AEG C.VII

File:AEG C.VII 1917 (rfq).jpg

One of the first two prototype C.VIIs with the straight upper wing

The AEG C.VII was a prototype 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 developed from the C.IV but did not enter production. The C.VII was tested with two different wing arrangements, one with straight wings and another with a swept upper wing.

Development

The C.VII had been developed to the Inspectorate of Flying Troops ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}})'s requirement for a new type of two-seat aircraft, smaller than the existing C-type aircraft. These were to be used to equip protection flights ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) to escort reconnaissance aircraft.<ref>Gray & Thetford, p. xv</ref> Three prototypes were ordered in October 1916 with the first aircraft completed in December. They were scaled down about 20 percent from the C.IV and the C.VII had single-bay wings. The two aircraft shared the same water-cooled Template:Convert Mercedes D.III straight-six piston engine and the armament of one fixed, forward-firing machine gun and another on a flexible mount for the observer. The C.VII was about Template:Convert faster than the C.IV and had a better rate of climb. The first two prototypes had upper wings with straight leading edges, but the third had a swept wing that was intended to improve the gunner's visibility.<ref>Herris, pp. 16–17, 44</ref>

Fight testing was conducted in early 1917; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}'s report of 30 April damned the C.VII with faint praise, saying that its performance was acceptable, but was not as good as expected. It was judged suitable for service on the less demanding Eastern Front and inferior to the submissions by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name=h6>Herris, p. 44</ref>

Bibliography

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