The Alter A.1 was a German single-seat fighter that flew for the first time in February 1917. It was designed by Kallweit und Ketterer and the sole prototype was built by Ludwig Alter-Werke in the German city of Darmstadt. The design itself was very similar to the French Nieuport 11 but, apparently it wasn't a copy, however some authors, claim that it was a blatant copy.
It was powered by a 110hp Goebel Goe-II 7 cylinder engine and it had I-type interplane struts and a wooden, fabric and plywood-covered fuselage. It was armed by the usual, for that time, German pair of 7,92mm LMG08/15 machine guns.
The development came to an end when the Idflieg ordered the project to stop because the airplane was too weak, flimsy, inadequate and obsolete for that year.
Was it a copy or not? We think that, apart from the technical aspects like the difference in the engine or in the armament, it wasn't a copy, mainly because there are many aspects that make this airplane unique like for instance, the struts. The Nieuport 11 featured vee-type struts when this one had the I-Type ones.
 |
| The only known pic of the Alter A.1 |
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alter_A.1
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
No comments:
Post a Comment