LVG CI-IV
The LVG CI – IV were single-engine German fighter aircraft of the Luftverkehrsgesellschaft (LVG) , which were used by the German air force as reconnaissance aircraft during the First World War .
development
The LVG CI was created as a two-post double - decker construction by the Swiss engineer Franz Schneider in 1915 based on the unarmed reconnaissance aircraft BI . The CI (factory designation D.IV pol) used for the first time a MG, movably mounted on a ring carriage, for the observer cockpit, which was then called the B-stand. This type of armament and the "Schneider ring mount" then became the standard for German two-seater reconnaissance. Also Euler armed his LVG BI replicas with MG and described it as Euler CI .
Following the same construction scheme, Schneider developed the largely identical LVG C.II (factory designation D.IX V) together with the stronger, still unarmed B.II training aircraft in 1915, which was put into production in large numbers from the end of 1915. The fuel was stored in a drop tank in the middle of the upper wing. In later machines a rigid synchronized machine gun was also installed for the pilot. AGO Flugzeugwerke and Flugmaschinenwerke Gustav Otto also participated as licensees in the production .
The C.II was built with the factory designation D IX W as a sea reconnaissance aircraft with floats for the Imperial Navy .
Only three prototypes of a further developed type LVG C.III were built. The aircraft was built more compact and heavier. The observer was moved back to the front seat, which, however, was again equipped with a MG on a ring carriage.
The LVG C.IV (factory designation D.XI), Schneider's last construction at LVG, was, however, an enlarged version of the C.II with a fully disguised and more powerful engine and modified control surfaces, which was intended as a long-range reconnaissance aircraft, but was not very successful. With its long crankshaft, the engine caused strong vibrations that were transmitted to the airframe and suffered from frequent breakdowns. Different engine types were tested on the machine: as standard the 220 hp Mercedes D IV with eight cylinders and reduction gear, but also a version with a Mercedes D IVa engine with 260 hp (factory designation D.XII) and one with a 200 hp Benz Bz IV (factory designation D.XIV) were built. Only a few aircraft of this type were delivered to the front. Schneider, who had technical responsibility, was dismissed on June 30, 1916 and Willi Sabersky-Müssigbrodt , who had developed the very successful DFW CV at DFW , was hired as the new chief engineer.
Further changes eventually led to the LVG CV and LVG C.VI , the most successful type in the series.
commitment
The C.II was used as a bomber and artillery observer on all fronts of the First World War until 1917. In the spring of 1916 about 260 CI and C.II were in use, they formed the backbone of the German field pilot units and combat squadrons.
A C.IV carried out the first air raid on London on November 28, 1916 . (Zeppelins had been bombed before that.) Instead of bombing The Admiralty as intended , residential areas near Victoria Station were accidentally hit. On the return flight, the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on enemy territory.
The Austro-Hungarian aviation troops and the Bulgarian air force also used the C.II successfully.
Little is known about the use of the C.IV.
Use after the end of the war
After the armistice, there were numerous LVG C.II in Poland alongside other German aircraft , as well as a number of spare parts for other machines, from which the Warsaw aircraft workshops CWL assembled three machines. After 1919 a further ten machines were purchased from remaining German stocks.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | CI | C.II | C.IV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction year | 1915 | 1915 | 1916 |
| Intended use | spotter | Scouts, bombers | Scouts, bombers |
| length | 8.61 m | 8.10 m | 8.50 m |
| span | 14.50 m | 12.85 m | 13.60 m |
| height | 3.20 m | 2.93 m | 3.10 m |
| Wing area | 41.50 m² | 37.60 m² | 38.20 m² |
| Empty mass | 835 kg | 845 kg | 1050 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 1373 kg | 1405 kg | 1600 kg |
| Six- cylinder in - line engine, water-cooled |
Benz Bz III 150 hp |
Mercedes D III 160 hp |
Mercedes D IV (8 cylinder) 220 hp |
| Top speed | 125 km / h | 130 km / h | |
| Marching speed | 110 km / h | 115 km / h | |
| Summit height | 4000 m | ||
| Range | 300 km | 440 km | |
| Max. Flight duration | 4 h | ||
| Armament | 1 MG, 40 kg bombs | 1-2 MG, 100 kg bombs (10 × 10 kg) | 2 MG, 70 kg bombs |
| crew | 2 | 2 | 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: LVG C.VI , Windsock Datafile No. 17, Albatros Prod. Ltd, Berkhamsted 1989.
- Karlheinz Kens, Hanns Müller: The aircraft of the First World War 1914-1918 , Munich 1973, ISBN 3-453-00404-3 .
- Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 , Wilhelmshaven 1977.
- Kenneth Munson: Bomber 1914-1919 , Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1968.
- Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Aircraft 1914–1918 , Munich 1959.
- Karl Pawlas: German aircraft 1914-1918 , Nuremberg 1976, pages 63-65, ISBN 3-88088-209-6 .
- Jean Lagorgette: Avions Allemands Zeppelins et Moteurs , Paris 1917, http://www.association14-18.org/documents/aviation/avall.htm
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ In the manuscript The Development of the Aircraft Fleet of the Swiss Air Force , Hans Giger reports on p. 2 about two LVG C.III in the holdings of the Swiss Army. However, it can be assumed that this was B.II (see archive link ( Memento from May 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ))
- ↑ movable 7.9 mm LMG-14 "Parabellum" , from C.II additionally a rigid, synchronized 7.9 mm MG LMG 08/15