Warplanes of Germany: Luftstreitkräfte aircraft, 1914-1918

German Warplane survivors: Luftstreitkräfte 1914-1918

Only a handful of original German aircraft captured during the First World War survive to this day.  This list is a rough indicator of where the interested researcher may still be able to find and view a few of them.  During and after the end of the First War a number of German Warplanes were captured and evaluated by the Allied forces.  Most of these aircraft were later scrapped and therefore only a handful have survived.  This is a partial list of aircraft that were known to have been collected, with a few photos of the surviving airframes where known in museums.

Deutsche Kampfflugzeuge, die von der Luftstreitkräfte 1914-1918, erhalten

Nur eine Handvoll originaler deutscher Flugzeuge, die während des Ersten Weltkriegs erbeutet wurden, sind bis heute erhalten. Diese Liste ist ein grober Indikator dafür, wo der interessierte Forscher möglicherweise noch einige von ihnen finden und anzeigen kann. Nach dem Ende des Ersten Krieges wurde eine Reihe deutscher Kampfflugzeuge von den Alliierten erbeutet und ausgewertet. Die meisten dieser Flugzeuge wurden später verschrottet und deshalb haben nur eine Handvoll überlebt. Dies ist eine unvollständige Liste von Flugzeugen, von denen bekannt war, dass sie gesammelt wurden, mit einigen Fotos der überlebenden Flugzeugzellen, die in Museen bekannt waren.

Jäger und Abfangjäger der kaiserlichen deutschen Luftwaffe

Fighters and Interceptors of the Imperial German Air Service

Albatros D.I (1916)

Albatros D.II (1916)

(Australian Armed Forces Photo)

Albatros D.III aircraft (Serial No. D636/17) flown by Oberleutnant Gustav Adolf Dittmar of Fliegerabteilung 300.  The aircraft had been shot down, practically intact, into Australian IF Light Horse lines near Beersheba, Palestine, by a Bristol fighter aircraft flown by Lieutenant R. Steele, a Canadian pilot with No. 111 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps. No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, members recovered the machine and moved it to their airfield where repairs, including a bullet holed radiator, were carried out returning it to flying condition. The aircraft is pictured at the aerodrome at Sheikh Nuran.

Albatros D.III (1916).  Koloman Mayrhofer, an aviation enthusiast in Austria, has constructed a pair of Albatros D.III (Oeffag) series 253 reproductions.  Both are equipped with vintage Austro-Daimler engines.  One aircraft will be flown and operated by a non-profit organization.  The second aircraft is slated for static display at the Flugmuseum AVIATICUM, near Wiener-Neustadt, Austria.

Albatros D.V (D2359/17), Jasta 23b flown by Lt Hohmuth, captured in France, 1918. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3397882)

(Nick-D Photo)

(UniversalNation Photo)

Albatros D.Va. (Wk Nr. D.5390/17).  This aircraft was shot down during a dogfight with an Australian Flying Corps R.E.8 on 17 December 1917.  It landed intact behind the lines of the 21st Infantry Battalion of the Second Australian Division, AIF.  The unit recovered the aircraft and took the pilot, Leutnant Rudolf Clausz of Jasta 29, prisoner.  In February 1918, the War Office ceded D.5390/17 to the AFC as a war trophy.  This aircraft is on display in the Australian War Memorial Museum, Brisbane, Australia.

(AWM Photo)

Imperial German Air Service Albatros D.Va 1917-1918.

(Tomás Del Coro Photos)

Albatros D.Va replica, San Diego Air & Space Museum, California.

(Oren Rozen Photos)

(Alan Wilson Photos)

Albatros D.Va, replica, Reg. No. ZK-TGY, Classic Fighters, Omaka, New Zealand.

(Cliff  Photos)

Albatros D.Va (Wk Nr. D.7161/17).  This aircraft served with Jasta 46 before being captured sometime in April or May 1918.  In 1919, the aircraft was presented to the De Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco, California.  The National Air and Space Museum acquired the aircraft in 1949. It was placed in storage until restoration began in 1977.  Since 1979, D.7161/17 has been on display at the Air and Space Museum, in Washington D.C.  (Cliff Photos)

(Alan Wilson Photo)

Albatros D.Va, c/n 7160/17, reproduction with the Stampe en Vertongen Museum, Antwerp Airport, Belgium.

