were also supplied, types 338, 315, 348. A two-bladed propeller from the Knoller-Jaray company was generally used, but at least one machine (138.106) was tested with a four-bladed Jaray propeller whose blades were not at right angles, but rather at 68 or 112 °, patent Tomana.
A variant D.II, derived from the prototype 30.22 with a cantilevered lower wing, was also tested on the front of the Flik 61J; mass production was waived in favor of the superior Fokker D.VII .
A variant of the DI was the Dr.I triplane, a prototype with the number 30.24, which was tested in mid-1917.
The prototype 30.25 as a photo single-seater with built-in plate camera was converted from an Austrian Aviatik Berg CI two-seater. The single-seaters equipped with Steyr rotary engines, the prototypes of a lightweight series 30.27 and 30.29, did not go into production, including the 30.40 with a parasol wing.
The D.III planned as a high altitude hunter, type not confirmed, was a new construction, of which only a prototype (30.30) was built.
commitment
The DI reached the front in Italy and the Balkans in autumn 1917. It showed excellent flight performance, but had less good visibility for the pilot but a well-equipped cockpit . However, the frequent overheating of the engine under combat stress caused problems, as did the poor accessibility of the MG in the event of a jam. The pilots therefore mostly preferred the more reliable Oeffag D.III ; the Aviatik DI was used more as an escort fighter.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Berg DI | Mountain D.II | Mountain D.III | Berg Dr.I |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usage | Fighter plane | just try | ||
| Construction year | 1917 | 1918 | 1917 | |
| crew | 1 | |||
| length | 6.95 m | 6.86 m | ||
| span | 8.00 m | 7.22 m | ||
| height | 2.49 m | 2.75 m | ||
| Wing area | 21.70 m² | 18.40 m² | 21.70 m² | 22.50 m² |
| Empty mass | 587 kg | 683 kg | 620 kg | |
| Takeoff mass | 881 kg | 810 kg | 943 kg | 862 kg |
| 6-cyl. In-line engine , liquid-cooled | Austro-Daimler | Hiero | Austro-Daimler | |
| power | 200 hp (147 kW) | 230 PS (169 kW) | 200 hp (147 kW) | |
| Maximum speed in NN | 185 km / h | 210 km / h | 195 km / h | |
| Climbing speed to 1000 m | 2:10 min | 2:48 min | 2:10 min | 1:40 min |
| Climbing speed to 2000 m | 7:40 min | 6:48 min | 5:06 min | 4:10 min |
| Climbing speed to 3000 m | 11:30 min | 9:36 min | 8:06 min | |
| Climbing speed to 4000 m | 11:20 min | |||
| Climbing speed to 5000 m | 18:48 min | |||
| Summit height | 6220 m | 5000 m | ||
| Range | 375 km | 290 km | ||
| Flight duration | 2:30 h | |||
| Armament | 1-2 MG | 2 MG | ||
See also
literature
- Christopher Chant: Austro-Hungarian Aces of World War 1 , (pp. 13-14), 2001, ISBN 1-84176-376-4
- George Haddow: The O. Aviatik (Berg) DI , Profile Publications No 151, Leatherhead, 1967
- Reinhard Keimel : Österreichs Luftfahrzeuge , Graz 1981, ISBN 3-900310-03-3
- Kenneth Munson: Fighter Planes 1914-19 , Zurich 1968, No. 17
- Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Aircraft 1914-18 , Munich 1959
- Hauke, Schroeder, Tötschinger: The aircraft of the kuk aviation troops and sea pilots 1914-1918 , Weishaupt, Graz 1988, ISBN 3-900310-46-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Kenneth Munson: Kampfflugzeuge 1914-19 , Zurich 1968, No. 17, p. 113