Halberstadt D.II
Encyclopedia
The Halberstadt D.II was a biplane
fighter aircraft
of the Luftstreitkräfte
(Imperial German Army Air Service) that served through the period of Allied air superiority in early 1916, but had begun to be superseded in the Jagdstaffeln by the superior Albatros
fighters by the autumn of that year.
and D.V
. The two bay wings were very strongly braced, and the cockpit was raised in relation to where it had been on the D.I. This required a turtledeck to be built up on the rear fuselage to fair the cockpit into the lines of the fuselage. The wing trailing edge was a wooden member, as opposed to the wire common on contemporary German aircraft. Lateral control was by aileron
s, but there were no fixed tail surfaces, and over-sensitive "Morane"-style balanced elevator
s similar to those employed by the Fokker Eindecker
were retained. Although it must have shared the typical "Morane" elevator sensitivity, and the controls cannot have been well harmonised, it was very manoeuvrable in skilled hands, and could be dived safely at high speed. A single synchronised
7.92 mm (.312 in) lMG 08 "Spandau" machine gun
fired through the propeller arc.
If the only performance figures available for the type are accurate, the Halberstadt fighter’s speed and climb were little better than the Eindecker’s, and inferior to such Allied contemporaries as the Nieuport 11
and the D.H.2, but it earned the respect of Allied fighter pilots, and was the preferred mount of the pilots of the early Jagdstaffeln, until the Albatros D.I
became available.
to demonstrate his famous pioneering air fighting tactics (the Dicta Boelcke
) to the new units (although he is also recorded as flying a Fokker D.III
at this period). His Halberstadt was painted bright blue overall – probably the first instance of the gaudy personal finishes applied by German fighter pilots to their mounts for the remainder of the war.
As the new Albatros fighters came into service the Halberstadts were quickly replaced, although a few survived into early 1917. Manfred von Richthofen
flew a red Halberstadt D.II for a few weeks in March 1917, after the spar
of his Albatros D.III
cracked in combat.
, then flying as a fighter pilot with Jasta 5, one of the earliest German fighter squadrons within the Luftstreitkräfte
, used a Halberstadt D.II aircraft of that unit in the first known German attempt at arming an aircraft with wing-mounted rockets as long range armament. Leutnant Nebel used a set of four improvised tubular launchers, two mounted per side on the wings, with a signal rocket being fired from each tube for the unofficial trial. According to Leutnant Nebel's apparently "undated" account, he took off on a defensive mission when 25 Allied aircraft appeared in the air near Jasta 5's base. He managed to fire his improvised rocket armament at a distance of 100 m (330 ft) from the Allied fighter formation, in a "head-on" attack at it and scared one British pilot into surrendering as the British aircraft landed safely in German territory, with Leutnant Nebel landing no more than 20 m (70 ft) away, to ensure the British pilot's capture. Just over a week later, Leutnant Nebel attempted to try his improvised rocket armament again and managed to blow the propeller off an Allied aircraft, causing it to crash land.
In mid-October 1916, another attempt was made to arm a Halberstadt D.II with rockets, this time for observation balloon attack with a more formalized method, using eight Le Prieur
-like rockets mounted on the outer wing struts, the way that the French Nieuport 11
had been armed nearly a year earlier. Problems with the ignition system on the rockets prevented the system from being experimented with any further.
In late 1916, the Halberstadt D.II was the first known aeroplane for an official trial, with a special unit named the FT-Versuchsabteilung (Radio Telegraphy Experimental Detachment), with the "FT" possibly meaning Funk-Telegraphie, of air communications using radio
communications (via Morse Code
) in directing fighter aircraft. IdFlieg
sanctioned the test, which resulted in the creation of a radio-telegraphy transceiver for the flight leader's aircraft, weighing 25–30 kg (55-60 lb) along with the battery, aircraft engine-driven generator and aerials. Receiving gear for the other aircraft in a combat formation was similarly devised, with the radio receiver weighing 12.5–15 kg (27.5-33 lb). By early 1917 the FT-Versuchsabteilung was making combat trials with the radio gear with Halberstadt D.III and D.V aircraft and by late September 1917 with the famous Jagdgeschwader I unit commanded by Manfred von Richthofen
, especially Jasta 4. Later trials using the more advanced Albatros D.III
and Albatros D.Va fighters used the gear for the first attempts at an air-based version of ground-controlled interception
of Allied bomber aircraft, using visual ground spotters as the ground component by the home defense Kampfeinsitzerstaffel units.
of Germany built the D.II under license. It was originally known as the Aviatik D.I (not to be confused with their Austrian subsidiary's independently-designed Aviatik (Berg) D.I
), but was later designated the Halberstadt D.II(Av).