(John5199 Photo)

(Oren Rozen Photo)

(Roland Turner Photo)

(Alan Wilson Photos)

Albatros D.Va (Serial No. D.7343), c/n 0083, reproduction in flight, RAF Museum, Hendon, United Kingdom.  Built by TVAL (The Vintage Aviator Ltd) in New Zealand using an original Mercedes D.III engine from the RAF museum collection.  Marked as the aeroplane flown by Vizefeldwebel Karl Freidrich Kurt Jentsch, of Jasta 61, Western Front, June – August 1918.  He had seven confirmed victories, transferred to Jagdstaffel 2 on 13 August 1918, and survived the war.  The replica first flew on 1 Jan 2012 and after a couple of public appearances in New Zealand it was imported to the UK in August 2012.  Flown by Kermit Weeks (who owns a sister aeroplane) at Duxford and Old Warden displays in the UK before being moved to Hendon for permanent static display.

(Pseudopanax Photo)

Albatros D.Va reproduction, United Kingdom.  

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

(Greg Goebel Photo)

Albatros D.Va (L24) reproduction, Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington.

(Tomás Del Coro Photo)

Albatros D.Va reproduction, Military Aviation Museum Virginia Beach Airport, Virginia.

(Luftstreitkräfte Photo)

Albatros D.Va (serial D.5629/17), 1917.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396888)

Albatros C.V/17 (Serial No. 1394/17), FA 18 wing, hanging over an Orchestra from the Canadian Cavalry Reserve Depot playing at an Exhibition of Battle Pictures, Grafton Galleries, London, England. ca Dec 1917.  This aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire on 1 May 1917. The crew included Lt Mohr, who was captured, and Lt Hauboldt who died. The aircraft was later examined in detail before being dismantled.

(Ciar Photo)

(Greg Goebel Photo)

Aviatik D.I (Wk Nr. unknown).  This original Aviatik D.I Fighter (also known as the Berg Scout), is on display in the Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington.

(Alan Wilson Photo)

Aviatik C.III, sole surviving example, this is one of 80 Aviatik C.IIIs built, c/n 1996.  The restored fuselage is on display in the 'WW1' hangar at the Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego. Krakow, Poland.  The exhibited C12250/17 fuselage of the single-engine, all-wooden Aviatik C.III biplane comes from 1917 and remains the only survivor in the world.  Discovered during restoration, remains of a radio installation prove the service of the aircraft at a radio operators' school, or as a reconnaissance plane on the Western Front.

Aviatik C.VI

Daimler L.6

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, the Red Baron, wearing  Pour le Mérite was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked among the highest orders of merit in the Kingdom of Prussia, in this official portrait, c. 1917.

Fokker Dr.I, 425/17, Baron von Richtofen's mount, shortly before his loss,

(MisterBee1966 Photo)

(Anagoria Photo)

Fokker Dr.I.  This aircraft is on display in the Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr; Airforce Museum of the Bundeswehr; Berlin-Gatow.

Three Fokker Dr.I triplanes are known to have survived the Armistice.  Wk Nr. 528/17 was retained as a testbed by the Deutschen Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (German Aviation Research Institute) at Adlershof.  After being used in the filming of two movies, 528/17 is believed to have crashed sometime in the late 1930s.  Serial 152/17, in which Manfred von Richthofen obtained three victories, was displayed at the Zeughaus museum in Berlin.  This aircraft was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid during Second World War.  

(Deutsches Bundeswehr Photo)

In 1932, Fokker assembled a Dr.I from existing components.  It was displayed in the Deutsche Luftfahrt-Sammlung in Berlin.  In 1943, the aircraft was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid.  Today, only a few original Dr.I artifacts survive in museums.

(Tomás Del Coro Photo)

Fokker Dr.I airworthy replica with a Warner 165 radial engine.  Planes of Fame Air Museum, Chino, California.

(Bernard Spragg Photo)

Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker (triplane) with the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim, New Zealand.

