Hanover CL types

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A Hannover CL.II from 1918

The Hannover CL.II-V were attack aircraft of the German Air Force in the First World War .

development

“HAN” aircraft over the factory buildings;
Full-page advertisement in the Illustrirten Zeitung , war number 202 from 1918, signed Blumer

In August 1916, the inspection of the air force introduced the new category CL (L = light) for two-seater with less than 750 kg curb weight and 160-180 HP engine power. These were initially intended as a two-seat escort fighter for use in the protective, later battle squadrons and squadrons.

When the new type was put out to tender, the Hannoversche Waggonfabrik AG, which had previously only appeared as a licensed manufacturer and repair shop for aircraft and aircraft parts, decided to come up with its own design.

Dipl.-Ing. Hermann Dorner , chief designer at the Hannoversche Waggonfabrik since September 1916, designed an aircraft with the designation Hannover CL.II with a robust fuselage covered with plywood. The machine appeared small and compact and stood out for its unusual tailplane , a double elevator with a short span, which gave the shooter a very large free field of fire. In April / May 1917, Idflieg ordered three CL.IIs for testing. The type test on July 21, 1917 showed excellent flight characteristics, whereupon a production order of 200 pieces was ordered in August, which was increased by a further 300 in September.

A total of 493 CL.IIs were built, this number presumably including the aircraft built under license from LFG (Roland) and designated as CL.IIa . The aircraft received a rigid 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 synchronized with the propeller for the pilot and a 7.92 mm Parabellum MG for the observer.

The CL.III , built in December 1917, had overhanging torsion flaps and the V-wing position was less negative than that of the CL.II. The machine passed the type test on February 23, 1918, followed by an order for 200 pieces in March. It was initially equipped with the 160 hp Mercedes D.III engine, which, however, was urgently needed for fighter aircraft production. Therefore, only 80 copies of the CL.III were built and after the return to the Argus As.III engine, the CL.IIIa series was launched with a total of 537 machines. When some CL.III showed material weaknesses on the wings when used at the front, Idflieg asked the manufacturer to immediately reinforce the wings in production. The CL.IIIb and CL.IIIc were prototypes with a 190 HP NAG engine or with extended wings.

Only five copies of the larger CL.IV (also wrongly called C.IV) were built. The CL.IV had a simplified bracing and the heavier Maybach Mb.IV engine with 245 hp.

The CL.V received the 185 hp BMW IIIa engine and was able to climb to a summit height of 9,000 m. Some CL.V were built with a simple rear structure. Of the 100 aircraft ordered, a total of 46 were produced by the end of the war, but they were no longer in service. After the armistice, production continued, another 62 pieces were still built and sold as a civil version with the designation F.6. In 1923 the Norwegian manufacturer Kjeller produced 14 CL.Vs for the Norwegian air force, which were used until 1929 as Kjeller FF.7 Hauk ("Falcon").

  • Hanover CL.IV

  • Hanover CL.V

  • Hanover CL.V

  • Hanover CL.V

commitment

The first CL.IIs came to the front in late summer 1917, and 295 machines were in service in February 1918. The CL.IIIa followed from March / April 1918.

CLIIIa 3892/18 after being shot down in the Argonne, October 1918

The machines proved their worth immediately: The pilot's good forward visibility and the improved visibility thanks to the compact tail unit and the narrower lower wings and the larger field of fire for the observer increased the combat value of the machine in air combat, plus the robust construction and extreme maneuverability: the radius in the Turning flight, important in close proximity aerial combat, could be compared to that of the Allied fighters. The great height of the summit made it easier to use as an escort fighter, who could monitor heavier bombers or reconnaissance aircraft flying beneath him.

Above all, however, the machine called "Hannoverana" by the British was used in the German spring offensive in 1918 , where it attacked enemy ground troops with machine-gun fire and hand grenades in low flight together with the Halberstadt CL.II and the Junkers JI Elongated brackets were attached to both sides of the fuselage next to the observer's stand.

After the war, at least 14 machines, eight of which were built by LFG, came to Poland and were used by the Polish Air Force. The company CWL ( Centralne Warsztaty Lotnicze ) in Warsaw built at least three more, all of which received Austro-Daimler engines.

Technical specifications

Parameter Hanover CL.II Hanover CL.III Hanover CL.IIIa Hanover C.IV Hanover CL.V
Construction year 1917-1918 1918
Intended use Protection / attack aircraft Attack aircraft
length 7.80 m 7.58 m 7.80 m 7.10 m
span 12.00 m 11.85 m 11.70 m 12.50 m 10.49 m
height 2.80 m 2.90 m
Wing area 33.8 m² 32.7 m² 33.1 m² 33.6 m² 29.5 m²
Empty mass 750 kg 734 kg 717 kg 960 kg 720 kg
Takeoff mass 1110 kg 1174 kg 1081 kg 1385 kg 1080 kg
water-cooled in- line engine Opel Argus As III
180 hp 		Mercedes D III
160 hp 		Opel Argus As III
180 hp 		Maybach
260 hp 		BMW IIIa
185 hp
Top speed 165 km / h in NN 165 km / h at an altitude of 800 m 160 km / h 185 km / h at an altitude of 2000 m
Climbing time to 1000 m 5:18 min 3:30 min
Climbing time to 2000 m 13:48 min
Climbing time to 4000 m 15 minutes
Service ceiling 7500 m 7000 m 7500 m 9000 m 9000 m
Range 500 km 500 km 550 km
Flight duration 3 h 3 h
Armament 2 MG, 50 kg bombs 3 machine guns, bombs
crew 2

See also

literature

  • Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi: Airplanes from the beginnings to the First World War . Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-8068-0391-9 .
  • Peter M. Grosz: Hannover CL.III and Variants, Windsock Datafile 23, Berkhamsted 1990.
  • Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 . Wilhelmshaven 1977.
  • Kenneth Munson: Warplanes 1914-1919 . Zurich 1968, No. 8.
  • Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Airplanes 1914–1918 . Munich 1959.

Web links

Individual references / comments

  1. ^ Roßbach, The technical development of the aircraft used by the German air forces in World War I 1914-1918. German Aerospace Congress 2014, DocumentID: 340009
  2. ↑ on use in the Polish Air Force, see Polish article in Wikipedia
  3. ↑ 1 synchronized machine gun for the pilot, 1 mobile machine gun for the observer
  4. ↑ 2 synchronized machine guns for the pilot, 1 movable machine gun for the observer