В.Кондратьев Самолеты первой мировой войны

LVG B-I/B-II/C-I/C-II/C-III/C-IV

   В 1912 году швейцарский инженер Франц Шнейдер стал главным конструктором новой немецкой фирмы Люфт-Веркерс Гезельшафт - LVG (Компания воздушного транспорта). Созданный им биплан D IV показал блестящие результаты в авиационных состязаниях и совершил ряд дальних перелетов.
   В 1914 году эту машину под индексом B-I приняли на вооружение германских ВВС. В течение последующих двух лет на ее базе создан целый ряд модификаций, также строившихся серийно, состоявших на вооружении и принимавших участие в боевых действиях.

  
МОДИФИКАЦИИ
  
   C-II и C-III - однотипные аппараты, отличавшиеся только компоновкой кабин. В C-II наблюдатель размещался сзади, а в C-III - спереди. Двигатель "Мерседес", 160л.с. C-III выпущен малой серией, зато C-II стал в 1916 году одним из самых распространенных немецких фронтовых аэропланов. До десяти трофейных аппаратов использовала русская авиация. В российских документах их называли "Эльфауге".
  
  
ВООРУЖЕНИЕ
  
   1 турельный "Парабеллум" на всех С-модификациях.
  
  
ЛЕТНО-ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ
  
   C-II
   Размах, м 12,85
   Длина, м 8,1
   Высота, м 2,93
   Площадь крыльев, м2 37,6
   Сухой вес, кг 845
   Взлетный вес, кг 1405
   Скорость максимальная, км/ч 130
   Потолок, м 5040
   Продолжительность полета, ч 4
   Экипаж, чел 2

А.Александров, Г.Петров Крылатые пленники России

В числе первых фирма "Эльфауге" приступила к производству аэропланов класса Ц, и именно на ее первенце, движимом 150-сильным "Бенцем", было испытано важное усовершенствование: поворотная пулеметная турель, конструкцию которой инженер Франц Шнейдер запатентовал еще 16 сентября 1914 г. (н. ст.). Довольно скоро это новшество стало стандартной установкой на германских самолетах; по неизвестной причине оно отсутствует на трофейном аппарате (40), лишенном к тому же и пневматиков колес.

O.Thetford, P.Gray German Aircraft of the First World War (Putnam)

