Germany - 1916 LFG Roland C.II pt.2

Early C Class Aircraft and Kagohl Units

The Kagohl (Kampfgeschwader der Obersten Heersleitung) were aerial units which operated under the Commander of the German Armies. The organization consisted to a Headquarters Staff and six Kampfstaffeln, each consisting of six C Class aircraft. They had their own ground transport and used the German railway system for rapid deployment. Their original concept, was strategic bombing of England. The flaw in the plan was C class aircraft lacked the operational range to bomb England. Instead of performing strategic bombing missions; they operated as tactical bomber units. During the battle of Verdun, They patrolled the front attempting to prevent French bomber operations against the German front. Some Kagohls also served on the Eastern front.

Kagohl 2 consisted of Kampfstaffeln(Kasta) Nr.7-12. Kasta Nr.8 was founded on December 20, 1915. The Kasta flew LFG Roland C.II, and one of the unit's claim to fame is Manfred von Richthofen served with them early in his career.

Three Roland LFG From Kagohl 2/Kasta 8

LFG Roland C.II Mont-Morville Aerodrome - 1916

This example shows some of the features of the early LFG C.II. Of note is the lack of a forward mounted gun and the round roll cage. The finish is called sky. The actual color could vary from pale blue to light gray or off-white.

LFG Roland C.II Ltn Manfred von Richthofen Kg2/8 May-June 1916

This example is one of the first aircraft that von Richthofen flew in combat. He flew this LFG Roland while serving with Kasta 8 on the Eastern Front.

LFG Roland C.II Mont-Morville Aerodrome - 1916

The finish on this example is lighter. Besides the vertical bands the finish and structure of the aircraft is the same as the previous profiles.

Germany - 1916 LFG Roland C.II

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! No! It's a Whale!

LFG Roland C.II - 1916

I remember cracking open the box of the old Airfix kit of the Roland C.II. It was such a funky plane you had to love it. The bloated fuselage gave me visions of an Albatros which had been force fed donuts until it could no longer touch its toes. The only problem with the kit was the lack of choices of paint schemes. It made you think that you could have it in any color you want as long as it was pale gray. Once I found out there were other paint schemes line of gray Walfisch on my shelf became a lot more colorful.

The LFG Roland C.II, usually known as the Walfisch (Whale), was an advanced German reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was manufactured by Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft G.m.b.H.

The C.II featured a monocoque fuselage built with an outer skin of two layers of thin plywood strips at an angle to each other (known as a Wickelrumpf, or "wrapped body" design). The deep fuselage completely filled the gap between the mainplanes and gave the aircraft its nickname.

The C.II was powered by a single 160 hp (120kW) Mercedes D III, providing a top speed of 165km/h, a ceiling of 4000m, and an endurance of four hours. The thin wings gave a mediocre rate of climb.

References

1. From Wikipedia LFG Roland C.II "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LFG_Roland_C.II"
2. Munson, Kenneth - "Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914-1919" ISBN 0 7537 0918 X