(Bernard Spragg Photo)

(Oren Rozen Photo)

Fokker Dr. I replica, 545, Reg. No. ZK-FOC, at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim, New Zealand.

(Oren Rozen Photo)

Fokker Dr I replica, Reg. No. ZK-FOT at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim, New Zealand

Large numbers of replica and reproduction aircraft have been built for both individuals and museums. Bitz Flugzeugbau GmbH built two Dr.I replicas for use in Twentieth Century Fox’s 1966 film The Blue Max. Because of the expense and scarcity of authentic rotary engines, most airworthy replicas are powered by a Warner Scarab or Continental R-670 radial engine.  A few, however, feature vintage Le Rhone 9J or reproduction Oberursel Ur.II rotary engines.

(Tomandjerry211 Photo)

Fokker Dr.I reproduction, Military Air Museum, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

(MatthiasKabel Photo)

(Andre Wadman Photo)

Fokker D.I replica, DR1403/17, National Museum of the USAF, Dayton, Ohio.

Fokker D.I

Fokker D.II

Fokker D.III.  Oswald Boelcke's D.III, (Wk Nr. 352/16), survived the Great War and was displayed at the Zeughaus museum in Berlin.  The aircraft was destroyed by an Allied bombing raid in 1943.

Fokker D.IV

Fokker D.V

Fokker D.VI

Captured Fokker D.VII aircraft near Namur, Belgium, Nov 1918.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3390439)

Fokker D.VIIs, Hounslow, UK, 1919.   (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3390446)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3390445)

Fokker D.VII, 6822/18, Hounslow, UK, 1919.

(Library and Archives Canada Photos, MIKAN No. 3390440)

Fokker D.VII, Major A.E. McKeever, CO, No. 1 Squadron, Canadian Air Force, Upper Heyford, UK, 1919.  

(Library and Archives Canada Photos, MIKAN No. 3390444)

Fokker D.VII, Major A.E. McKeever, CO, No. 1 Squadron, Canadian Air Force, Upper Heyford, UK, 1919.  

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3390431)

Albert Carter sitting in the cockpit of the German Fokker D.VII aircraft in which he died on 22 May 1919.  No. 1 and 2 Fighting Squadrons, Canadian Air Force, Upper Heyford, UK, 1919.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3390442)

Captured Fokker D.VII (Alb), 5927/18, RK. flown by Richard Kraut, shown here in post war service with No. 1 and 2 Fighting Squadrons, Canadian Air Force, Hounslow, UK, 1919.

(Author Photos)

Fokker D.VII A1b (Wk Nr. 6810/18) (1918).  Both Canada and France acquired numerous D.VII aircraft.  A former war prize, one of 22 acquired by Canada, this aircraft is displayed in the Brome County Historical Society Museum, in the Knowlton neighborhood of Lac-Brome, Quebec.  This unrestored Albatros-built example is the only surviving D.VII that retains its original fabric covering.  The Brome County Historical Society (BCHS) Museum is located at 130 Lakeside Road, Knowlton, Quebec, Canada.

Fokker D.VII (Wk Nr. 2071), (18), N1178 (10347), (DVII 3659).  This aircraft was a war prize that was brought to the USA until it was sold to the Canada Air & Space Museum, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Fokker D.VII, being evaluated by the American 9th Aero Squadron at Trier Airdrome, Germany, winter 1918-1919.

(Library of Congress Photo)

Fokker D.VII, (Serial No. 4635/18), built by the Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (O.A.W.), on display in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. after the war, ca 1920s. N ote the inscription on the fuselage next to the wing root: "1st Pursuit Group, 95th Aero Squadron, Capt. J. Mitchell commanding."

(IWP Photo Q66832)

Fokker D.VII (Serial number P 127), brought to the USA after the Armistice and flown experimentally at Wright Airfield, Dayton, Ohio.

(US National Archives and Records Administration Photo)

Fokker D.VII, 8520/18, being evaluated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ca 1918.

