Hannover CL.V

The Hannover CL.V was a ground-attack aircraft built in Germany during World War I, which formed the basis for a sport aircraft following the war. Derived from the Hannover CL.II, the CL.V shared the same basic conventional biplane configuration and incorporated the overhanging, aerodynamically-balanced ailerons developed for the Hannover CL.III. The characteristic biplane tail used on earlier Hannover CL-class machines was dispensed with, and a conventional empennage was fitted to the prototype, although production machines reverted to the earlier design.

The CL.V was first tested in July 1918, which led to an initial order from Idflieg for 20 aircraft powered by the Mercedes D.III engine for evaluation. Further orders followed for CL.Vs powered by the BMW.IIIa engine, which gave superior performance and were intended as dedicated two-seat fighters. Only 46 were built before the end of the war, and none of them had been put into service by that time. Hannover built another 62 examples after the Armistice.

Hannoversche Waggonfabrik

Hannoversche Waggonfabrik AG was a German aircraft manufacturer of the World War I era. It was known as a railway rolling stock constructor until required by the German government in 1916 to start the construction of aeroplanes. The aircraft branch of the company was established at Hannover-Linden where other types were first manufactured under licence until 1916 when the Hannover type itself came on stream.

History

The Hannoversche Waggonfabrik AG (Hawa) was founded in 1898 to build passenger and freight cars for Germany's railways. When the First World War began, Hannover built rolling stock for the German military, before gradually becoming more and more involved in the production of aircraft,starting with the manufacture of propellers in 1915 before moving on to repair work, and the license manufacture of aircraft by the end of the year. An important reason why Hannover, along with other railway manufacturers, was encouraged to move into aircraft work was that,not only did it have an extensive, well trained workforce, but also possessed large stocks of seasoned wood.