Friedrichshafen G.III
| G.III | |
|---|---|
| |
| Friedrichshafen G.III | |
| Role | Bomber |
| Manufacturer | Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH |
| Designer | Karl Gehlen |
| First flight | 1917 |
| Introduction | 1917[1] |
| Primary user | Luftstreitkräfte |
| Produced | 1917 to 1918[1] |
| Number built | ~734[2][1] |
The Friedrichshafen G.III (factory designation FF.45) was a heavy bomber designed and manufactured by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen. They were used by the German Imperial Air Service during World War I for tactical and limited strategic bombing operations. After the end of the war a number of Friedrichshafen bombers were converted into transport aircraft while a small number also saw service as dedicated airliners.
Development
The earlier
Variants
The Friedrichshafen G.III series was ordered in large numbers from Friedrichshafen (709 ordered), Daimler (75 ordered) and Hanseatische Flugzeug Werke (280 ordered) and most of these aircraft were delivered before the war ended.
- Friedrichshafen G.IIIa
This sub-variant reintroduced a box-shaped biplane tail unit which improved the aircraft's control response when it was being flown on one engine. Another modification was the installation of a third 7.92 mm (0.312 in) machine gun to combat British night fighters, which often attacked German bombers from below where they were hard to spot but the bomber's silhouette was easy to see against the night sky. This gun was mounted on a tubular, sliding mounting bolted to the floor of the rear gunner's position and was fired downward through a small sloping gun-tunnel cut into the bottom of the rear fuselage. By the last year of the war, the G.IIIa had replaced the G.III in production.
- Friedrichshafen G.IIIb
Towards the end of the war, the G.IIIa was further modified by re-designing the rear gunner's position, which was connected to the pilot's cockpit by an open passageway.
- Friedrichshafen G.IIIa(Oef) Series 54
A license for the production of the Friedrichshafen G.IIIa was acquired by the Oesterreichische Flugzeugfabrik A.G. (Oeffag) for the Austro-Hungarian Luftfahrttruppe but the project was cut short before production began by the end of World War I.
- Transport and airliner conversions
After the end of World War I, the German government and at least one commercial airline, Deutsche Luft-Reederei (DLR), operated a fleet of Friedrichshafen G.III series aircraft which were used to transport mail, high priority cargoes and the occasional passenger to and from a variety of destinations including some long-distance flights to Ukraine. For this purpose, a standard bomber, usually a G.IIIa or G.IIIb, was subjected to a set of modifications ranging from the simple disarmament to fitting a rudimentary cargo compartment in place of the rear gunner's position. Some of the DLR aircraft had the rear gunner's position replaced with a fully enclosed, glazed passenger cabin. Eventually, all these operations were stopped by the Allies in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles.
- Production
- G.III
- Friedrichshafen: 309
- Daimler: 160
- Hansa-Brandenburg: 75
- G.IIIa
- Friedrichshafen: ~100
- Daimler: 70
- Hansa-Brandenburg: ~20
Operations
In front-line service with the Luftstreitkräfte, the G.III series equipped a large portion of the bomber force until the end of the war. These same qualities also made it popular with commercial operators during its short post-war career as a transport aircraft and airliner.
The
Operators
- Luftstreitkrafte
- Lithuanian Air Force - two aircraft out of which reportedly one (No. 236) was flying in 1920–1923.[8]
- Polish-Soviet War in 1920[7]
Specifications (Friedrichshafen G.III)
Data from Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 12.65 m (41 ft 6 in)
- Wingspan: 23.85 m (78 ft 3 in)
- Height: 4.14 m (13 ft 7 in)
- Wing area: 95.0 m2 (1,023 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 2,371 kg (5,227 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 3,795 kg (8,367 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Mercedes D.IVa six-cylinder water-cooled inline piston engine, 190 kW (260 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 140 km/h (87 mph, 76 kn)
- Range: 525 km (326 mi, 283 nmi) approx.[note 3]
- Endurance: 5 hours
- Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,800 ft) [1]
Armament
- Guns: Usually 2-3 × Parabellum MG14machine guns.
- Bombs: Any combination of 12.5 kg (28 lb), 50 kg (110 lb), 100 kg (220 lb), 300 kg (660 lb) or 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) P.u.W bombs or air-mines up to a maximum load of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb).
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Notes
- ^ While not as deadly as their World War II counterparts World War I bombers could be quite effective. One example of this is an attack by nine German bombers on No. 2 Base Mechanical Transport Depot on 11 August 1918 which destroyed spares for over 20,000 vehicles. This was equivalent to almost half the British motor transport fleet on the Western Front at the time (Harvey, 1993, P.401) . The total monetary damage caused in this one air raid amounted to £1.25 million in which was almost as much damage as caused by the entire bombing campaign on Britain (Imrie 1991, p.6).
- ^ Fredette (1991) gives a history of the raids on Britain and Groz et al. (1988) which contains they history of the Zeppelin R planes.
- ^ Range was not normally specified in contemporary documents who simply stated that flight duration was '5 hours'. This could, and frequently was, extended somewhat by installing additional fuel tanks.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-85109-488-1. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-3927513600.
- ^ Groz (1994, 1995, 1997)
- ^ Imrie (1971), Groz (1988, 1994, 1995, 1997), Fredette (1991).
- ISBN 0-89747-416-3, p.16
- ^ Groz (1994 P.15, 1995 P.36, 1997 P.31).
- ^ ISBN 83-86776-34-X, p.179-180 (in Polish)
- ^ Friedrichshafen G. III a http://www.plienosparnai.lt/page.php?853 (in Lithuanian)
Bibliography
- Fredette, Raymond H. (1991). The Sky on Fire: the First Battle of Britain, 1917-1918. Washington D.C.: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 1-56098-016-8.
- Grosz, Peter M. (1995). Windsock datafile 51 : AEG G. IV. Berkhamsted: Albatros Productions. ISBN 0-948414-68-5.
- Grosz, Peter M. (1995). Windsock datafile 65 : Friedrichshafen G.III / G.IIIa. Berkhamsted: Albatros Productions. ISBN 0-948414-97-9.
- Grosz, Peter M. (1995). Windsock datafile Special : Gotha!. Berkhamsted: Albatros Productions. ISBN 0-948414-57-X.
- Hallade, Jean (December 1977). "Quand les Gothas bombardaient Paris..." [When the Gothas Bombed Paris...]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (97): 28–30. ISSN 0757-4169.
- Herris, Jack (2016). Friedrichshafen Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 21. Charleston, South Carolina: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-35-3.
- Imrie, Alex (1971). Pictorial History of the German Army Air Service 1914-1918. Chicago.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - 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. ISSN 0143-5450.
Further reading
- Batchelor, John; Lowe, Malcolm V. (2005). The complete encyclopedia of flight (reprint ed.). Chartwell Books. ISBN 9789036616003.
- Haddow, G.W.; Grosz, Peter M. (1988). The German Giants – The German R-Planes 1914–1918 (3rd ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-812-7.
- Harvey, Arnold D. (1993). Collision of empires : Britain in three world wars, 1793-1945. London: Hambledon Press. ISBN 1-85285-078-7.
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