Nieuport 11 & 16, part three, various users

 

The Nieuport 11, nicknamed 'Bébé' (baby) in French was a French sesquiplane fighter of the World War I era that enjoyed good reputation as a combat plane and was exported (or was captured by) to various countries around the world, among its users stand the following ones:

• Austro-Hungarian Empire: At least one Macchi-built Nieuport 11 was captured by Austrian troops in north-eastern Italy and was sent to Vienna for evaluation and propaganda. It was painted in Austro-Hungarian KUK markings and received a new Austrian registration, 00.27. Its fate is unknown.
  
  
• German Empire: During 1916 the German Army managed to capture many Nieuport 11 & 16, these being employed by some German pilots who achieved ace status in those machines. They were Oblt. Kurt Student and Lt. Gustav Leffers.
  
  
• Netherlands: During the war, on 2nd February 1917, one Nieuport 11 with 3981 as serial number and belonging to 'A' Squadron, No.1 Wing Royal Naval Air Service (according to other sources it belonged to No. 6 Squadron) made a forced landing at the village of Cadzand, western Netherlands. Dutch authorities purchased the plane from the British and registered it as 'LA-40', with subsequent changes being made to the serial number, to N 213 and then N 230.
  The Royal Netherlands Army evaluated the aircraft and, based on its results, they ordered twenty additional machines to be built by the NV Dutch Motor Car and Airplane Factory at Trompenburg, Rotterdam under license. This factory was commonly known as Spyker (or Spykjer). However, given the war necessities, the needed parts and other materials were not delivered until 1918, so the first twelve aircraft lacked wheels and other important parts, however, as five Nieuport 11 were delivered shortly later and, as the war ended, the flow of spare parts and materials was resumed and the original twelve incomplete machines were, eventually completed.
  It seems that, according to an official report, the Dutch Nieuports were kept out of use between November 1919 and March 1920 after some accidents took place due to the poor quality of the machines. Some other sources claim they were never flown.
  Anyway, it also seems that in 1925 the Dutch Nieuports were still employed.
  
  
• Romania: Given the urgent for armament of the Royal Romanian Army in 1916, a total of twenty-eight Nieuport 11s were sent from the Royal Naval Air Service to Romania. Of those eight were assigned to Grupul 3 (Grupul is the Romanian word for 'Squadron') as the 'Escadrilla Nieuport (Franco/Romana). The deliveries of Nieuports were steady and eventually four fighter units saw service with the Corpul de Aviatie (Aviation Corps - the aviation branch of the Royal Romanian Army back then). 
  Those units were Grupul 1 & 2, attached to 1st Romanian Army and Grupul 1 & 3 attached to 2nd Romanian Army. 
  The Nieuports were used, under French supervisors, to provide aerial defence for Bucharest and the Russian army at Braila, northern Romania. The Grupuls saw extensive action over the fronts and by 15th December 1916 there were less than half of the original 28 Nieuports in service as only 12 were still in service, with six being kept under maintenance and additional eight no longer airworthy. The Nieuport 11s were replaced by the better Nieuport 17 as the year 1917 progressed.

Sources:

1st Flying Machines Press - French Aircraft of the First World War
2nd https://kw.jonkerweb.net/index.php/en/aircraft-factory-lists/aircrafts-n/nieuport-11-c1-bb-uk?showall=1
3rd Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 167 - Nieuport Fighters in Action
4th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nieuport_11

Pfalz E.I/E.II/E.IV/E.V/E.VI

 

The Pfalz E series were a development from the French Morane-Saulnier G and H of which Pfalz obtained a production license just before the outbreak of World War 1. The Fokker monoplanes (Fokker E series) which actually entered service months before the Pfalz Es, outperformed them in climb rate, maneuverability and handling characteristics. Therefore, the Fokkers were preferred over the Pfalzs. Fokker was accused of simply copying the French design, but taking into account that Fokker's designs were superior to those of Pflaz's the statement can't be true. Both monoplanes looked similar, yes, but designs were significantly different in detail. As both monoplanes looked similar, Allied pilots referred them both as just Fokkers.

