LVG CV-VIII

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LVG C.VI
LVG C.VI
Type: Armed reconnaissance plane
Design country:

German EmpireThe German Imperium German Empire

Manufacturer:

LVG

First flight:

January 1918 (C.VI)

Commissioning:

1918

Production time:

1918-1919

The LVG CV to LVG C.VIII were single-engine German combat aircraft of the Luftverkehrsgesellschaft (LVG) , which were used by the German air force as reconnaissance aircraft ( C-type ) during World War I. After the war, the C.VI was one of the types of aircraft that were used to set up civil aviation in Germany.

development

LVG CV

After the disappointed performance of LVG C.IV , LVG had to produce types from other manufacturers under license . It was therefore in the company's business interests to advance its own development work as quickly as possible in order to save the expensive license fees. Dipl.-Ing. Willi Sabersky-Müssigbrodt, the company's new chief engineer, therefore waved a commission of 150 RM per machine delivered if a new type was successful. Sabersky worked flat out on a new type of aircraft, the LVG CV (factory designation D.XV). In fact, the prototype made a good impression when it was presented to the acceptance commission in Berlin-Adlershof on December 24, 1916, especially since the positive experiences from the construction of the DFW CV had been incorporated into the design. The engine, an over-compressed Benz Bz IVü with 200 hp, also showed promising performance. The box-shaped radiator was attached to the upper wing. Between April 1917 and March 1918 approx. 1250 CV were ordered.

LVG C.VI

From August 1917 the was already at a more improved type, LVG C.VI worked. The CV was one of the largest two-seater used by the air force, the new aircraft should now be more compact and lighter and aerodynamically improved. The C.VI had a neatly clad engine in the slightly higher fuselage, a propeller hood, larger rudder and elevator controls and initially wing coolers, but then Windhoff side coolers, which put the crew less at risk from the boiling-hot water splashing around when hit. Further changes and simplifications should make production more efficient.

The project was submitted to Idflieg for approval in October 1917. In January 1918 a prototype was completed and test flown, in February the acceptance by Idflieg took place, in March the first order was received. After minor adjustments, the first aircraft reached the front in June 1918.

LVG C.VII u. C.VIII

A LVG C.VII with a Mercedes engine with 160 hp was also developed, but nothing is known about production and use. Finally, a prototype of an LVG C.VIII with a 240-hp Benz Bz.IVü engine with high compression was built, which was no longer in series production.

commitment

One of the last German reconnaissance aircraft to be lost over Palestine, an LVG CV, August 22, 1918

The CV has proven itself as a reliable and versatile aircraft for reconnaissance and artillery observation missions, bomb flights and aerial reconnaissance, if necessary also well-armed against fighter attacks.

The C.VI soon also won the crew's trust. It offered better visibility and a better field of fire than the CV, was easy to climb and fast and was considered superior to all other two-seater types until the Halberstadt CV was released in September 1918. In August 1918, 400 C.VI were already in use.

Civil use

Hans Albers in 1918 as a DLR passenger in an LVG C.VI

During the war, some LVG C.VI were used by the Deutsche Luft-Reederei (DLR) for passenger traffic and mail. For this reason and because production ran until the end of January 1919, numerous CV and C.VI later appeared in post-war uses: at DLR in passenger, mail and aerial photography services, with the Polish air force in the Polish-Soviet War 1919– 1920. The Finnish Air Force acquired two C.VI's, and the Finnish Suomen ilmailuliikenne Oy acquired two C.VI's from a Swedish airline in 1923. Various C.VI made their way to Lithuania , three to Czechoslovakia , two to Switzerland and others to the Soviet Union . One machine is on display in the Royal Military Museum in Brussels .

Technical specifications

Parameter CV C.VI
Construction year 1917-1918 1918
Intended use spotter
number of pieces about 1000
crew 2
length 8.07 m 7.45 m
span 13.62 m
height 3.20 m 2.80 m
Wing area 42.70 m² 37.00 m²
Empty mass 985 kg 930 kg
Takeoff mass 1333 kg 1390 kg
Top speed 165 km / h 170 km / h
Summit height 6500 m
Climbing speed to 1000 m 5:48 min 4 min
Climbing speed to 2000 m 8 min
Climbing speed to 4000 m 35:44 min
Climbing speed to 6000 m 40 min
Max. Range 485 km 400 km
Flight duration 4 h 3:30 h
water-cooled in- line engine Benz Bz IV , 200 PS (approx. 150 kW)
Armament 2 × MG 7.92 mm 2 × MG 7.92 mm, 115 kg bombs

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

Web links

Commons : LVG CV  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : LVG C.VI  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual references / comments

  1. Inspection of the air force, u. a. responsible for technical approvals and orders to the industry
  2. Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire / Koninklijk Museum van het Leger en de Krijgsgeschiedenis