Germany - 1916 AEG C.IV

Out With the Old, In With the New.

Part of my daily routine is looking over my profiles to see which ones annoy me enough to jump into action. Work I did years ago and had served well enough is no longer good enough. Sooner or later the axe will fall and the old is replaced with something less annoying for the moment.

The Stodgy but Dependable AEG C.IV

AEG C.IV s/n, C4762 - 1917

This example is sporting the mauve and green scheme with blue under surfaces. The crosses are bordered and the serial numbers are painted on the tail fin.

AEG C.IV s/n 2, C6674 - 1917

This is an example of the German brown and green scheme with blue under surfaces. The crosses are displayed on a white field as above the serial numbers are painted on the tail fin.

A Short History of the AEG C.IV

The AEG C.IV was a two-seat biplane reconnaissance aircraft produced by Allgemeine Elektrizitats-Gesellschaft (AG). The design was based on the C.II, but featured a larger wingspan and an additional forward-firing LMG 08/15 Spandau-type 0.312 in (7.92 mm) machine gun.

The C.IV was a conventional biplane. The wings featured and equal span upper and lower wing assembly with double bays and parallel struts. The forward portion of the fuselage was contoured , producing a n aerodynamic look while the rest of the body maintained a box-like appearance. Performance was good for the time with a top speed of 98 miles per hour with a service ceiling of 16,400 feet.

The aircraft entered active service during the spring of 1916. By June of 1917, no fewer than 150 examples were operating along the Western Front .

The AEG C.IV primarily served as reconnaissance aircraft from 1916 onwards though it also served as a bomber escort and saw service with the German air service until the end of the war. The design proved to be seriously under-powered for the bomber escort role. Nevertheless, the C.IV was easily the most successful of AEG's World War I B- and C-type reconnaissance aircraft, with some 400 being built and remaining in service right up to the end of the war.

A variant, the C.IV.N was designed specifically as a prototype night bomber in 1917, with the Benz Bz.III engine used in other C-types and a lengthened wingspan. Another variant, the C.IVa, was powered by a 180 hp (130 kW) Argus engine.

C.IV aircraft saw service with the Bulgarian Air Force and the Turkish Flying Corps.

References

1. From Wikipedia AEG C.IV, "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AEG_C.IV"
2. The Great War Flying Museum http://www.greatwarflyingmuseum.com/aircraft/germany/aeg_civ.html
3. Axelrod, Alan. "World War I". Indianapolis: Macmillan USA, Inc, 2000.
4. Sharpe, Michael (2000). "Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes". London: Friedman/Fairfax Books. p. 14.
5. Bullock, David L. Allenby's "War: The Palestine-Arabian Campaigns 1916-18". London: Blandford Press, 1988.
6. Cron, Hermann. "Imperial German Army 1914-18". Solihull, West Midlands, UK: Helion & Company, 2002.
7. Flanagan, Brian P.; Smith, Frank; and Raidor, Lonnie. "The Great War 1914-1918 - Chronology of Events of World War I: Cross and Cockade (US)", various volumes and issues covering the period 1916 to 1918. Cross and Cockade (US).
8. Franks, Norman; Frank Bailey, and Rick Duiven "Casualties of the German Air Service 1914-1920". London: Grub Street, 1999.
9. Franks, Norman; Frank Bailey, and Russell Guest. "Above the Lines". London: Grub Street, 1998.
10. Groschel, Dieter H. M, "Ein Verlust der bayerischen Flieger-Abteilung 304 an der Palästina-Front 1918", Das Propellerblatt Nummer 7, 2003.
11. Groschel, Dieter H. M. and Div Gavish. "Rudolf Holzhausen - Weltkriegsflieger, Dipolmat, und Historiker". Das Propellerblatt Nummer 9, 2004.
12. Grosz, Peter M. "Windsock Datafile 67 AEG C.IV". Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, UK: Albatros Publications, Ltd., 1998.
13. Imrie, Alex. "Pictorial History of the German Army Air Service 1914-1918". Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1973.
14. Hoeppner, Ernest, General von. "Germany's War in the Air". Nashville, TN: The Battery Press, 1994.
15. Nicolle, David. "The Ottoman Army 1914-18", Osprey Men-at-Arms Series No. 269. London, UK: Osprey Publications, Ltd 1994.
16. Nikolajsen, Ole. "Pilot Fazil Bey Turkish Aviation Hero, Over the Front Volume 22 No. 3". Journal of the League of World War I Aviation Historians, 2007.
17. Perrett, Bryan. "Megiddo 1918: The Last Great Cavalry Victory", Osprey Campaign Series No. 61. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publications, Ltd 1999.
18. Rottgardt, Dirk. "German Armies' Establishment 1914/18", Volume 4: German Forces in the Middle East. West Chester, Ohio: The Nafziger Collection, Inc., 2007.
19. Sanders, Liman, General von. "Five Years in Turkey". Nashville, TN: The Battery Press, 2000.
20. Shores, Christopher; Norman Franks, and Russell Guest. "Above the Trenches. A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Forces 1915-1920". London: Grub Street, 1990.
21. WWI Aero, volume 107 (for C Types), Dec 1985
22. Zankl, Reinhard. "Deutsche Flieger-Einheiten 1914-1918": Folge 3 - Flieger-Abteilungen. Das Propellerblatt Nummer 3, 2002.