The E-Type was divided into various variants:

• Pfalz E.I: The Pfalz E.I was created by mounting a synchronized Spandau LMG on a Pfalz-built Morane-Saulnier H (which although it was a license-built version, it wasn't completely identical to the French machine). It was powered by an 80 hp Oberursel U.0 engine. Only 45 aircraft were made and they arrived too late to make any significant impact in the war, therefore most of them were assigned to training and flying school units, specially in Bavaria.
• Pfalz E.II: This variant was a slightly enlarged version of the E.I, powered by a more powerful 9-cylinder Oberursel U.1 engine which yielded 100 hp of power. Wingspan was enlarged too, in order to provide more lifting power for the heavier engine. The wing was also braced by three flying wires, instead of two like the E.I. The fuselage was also enlarged to balance the heavier engine. Performance was better than the E.I as it was faster and had better climb rate and 130 were manufactured. 
  One E.II was offered to the Austo-Hungarian Navy by the financer Camillo Castiglioni in 1916. It was tested from 17th August 1916 until it crashed on 1st March 1917 during landing in Fazana. As we could only find text references to this machine, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Pfalz E.IV: This variant was powered by the 14-cylinder Oberursel U.III engine which yielded 160 hp of power. This rotary engine had a double row of cylinders and was much heavier than the preceding ones. As a development of the E.II as it was, the E.IV had the same wing but a slightly longer fuselage to balance the heavier engine. Thanks to its engine, its performance improved drastically, when compared to the E.II, even with two machine guns mounted. However, the Oberursel U.III engine had cooling problems with its second row of cylinders and wasn't as reliable as the previous ones. A total of 46 machines were built, but only five reached the frontlines at its peak number in April 1916, indicating that the type was outdated and saw barely any action.
• Pfalz E.V: The Pfalz E.V was powered by a 100 hp Mercedes D.1 inline six-cylinder engine, cooled by a nose-mounted, automobile-type radiator, giving it a distinctive appearance. It was based on the E.IV airframe and was faster in spite of its less powerful engine. However, the pre-war original Morane-Saulnier design wasn't capable of further development and was already obsolete by July 1916 when the prototype was tested. Furthermore, to compensate for the extra weight of the liquid-cooled engine, it was armed with a single machine gun. By July 1916 the Halberstadt D.II were already operating in the frontlines and their performance was superior and, therefore, only 20 machines were built, basically to keep Pfalz's factory active. A maximum of three were recorded to be at the frontlines in June 1916 and of those three, two were later transferred to the Imperial German Navy.
• Pfalz E.VI: This was the final variant of the Pfalz E-Types. It was basically an E.II powered by the same Oberursel engine, but having a different rudder shape and two sets of bracing wires, instead of the three employed in the E.II. It was tested also in July 1916 and a total of 20 machines were completed to keep Pfalz's factory active. They were used for training because they were obsolete for combat and none was recorded in the frontlines.

As the Fokker and other types were superior, only few numbers of Pfalz E-Types fighters were admitted into service, and even fewer were sent to the frontlines, where they were generally unpopular among pilots. Their service lasted until August 1916 when they were ordered to be retired from service and be cannibalized for spare parts, after many fatal crashes. Around 100 Pfalz E-Types were destroyed and the production stopped. Therefore, as Pfalz lacked a suitable replacement, Pfalz was assigned with the production of LFG-Roland biplane fighters.

Sources:

1. Flying Machines Press -  Pfalz Aircraft of World War I

2. http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20866

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_H

Macchi M.5 & M.5 mod - Foreign Users

And here we go with our first post of the "M" letter airplane, the Macchi M.5.

The Macchi M.5 was an Italian flying boat fighter that was designed by Nieuport-Macchi in the Italian city of Varese during the World War I. It was praised thanks to it's extreme maneouvrability and it was a match for their land-based counterparts. It had an improved late-production version with a better engine and redesigned wingtip floats, named M.5 mod.

It was flown by American pilots, as a trainer first and as an operational fighter later operating with the 263a Squadriglia (263th Squadron) from the Italian city of Porto Corsini, situated in the shores of the province of Ravenna. The first US Navy airman to be awarded with a Medal of Honor was piloting this airplane. On 21st August 1918 a Macchi M.8 piloted by Walther White and with Albert P. Taliaferro in the observer's position, was escorted by a flight of three Macchi M.5, in a leaflet-dropping mission over Pola, a city located in the Austro-Hungarian Empire's shores. When flying over the Adriatic, they were attacked by four Phönix land-based fighters. The Austro-Hungarian took down one of the Macchis, flown by the Ensign George Ludlow who could manage to ditch the plane at the sea. Seeing the life of his partner in risk, the pilot Charles Hamman landed his airplane close to Ludlow's one in order to take him on board. As Hamman's fighter was overloaded, he returned to base, where he crashed the airplane, however both pilots survived the crash. For that action Hamman was awarded the medal of Honor. Unfortunately, he died in a crash after the war, in June 1919 when he was piloting another Macchi.
As the Macchi had such good reputation, it comes no surprise that the Austro-Hungarians captured and used some of them, both of the M.5 and the M.5 mod version.