The Halberstadt D.III primarily differed from the D.II version in its substitution of the Argus As.II 90 kW (120 hp) straight-six engine, which differed from the usual Mercedes D.II powerplant in having its camshaft in the engine block, and using pushrods to operate the overhead valves, rather than having a camshaft running atop all of the cylinders as in a single overhead cam engine. A total of 50 D.III examples were built by Halberstadt, with the first 30 ordered in July 1916, and the last 20 ordered in August 1916.
The D.IV version, of which only three were built to an order placed in early March 1916, changed the wing bracing layout to a single bay, dispensed with the twin bracing struts for the "all moving" vertical tail rudder surface, and used a Benz Bz.III 110 kW (150 hp) straight-six engine for power, with a small conical spinner for better streamlining. Tested by IdFlieg in October 1916, this type was rejected for further evaluation due to a poor forward field of view for the pilot.
The D.V version was a less radical departure from the earlier D.II version, and mostly differed from the D.II in having its cabane strut structure supporting a central panel for the upper wing, rather than both upper wing panel's wing roots meeting along the centerline of the aircraft, for better forward pilot vision. It also used the D.III version's Argus As.II engine, and changed the mounting position of the aircraft's single 7.92 mm (.312 in) LMG 08/15 machine gun from the right to the left side of the nose. A total of 57 D.V aircraft were built, from orders placed in October 1916 and January–June 1917, with 31 of these being sent to Germany's ally in the Central Powers
, the Ottoman Empire.
Source: Halberstadt Fighters, Classics of WW1 Aviation, by Peter M. Grosz, page 46.
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
of the Luftstreitkräfte
Luftstreitkräfte
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
(Imperial German Army Air Service) that served through the period of Allied air superiority in early 1916, but had begun to be superseded in the Jagdstaffeln by the superior Albatros
Albatros D.I
|-See also:...
fighters by the autumn of that year.
Design and development
The D.II was the production version of the experimental D.I. Lightened to improve performance, it also featured staggered wings, and a more powerful 120 hp Mercedes D.II engine. The side and frontal radiators that had been tried in the D.I were replaced by a wing mounted radiator similar to that later used by the Albatros D.IIIAlbatros D.III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
and D.V
Albatros D.V
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Bennett, Leon. Gunning for the Red Baron. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58544-507-X....
. The two bay wings were very strongly braced, and the cockpit was raised in relation to where it had been on the D.I. This required a turtledeck to be built up on the rear fuselage to fair the cockpit into the lines of the fuselage. The wing trailing edge was a wooden member, as opposed to the wire common on contemporary German aircraft. Lateral control was by aileron
Aileron
Ailerons are hinged flight control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading due to the tilting of the lift vector...
s, but there were no fixed tail surfaces, and over-sensitive "Morane"-style balanced elevator
Elevator (aircraft)
Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and so also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down...
s similar to those employed by the Fokker Eindecker
Fokker Eindecker
The Fokker Eindecker was a German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker. Developed in April 1915, the Eindecker was the first purpose-built German fighter aircraft and the first aircraft to be fitted with synchronizer gear, enabling the pilot...
were retained. Although it must have shared the typical "Morane" elevator sensitivity, and the controls cannot have been well harmonised, it was very manoeuvrable in skilled hands, and could be dived safely at high speed. A single synchronised
Interrupter gear
An interrupter gear is a device used on military aircraft and warships in order to allow them to target opponents without damaging themselves....
7.92 mm (.312 in) lMG 08 "Spandau" machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
fired through the propeller arc.
If the only performance figures available for the type are accurate, the Halberstadt fighter’s speed and climb were little better than the Eindecker’s, and inferior to such Allied contemporaries as the Nieuport 11
Nieuport 11
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Angelucci, Enzio, ed. The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. New York: The Military Press, 1983. ISBN 0-517-41021-4....
and the D.H.2, but it earned the respect of Allied fighter pilots, and was the preferred mount of the pilots of the early Jagdstaffeln, until the Albatros D.I
Albatros D.I
|-See also:...
became available.