Fokker D. VII, being evaluated in North Carolina, ca 1919.  (State Archives of North Carolina Photo)

(Cliff Photo)

Fokker D.VII (Wk Nr. unknown).  This aircraft is a war prize was captured in 1918 when it accidentally landed at a small American airstrip near Verdun, France.  Donated to the Smithsonian Institution by the War Department in 1920, it is now displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.  Two other American war prizes were retained by private owners until sold abroad in 1971 and 1981.  They are today displayed at the Canada Air & Space Museum, in Ottawa, Ontario, and the Militaire Luchtvaart Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, respectively.

(Ad Meskens Photos)

Fokker D.VII, Reg. No. N902AC, with the Stampe en Vertongen Museum, Antwerp Airport, Belgium.  It is painted in the colours of the Fokker D.VII which was the first aircraft te be registered on the Belgian Civil Aircraft Register, O-BEBE.  The airplane was constructed by Rousseau Aviation in France for use in the movie The Blue Max.

(Joost J. Bakker Photo)

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

Fokker D.VII (Wk Nr. unknown), 266.  This aircraft was a war prize that was brought to the USA until it was sold to the Militaire Luchtvaart Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands in 1981.  This aircraft is painted in fictitious Royal Netherlands Air Force markings.

(Kogo Photo)

(Simon Boddy Photo)

Fokker D.VII (Wk Nr. 4408-18).  This former Marine Luchtvaartdienst D.VII was discovered in a German barn in 1948. The aircraft is now displayed at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany.

(Ricardo Reis Photo)

Fokker D.VII (Wk Nr. F7775-18).  This aircraft is  displayed at the Luftwaffenmuseum Berlin-Gatow, Germany.

(Roland Turner Photo)

(Hugh Llewelyn Photo)

Fokker D.VII (Wk Nr. unknown).  This aircraft was taken as a war prize in France and is currently on display in the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon, England.

Fokker D.VII (Wk Nr. unknown) was collected as a war prize in France and is currently on display in the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Paris, France.

Fokker D.VII reproductions.  Many modern D.VII reproductions have been built.  Most flyable examples are powered by Ranger or Gipsy Queen inverted inline engines.  These engines must be turned upright to produce the correct thrust line, thus requiring a new oiling system.  A few flying reproductions, such as the one at New York State's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, are equipped with original Mercedes D.IIIa engines.

(NMUSAF Photo)

Fokker D.VII reproduction, National Museum of the USAF.

(Julian Herzong Photos)

Fokker D.VII reproduction owned by Mikael Carlson, Reg No. SE-XVO, built 2011, with a Daimler D IIIaü engine.

(Sandstein Photo)

Fokker D.VII  reproduction.  Swiss Aviation Museum (Flieger Flab Museum) in Dübendorf, Switzerland as flown by the Swiss Army Air Corps from 1920 to 1938.

(Michael Rehbaum Photo)

Fokker D.VII reproduction.  Military Air Museum, Virginia Beach.

(Bergfalke2 Photo)

Fokker D.VIII (also known as monoplane E.V) (1918).  The fuselage of the D.VIII shown above is preserved at the Caproni Museum in Trento, Italy.

(Alan Wilson Photo)

Fokker D.VIII, replica, at the Stampe & Vertongen Museum, Antwerp Airport, Belgium.

Fokker Dr.I (1917)

Fokker E.I (1915)

Fokker E.II (1915)

(IWM Photo Q66596)

Fokker E.III single-seat fighter monoplane (Serial No. 210/16), captured by No. 11 Wing RFC.

(Hugh Llewelyn Photo)

Fokker E.III (1916).  The only known surviving original Eindecker, bearing IdFlieg (Wk Nr. 210/16), was brought down in the Somme area in 1916 by the British and then evaluated by the War Office until it was transferred to the London Science Museum in 1918.  It is currently on display fully assembled, but with its fabric covering removed to illustrate its internal construction.

(Grzegorz Polak Photo)

Fokker E.III reproduction, Dayton, Ohio.

(Phoibos666 Photo)

(Smolik Photos)

Fokker E.III reproduction, Luftwaffenmuseum, Berlin-Gatow, Germany.