Sources: 
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchi_M.5
2. http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/macchi5.htm
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Aviatik (Berg) 30.40

The Aviatik Berg 30.40 was a direct derivative from the Berg 30.27 powered by a 160hp Steyr Le-Rhône 11-cylinder rotary engine. Only one prototype was built and flown during summer 1918.

It was made out of wood except for the forward fuselage that was covered in light metal panels. The rest of the fuselage was ply covered. The wing had had fabric skinning and steel-tube bracings struts were used.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. http://flyingmachines.ru/Site2/Crafts/Craft25508.htm
3. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww1/aviatik3040.html (translated)

Aviatik (Berg) 30.30

The Aviatik Berg 30.30 was a single-seat fighter biplane that was designed specifically for high altittude combat over the Italian front.

Some times it has been erroneously named as the Aviatik Berg D.III, however there aren't proofs to claim that application. It had similar wings to those of the Berg D.I with a new fuselage and was powered by a 230hp six-cylinder Hiero inline engine with a radiator mounted above the upper wing central section.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. http://flyingmachines.ru/Site2/Crafts/Craft25507.htm
3. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww1/aviatik3030.html (translated)

Aviatik (Berg) D.II

Bearing an identical fuselage to the one of the Aviatik Berg D.I, the Aviatik D.II was flown as a prototype during the summer of 1917.

It was characterised by it's short span cantilever lower-wing and a pre-series of 19 airplanes were built for it's frontline evaluation. that were powered by either the 200hp Austro-Daimler series 19000 (series 39) engine or the 225hp Austro-Daimler series 19000 (series 339). Only eleven airplanes of the series 39 were made and just six of the 339 series were produced.

It was also fitted a four bladed Jaray propeller and it was armed with the usual 8mm Schwarzlose 07/12 machine guns. The first prototype was flown in November 1917 and seven of them were evaluated at the front, but it was decided that the ÖAW (the main manufacturer of this airplane), should manufacture under license the Fokker D.VII, terminating this way any possible development of the Berg D.II. Apparently, one of them was fitted with a 200hp Hiero engine, was known as the Aviatik 30.38 and took part in the July 1918 D-Type contest, unfortunately we couldn't find graphical evidence of this, so it's left undrawn. With the 225hp engine, it achieved the speed of 220km/h, a new record for the Austro-Hungarian airplanes of the time.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/60863
3. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/60865

Aviatik (Berg) 30.27&29

Contrary to other designs from Julius von Berg where inline engines were used, both Aviatik 30.27 and the similar 30.29 which appeared in early 1918 employed a 160hp Steyr LeRhône rotary engine which was a copy of the French one.
It was made out of wood with plywood fuselage skinning, a light metal forward section and fabric-covered wings. They were armed with the typical Austrian 8mm Schwarzlose 07/12 machine guns and initally they were equipped with two-bladed propellers. As the original cowling left the three cylinders exposed, it was replaced by a full ring cowling and the four bladed Jaray propeller was installed. Both 30.27 and 30.29 took part in the D-Type contest that was hold on July 1918 and the 30.29 crashed when the upper wing leading edge collapsed when the pilot started to perform a loop.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. http://www.wwiaviation.com/popup/Aviatik-Berg-30-27-1918.html
3. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww1/aviatik302729.html (translated)

Aviatik (Berg) 30.25

The Aviatik Berg 30.25 came from a requirement from the Austro-Hungarian Army Command for a long range single-seat reconnaissance fighter designed by Dr. Julius von Berg.

It was completed in March 1918 and was basically a dedicated single-seat version of the two-seater Aviatik Berg C.I reconnaissance aircraft, which was also ad-hoc modified in some cases as a single-seat airplane with a single 8mm Schwarzlose 07/12 machine gun placed on the upper wing.
It had similar fuel capability to the C.I and had provision for the installation of an automatic camera plus two synchronised 8mm Schwarzlose 07/12 machine guns. Radio equipment was also proposed to be installed, but it was never carried out.
It was powered by a single 200hp Austro-Daimler six-cylinder engine and when tested, the performance it's said that was comparable to the one achieved with the Aviatik Berg 30.30, but no production order was placed.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. http://www.aviastar.org/air/austria/aviatik_30-25.php

Aviatik (Berg) Dr.I

The Aviatik Berg Dr.I, AKA Aviatik Berg 30.24 (designation which indicated that it was the 24th experimental airplane produced by the Austrian Aviatik) was a single-seat fighter triplane designed by the Austrian engineer Julius von Berg which was completed in May 1917.

