Table Of Content%^^'^i
PRORLES
COLX)R
0FW0RLDWAR1
COMBAT PLANES
WithanIntroductionbyWILUAI\1GREEN
COLORPROFILESOFWORLDWAR
COMBATPLANES I
479Illustrations323InFullColor
ByGiorgioApostoloandGiorgioBegnozzi
Beginningwiththeveryearlyattemptsat
mechanizedflightthisvolumeprogresses
fromtheearliestexamplesofflyingmachines
pilotedbyrecklessflierstoathorough
coverageofallthetypesofplanesusedduring
WavoiraltdioWnafrroI.mThitissorriegsuilntsstoiniatspfiarnstowraarmtaimoef
applicationonalargescale,fromwhichwas
bornthemodernscienceofaeronautics.
Everymodelofairplanedealtwithhereis
picturedinallfiveclassicviews,alongwith
anysignificantvariantsandadetailedhistory
Includedalsoarestructuralandtechnical
specifications,performancedata,andrecords
held.Thiscomprehensiveinformationwill
providesourcematerialforeventhemost
sophisticatedexpert,andyetthereisa
fascinatingstoreoffactsforanyenthusiastof
aviation-collector,model-maker,orhistorian.
Hereisabookthatinillustrationand
completelyreliabledetailedtextprovidesa
splendidsupplementtoexistingaviation
literature.
COLOR
PROFILES OF WORLD WAR
I
COMBAT PLANES
TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY
DALE McADOO
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
WILLIAM GREEN
CRESCENT BOOKS, NEW YORK
Worldcopyright©MCMLXXIII,MCMLXXIV
bEnyglFiRsAhTlEaLnLgIuaFgAeBtBeRxtI©ED1I9T7O4RIby,MMaIcLdAoNn,alIdTAaLnYdJane's
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber;74-77687
Allrightsreserved
aThdiisviesdiiotnioonfiCsRpuOblWiNshePdUB19L7I4SHbyERCSREISNCC.ENTBOOKS
byarrangementwithFRATELLIFABBRIEDITORE
PrintedinItaly
.
INTRODUCTION
t"hWahtewnemwyerberotihnetrroadnudciIngbuiilnttoantdheflweowrtlhdeafinrstinmvaenn-tciaornrywihnigchflywionuglmdacmhaiknee,fwurethterhowuagrhst
practicallyimpossible."SowroteOrvilleWrightin1917,fourteenyearsafterheand his
brother,Wilbur, hadsucceeded in making thefirst powered, sustained and controlled
aeroplaneflightsinhistory.If,indeed,theWrightbrotherstrulyentertainedsuchabelief
astheyperformedtheirexperimentsontheKill Devilsand hills near Kitty Hawk, their
inconceivablenaivetewasnotsharedbyotherswhosawintheaeroplane an obvious
instrument of war. In fact, in 1899, while Wilbur Wright was flying his first kite
embodying a system of wing-warping, and before any navigable lighter-than-air or
heavier-than-airvehicleofprovenpracticabilityexisted,aninternationally-agreedHague
Declaration hadformallybannedthelaunchingofallformsofprojectilesorexplosives
fromanyformofaerialvessel.
Theuseinwarfareofmanned aerialvehicles had been prophesied for hundredsof
years,andlighter-than-aircrafthadmadeasuccessfulmilitarydebutasearlyas26June
1794,whenthemannedballoonsofthemilitaryCompanyofAerostierswereemployed
during the Battle of Fleurus. For observation and reconnaissance tasks, the balloon
continuedtobeused,seeingserviceinboththeAmericanCivilWarandtheBoerWar,
butlackingmeansofpropulsionorsteeringitwasanimpracticablevehicleforoffensive
operations.Thepossibilityofattackinganenemyfromtheair,forlongconsidered, had
perforcetoawaitthebirthofanavigableaerialvehicle,andsuchcamewiththedawnof
thetwentiethcentury:theflightin 1900ofGraf Ferdin~andvonZeppelinsfirstgiant
dirigibleairshipoverLake Constance. The militarypotentialitiesofZeppelin'sdirigible
werealltooobvious,aswerealsothoseoftheaeroplaneonceitspracticabilityhadbeen
proven,andthus, bytheend ofthetwentieth century'sfirstdecade, widespread and
officialconcernwasbeingevinced intheroleoftheaircraft in warfare, although only
afewvisionariesforesawthatitwouldrevolutioniseallfutureconflict.