Fokker E.IV (1916)

Fokker E.V (also known as monoplane D.VIII)

Halberstadt D.II

Hannover CL.II

Hannover CL.III

Hannover CL.IV (prototype)

Hannover CL.V

Hansa-Brandenburg D.I

(Smolik Photo)

(phoibos666 Photo)

Junkers D.I (1918).  The Junkers J 9(D.I) shown above is a modern reproduction, in Luftwaffenmuseum Berlin Gatow.

(Duch Photo)

Junkers D.I, Air & Space Museum at Le Bourget, France.

Kondor D.6

Kondor E.III

Naglo D.II

Pfalz D.IIIa, North Carolina, ca 1920s.  (State Archives of North Carolina Photo)

(Bernard Spragg Photo)

Pfalz D.III replica at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim, New Zealand.

Pfalz D.III fighter aircraft used by the Luftstreitkräfte during the First World War. Built in April 1917, using a plywood monocoque fuselage, two layers of thin plywood strips were placed over a mold to form one half of a fuselage shell. The fuselage halves were then glued together, covered with a layer of fabric, and doped. This method gave the fuselage great strength, light weight, and smooth contours compared to conventional construction techniques. The D.III slipped in turns, leading to crashes when unwary pilots turned at very low altitudes, also stalling sharply and spinning readily, which some pilots took advantage of to descend quickly or evade enemy aircraft. The Pfalz’s primary advantage was it could safely dive at high speeds due to its twin-spar lower wing and was well-suited to diving attacks on observation balloons. Pfalz built approximately 260 D.III aircraft with the final batch completed in May 1918, Many serviceable aircraft were sent to advanced training schools, but approximately 100 aircraft remained in frontline use at the time of the Armistice.

Pfalz D.XII

Pfalz Dr.I

Pfalz E.I

Pfalz E.II

Roland D.II

(Alan Wilson Photo)

Roland D.VI.  The only surviving artifact of the LFG Roland D.VI still existing in the 21st century is the complete fuselage of a D.VIb, displaying IdFlieg (Wk Nr. 2225/18), shown above on display at the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, Poland.

Siemens-Schuckert D.I

Siemens-Schuckert D.II

Siemens-Schuckert D.III

(Phoibos666 Photo)

Siemens-Schuckert D.IV.  A replica is on display in the Airforce Museum of the Bundeswehr; Berlin-Gatow, Germany.

(Bernard Spragg Photo)

(Oren Rozen Photo)

Siemens Schuckert D. IV at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim, New Zealand.

Siemens-Schuckert L.I (1918?)

Zeppelin-Lindau D.I

Bomber und Bodenangriff Flugzeuge der kaiserlichen deutschen Luftwaffe

Bomber and Ground Attack Aircraft of the Imperial German Air Service

Gotha G.V (1917)

Junkers CL.I (1918)

AEG G.I

AEG G.II

AEG G.III

(JustSomePics Photo)

(Author Photos)

AEG G.IV (Wk Nr. 574), (18).  This aircraft is preserved in the Canada Air & Space Museum, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  This example is significant not only as the only one of its kind in existence, but as the only preserved German twin-engined combat aircraft of the First World War.

AEG G.V

AEG J.I (1916)

AEG J.II (1918)

AEG N.I

AEG PE

AEG R.I

Zeppelin Staaken R.VI

Patrouille und Aufklärung flugzeuge der kaiserlichen deutschen Luftwaffe

Patrol and reconnaissance aircraft of the Imperial German Air Service

AEG B.I (1914)

AEG B.II (1914)

AEG B.III (1915)

AEG C.I (March 1915)

AEG C.II (October 1915)

AEG C.III (prototype)

AEG C.IV

AEG C.V (prototype)

AEG C.VI (prototype)

AEG C.VII (prototype)

AEG C.VIII (prototype)

AEG D.I (prototype)

AEG DJ.I (prototype)

AEG Dr.I (1917 prototype)

AGO C.I

AGO C.II

AGO C.III (prototype)

AGO C.IV

AGO C.VII (prototype)

AGO C.VIII (prototype)

Albatros B.I. (Ph), ca 1918.  (Luftstreitkräfte  BildID 15715729)

(Kogo Photo)

Albatros B.I.  The surviving example shown above is preserved at the Heeresgeschichliches Museum, Vienna, Austria.

