Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke

For the city in Saxony-Anhalt, see Halberstadt.

Halberstadt

Industry	Aircraft manufacturing
Founded	9 April 1912 (1912-04-09) in Halberstadt, Province of Saxony, Germany
Defunct	1932

Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke, commonly referred to as Halberstadt, was a German aircraft manufacturing company. It was established on 9 April 1912 under the original name Deutsche Bristol Werke Flugzeug-Gesellschaft mbH in Halberstadt, located within the Province of Saxony.

History

File:Buddecke Sanders.jpg

Flying Ace Hans-Joachim Buddecke beside his Halberstadt D.V, accompanied by General Otto Liman von Sanders, Turkey, 1917

Initially founded as a British-German collaboration, the firm produced aircraft based on designs from the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Ltd, such as the Bristol Boxkite and Bristol Prier monoplane. Shortly thereafter, it expanded to include its own design developments. In September 1913, the enterprise adopted the name Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke GmbH. The lead designers included Hans Burkhardt, who later joined Gothaer Waggonfabrik, while Karl Theiss served as technical director and chief engineer.

Throughout World War I, the company manufactured over 1,700 reconnaissance aircraft (designated C type) along with approximately 85 fighter planes (D type), all deployed by the Luftstreitkräfte (German Air Force). Following the prohibition of German aircraft production imposed by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, the company—renamed Berlin-Halberstädter Industriewerke AG—shifted its focus to producing agricultural machinery and repairing rolling stock for the Reichsbahn. After entering insolvency proceedings in 1926, the Halberstadt factory was eventually utilized by Junkers starting in 1935.

Aircraft

In addition to licensed two-seat observation and training planes such as the (Halberstadt A.II), Halberstadt developed a range of scout aircraft, ground attack models, and fighters:

Halberstadt B types

The B-type series consisted of unarmed two-seat reconnaissance biplanes produced during 1914 and 1915. These aircraft were initially powered by Oberursel-built Gnome rotary engines; later variants (B.II and B.III) employed six-cylinder inline engines manufactured by Mercedes.

• Halberstadt B.I
• Halberstadt B.II
• Halberstadt B.III

Halberstadt C types

File:Captured Halberstadt CL.II side view 1918.jpg

Captured Halberstadt CL.II at Flesselles, France, June 1918

Reconnaissance Aircraft

These are two-seat reconnaissance planes powered by water-cooled six-cylinder engines delivering between 200 and 220 horsepower, capable of reaching maximum speeds up to 170 kilometres per hour (110 mph). The initial model, C.I, took flight in May 1916, followed by the C.III at the end of that year:

• Halberstadt C.I
• Halberstadt C.III
• Halberstadt C.V
• Halberstadt C.VII
• Halberstadt C.VIII
• Halberstadt C.IX

Ground Attack Aircraft

Designed as two-seat ground attack aircraft, these models feature water-cooled six-cylinder engines with power ranging from 160 to 185 horsepower, except the CL.IV which has 100 horsepower, achieving top speeds up to 165 kilometres per hour (103 mph). The CL.II first flew around February 1917, while the CL.IV was introduced in early 1918:

• Halberstadt CL.II
• Halberstadt CL.IV
• Halberstadt CLS.I

Halberstadt D Series

Fighter Aircraft The D.I through D.V represent single-seat biplane fighters equipped with water-cooled six-cylinder engines producing between 100 and 150 horsepower, reaching speeds up to 145 kilometres per hour (90 mph). The D.I had its maiden flight in February 1916, followed by the D.II at the close of 1916 and the D.V at the start of 1917:

• Halberstadt D.I
• Halberstadt D.II
• Halberstadt D.III
• Halberstadt D.IV
• Halberstadt D.V

Large Aircraft

A prototype classified as a medium bomber:

• Halberstadt G.I

References

• Kroschel, Günter; Stützer, Helmut: The German military aircraft 1910–18, Wilhelmshaven 1977