Duringthecourseof1911,thefirstConcoursMilitaire.adisplayofaircraftthatcould
beutilizedinwarfare,tookplaceatReims,butpriortothiseventthefirstlivebombing
trialshadtakenplace inthe USA, and while it is not possibletostate with certainty
todaywhichaeroplanetypewasfirstadaptedforwarlikeuse,riflesandmachineguns
werebeingcarriedexperimentallybyvariousaircraft. Buttheuseofaircraftin warfare
hadprogressed beyond theorywhen, on 23October 1911, a Bleriot XI ofthe Italian
ArmyparticipatedintheItalo-TurkishWarbyreconnoitringtheTurkishlinesnearAzizia,
and,aweeklater,on1 November,anotheraircraftperformedthefirstrecordedbombing
raidwhenitspilotdroppedgrenadesonAinZaraandTaguira.
Theaircrafthadbeenusedasanoffensiveweaponforthefirsttime,andinaprophetic
speechtoatechnicalsub-committeeoftheCommitteeofImperialDefenseon5February
1912,CaptainMurrayF.Sueter,R.N.,said: "InthecaseofaEuropeanwarbetweentwo
countries,bothsideswouldbeequippedwithalargecorpsofaeroplanes,eachtryingto
obtaininformationoftheotherandtohideitsownmovements.Theeffortwhicheach
wouldexertinordertohinderorpreventtheenemyfromobtaining informationwould
leadtotheInevitableresultofawarintheair,forthesupremacyoftheair, byarmed
aeroplanesagainsteachother.Thisfightforthesupremacyoftheairinfuturewarswill
beBoyftthheeftirismteanthdegfrierasttesshtotismpoofrtWaonrcled.WarOnewerefiredtherewas, nevertheless,still
noreal appreciation oftheaeroplanesas a weapon;the heterogeneouscollection of
monoplanesandbiplanes,tractorsandpushers,fieldedbythecombatantswasregarded
almostexclusivelyas asourceofreconnaissance information. Buttheseedsthat had
beenfirstsownoverTripolitaniabyaeroplanesoftheItalianArmy,ifslowtogerminate,
weresoontogrowatafantasticrateundertheexigenciesofwar;aircraftforspecialized
roles rapidly emerged and the pattern of aerial warfare constantly changed; the
foundationsofmilitaryairpowerwerelaid.
The development of combat aircraft in World War One was more a process of
refinementthanoneofconstantinnovation,morepowerfulenginesbeingprogressively
applied to ever more robust airframes, although there were the brilliant exceptions.
Completenessisanabsolutequalityadmittingofnodegrees, and let itbesaid atthe
outset that this book has presented a major task of omission rather than one of
commission.Thetwodozenplusbasicaircrafttypesfeaturedinthepagesthatfollow,
orthodoxorinnovatoryatthetimeoftheirdebut,eachmade,intheviewoftheeditorial
team,animportantcontributiontothis,thefirstmajorconflictinwhichaviationplayeda
role.Thereadermayfeelthatsomeoftheaircraftincludedwerelessworthythansome
omitted,butinendeavouringtoprovideabroadcrosssectionoftheearliesttothelast
aeroplanesemployedduringtheconflict as well asexamplesofeachofthe principal
combat aircraftcategories, theeditorialteam has unashamedly exercised its personal
preferencesandhasendeavouredtocaptureonthepagesofthisbooksomethingofthe
"feel"ofthatperiodwithwhichtheannalsofaerialwarfareopened.
WILLIAM GREEN
Co-ordinator:
i
GiuseppeDicorato ^
J
Textby: . J
GiorgioApostolo :
GiorgioBignozzi 'I
Withthecollaborationof: ]
BaldassareCatalanotto jj
CesareFaless! * I
I
Illustrationsby: J
VincenzoCosentino
PinoDeirOrco 1i,
AmedeoGigli
j
MarcelloRalli J
RobertoTerrinoni
;j
Technicalconsultant: 1
GianfrancoRotondi
INDEXES
INDEX OF CONTENTS
NieuportNi.17C.1
) ))
analytical index Thewordsandlettersinheavytyperefertothenamesandabbreviationsofthe
aircraft;thenamesinitalicsrefertoengines:thenumbersinitalicsindicatethe
pageonwhichillustrationsaretobefound:thesymbol5vstandsforfive-view
illustrations:thesymbolprstandsforprofiles.
A
AircoD.H.1 153,/53,156,159pr BentleyAR.1 130hp 13 Ca.18(seeCaproniCa.18)
D.H.IA 153,159pr BR.1 150hp 37 Ca.30(seeCaproniCa.30)
D.H.2 153,753,1545V,1555v, BemlOOhp 29 Ca.31 (seeCaproniCa.31)
156,156.157,157.158pr,159pr, 195hp 149 Ca.32(seeCaproniCa.1)
160,750 Bz IVa220 hp 119, 120, 197, Ca.33(seeCaproniCa.3)
AlbatrosDI 145,148,149 198 Ca.35(seeCaproniCa.35)
DM 145,745,148,149,150pr BzlV240hp 181 Ca.36(seeCaproniCa.3Mod.)