Operational history
Like other early German fighter types, the D.II was at first supplied in ones and twos to the ordinary reconnaissance units or Fliegertruppe of the Luftstreitkräfte, then gathered into small specialised fighter units – the Kampfeinsitzerkommandos. When the first true fighter Jagdstaffeln were formed in mid-1916, the Halberstadt was initially the best fighter available, and was used by Oswald BoelckeOswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke was a German flying ace of the First World War and one of the most influential patrol leaders and tacticians of the early years of air combat. Boelcke is considered the father of the German fighter air force, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics"; he was the first to...
to demonstrate his famous pioneering air fighting tactics (the Dicta Boelcke
Dicta Boelcke
The Dicta Boelcke is a list of fundamental aerial maneuvers of aerial combat formulated by the first great German flying ace of the First World War, Oswald Boelcke.-1. Try to secure the upper hand before attacking...
) to the new units (although he is also recorded as flying a Fokker D.III
Fokker D.III
-Bibliography:* Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962. ISBN 0-93385-271-1*Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8....
at this period). His Halberstadt was painted bright blue overall – probably the first instance of the gaudy personal finishes applied by German fighter pilots to their mounts for the remainder of the war.
As the new Albatros fighters came into service the Halberstadts were quickly replaced, although a few survived into early 1917. Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...
flew a red Halberstadt D.II for a few weeks in March 1917, after the spar
Spar (aviation)
In a fixed-wing aircraft, the spar is often the main structural member of the wing, running spanwise at right angles to the fuselage. The spar carries flight loads and the weight of the wings whilst on the ground...
of his Albatros D.III
Albatros D.III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
cracked in combat.
Armament and in-flight radio communication experiments
Believed to have been first tried within the first six months of 1916, future German rocketry pioneer Leutnant Rudolf NebelRudolf Nebel
Rudolf Nebel was a spaceflight advocate active in Germany's amateur rocket group, the Verein für Raumschiffahrt in the 1930s and in rebuilding German rocketry following World War II....
, then flying as a fighter pilot with Jasta 5, one of the earliest German fighter squadrons within the Luftstreitkräfte
Luftstreitkräfte
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
, used a Halberstadt D.II aircraft of that unit in the first known German attempt at arming an aircraft with wing-mounted rockets as long range armament. Leutnant Nebel used a set of four improvised tubular launchers, two mounted per side on the wings, with a signal rocket being fired from each tube for the unofficial trial. According to Leutnant Nebel's apparently "undated" account, he took off on a defensive mission when 25 Allied aircraft appeared in the air near Jasta 5's base. He managed to fire his improvised rocket armament at a distance of 100 m (330 ft) from the Allied fighter formation, in a "head-on" attack at it and scared one British pilot into surrendering as the British aircraft landed safely in German territory, with Leutnant Nebel landing no more than 20 m (70 ft) away, to ensure the British pilot's capture. Just over a week later, Leutnant Nebel attempted to try his improvised rocket armament again and managed to blow the propeller off an Allied aircraft, causing it to crash land.
In mid-October 1916, another attempt was made to arm a Halberstadt D.II with rockets, this time for observation balloon attack with a more formalized method, using eight Le Prieur
Le Prieur rocket
Le Prieur rockets were a type of incendiary air-to-air rockets used in World War I against observation balloons and airships. They were invented by the French Lieutenant Yves Le Prieur and were first used in the Battle of Verdun on 1916...
-like rockets mounted on the outer wing struts, the way that the French Nieuport 11
Nieuport 11
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Angelucci, Enzio, ed. The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. New York: The Military Press, 1983. ISBN 0-517-41021-4....
had been armed nearly a year earlier. Problems with the ignition system on the rockets prevented the system from being experimented with any further.
In late 1916, the Halberstadt D.II was the first known aeroplane for an official trial, with a special unit named the FT-Versuchsabteilung (Radio Telegraphy Experimental Detachment), with the "FT" possibly meaning Funk-Telegraphie, of air communications using radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
communications (via Morse Code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
) in directing fighter aircraft. IdFlieg
Idflieg
The Idflieg was the bureau of the German War Office that oversaw German military aviation prior to and during World War I....
sanctioned the test, which resulted in the creation of a radio-telegraphy transceiver for the flight leader's aircraft, weighing 25–30 kg (55-60 lb) along with the battery, aircraft engine-driven generator and aerials. Receiving gear for the other aircraft in a combat formation was similarly devised, with the radio receiver weighing 12.5–15 kg (27.5-33 lb). By early 1917 the FT-Versuchsabteilung was making combat trials with the radio gear with Halberstadt D.III and D.V aircraft and by late September 1917 with the famous Jagdgeschwader I unit commanded by Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...
