German aircraft industry in the First World War

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The list of the most important companies in the German aircraft industry during the First World War essentially refers to the companies that developed and supplied their own aircraft types during this period.

overview

Due to the war, the German aviation industry experienced a considerable economic and technological upswing from 1914 to 1918. The number of aircraft factories grew

  • of 14 plants in 1914 with a delivery capacity of 60 aircraft per month
  • to 60 plants in 1918 with 55,000 workers and a delivery capacity of 2500 aircraft per month

During the war they were

  • 47,637 aircraft
  • 40,449 aircraft engines

produced.

Participating companies (aircraft construction)

In addition to the aircraft factories listed below, numerous other factories and ancillary suppliers produced aircraft on a license basis , as the capacities of the various manufacturers were insufficient to produce their own aircraft types. In addition, other companies participated not only in the production, but also in the maintenance and repair of the aircraft. This group included a. the companies:

Participating companies (aircraft engine construction)

The main engine manufacturers were

The number of engine factories producing at the end of the war was 14 in 1918.

The end of the war also meant the end of most of the aircraft industry, as the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to maintain air forces.

Individual references / comments

  1. The " Idflieg " (inspection of the air force, including the authoritative inspection authority for military aircraft), took care to stimulate competition from different suppliers as far as possible and then to involve the companies that were inferior in the production of their competitors in order to ensure that all plants were optimally utilized for the war economy to reach.

literature

  • Kroschel, Günter; Stützer, Helmut: The German military aircraft 1910–1918, Wilhelmshaven 1977
  • Nowarra, Heinz: The development of the aircraft 1914-18, Munich 1959

See also