It used a similar fuselage to that of the Aviatik Berg D.I and a similar structure too. It was powered by a 200hp Austro-Daimler engine and was armed with two 8mm Schwarzlose 07/12 machine guns. It's also worth to mention that it was one of the first airplane to feature contra-rotating propellers, a propeller configuration that wasn't well developed until the 1950s.

 

The Dr.I with it's contra-rotating propellers

Anyway, when it was tested, it's performance wasn't much better than the Aviatik Berg D.I and therefore only one prototype was built.

Sources:

1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

2. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww1/aviatdr1.html (translated)

Aviatik (Berg) D.I - (WKF) - Series 84, 184, 284 & 384

This is the last post dedicated to the Aviatik Berg D.I.
As we've previously mentioned, many firms manufactured under license their own versions of the Aviatik Berg D.I. Sometimes the changes were very notable, some others they were just a copy of the original.

The Austrian Wiener Karosserie Fabrik (Austrian Bodyworks Factory) manufactured many four series in total, making this firm the one with most manufactured series of them all.
The series 84 was a regular copy of the original series 38 powered by a 185hp Austro-Daimler engine, the series 184 was a copy of the original series 138, powered by a 200hp Austro-Daimler engine, the series 284 was the most different version of the all, because technically, it's not a copy of any of the original series but a variant of it's own.
It was powered by a 160hp Austro-Daimler engine, armed with two 8mm Schwarzlose machine guns and, as far as we could find, it served with the Flik6F dedicated to the escort role of the Austro-Hungarian recon airplanes assigned to the Albanian front. This makes this variant special as there weren't many Berg D.I in the Balkan front for sure.
Finally the series 384 was another variant powered by a 225hp Austro-Daimler engine. Every variant was armed with two 8mm Schwarzlose Machine Guns.
Unfortunately, we only could find reliable information about the 284 series.

It's worth to mention that other two series were intended to manufacture, the series 215 from Lohner and the series 201 from Thöne und Fiala, but they were never produced.

Sources:
1. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/59709 (translated)
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviatik_(Berg)_D.I
3. Windsock Datafile - Aviatik Berg D.I
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Aviatik (Berg) D.I (Thöne und Fiala) - Series 101

Thöne und Fiala was another company that produced their own, licensed, version of the Aviatik Berg D.I fighter.

This Austrian company manufactured only the 101 series which was maybe the least produced of them all. It was powered by a 197hp Austro-Daimler AD6 series 19000 and was armed with the typical Austro-Hungarian 8mm 07/12 Schwarzlose machine guns.
As far as we could find, it served with various squadrons, like the Flik31P committed to the reconnaissance role, with the Flik17, dedicated to the fighter role and the Flik56J dedicated also to the fighter role.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviatik_(Berg)_D.I
2. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/121039
3. Windsock Datafile - Aviatik Berg D.I
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Aviatik (Berg) D.I (MAG) - Series 92

As we have previously said, the Hungarian firm  MAG was one of the manufacturers of the Aviatik Berg D.I.

The series 92 was one of the most produced variant, with 121 of them being produced. It was powered with the standard in the series 197hp Austro-Daimler AD6 19000 engine and was armed also with the standard Austro-Hungarian 8mm Schwarzlose 07/12 pair of machine-guns. As far as we could find, they served with the Flik7J dedicated to the standard fighter role and, with the Austro Hungarian Empire, they served in the Italian front during 1918.

Sources:
1. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/59727
2. Windsock Datafile - Aviatik Berg D.I
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Aviatik (Berg) D.I (Lloyd) - Series 48, 248 & 348

The Aviatik Berg D.I's production was delegated in many subsidiaries, each of them making their own variants.

The series 48, 248 and 348 were delegated to the Hungarian Ungarische Lloyd Flugzeug und Motorenfabrik AG. Unfortunately there's not a lot of information available about those series so our writting should be considered as suppositions.
The series 48 was the Lloyd version of the early Aviatik's series 138 and was powered by a 185hp Austro-Daimler engine. It was armed with two 8mm Schwarzlose 07/12 machine guns. As far as we have found, it only served with the Flik 56J which was commited to the fighter role during the summer of 1918.

