in: Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Halberstadt aircraft, 1910s German attack aircraft, Military aircraft of World War I
Halberstadt CL.IV
Ground Attack Aircraft
Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke
Karl Thies
Primary user
Luftstreitkräfte
The Halberstadt CL.IV was a German ground attack aircraft of World War I.
1 Design and development
2 Operational history
3 Operators
Karl Thies, chief designer of the Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke, G.m.b.H., designed the CL.IV as a replacement for the CL.II. As the CL.II had proven to be particularly effective in the ground support role, the focus of an improved version was to create a specific ground attack aircraft.
The new CL.IV featured a shorter, strengthened fuselage and a horizontal stabilizer of greater span and higher aspect ratio than that of the CL.II. These changes, along with a one-piece, horn-balanced elevator, gave the CL.IV much greater maneuverability than its predecessor. After tests were completed of the prototype in April 1918, at least 450 were ordered from Halberstadt, and an additional 250 aircraft from a subcontractor, LFG (Roland).
Operational history
The Halberstadt CL.IV was one of the most effective ground attack aircraft of World War I, relying on its good maneuverability to avoid ground fire. It appeared on the Western Front towards the end of the German offensives in 1918. Flights of four to six aircraft flew close support missions, at an altitude of less than one hundred feet, suppressing enemy infantry and artillery fire just ahead of the advancing German troops. After these late German offensives stalled, Halberstadt CL.IVs were used to disrupt advancing Allied offensives by striking at enemy troop assembly points and night sorties were also made against Allied airfields.
Towards the end of the war, on bright, moonlit nights, CL.IV squadrons attempted to intercept and destroy Allied bombers as they returned from their missions.
Estonian Air Force[1]
German Empire
Data from German Aircraft of the First World War[2]
Crew: two
Length: 6.54 m (21 ft 51⁄2 in)
Wingspan: 10.74 m (35 ft 27⁄8 in)
Height: 2.67 m (8 ft 91⁄8 in)
Wing area: 27 m2 (297 sq ft)
Empty weight: 728 kg (1,605 lb)
Loaded weight: 1,068 kg (2,354 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.III 6-cylinder inline engine, 120 kW (160 hp)
Maximum speed: 165 km/h (103 mph)
Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 32 min
Endurance: 3.25 hours
1 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) LMG 08/15 "Spandau" machine gun, synchronized
1 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) Parabellum MG14 machine gun, on ring mount for observer
Up to 5 × 10 kg (20 lb) bombs
↑ Gerdessen 1982, p.76
↑ Gray and Thetford 1962, p. 142.
Gerdessen, F. "Estonian Air Power 1918 - 1945". Air Enthusiast No 18, April - July 1982. Pages 61–76. ISSN 0143-5450.
Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Halberstadt CL.IV.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Halberstadt CL.IV
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