The Lohner L was a
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
produced in Austria-Hungary during
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 ...
. It was a two-bay
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
of typical configuration for the flying boats of the day, with its
pusher engine mounted on struts in the interplane gap. The pilot and observer sat side by side in an open
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
, and both the upper and lower sets of wings featured
sweepback
A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction.
Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigate ...
.
Development
The design was essentially a more powerful version of the
Lohner E
The Lohner E was a reconnaissance flying boat built in Austria-Hungary during World War I.Taylor 1989, p. 611.''World Aircraft Information Files''. London: Bright Star Publishing, pp. File 900 Sheet 20. The "E" stood for Igo Etrich, one of the L ...
, and became highly influential. Apart from licensed production by
UFAG, the L provided the basis for designs by other major manufacturers. In
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Hansa-Brandenburg
Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke (more usually just Hansa-Brandenburg) was a German aircraft manufacturing company that operated during World War I. It was created in May 1914 by the purchase of ''Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke'' by Cami ...
manufactured a modified version of it as their first flying boat, the , and in Italy, a captured example was used as a pattern aircraft by
Macchi
Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the Ita ...
, who produced it as the L.1. In turn, the L.1 would provide the foundation for a large number of Macchi designs over the coming years.
![The civil government at Grado Redenta (1917) (14780330784)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/The_civil_government_at_Grado_Redenta_%281917%29_%2814780330784%29.jpg)
The captured aircraft (serial L.40) was taken intact near the naval air station of
Porto Corsini. The captured flying boat was copied by Macchi-Nieuport and the L.1 was built within a month. The L.1s were delivered to Italian maritime reconnaissance and bombing units based on the Adriatic. An improved version was developed as the
Macchi L.2
The Macchi L.2 was an Italian biplane flying boat developed from the earlier Macchi L.1, itself a copy of a captured Austrian Lohner flying boat.
Development
In an attempt to improve the performance of the L.1 flying-boat Macchi, the design was ...
A restored example of an Austro-Hungarian Lohner L (serial L.127) is preserved at the
Italian Air Force Museum
The Italian Air Force Museum is an aircraft museum at Vigna di Valle, on Lake Bracciano (Lazio), in central Italy. It is operated by the . The museum's collection has an emphasis on Italian machines and seaplanes. While maintaining the technical a ...
at
Vigna di Valle
''Vigna'' is a genus of plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution.Aitawade, M. M., et al. (2012)Section ''Ceratotropis'' of subgenus ''Ceratotropis'' of ''Vigna'' (Leguminosae–Papilionoideae) in India with a new ...
.
Operational history
Lohner seaplanes saw extensive use before and during World War I, and those aircraft that survived the war served for several years. Some important and interesting events are related, such as:
*Immediately after the declaration of war by Austria-Hungary on Serbia and Montenegro, from 28 July 1914 to 2 August 1914, Lohner L seaplanes from
Kumbor
Kumbor ( sr-cyr, Кумбор) is a small town in the municipality of Herceg Novi, Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica ...
patrolled and photographed the Montenegrin artillery positions, representing the first use of aircraft in World War I.
*On 16 September 1915 Lohner L 132 piloted by a Lieutenant Commander Dimitrije Konjović and Lohner L 135 piloted by Walter Železni, on regular reconnaissance missions off
Cattaro
Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative c ...
found the French
Brumaire-class submarine
The ''Brumaire''-class submarines were built for the French Navy prior to World War I. There were sixteen vessels in this class, of the Laubeuf type.
All saw action during the First World War, with three boats lost.
Naming
The French Navy built ...
''
Foucault'' and attacked it with bombs. The submarine was damaged in the attack and was abandoned by her crew. One Lohner flying boat landed at sea, captured two French officers and transported them to Kumbor. The other members of the crew were rescued by an Austro-Hungarian torpedo boat. This was the first sinking of a submarine from the air in the history of aviation.
Variants
* Lohner L
* Lohner R - Photo-reconnaissance version
* Lohner S - Trainer version
* Macchi L.1 - with Fiat machine gun and
Isotta-Fraschini V.4a engine (14 built)
Operators
;
*
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...
;
*
Kaiserliche Marine
{{italic title
The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control.
The term wa ...
;
*
Regia Marina
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...
(Macchi L.1)
;
*
Yugoslav Royal Navy
The Royal Navy ( sh-Latn, Kraljevska mornarica; sh-Cyrl, Краљевска морнарица; КМ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Navy, was the naval warfare service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (originally called the Kingdom of Serbs ...
- 4 aircraft Lohner TL
Specifications (Lohner L)
See also
Notes
References
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Further reading
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