, especially Jasta 4. Later trials using the more advanced Albatros D.III
Albatros D.III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
and Albatros D.Va fighters used the gear for the first attempts at an air-based version of ground-controlled interception
Ground-controlled interception
Ground-controlled interception an air defense tactic whereby one or more radar stations are linked to a command communications centre which guides interceptor aircraft to an airborne target. This tactic was pioneered during World War II by the Royal Air Force with the Luftwaffe to follow closely...
of Allied bomber aircraft, using visual ground spotters as the ground component by the home defense Kampfeinsitzerstaffel units.
Variants
AviatikAviatik
Automobil und Aviatik AG was a German aircraft manufacturer during World War I. The company was established at Mülhausen in 1910 and soon became one of the country's leading producers of aircraft, relocating to Freiburg in 1914 and establishing a subsidiary in Vienna as Österreichisch-Ungarische...
of Germany built the D.II under license. It was originally known as the Aviatik D.I (not to be confused with their Austrian subsidiary's independently-designed Aviatik (Berg) D.I
Aviatik D.I
-References / external links:* Munson, Kenneth - Fighters, Attack and Training Aircraft 1914-19 ISBN 0-7537-0916-3* *-See also:...
), but was later designated the Halberstadt D.II(Av).
The Halberstadt D.III primarily differed from the D.II version in its substitution of the Argus As.II 90 kW (120 hp) straight-six engine, which differed from the usual Mercedes D.II powerplant in having its camshaft in the engine block, and using pushrods to operate the overhead valves, rather than having a camshaft running atop all of the cylinders as in a single overhead cam engine. A total of 50 D.III examples were built by Halberstadt, with the first 30 ordered in July 1916, and the last 20 ordered in August 1916.
The D.IV version, of which only three were built to an order placed in early March 1916, changed the wing bracing layout to a single bay, dispensed with the twin bracing struts for the "all moving" vertical tail rudder surface, and used a Benz Bz.III 110 kW (150 hp) straight-six engine for power, with a small conical spinner for better streamlining. Tested by IdFlieg in October 1916, this type was rejected for further evaluation due to a poor forward field of view for the pilot.
The D.V version was a less radical departure from the earlier D.II version, and mostly differed from the D.II in having its cabane strut structure supporting a central panel for the upper wing, rather than both upper wing panel's wing roots meeting along the centerline of the aircraft, for better forward pilot vision. It also used the D.III version's Argus As.II engine, and changed the mounting position of the aircraft's single 7.92 mm (.312 in) LMG 08/15 machine gun from the right to the left side of the nose. A total of 57 D.V aircraft were built, from orders placed in October 1916 and January–June 1917, with 31 of these being sent to Germany's ally in the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
, the Ottoman Empire.
Halberstadt D-Series Production (D.I through D.V)
Halberstadt D-Series production:| Version | Halb Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke or Halberstadt was a German aircraft manufacturer. It was formed in April 1912 as a British-German joint venture under the name German Bristol works Flugzeuggesellschaft mbH in Halberstadt. Initially the plant produced Bristol Boxkites and Bristol Prier monoplanes, but... |
Av Aviatik Automobil und Aviatik AG was a German aircraft manufacturer during World War I. The company was established at Mülhausen in 1910 and soon became one of the country's leading producers of aircraft, relocating to Freiburg in 1914 and establishing a subsidiary in Vienna as Österreichisch-Ungarische... |
Han | Total | IdFlieg Idflieg The Idflieg was the bureau of the German War Office that oversaw German military aviation prior to and during World War I.... Order date |
| D.I (single a/c) & initial D.II run | 12 | 12 | March 8, 1916 | ||
| D.IV | 3 | 3 | March 8, 1916 | ||
| D.II | 24 | 24 | May 1916 | ||
| D.III | 30 | 30 | July 1916 | ||
| D.II (Av) | 30 | 30 | July 1916 | ||
| D.II (Han) | 30 | 30 | July 1916 | ||
| D.III | 20 | 20 | August 1916 | ||
| D.V | 20 | 20 | October 1916 | ||
| D.V | 12 | 12 | January 1917 | ||
| D.V | 25 | 25 | June 1917 | ||
| Totals | 146 | 30 | 30 | 206 |
Source: Halberstadt Fighters, Classics of WW1 Aviation, by Peter M. Grosz, page 46.