L.V.G. C II

   When the Allies introduced armed aircraft in 1915 the unarmed B type reconnaissance machines of the German Air Force soon began to suffer a prohibitive casualty rate and the introduction of defensive armament became imperative. This, in turn, made necessary the use of more powerful engines to carry the additional payload of gun(s) and ammunition, and gave rise to the C class designation, which was applied to armed two-seater aircraft of more than 150 h.p.
   Franz Schneider of the L.V.G. firm had already experimentally equipped one of his monoplane designs with both a fixed forward-firing machine-gun and a manually operated machine-gun on a ring mounting for the observer, although this machine was unfortunately lost, due to wing failure, while being ferried to the Front in June 1915. Consequently when the demand arose for an armed reconnaissance machine Schneider was quickly able to produce an L.V.G. biplane with a ring-mounted machine-gun for defensive purposes. The machine itself was little more than a strengthened L.V.G. B I airframe fitted with a 150 h.p. Benz Bz III engine, and duly became the C I. It was the first German operational aircraft to be fitted with defensive armament. It passed into limited production until a more specifically designed aeroplane could take its place.
   Such a machine, the C II, appeared towards the end of 1915 and came into widespread service with all types of unit, from the Kampfgeschwadern, where it was employed on light bombing duties, to Fl. Abt. units, where it was used upon tactical reconnaissance, photo reconnaissance and general "maid of all work" duties.
   The C II bore a considerable degree of similarity to the B II, and the two types are easily confused. Apart from the installation of the 160 h.p. Mercedes D III engine in the nose with only the crankcase covered by the curved metal decking, the C II was almost identical with the less powerful B II. A large collector manifold, which exhausted through a "chimney" pipe over the upper wing, was mounted to starboard. The radiator was now of the frontal type, rectangular in elevation and recessed into a cut-out in the centre-section to be flush with the leading edge. Apart from the curved top decking, which extended aft to encompass the cockpit section, the rest of the aircraft was of plain rectangular cross-section, side and underneath being ply-covered back to the rear cockpit, aft of which the fuselage was fabric covered. The basic fuselage structure was still a cable-braced box-girder of spruce longerons and cross-members, although from the cockpit area forward the longerons were now spliced with ash.
   The wings were practically identical to the B II, with the same type of "kinked" ailerons at the upper wingtips. All struts were now of streamlined steel tube including the inverted vee centre-section cabane. The gravity fuel tank, now torpedo shaped, was usually slung underneath the upper wing slightly to port of the centre-section, although sometimes it was attached to the upper surface.
   The tail surfaces were much the same as on the B II, except for a degree of curvature on the tailplane leading edges to give some additional area. The undercarriage was an orthodox vee-type chassis of streamlined steel tube with coiled-steel-spring shock absorbers. The tailskid was now hinged on the line of the lower longerons and sprung internally with elastic cord.
   Although initially armed with only a Parabellum gun for the observer, L.V.G. C IIs later had their armament strengthened by the addition of a fixed Spandau machine-gun firing forward, as was the case with most of the early C type two-seaters. Production quantities of the C II are not known, but the type was built under licence by both the Ago and Otto firms. According to the Inter-Allied Control Commission figures, some 250 aircraft of both C I and C II types were in service at the Front in the spring of 1916.

TECHNICAL DATA
   Description: Two-seat reconnaissance and general duties.
   Manufacturers: Luft-Verkehrs Gesellschaft m.b.H. Johannisthal (Lvg.).
   Sub-contractors: Ago Flugzeug-Werke G.m.b.H., Otto-Werke G.m.b.H.
   Power Plant: One 160 h.p. Mercedes D III 6 cylinder in-line water-cooled engine.
   Dimensions: Span, 12.85 m. (42 ft. 2 in.). Length, 8.1 m. (26 ft. 7 in.). Height, 2.93 m. (9 ft. 7 1/4 in.). Area, 37.6 sq.m. (406.1 sq.ft.).
   Weights: Empty, 845 kg. (1,859 lb.). Loaded, 1,405 kg. (3,091 lb.).
   Performance: Maximum speed, 130 km.hr. (81.25 m.p.h.). Ceiling, 13,120 ft. Endurance, 4 hr.
   Armament: One manually operated Parabellum machine-gun in rear cockpit at first; later forward-firing Spandau gun was additionally fitted.

J.Herris LVG Aircraft of WWI. Vol.1: B-Types & C.I (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 34)

LVG C-Types
  
  The first generation of German C-type armed, two-seat reconnaissance airplanes were usually derived from their earlier B-type unarmed reconnaissance airplanes, and the LVG C-types followed that model.
  The LVG B.I was the most successful early B-type and the LVG C.I was the first operational C-type. The C.I was derived from the B.II and was soon superseded in production by the LVG C.II, a more refined design that was built in large numbers.
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LVG C-Type Specifications
LVG C.I LVG C.II LVG C.III LVG C.IV
Engine 150 hp Benz Bz.III 150 hp Benz Bz.III 160 hp Mercedes D.III 160 hp Mercedes D.III 220 hp Mercedes D.IV
Span, Upper 14.5 m 12.68 m/12.85 m/&13.80 m (C.IIN) 12.7 m 13.6 m
Span, Lower - - - 10.9 m
Chord, Upper - - - 1.98-1.72 m
Chord, Lower - - - 1.77-1.58 m
Gap - - - 1.85 m
Wing Area 41.5 m2 37.6 m2 36 m2 38.2 m2
Length 8.61 m 8.1 m 8.0 m 8.51 m
Height 3.27 m 2.93 m 3.2 m -
Empty Weight 835 kg 845 kg 845 kg 1,050 kg
Loaded Weight 1,373 kg 1,405 kg 1,405 kg 1,600 kg
Maximum Speed 100 km/h 130 km/h - 172 km/h
Climb to 1,000 m - - - 6 minutes
Climb to 2,000 m - - - 13 minutes
Climb to 3,000 m - - - 24.5 minutes
Climb to 4,000 m - - - 43.5 minutes


