View source for DFW C.I

{|{{Infobox Aircraft Begin
 |name=C.I and C.II
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}}{{Infobox Aircraft Type
 |type=[[Reconnaissance aircraft]]
 |manufacturer=[[Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke|DFW]]
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The '''DFW C.I''' [[biplane]] [[reconnaissance aircraft]] built by the {{lang|de|[[Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke]]}} (DFW) during the [[First World War]] for the [[Imperial German Army]]'s ({{lang|de|Deutsches Heer}}) [[Imperial German Air Service]] ({{lang|de|Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches}}). First flown in 1915, the aircraft was built in small numbers. The C.II differed from the C.I by switching the positions of the pilot and [[air observer|observer]], placing the former in the front cockpit. Surviving aircraft were withdrawn from front-line units and assigned to training units.

==Development==
Derived from the company's [[DFW B.I|B.II]] design of 1914, the C.I kept the same basic fuselage design with the pilot located behind the observer. The latter was provided with a {{convert|7.92|mm|3|sp=us|adj=on}} [[Parabellum MG 14]] machine gun on a ring mount. Curved steel tubes prevented him from firing into the [[propeller (aeronautics)|propeller]]. The engine was upgraded to a water-cooled {{convert|150|hp|lk=on|adj=on}} [[Benz Bz.III]] [[straight-six engine|straight-six]] engine. The fuel tank was moved to the underside of the upper wing and the side-mounted [[Radiator (engine cooling)|radiators]] were replaced by one installed below the leading edge of the upper wing in most of the C.Is.<ref name=h4>Herris, pp. 72–74</ref><ref name=g9/>

The C.II was almost identical, except that it reversed the seating arrangements for the pilot and observer, placing the observer in the rear cockpit and eliminating the unnecessary tubing around the forward cockpit.<ref>Lamberton, p. 130</ref>

==Operational history==
A total of 40 C.Is are known to have been built with aircraft noted on the strength reports of front-line units beginning in the last months of 1915. The aircraft was withdrawn from those units beginning in January 1916 because weak [[wing spar]]s. The wings were rebuilt and the C.I began appearing in the strength reports in June with the last mention on 31 August 1917. The following month it began showing up in training units and was known to have served in them at least through February 1918.<ref name=h4/>

Only a dozen C.IIs are known to have been built and photographic evidence shows that a few of them were used operationally, but none appear on the bimonthly strength reports, suggesting that they were soon withdrawn.<ref>Herris, p. 80</ref>
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==Specifications (C.II)==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=German Aircraft of the First World War<ref name=g9>Gray & Thetford, p. 319</ref>
|prime units?=met
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|crew=3
|length m=7.2
|length ft=
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|span m=11.2
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|wing area sqm=33
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|empty weight kg=725
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|gross weight kg=1235
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|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[Benz Bz.III]] 
|eng1 type=water-cooled [[straight-six engine|straight-six]] piston engine
|eng1 kw=<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 hp=150<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 note=
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|prop blade number=2
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|max speed kmh=140
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|ceiling m=4000
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|armament= *1 × 7.92 mm [[Parabellum MG14]] on ring mount for observer
}}

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==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|author1-last=Gray|author1-first=Peter|title=German Aircraft of the First World War|orig-year=1970|year=1987 |publisher=Putnam |location=London|isbn=0-85177-809-7|edition=2nd|author2-first=Owen|author2-last=Thetford|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book |last1=Herris |first1=Jack |title=DFW Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-935881-54-4 |publisher=Aeronaut Books |location=n.p. |series=Great War Aviation Centennial Series|volume=29}}
*{{cite book |last1=Lamberton |first1=W. M. |title=Reconnaissance & Bomber Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War |date=1962 |publisher=Aero Publishers |location=Los Angeles, California|oclc=1819866}}

{{DFW aircraft}}
{{Idflieg C-class designations}}

[[Category:1910s German military reconnaissance aircraft]]
[[Category:DFW aircraft|C.I]]
[[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Biplanes]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1915]]