I'd like to take time for a long overdue shout out to Patti Davidson-Peters, a new found friend and the webmaster at The excellent 93^rd Aero Squadron web site http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sunnyann/93aero/index.html. There is much hard to find information about the 93^rd Aero Squadron and is well worth a visit. Welcome aboard Patti!

Germany - 1916 A.E.G. G-IV

Germany's Underrated Tactical Bomber

When the subject of German bombers comes up most people automatically think of the Gotha bombers. In fact their performance was not as good as many think. The AEG G type tactical bomber served in many countries as a day and night bomber with very good results. It was easy to fly and and extremely sturdy. It was designed to use many advanced equipment such as radios and electronically heated suits for the aircrew. The AEG was held in high regard by the flight crews that manned them.

A.E.G. G-IV - 1916

The AEG G.IV was a biplane bomber aircraft used in the World War I by Germany. It was developed from the AEG G.III, with refinements to power, bomb-load, and dimensions. Serving late in the war, the AEG G.IV managed to achieve some operational success in reconnaissance and combat roles. Coming into service in late 1916, it featured a bomb capacity twice as large as that of the AEG G.II, but was still considered inadequate in terms of offensive capacity and performance. Further improvements led to the development of the G.V, but the Armistice came before the replacement could become operational.

The Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (A.E.G.) G.IV was derived from the earlier G.III. Designed as a tactical bomber, the relatively modern technology included onboard radios and electrically heated suits for the crew. The AEG G.IV also had a quality that endeared it to the men who flew it -it was an extremely rugged aircraft. Unlike the other German bombers such as the Gotha and the Friedrichshafen, the AEG featured an all metal, welded tube frame. Well equipped with armament, although the rear gunner's cockpit was on the top of the fuselage, the position was equipped with a hinged window in the floor for viewing and fending off pursuing aircraft.

The AEG G.IV bomber entered service with the German Air Force in late 1916. Because of its relatively short range, the G.IV served mainly as a tactical bomber, operating close to the front lines. The G.IV flew both day and night operations in France, Romania, Greece and Italy, but, as the war progressed, the AEG G.IV was restricted increasingly to night missions. Many night operations were considered nuisance raids with no specific targets, but with the intention of disrupting enemy activity at night and perhaps doing some collateral damage.

The AEG G.IV carried a warload of 400 kg (880 lb).] While Gotha crews struggled to keep their heavy aircraft aloft, the AEG was renowned as an easy machine to fly. Some G.IV crews of Kampfgeschwader 4 are known to have flown up to seven combat missions a night on the Italian front. A notable mission involved Hauptmann Hermann Kohl attacking the railroad sheds in Padua, Italy in his G.IV bomber.