Known LVG C-Type Production Orders
Type Date Qty Serials Notes
C.I
C.II Aug. 1915 50 C.493-542/15
C.II Aug. 1915 150 C.664-813/15
C.II 1 C.917/15 Powered by Maybach Mb.III
C.II Nov. 1915 50 C.2104-2153/15
C.II Nov. 1915 100 C.2154-2253/15
C.II Dec. 1915 50 No record of production
C.II Dec. 1915 125 C.4214-4288/15
C.4289-4338/15 75 built at Johannisthal
50 built in Koslin
C.II Feb. 1916 179 C.287-465/16
C.II Jan.1917 17
C.II(Ago) Aug. 1917 100 C.9900-9999/17 For use as advanced trainer
C.II(Ago) Jan. 1918 100 C.100-199/18 For use as advanced trainer
C.II(Ago) July 1918 100 C.5150-5249/18 For use as advanced trainer

J.Herris LVG Aircraft of WWI. Vol.2: Types C.II - C.V (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 35)

LVG C.II

  The LVG C.II was derived from the unarmed LVG B.II in the same way the C.I was derived from the B.I; a more powerful engine was installed and the observer was moved to the rear cockpit and provided with a flexible machine gun fitted to a rotating turret designed by LVG chief designer Schneider. As a result the C.II was somewhat smaller than the C.I and was faster and more agile.
  Also like the C.I, the C.II inherited the robust structure and good handling qualities of its predecessor. Like the other Schneider-designed B- and C-types, the engine cowling panels were aluminum, the cockpit sides were plywood, and the rear fuselage and flying surfaces were wood with fabric covering. The C.II used either the 150 hp Benz Bz.III or 160 hp Mercedes D.III engines.
  Simple, robust, easy to fly, and with better performance than the LVG C.I, the LVG C.II was immediately successful and became the most numerous LVG C-type until introduction of the LVG C.V in 1917.
  In addition to the flexilble gun mounted in the observer's cockpit, surviving documents indicate that production C.II aircraft were scheduled to be armed with a synchronized, forward-firing Spandau LMG 08 machine gun on the right side of the engine. However, photographs do not show this installation until the C.287-465/16 production batch. The cause was likely shortage of synchronization systems or perhaps a shortage of guns. In the interim many units added a second machine gun mounted to fire forward over the upper wing and above the arc of the propeller.