Dill 145, 745, 148, 149, 749, BzVI530hp 198 Ca.SSa(seeCaproniCa.56a)
150pr,152 Biff(seeBristolF.2AorF.2B) Camel(seeSopwithCamel)
DIV 148 Birkigt,synchronizer 84 CantonUnne9l\A120hp 69
DV 145, 148, 748, 149, 745, BI6riotXI 17, 17.20,21,27,22pr, 130hp 125
150pr,152,752 23pr,24,24.25 200hp 137
DVa 145, 1465v, 1475v, 74S, XI-1 20 Caproni Ca.1 124, 724, 125, 725,
149,150pr,152 XI-2 185v,195v,21,22pr 126pr,127pr
DX 149 XI-3 21,23 Ca.2 124
LIB(seeAlbatrosDI) XIParapluie 20,21,23pr Ca.3 121, 727, 1225v, 1235v,
L17{seeAlbatrosDII) XXVII 24 124,724,125,725,126pr,127pr,
L20(seeAlbatrosDIII) BI6riotLouis 17,81 128,728
L24(seeAlbatrosDVorDVa) Bluebird(seeHandleyPageAH.P.I Ca.3 mod. 121, 123 5v, 125,
L36 149 B.M.W. Ilia 185 hp 149, 177, 179, 127pr
L39 149 180,184 Ca.5series 125,728
W4 145,149,151pr,152 Bol'shoi Bal'tisky (see Sikorsky Ca.30 126pr
Ansaldo I.S.V.A. (S.V.A. seaplane) Bol'shoiBal'tisky) Ca.31 126pr
189,189.190pr,192 BrandenburgC-1 113,773,1145v, Ca.32 (seeCaproniCa.1
S.V.A. 185,785,188,788.189, 1155v, 116, 778, 117, 777. 118pr, Ca.33(seeCaproniCa.3)
789,192,792 119pr,120,720 Ca.35 728
S.V.A.1 190pr,191pr C-2 120 Ca.36(seeCaproniCa.3mod.)
S.V.A.3 185,788,189 Br6guetLouis 137,140,141,144 Ca.SSa 121,125
S.V.A.4 185,189,191pr Br6guetBU-3 137 300CV(seeCaproniCa.1
S.V.A.5 185, 186 5v, 187 5v, SN-3 137 450CV(seeCaproniCa.3)
189,190pr,792 14A2 137, 737, 140, 141, 747, SOOCV(seeCaproniCa.5)
S.V.A.9 185, 189, 190 pr, 191 143pr,144 CaproniGianni 121
pr,192,792 14B2 137,1385v,1395v,140, CaudronC 52
S.V.A.1 185,788,189,191pr 740,141,142pr,144 G.2 52,53,56
PostaleA.P. 191pr 14-H 747,144 G.3 49,49.505v,51 5v,52,52,
Anzani45hp 53 14S 144 53,54pr,55pr,56
lOOhp 49,53,55 14T 141,747,143pr G.4 49,52.53,53.55pr,56,56
Argus125hp 93 17C2 141,744 G.6 53
UOhp 93 Brisfit(seeBristolF.2AorF.2B) R.4 53
AsIII185hp 168 Bristol Fighter (see Bristol F.2A or R.11 53
Austro-Daimler85hp 28 F.2B) CaudronGastonandRen6 49
7U2O0hhpp 2987,100,704 FF..22AB 220011,,220047,,20250,4,202604p.r,220058, CCilpeerlglie,tb8o0mhbp 2583.32
leOhp 773,776,117,118 205.206pr,207pr,208,208 9B130hp 13,33,36,37,64
185hp 117,150,152 F.2BMkII 207pr UOhp 36,37
200hp 120,150,152 F.2BMkIII 208 Colombo100hp 45
210hp 117,181 F.2BMklV 2025V,2035V CurtissBristolDl(F2B) 207pr
225hp 152 R.2A 201,204,206pr
R.2B 204,206pr
BBuurlklheatrd(steHeaMnosran1e64S,au1l6n8ierN) D DdaeimHalveirlDla4nd22G0eohffprey148153
B BarnwellFrank 201,204,208 DDeellaaggreaGnugsetLaeveon 121,716
BaumannAlexander 193 DouhetGiulio 121
B. 1092/14 (see Friedel-Ursinus C
1092/14) Ca.1 (seeCaproniCa.1)
B.E.2(seeRoyalAircraftFactory) Ca.2(seeCaproniCa.2)
Beardmore120hp 153,172,204,206 Ca.3(seeCaproniCa.3) E EtrichIgo 25,28,29
Beb6(seeNieuportNi.11 Bebe) Ca.3Mod.(seeCaproniCa.3Mod.) EtrichTaube 25,25.265v, 275v,28,
BechereauLouis 81,88 Ca.5(seeCaproniCa.5) 28.29,29.30pr,31pr,32,32
