LVG EI
| LVG EI | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Military - test aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
1915 |
| Commissioning: |
- |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
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The LVG EI (factory designation E.VI) was a German experimental aircraft of the Carrier for the testing of combat aircraft - aircraft weapons in the First World War ; especially for shooting through the propeller circle with a machine gun .
history
The first practical experience with combat aircraft quickly showed that the direction of fire of the on-board machine guns parallel to the pilot's line of sight was most effective. In the 1910s, single-engine aircraft with pull propellers had emerged as the most effective design. Since it was important, on the one hand, to concentrate the weight of the weapon and ammunition close to the center of gravity and, on the other hand, to place the weapon within reach of the pilot in order to remove jams, the machine gun had to be able to shoot through the propeller circle.
Franz Schneider , the Swiss chief designer of the airline (LVG) , had the development of a locking device patented as early as 1913, i.e. before the First World War . It provided for the trigger of a firearm to be connected to the propeller shaft of the aircraft engine via a mechanism in such a way that the trigger was always blocked exactly when a propeller blade was in front of the muzzle.
The only prototype of the LVG EI was lost during the transport for front testing and could never prove itself.
construction
The aircraft was designed as a two-seater monoplane, powered by a water-cooled six-cylinder in- line Mercedes D II engine with 120 hp. A machine gun fired through the propeller circle using the patented locking device. In addition, the observer's seat was provided with a second movable MG on a rotating ring mount ; also an innovation.
Further development
Anton Fokker later realized an interrupter gear that did not act on the trigger but on the ignition of the cartridges, and built this into his single-seat Fokker EI-IV monoplane, with which the German air force on the western front gained control of the air in 1915 .
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 (pilot and observer) |
| length | 6.70 m |
| span | 8.4 m |
| height | 2.60 m |
| Wing area | m² |
| Empty mass | 450 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 655 kg |
| Top speed | 132 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 3048 m |
| Range | 200 km |
| Engines | a water-cooled six - cylinder in - line engine Mercedes D II with 120 hp |
| Armament | two MG |
See also
literature
- Kenneth Munson: Fighter planes : fighters and training planes 1914-19 . Füssli, Zurich 1968.
- Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Airplanes 1914–1918 . Lehmanns, Munich 1959.
- William Green and Gordon Swanborough: The Complete Book of Fighters . Color Library Direct, Godalming, UK, 1994. ISBN 1-85833-777-1 .
Web links
- LVGE I accessed on November 28, 2016
Individual evidence
- ↑ aviastar.org accessed on November 28, 2016