(Sammlung Terry Phillips Photo)

Albatros B.II, ca 1918.

(Sammlung Markus Pleyer Photo)

Albatros B.II-2, ca 1918.

(Bernard Spragg Photos)

Albatros B.II. at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim, New Zealand.

(Daniel Delimata Photo)

Albatros B.II.  The surviving example shown above is on display in the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, Poland.  

(Alan Wilson Photo)

Albatros B.II.  Also known as the Albatros 120 in Swedish service.  The type served as a trainer from 1920 to 1929.  This example was built in 1925.  Msn 464.  Flyvapenmuseum, Malmen, Sweden.

(Pappenheim Photo)

Albatros B.II.  Heeresgeschichtlichen Museum, Vienna, Austria.

(Alan Wilson Photo)

Albatros C.I, restored fuselage on display in the 'WW1' hangar at the Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego. Krakow, Poland.  The C.I was the first of the successful C-series of two-seat general-purpose biplanes built by Albatros Flugzeugwerke during World War I.  Based on the unarmed Albatros B.II, the C.I reversed the pilot and observer seating so that the observer occupied the rear cockpit which was fitted with a ring-mounted 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Parabellum MG14 machine gun.  While the C.I was operated mainly in a reconnaissance and observation role, it also had some success as an early fighter aircraft - Oswald Boelcke claimed his first victory while flying a C.I with Lt. von Wühlisch as the gunner.  Germany's most famous First World War aviator, Manfred von Richthofen, also began his career as an observer in the C.I on the Eastern Front.  As with the other WW1 aeroplanes at Krakow, this is the only surviving example of it's type.  It's history is given in the following info taken from the museum website:- "The Albatros C.I was a two seat, all-wood German reconnaissance biplane. It was developed by Robert Thelen based on the earlier Albatros DD, a two seat biplane conception, designed by Ernst Heinkel just before the outbreak of the war. According to the German designation system introduced in the spring of 1915, the "C" category comprised two-seat armed aircraft used mainly for reconnaissance, artillery spotting as well as for attacking targets on the ground. With time, the "C" aircraft would be equipped with radio equipment. The Albatros C.I was produced in the years 1915–1918 at the Albatros Flugzeug Werke, the BFW (Bay) works, the LFG works, the MFW works and the Merkur Flugzeugbau works. A single aircraft was built at the Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke in Schneidemühl (today's Pi?a in Poland). The production was ceased in favour of the more modern C.III variant. The Polish Air Force utilised 49 Albatros C.I airframes. The majority of these were taken over by the Poles on ex-Prussian territory included in the Polish state reconstituted in 1918, and a few were captured on the ex-Austrian and ex-Russian territories. Because of their low performance, the C.Is were qualified as aircraft for aeronautical schools. During the Polish-Bolshevik War in 1919–1920, they were flown in combat. After the war had ended, the aircraft were in service with the aeronautical schools in Warsaw, Pozna?, Krakow, Bydgoszcz, Toru? and Grudzi?dz, where the last Albatros C.I was flown as late as 1922 in the Military Flying School. The Albatros C.I on display, serial number 197/15 comes from the third production batch delivered in 1915. As the research of the camouflage of the restored fuselage revealed, this aircraft served with the Officers School Detachment of the Radio Operators in Warsaw (occupied by the Germans in 1915–1918) and later in aeronautical school in Neuruppin. In the Museum's restoration workshop, the destroyed fuselage, powerplant and the undercarriage were restored. Additionally, the replicas of the so called "workshop" wooden wheels (used for ground manoeuvres instead of regular undercarriage in order to save the rubber, which was scarce due to allied blockade of Germany in the years 1914–1918) were fitted. The restoration of the empennage and the fuselage engine fairing is envisaged to commence in future."