LVG C.II Variants

  The basic LVG C.II was delivered with two different wingspans, 12.68 meters and 12.85 meters, which is confirmed in both official German and French reports. The reason for this minor difference and which variant may have come first is not known. Perhaps it was a difference between production at Johannisthal and Koslin?
  In addition, there was an LVG C.II version with Nachtflachen (night wings) of 13.80 meter span. The reason for this is known; this version of the C.II, known as the LVG C.IIN or LVG N.I, was a night-bomber variant of the C.II and the additional wing span and area was added to help the aircraft lift a greater bomb load. As tactical night bombing became more common, Idflieg, a strong proponent of specialized designs for different tasks, decided by late 1916 to procure specialized single-engine night bombers. Standard, general-purpose C-type armed two-seaters were used for tactical night bombing from their arrival at the front until the end of the war, but Idflieg wanted a design optimized for the task that could carry more bombs with a standard production engine. Drawn up in August-September 1916, the Nachtflugzeug (night aircraft, or N-type) specifications called for a duration of four hours, a load of six 50 kg PuW bombs totalling 300 kg, and one flexible machine gun with three drums of 200 rounds each. The required climb was 1,800 meters (5,906 ft) in 50 minutes. For navigation and bomb aiming the floor of the pilot's cockpit was to have a window, and the compass and instruments were to be illuminated for night flying.
  At least six manufacturers responded to this new requirement by constructing prototypes, two of which were produced in small quantity and served operationally at the front designated as N-types, the AEG N.I and Sablatnig N.I. The LVG N.I apparently was listed with the C.II in the Frontbestand tables instead of with the designated N-types. Unfortunately, no documentation has survived that tells how many C.IIN aircraft were built nor what serial numbers they may have had.
  In addition to the night-bomber variant of the C.II, LVG built several floatplane conversions of the C.II. Three were ordered by the German Navy in May 1916. Given Marine Numbers 443-445. These were powered by the 160 hp Mercedes D.III and armed with a rear turret with flexible machine gun. These aircraft were accepted in August, October, and November 1916 as indicated in the SVK production table (pp.8-9). MN 443 was written off on 24 October 1916. The number of aircraft sold to Turkey is not documented but appears to be another three based on work number analysis.

J.Herris Nachtflugzeug! German N-types of WWI (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 3)

LVG N.I

   The LVG company was noted for a long line of two-seat combat aircraft that started with robust, unarmed B-types that lead to the early LVG C.I and C.II. The B.II was a reduced-span, lighter derivative of the B.I for greater speed and maneuverability. When combat operations showed the need for armament, LVG installed more powerful engines in these two types and created the LVG C.I and C.II, respectively; both types reached the front in May-June 1915. The standard LVG C.II had a wingspan of either 12.68 or 12.85 meters; both wings were used on production aircraft and it is not known in which order they were produced or when the change took place. In any case, standard C.II aircraft were powered by either a 150 hp Benz Bz.III or a 160 hp Mercedes D.III engine and carried a bomb load of four 12.5 kg PuW bombs.
   In addition to the standard C.II, there existed a version fitted with Nachtflachen (night wings) having a 13.80 meter span. This referred to a night bomber variant given greater wing area to lift a heavier bomb load. The post-war Inter-Allied Control Commission report mentions an LVG N.I powered by a 150 hp Benz Bz.III, which is probably the C.II with increased wing span. Unfortunately, it is not known how many of these aircraft were built nor when they served; they were certainly included in the LVG C.II Frontbestand.

Журнал Flight

Flight, June 22, 1916.

THE L.V.G. FIGHTING BIPLANE.
TYPE D.9.