The series 248 and 348 were developed versions of the 48 series. The series 248 were powered by a 160hp Austro-Daimler engine and the series 348 were powered by a 225hp Austro-Daimler one. Unfortunately we couldn't find info about how they looked like and in which squadrons they served.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviatik_(Berg)_D.I
2. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/59709 (translated)
3. Windsock Datafile - Aviatik Berg D.I
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Aviatik (Berg) D.I (Lohner) - Series 115 & 315

Today we deal with the Lohner built Aviatik Berg D.I.

The Austro-Hungarian aviation troops high command delegated the production of the Berg D.I in many companies, one of them was Lohner.

As it happened with many other productions licenses or delegations, the production taker made their own version of the parent airplane. This way the series 115 was a regular early Aviatik made series 138 fuselage powered by a 197hp Austro-Daimler AD6 series 19000 engine and bicycle wheels, which was so typical in the series. It was also armed with two 8mm 07/12 Schwarzlose machine-guns placed in the frontern part of the fuselage and firing through the propeller. Eighty eight airplanes were made and, as far as we could find, only one squadron used them, the Flik 60J dedicated to the regular fighter role.

The series 315 was just a regular late series 138 fuselage fitted with am Austro-Daimler AD6 series 23000 engine delivering 222hp of power. It was also armed with two 8mm 07/12 Schwarzlose machine-guns and had the distinctive Lohner bicycle wheels. Only twenty-two of them were produced before the armistice. Unfortunately we couldn't find any info about what squadrons used them.

Sources:
1. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/59725
2. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/59726
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviatik_(Berg)_D.I
4. Windsock Datafile - Aviatik Berg D.I
5. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Aviatik (Berg) D.I - Series 238 & 338

Today we cover the most produced variants of the Berg D.I.

The Series 238 was the most produced variant with 120 of them manufactured. It was manufactured by the Austrian Aviatik.
The most notable difference from the previous version was the engine, it was powered by an Austro-Daimler AD6 series 17000 which delivered 158hp of power. It was armed with the usual synchronised Austro-Hungarian 8mm Schwarzlose 07/12 machine-guns buried in the frontern part of the fuselage.
As far as we know, the series 238 were used in these squadrons:

• Flik23B
• Luftfahr-Abwehr Station: Which apparently was some kind of Austro-Hungarian home guard air-defence squadron commited to the defence of their capital territory.

Series 338 was identical to the 238 but powered by an Austro-Daimler AD6 series 23000 delivering 222hp of power. It had a characteristic wing-mounted radiator placed in the front, which the Lohner built 315 series would somehow copy with some modifications. It was also armed with two 8mm Schwarzlose 07/12 machine-guns placed in the frontern part of the fuselage just like the 138 and 238 series. Only 58 of them were manufactured and it was the airplane of choice of the ace Oberleutnant Béla Macourek.
The series 338 was used, as far as we known, by these squadrons:

• Flik1J: Where Béla Macourek served.
• Flik72J

Sources:
1. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/59721
2. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/59724
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviatik_(Berg)_D.I
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
5. Windsock Datafile 45  - Aviatik D.I

Aviatik (Berg) D.I - Series 138

With some delay, here's the next post about the Aviatik Berg D.I.

The series 138 was an improved version manufactured by the Austrian Aviatik. The main difference from the previous version, the series 38 was that it was powered by an Austro-Daimler AD6 Series delivering 197hp of power.
It was, just like it's predecessor, armed with two 8mm Schwarzlose machine guns that saw two types of configuration, the earliest one, that had the synchronised machine-guns buried in the frontern part of the fuselage, making them inaccesible to the pilot in case of jamming and the latest one, that were also synchronised but had the machine-guns butts in the cockpit, making them accessible this way.

The series 138 was the most iconic of the Aviatik-Berg D.I series, despite not being the most produced of the variant, not in vain, many Austro-Hungarian aces and famous pilots flew it.
It served, as far as we could find, with the next Fliks (Squadrons):

• Flik15D: Apparently this squadron was assigned to perform recon roles.
• Flik56J
• Flik63J
• Flik74J

Sources:

1. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/59710

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of FIghters

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviatik_(Berg)_D.I

Aviatik (Berg) D.I - Series 30 & series 38

Preliminary note: We're starting some little holidays today and we won't be back until next Tuesday, don't expect any new posts until then.