Albatros C.I (1915)

Albatros C.III (1916)

Albatros C.V

Albatros C.VII

Albatros C.IX

Albatros C.X

Albatros C.XII

Aviatik B.I (1914)

Aviatik B.II (1914)

Aviatik C.I (1916)

 (Deutsches Bundeswehr Photo)

Aviatik C.VI.  DFW C.V (Aviatik) (Wk Nr. 5845/16) banking in early morning sunlight.  Note the Aviatik trademark on the strut; flares in a holder behind the observer's cockpit; and  fully-armed 7.92-mm LMG 14 "Parabellum" machine gun.  Pilot and squadron unknown.

Brandenburg W12 two-seat floatplane fighter (Kaiserliche Marine)

DFW B.I (1914)

Captured German DFW built DFW C.V reconnaissance aircraft which landed inside Canadian lines in France, May 1917.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3390812)

(Alan Wilson Photo)

DFW C.V.  3,250 DFW C.V were built, and this is one of 1250 actually built by Aviatik with the designation C.V(Av).  It is the only remaining C.V of any type and is c/n 473.  The restored fuselage is on display in the 'WW1' hangar at the Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego. Krakow, Poland.

(Egotrich Photo)

Etrich Taube (Wk Nr. unknown). 1911, (also known as the Rumpler Taube).  The Technisches Museum Wien (Vienna, Austria) is thought to have the only known remaining Etrich-built example of the Taube in existence, an early enough example to have a four-cylinder engine powering it, and is potentially a twin to Gavotti's Taube aircraft from 1911, also said to have been powered with a four-cylinder inline engine.

Etrich Taube (Wk Nr. unknown).  Aviation Museum, Norway.  This aircraft was the last original Taube to fly under its own power in 1922, over a Norwegian fjord.

(Noop1958 Photo)

Etrich Taube reproduction, D-ETRI, in flight in Germany.

(Author Photos)

Etrich Taube replica, Owls Head Transportation Museum, Knox County Airport, Route 73, Owls Head, Maine.  This museum is so far the only known museum to attempt the construction of a flyable reproduction of the Etrich Taube in North America.  Their example first flew in 1990, and it still flies today with the power of a 200 hp Ranger L-440 inline-6 "uprighted" air-cooled engine.

(Oren Rozen Photo)

Etrich Taube, Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim, New Zealand.

(Aconcagua Photo)

Jeannin Staltaube version of the Etrich Tube with steel tubing construction.  The aircraft shown above is on display in the Technikmuseum, Berlin, Germany.  

Halberstadt C.V

Halberstadt CL.II

(Sven Petersen Photo)

Halberstadt CL.IV.  Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany.

(Dirk1981 Photos)

Halberstadt CL.IV, Reg. No. D-IBAO, Deutsches Tecknikmuseum, Berlin, Germany.

(Cliff Photos)

(Eric Salard Photo)

(Jarek Tuszynski Photo)

Halberstadt CL.IV.  This example is on display in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia.

(Dsdugan Photo)

(NMUSAF Photos)

Halberstadt CL.IV.  This example is on display in the National Museum of the USAF, Dayton, Ohio.

(Tomás Del Coro Photo)

Halberstadt CL.IV replica, Military Aviation Museum Virginia Beach Airport, Virginia.

Hannover CL.II

Junkers J1, German First World War all-metal aircraft being examined by Canadian soldiers, Nov 1918.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3397978)

(Author Photo)

Junkers J.1 biplane (Wk Nr. J.1 586/17), (C/N 252), 1918.  This aircraft is was sent to Canada as a War Prize in 1919.  It is preserved in the Canada Air & Space Museum, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Junkers J 1 (1916).  The Junkers J 1 monoplane, nicknamed the Blechesel (Tin Donkey or Sheet Metal Donkey), was the world's first practical all-metal aircraft.as probably not flown again after January 1916.  However, it survived the First World War and was placed on display in a Berlin aviation museum.  Sadly, it met its end during one of the earliest Royal Air Force bombing raids on Berlin, during the Second World War.

LFG Roland C.II (1916) (also known as Walfisch (Whale)) 2 variants: C.II and C.IIa

LVG B.I

LVG C.II (1916)

Rumpler C.I

(Zandcee Photos)

(Ad Meskens Photos)

Rumpler C.IV.  This example is on display in the Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany.