References

1. From Wikipedia AEG G.IV, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AEG_G.IV
2. Sharpe, Michael. Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes. London, England: Friedman/Fairfax Books , 2000. Page 15. ISBN 1-58663-300-7.
3. Grey, Peter and Thetford, Owen. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962. ISBN 0-370-00103-6.
4. Molson, Kenneth M. Canada's National Aviation Museum: Its History and Collections. Ottawa, Canada: National Museum of Science and Technology , 1988. ISBN 0-17596-248-1.

Germany - 1917 AEG D.I and Dr.I

AEG Experimental Aircraft - 1917

Building experimental aircraft has always a gamble. What looked good on the drawing board could be a death trap in the air. AEG had designed the efficient G- class bomber which served well in the war. Spurred on by their success the company designed a fighter for testing. The results of the experiment was less than spectacular.

The Crash-Prone AEG D.I

AEG AEG D.I - 1917

The AEG D.I was a biplane fighter built in 1917 by Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG). Three prototypes were ordered for the Luftstreitkräfte, but after the first two aircraft were involved in serious crashes, development was cancelled. A triplane version was built as the Dr.I. The second and third prototypes differed little except in minor details.

The D.I was powered by a Mercedes D.IIIa 6-cylinder, liquid-cooled inline engine, producing 158 hp (118 kW). The armament was twin forward-firing 0.312 in (7.92 mm) LMG 08/15 machine guns mounted on the deck.

Variants

• A.E.G. D.I - 1917 prototype single seat bi-plane fighter.
• A.E.G. Dr.I - 1917 prototype single seat tri-plane fighter.

Aircraft numbers

• AEG D.I - first prototype serial number not known.
• AEG D.I - second prototype serial number D4401/17.
• AEG D.I - third prototype serial number D5002/17
• AEG Dr.I - prototype serial number not known

The Unsuccessful AEG Dr.I Tripane

AEG Dr.I - 1917

The AEG Dr.I was a triplane fighter of World War I, built by Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft in 1917 during Germany's period of experimentation of the triplane concept. The design was based on the equaly unuccessful AEG D.I.

The Dr.I was powered by a Mercedes D.IIIa 6-cylinder, liquid-cooled inline engine, producing 158 hp (118 kW). The armament was twin forward-firing 0.312 in (7.92 mm) LMG 08/15 machine guns mounted on the deck.

Only a single prototype was built and its poor performance meant there was no further production of this model.

The Final Word

Life by Murphy

Is there a law when you have a technical issue it is in the middle of a 4 day weekend? My connection has been dodgy at best and even more so last night. A call to my internet provider consisted of a lively dialog with a phone bot and an extended not always intelligible conversation with off-shore tech support located in India. I followed their instructions and made changes as asked, after I made them repeat them several times and read it back to them. When I tried to log on I got an error message that my modem was malfunctioning. As I was uninstalling and reinstalling my modem I get a call from the call station supervisor. She was equally unintelligible, the gist of the conversation was she did not care about the issue, she was just attempting to play "cover my ass". (aka: CYA). Needless to say my volume level escalated to the "room shaking bellow" range. The point of this rant is to say I have not been able to read and comment on as many blogs as I would have wanted.

I want to give Francis of The Angry Lurker fame a shout out and send a get well soon message. We all miss you mate.

References

1. AEG D.I. (2010, December 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:14, February 27, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AEG_D.I&oldid=402605916
2. AEG Dr.I. (2010, August 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 04:45, February 27, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AEG_Dr.I&oldid=380535853
3. AEG D.I 1917 The Virtual Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 03:10, February 27, 2011, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/aeg_d-1.php
4. AEG Dr I 1917 The Virtual Aircraft Museum Retrieved 04:40, February 27, 2011, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/aeg_dr-1.php
5. AEG Dr I 1917 The Virtual Aviation Museum Retrieved 04:50, February 27, 2011, from http://www.luftfahrtmuseum.com/htmi/itf/aegdr1.htm
6. Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 2nd Ed. 1970.
7. Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. German Aircraft of the First World War. London:Putnam, 1962.