The LVG E.I was a German two-seat
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The E.I was unusual among monoplanes of its time in that it featured
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s as opposed to the then-conventional (for monoplanes)
wing warping
Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite direc ...
.
It was fitted with both a rearward firing
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
, mounted on a flexible ring mounting, and a forward firing
synchronized machine gun and was very probably the first aircraft to be so armed.
The only prototype was destroyed on its way to the front for testing in 1915; as such, very little is known about the E.I, or its synchronization gear.
List of operators
*
Specifications
Bibliography
* William Green and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Complete Book of Fighters''. Colour Library Direct, Godalming, UK: 1994. .
1910s German fighter aircraft
E.I
Aircraft first flown in 1915
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