Rumpler Taube (1911) (also known as Etrich Taube)

(Alan Wilson Photo)

Captured Sopwith F.1 Camel (Serial No. B 7280) flown by the Luftstreitkräfte.  This genuine Camel has a confirmed combat history, and takes pride of place in the WW1 hangar at the Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego. Krakow, Poland.   It's history is given in the following info taken from the museum website.  "The Sopwith F.1 Camel was a single seat wooden construction.  Because of a different types of engines used, a few versions differed with performance and exploitation features emerged.  The first copies reached the Naval squadrons in May 1917, and the Royal Flying Corps was equipped with the machines from June 1917.  In the last month of the war there served over 800 Sopwith F.1 Camels in frontline units. In total, 5490 examples of this most famous British fighter of the First World War were built.  Despite its undisputed features, the Camel was a very hard machine to fly.  The gyroscopic phenomenon of the rotary engine was a nightmare for fresh pilots and often led to crashes.  After the end of the war, the Camels were in service with the air forces of Belgium, Canada, Greece and the USA, while some served also in Soviet Union.

The only Camel (Serial No. F5234) in service with the Polish aviation was the private property of an American volunteer, Flying Officer Kenneth M. Murray.  This aircraft took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War, flying with the 7th Flight and was later handed over to Polish military authorities.  The aircraft on display at the Krakow museum, Camel (Serial No. B 7280), was built at the Clayton & Shuttleworth Works in Lincoln.  From 30th of March 1918, it served in the 1st squadron of the Royal Navy Aeronautical Service (the RNAS).  On 1 April 1918, the unit changed its name to RAF No. 201 Squadron.  Flying this aircraft F/O J.H. Foreman shot down two German aircraft.  After repairs, the aircraft was handed to RAF No. 210 Squadron.  Between 16 June and 5 September 1918, F/Ltt H.A.Patey downed nine more enemy aircraft while flying this fighter.  On 5 September 1918, the aircraft was forced to land inside the German frontline.  His Sopwith F.1 Camel was tested by the Germans and later displayed at the aeronautical exhibition in Berlin.  It is currently one of only five original First World War Camels preserved in the world. It has a distinguished First World War combat service with eleven German aircraft downed credited to its pilots."

Trainingsflugzeug

Training aircraft

Euler D.I

Prototyp eines Flugzeugs

Prototype aircraft

Albatros C.II (prototype?)

Fokker V.1 (1916) (prototype)

Junkers J 1 (1915) (first all-metal aircraft)

Junkers J 2 (1916)

Flugzeughersteller

Aircraft producers

AEG

Albatros

Aviatik

Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke (DFW)

Fokker

Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen

Gothaer Waggonfabrik

Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke

Hannoversche Waggonfabrik

Hansa-Brandenburg

Junkers

Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft (LFG-Roland)

LVG

Pfalz Flugzeugwerke

Rumpler Flugzeugwerke

Siemens-Schuckert

Zeppelin-Staaken

Luftfahrzeugkennzeichen

Aircraft designation codes

A

Artilleriebeobachtungsflugzeug

artillery observation aircraft, single seat monoplane trainer or reconnaissance aircraft

B

Beobachtungsflugzeug

reconnaissance aircraft, two-seat, unarmed, after 1915 used as trainers only

C

reconnaissance aircraft, two-seat, armed, occasionally used as bomber, usually biplanes

CL

light, two-seat biplane, used as fighter, trainer or ground attack aircraft

D

Doppeldecker

biplane, single engined, single seat fighter (later, for all fighter aircraft)

Dr.

Dreidecker

triplane, single engined, single seat fighter

E

Eindecker

monoplane, single engined, single seat fighter (use abandoned after Fokker E.V)

G

Großflugzeug

big aircraft, twin-engined, multi-seat bomber

R

Riesenflugzeug

giant aircraft, four engined, multi-seat long range bomber

J (I)

Infanterieflugzeug

Close-support/ground attack aircraft meant to support army movements, usually with an armored fuselage

N

Nachtflugzeug

aircraft for operation at night

W

Wasserflugzeug

seaplane, single seat fighter

LW

leichtes Wasserflugzeug

light seaplane, single seat fighter