The Aviatik (Berg) D.I was a single-seat biplane fighter designed by the engineer Julius von Berg and manufactured by the Austrian Aviatik, among many others. It's noteworthy to mention that it was built in greater numbers than any other Austro-Hungarian fighter.

The series 30 were just the prototypes, three of them were built, 30.19 which was used for ground testing and never took-off, the 30.20 which actually flew as it was used for flight tests and the 30.21 which was used as reserve prototype, just in case.

The Series 38 were the first production series. The early versions differed little from the prototype, just in some small details and they were still armed with an unsychronised 8mm Schwarzlose 07/12 machine gun placed on the upper wing while the later versions had two synchronised machine guns of the same type placed at the sides of the engine firing through the propeller. It was powered by a 182hp Austro-Daimler AD6 series 18000 engine.
Seventy-one of them were produced and was the aircraft of choice of the Austro-Hungarian ace Friedrich Hefty who scored one of his victories flying a Berg D.I before switching to an Oeffag D.III. It served with various Fliks (the Austro-Hungarian equivalent to squadrons):

• Fluggeschwader I: This was the first unit to receive the Berg D.I
• Flik 42J
• Flik 50D: This unit was used for scoutting purposes.
• Flik 63J
• Flik 74J

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviatik_(Berg)_D.I
2. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/59708
3. Osprey Books - Aircraft of the Aces 46 - Austro-Hungarian Aces of World War I
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Aviatik (Berg) 30.14

This airplane was the first single-seat fighter to be built by the Austrian Österreichisch Ungarische Flugzeugfabrik Aviatik (the Austrian Aviatik) following the designs of the engineer Julius von Berg.

The Aviatik 30.14, which was the 14th prototype aircraft according to the Austrian Aviatik designation system, was powered by a 185hp Austro-Daimler engine. It was armed with a single 8mm schwarloze synchronised machine gun. It was made out of wood with ply and fabric skinning.
It crashed when performing it's maiden flight in Aspern, close to Vienna on 16th October 1916 killing it's test pilot, Ferdinand Konschel. It did, however, show enough promise to warrant sufficient development of the basic design. That way, the wing gap was reduced drastically, wings were staggered, vertical tail surfaces were enlarged and more minor changes were made building three further prototypes, the 30.19, 30.20 and 30.21. All these prototypes were in fact the forerunner (if not directly the prototype) of the Aviatik (Berg) D.I.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww1/aviatik3014.html (translated)

Oeffag Va.53.2

We finish the Oeffag Albatros D.III saga with this entry.

The Oeffag Va.53.2 was the Austro-Hungarian license built version of the Albatros D.III.
Just like the differences between the D.III and the D.II, which had also been briefly manufactured in Austro-Hungarian soil,  the strut configuration and the engine were improved.

It was powered by a 185hp Austro-Daimler engine, instead of the original German Mercedes D.IIIa engine. It was armed with a twin 8mm Schwarzlose machine-guns buried in the front part of the fuselage which, unlike in the German version, it avoided the direct access to them in case of problems like machine-gun jamming or if the synchronization gear failed.

The Austro-Hungarian air Corps used this fighter in every front they fought on, and it was quickly improved into the Oeffag Va.153.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.III
2. Osprey - Aircraft of the Aces 110 - Austro-Hungarian Albatros Aces
3. Osprey - Air Vanguard 13 - Albatros D.III Johannisthal, OAW, and Oeffag Variants

Oeffag Va.153 - Austro-Hungarian users. Second entry.

We come back to the Great War in order to finish with the entries dedicated to the Va.153 with more native users for this airplane.

Powered by a 200hp Austro-Daimler engine, the Oeffag Va.153 proved to be robust, popular and effective, specially in the Italian front.

It featured various changes like having the Schwarzlose machine guns buried into the front part of the fuselage, and a different radiator than it's German counterpart. Many pilots decided to remove the propeller spinner because it was prone to fall-off in flight.

Also, from the 112th aircraft, of the production series, a new rounded nose was introduced, similar to the one that would be standard in the 253 series in order to achieve better aerodynamical speed and the removal of the controversial spinner.

It was the airplane choosen by Godwin Brumowski, the top Austro-Hungarian ace, who when the war ended, he had flown up to three of them, all of them painted completely in red (copying to Manfred von Richthofen) and with his characteristical skull-insignia.