Hansa-Brandenburg C.I

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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I
Albatros Kampfflugzeug. 8.9.17. (BildID 15602045).jpg
RoleReconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer Hansa-Brandenburg
UFAG
Designer Ernst Heinkel
Introduction1916
Primary users Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops
Polish Air Force
Romanian Air Force
Number built1318

The Hansa-Brandenburg C.I, also known as Type LDD, was a 2-seater armed single-engine reconnaissance biplane designed by Ernst Heinkel, who worked at that time for the parent company in Germany. The C.I had similarities with the earlier B.I (Type FD, also designed by Heinkel), including inward-sloping interplane bracing struts. Like other early-war Austro-Hungarian reconnaissance aircraft, such as C-types of Lloyd or Lohner, the Type LDD had a communal cockpit for its crew.

Contents

The C.I served in the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops in visual- and photographic reconnaissance, artillery observation and light bombing duties from early spring 1916 to the end of World War I. The aircraft had good handling characteristics, and steady introduction of more powerful engines in successive production batches (see below) enabled the improvement of performance and thus the continuing front-line service.

Armament of the type consisted of a free-firing 8 mm (0.315 in) Schwarzlose machine gun at the rear for the observer, and at least in some aircraft for the pilot there was also a similar fixed, non-synchronised forward-firing gun in a pod above the top wing. This latter weapon was replaced in later production examples by a synchronised 8 mm (0.315 in) Schwarzlose gun on the port side of the fuselage. The normal bomb load for the C.I was 60 kg (130 lb), but some aircraft could carry one 80 kg (180 lb) and two 10 kg (22 lb) bombs.

Production

UFAG Brandenburg C.I aircraft in Albertfalva (Budapest ) in 1916 UFAG Brandenburg C.I.jpg
UFAG Brandenburg C.I aircraft in Albertfalva (Budapest ) in 1916

Data from Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War One [1] In addition to 84 aircraft built by Hansa-Brandenburg, Phönix Flugzeugwerke (400 C.I(Ph)), Ungarische Flugzeugfabrik A.G. (834 C.I(U)) and Aero (A-14, A-15, A-26) also made the type under licence in the following batches:

Phönix
(Brandenburg C.I(Ph))
Ufag
(Brandenburg C.I(U))
Aero (Czechoslovakia) post-war
Poland (post war)
Arsenalul Aeronautic (Romania) post-war
The Romanian built No. 58, one of the last surviving Hansa-Brandenburgs, used as a platform for mid-air stunts in 1936 No 58, one of the last surviving Hansa-Brandenburgs.jpg
The Romanian built No. 58, one of the last surviving Hansa-Brandenburgs, used as a platform for mid-air stunts in 1936

Operational history

After World War I, in 1918, 22 original Hansa-Brandenburg C.I seized by the Poles were among the first aircraft of Polish Air Force. According to some publications, it was the first Polish aircraft to perform a combat flight on 5 November 1918, flown by Stefan Bastyr [5] (others claim he flew Oeffag C.II [6] ). They were used in Battle of Lemberg and then Polish–Ukrainian War and Polish–Soviet War. [7] Approximately 30 more aircraft were assembled or built by the Poles afterwards in Lviv and Kraków. [2]

During the Hungarian–Romanian War, Romania used Hansa-Brandenburg C.I airplanes captured from the Hungarian Red Air Arm. By the end of the war, a total of 22 aircraft of this type were captured. [8] The aircraft were used by the Romanian Air Force until the mid 1930s. [3]

Operators

Flag of Austria-Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Austria-Hungary
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
Flag of Yugoslavia (1918-1943).svg  Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
Socialist red flag.svg Hungarian Soviet Republic

Surviving aircraft and replicas

Specifications (Brandenburg C.I(Ph) Series BA129)

Data from Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War One [1]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

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References

  1. 1 2 Grosz, Peter M.; Haddow, George; Scheiner, Peter (2002) [1993]. Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War One. Boulder: Flying Machine Press. pp. 86–93, 95–108. ISBN   1-891268-05-8.
  2. 1 2 Morgała (1997), p. 44-50, 242
  3. 1 2 Dan Iloiu; Valeriu Avram. "Avionul de Recunoaştere Hansa Brandenburg C1". Modelism 1991-02 (in Romanian).
  4. D.Bernad. "The First Twenty Five Years. Romanian Aircraft Production 1911-1935". Air Enthusiast 1996-05.
  5. Kopański, Tomasz (2001) (in Polish). Lotnictwo w obronie Lwowa w listopadzie 1918 roku, "Militaria i Fakty" Nr. 6/2001, p. 40-45
  6. Morgała (1997), p. 52
  7. Morgała (1997), p. 40-41
  8. Valeriu Avram; Alexandru Armă (2018). Aeronautica română în Războiul de Întregire națională 1916-1919 (in Romanian). p. 49.
  9. C.Owers. "Hansa-Brandenburg Aircraft of WWI. Volume 1".
  10. "Hansa Brandenburg C.I". Craft Lab. Retrieved 20 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Bibliography