The Aviatik C.I was an
observation aircraft which came into service during
World War I in April 1915. It was a development of the
Aviatik B.I and
B.II models, being one of first aircraft of the new German C class of armed biplanes. In the C.I the observer sat in front of the pilot, with a machine-gun clipped on a sliding mounting fitted on a rail at either side of the cockpit.[1] It gave the crew the means to attack enemy aircraft.[2] The positions of the pilot and observer were reversed in last series of 50, ordered in 1917 solely for trainer purpose.[3] There was only one aircraft built of refined C.Ia version in May 1916, with armament still in a forward cab, serving as a prototype for C.III.[3] Later models of the plane included the
Aviatik C.II and the
C.III, which had more powerful engines. The C.III was produced in large numbers.
548 Aviatik C.I were built in total: 402 by Aviatik (including 51 trainers and 1 C.Ia) and 146 by Hannover.[4]
Variants
C.I
Primary model
C.I(Han)
Primary model licence-built by Hannover, initially designated Hannover C.I
C.I trainer
Last series of 50 plus a prototype manufactured in 1917, with a machine gun in rear cab.[3]
Gray, Peter & Thetford, Owen (1987) [1970]. German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam.
ISBN0-85177-809-7.
Herris, Jack (2023). Aviatik Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 10 (2nd ed.). n.p.: Aeronaut Books.
ISBN978-1-953201-59-1.
Klaauw, Bart van der (March–April 1999). "Unexpected Windfalls: Accidentally or Deliberately, More than 100 Aircraft 'arrived' in Dutch Territory During the Great War". Air Enthusiast (80): 54–59.
ISSN0143-5450.
van Wyngarden, G. Early German Aces of World War 1. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2006.
ISBN1-84176-997-5
Taylor, Michael J H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Portland House, 1989.
ISBN0-517-69186-8
External links
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