AEG C.II

The AEG C.II was a two-seat biplane reconnaissance aircraft built by the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (AEG) during the First World War for the Imperial German Army's ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) Imperial German Air Service ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}). It was ordered in late 1915 as a better-performing version of the C.I resulting from a smaller and lighter structure. The effort to lighten the aircraft compromised its structure which led to repeated failures during static load testing and relegated it to training and testbed duties.

Development

The C.II was a slightly smaller version of the C.I, but retained the same water-cooled Template:Convert Benz Bz.III straight-six piston engine and defensive armament. The wing span was slightly reduced, but the chord was increased as was the wing area. This significantly increased the C.II's rate of climb, reducing its time to Template:Convert from eleven minutes to eight. The changes did little for the C.II's speed as it was only Template:Convert faster than the C.I. The C.II did have the ability to carry four 10 kg (22 lb) bombs for light attack duties that the C.I did not.<ref>Herris, pp. 16, 18</ref>

The Inspectorate of Flying Troops ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ordered the prototype in mid-1915 and followed it with orders for 36 more in two batches in September and October. The C.I's load testing resulted in multiple failures and the modifications needed to address the problems were so time consuming that the first six aircraft were not delivered until April 1916. One of which was sent to a front-line unit as it is shown on the bimonthly inventory report on 30 April. It was soon withdrawn from combat and transferred to a training unit like most of the rest of the C.IIs. AEG retained several and used them as test mules to evaluate aerodynamic changes in addition to radiator designs.<ref>Herris, pp. 4–5, 18</ref>

Operators

Template:Flag

• Luftstreitkräfte

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book