   GENERALLY speaking, the various makes of German aeroplanes did not present, before the war, any great divergency, all being, practically without exception, of the tractor biplane type. Such differences as did exist were, speaking aerodynamically, divisible into three main types - those which had the wings sloping back as seen in plan, those with straight wings, and those in which the leading edge sloped back while the trailing edge was straight. The first-mentioned type could be subdivided according to the amount of backward slope, the machines built by the Deutsche Flugzeug Werke of Leipzig representing the maximum and the Aviatik biplanes the minimum slope. The best-known representative of the straight-winged type is perhaps the Albatros biplanes, while the third type, which forms, so to speak, a compromise between the other two, is confined solely to the biplanes constructed by the Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft of Berlin. Since the outbreak of war the tendency has been towards even greater uniformity, the type with the sloping-back wings, or, to give its German denomination, Pfeil flieger, having, as far as we are able to ascertain, practically disappeared from the western sky. The only survival is the L.V.G. type, which has retained the backward slope of its leading edge. We do not mean to infer that those firms who were producing machines of the arrow type are no longer building, but that they have - whether from choice or necessity we are not in a position to say - discarded the arrow-shaped wings for the more orthodox straight ones. At least one of the representatives of the arrow biplanes has been described in our columns, i.e., the D.F.W., which was being constructed in this country before the war broke out. Last year we also gave fully illustrated description of two of the captured Albatros biplanes, thus bringing our readers' acquaintance with the straight-winged German type up to date. This week we supplement these with a description of the third remaining type - the L.V.G. biplane.
   One of the most successful German machines in the races of 1914 was the L.V.G. biplane designed by Mr. Schneider, who is, we believe, a Swiss by birth. It was a machine of this type which won the Prince Henry Race and the Ostmarken Race, and from what we can learn the L.V.G. biplanes have been no less successful as fighting machines than they were in the more peaceful contests before the outbreak of hostilities.
   Apart from the backward slope of the leading edge of its main planes, the L.V.G. does not differ very greatly from the Albatros biplanes, at any rate as far as outward appearances are concerned. The same rectangular section fuselage which characterises the Albatros is found in the L.V.G., carrying at the rear a flat stabilising plane of generous proportions, and in front a large water-cooled Mercedes engine. Constructionally, however, the LV.G. does not follow the lines of the Albatros, especially as regards the construction of the body. In the Albatros biplanes, it will be remembered, the body is built up of six rafts, one in each corner of the rectangular body and one half-way up each side. The L.V.G. approaches more to the practice followed in this country and in France, having only four longitudinal rails connected in the usual way by struts, and being braced by diagonal wiring. In our description of the Albatros biplanes we ventured to offer the opinion that the Albatros way of constructing a body had several points to recommend it from a military point of view, and there is, therefore, no need to enlarge on the subject here. There are, however, points in the construction of the L.V.G. body, which might be of some use to British constructors, and which will therefore be described in detail. In the girder type of body one of the first considerations is the choice of a suitable method of anchoring the diagonal bracing wires. In the majority of machines built in this country the fittings employed for this purpose are of two types - either a steel clip bent so as to surround the body rails and provided with lips for the various wires, or a simple socket into which the strut fits, and which is secured to the rail by cue or more bolts. Both forms have their advantages and drawbacks. The clip form of fastening has the advantage that it does away with the necessity of piercing the rail, but, on the other hand, from the pilot's seat back to the stem of the body each fitting is different from the one adjoining it on each side on account of the taper which it is usual to give the rail in order to proportion it at any point to the work it has to do. This means extra expense and trouble in the manufacture and erecting, and although attempts have been made to overcome this obstacle by keeping the rails the same thickness from front to back, this only lessens the trouble, but does not overcome it entirely, since it entails spindling the rail towards the tail. The other form to which reference was made is not affected by the taper of the rails, but it suffers from the very serious disadvantage that the rails have to be pierced repeatedly, a practice which we should never recommend, although we are well aware that it is employed in a number of types of official design.
   The fitting employed in the L.V.G. biplane has, it appears to us, an advantage over most of the clips or sockets that have come to our notice, in so far as it would seem to possess the good points of both forms without the disadvantages of either. The struts and cross members of the body are slotted at their ends to receive the flanges of the fitting. The latter consists of a Duralumin casting of the shape shown in the sketch. Anchorage for the five wires occurring at each joint is provided by holes in the casting, which is prevented from sliding along the rail by short small wood screws. It might be objected that piercing is not absolutely avoided, but it appears to us that although this is perfectly true the weakening of the rail due to the employment of two small wood screws for each fitting is in no way comparable in magnitude with that produced by one or more bolts that have to be of sufficient diameter to serve as an anchorage for the bracing wires. Owing to the shape of the L.V.G. fitting, it will be seen that a taper in the rail does not necessitate any variation in consecutive fittings since, if all are made of the same width as the rail at its thinnest end, the only difference will be that towards the front the struts will not have their axes in line with that of the rails.
