Austro-Hungarian Air Force - Aircraft

Aircraft

The aircraft employed by the Air Service were a combination of Austro-Hungarian designs built within the empire, German models that were domestically manufactured by Austrian firms (often with modifications), and planes that were imported from Germany. These aircraft included:

• Etrich Taube
• Lohner L
• Lohner C.I
• Fokker A.III
• Fokker E.III
• Knoller C.II
• Hansa-Brandenburg B.I
• Hansa-Brandenburg C.I
• Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
• Hansa-Brandenburg G.I
• Aviatik B.III
• Aviatik D.I
• Albatros B.I
• Albatros D.II
• Albatros D.III
• Phönix D.I

Although all of the European powers were unprepared for modern air warfare in the beginning of the conflict, Austria-Hungary was one of the most advantaged due to the empire's traditionalist military and civilian leadership combined with a relatively high degree of industrialisation. The Empire's agricultural economy mitigated against innovation. Such industry as it possessed was used to full extent for aircraft manufacture; instead of producing single types of aircraft from dedicated assembly lines, contracts were let to multiple factories, and individual factories were producing multiple types of aircraft. Shortage of unskilled labor also hampered production. Technological backwardness was not limited to the usage of handicraft construction instead of assembly lines. For instance, the most widely used Austro-Hungarian fighter, the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I, lacked the gun synchronizer gear that would allow aiming the airplane's nose and firing its weaponry through the propeller.

Wartime production totaled 5,180 airplanes for four years of war; by comparison, Austria-Hungary's major foe, Italy, built about 18,000 in three years. Austro-Hungarian practice included inspection of completed aircraft by army officers before they left the factory.

Before the war, the army also operated four airships at Fischamend:

• Militärluftschiff I (1909-1914), also known as Parseval PL 4.
• Militärluftschiff II (1910-1913), also known as Lebaudy 6 Autrichienne
• Militärluftschiff III (1911-1914)
• Militärluftschiff IV (1912)

Militärluftschiff III was destroyed in a mid-air collision with a Farman HF.20 on 20 June 1914. This ended the airship program. During the war the military expressed interest in purchasing Zeppelins from Germany but failed to acquire any. The navy ordered four to be locally manufactured in 1917 but none were completed before the armistice. They were scrapped by the Allies after the war.