   A peculiarity in the design of the L.V.G. body is that from a point between the two cockpits to the nose the upper rails slope down in a straight line (as seen from the side; in plan they curve in the usual way). The reason for this feature of the machine, a feature that it has possessed for a number of years, is difficult to explain, unless one takes it for granted that the idea is to provide more clearance around the lower portion of the engine. The aluminium covering over the top of the body is detachable so as to facilitate access to the interior of the body in the vicinity of the engine.
   In the earlier machines of this make all the occupants were accommodated in a common cockpit, but in the latest models, of which the machine illustrated this week is an example, two distinct cockpits are provided, the front one of which is occupied by the pilot, while a gunner is installed in the rear. From this position he commands a fairly free view to rearward and upward, while for firing rearwards and downwards openings are cut in the top and bottom of the body through which the machine gun may be fired. This disposition of the artillery would seem to indicate that the machine is intended for defensive rather than for offensive purposes.
   The pilot, who is seated in the front seat, controls the machine by means of a foot bar and a lever terminating in a grip or handle, very similar to that of the Morane-Saulnier monoplanes. In front of him are a number of instruments almost identical with those illustrated in our description of the Albatros biplane. The engine, a 160 h.p. Mercedes, is mounted in the nose of the machine and is partly enclosed by the aluminium top cover of the body. The arrangement of the exhaust pipes is of a very simple form, consisting, as will be seen, of a short branch pipe from each cylinder running to a vertical collector pipe projecting upwards above the level of the upper plane. An unusual mounting of the radiator is employed, as will be seen from our illustrations. The radiator, instead of being mounted on the sides of the body as in earlier machines, is built into the top plane, tubes running from it down to the front and back of the engine. Whether this method of mounting is desirable for a military machine appears to us questionable. The pilot, being placed below and slightly to the rear of it, could hardly avoid being scalded should the radiator be damaged by projectiles.
   The main planes, which have, as we have pointed out, their leading edge sloping back towards the tip, do not present anything out of the ordinary, either constructionally or in the section employed. The lower one is attached to the sides of the body by a quickly detachable device, while the two halves of the top plane are bolted to a steel tube cabane composed of four streamline steel tube struts resting with their lower ends on the top rails of the body.
   The inter-plane struts are steel tubes of streamline section tapered at both ends to take a vertical bolt which passes through the main spar. The anchorage for the bracing cables is very similar to that employed on the Albatros machines, and consists of a hollow, cup-shaped steel shell slotted in places to accommodate the strainers of the cables. A quick-release device is employed, which allows of rapid dismantling and erecting without interfering with the adjustment of the wings. The inter-plane struts are so pivoted on the eye-bolt passing through the spar that when the cables are slackened off they can pivot sideways, and the upper and lower planes be brought to lie flat one on top of the other. The general arrangement as well as a detail drawing of the quick-release device are illustrated in two of the accompanying sketches, which are, we think, self-explanatory.
   In the photographs of the machine it will be noticed that the ailerons appear to be of a very peculiar shape, the impression being that they have a narrower chord at the tip than at the root. This is not the case, however, the break being due to the fact that the outer half of the aileron is set at a slight negative angle.
   In the earlier models the ailerons were similar, in that they consisted of two portions, of which the inner was in line with the trailing edge of the fixed portion of the wing, while the outer was set at a negative angle. In the new type, however, the gap between the two halves has been covered with fabric in order, presumably, to reduce end losses and thus render the aileron more effective.
   The tail planes follow fairly closely along the lines of other German machines, the fixed tail plane being of large area and the rudder hinged to the rear of a fixed vertical fin. A refinement is noticeable in the arrangement of the tail skid, which has in the type D.9 the rubber shock absorber placed inside the body to save resistance.
   The undercarriage is almost identical with that of the Albatros biplanes. In older models, it may be remembered, a third wheel was fitted on the lower ends of two struts sloping down from the front part of the body and braced by tubes running backwards and outwards to the apices of the Vees formed by the main chassis struts. This extra wheel has been omitted in the later model, having, in fact, always been detachable and chiefly used for school work in order to protect the propeller and prevent the machine from turning over on its nose in case of a bad landing.