Hungarian Lloyd Aircraft and Engine Factory

Hungarian Lloyd Aircraft and Motor Factory Corporation

Company type	Corporation
Industry	Aircraft manufacturing
Predecessor	Hungarian Royal Institute of Repair Workshop (premises)
Founded	1913 in Aszód, Hungary
Founder	Hungarian and international stakeholders
Defunct	1921
Fate	Factory dismantled following Treaty of Trianon prohibition on aircraft manufacturing; assets confiscated or destroyed
Headquarters	Aszód , Hungary
Area served	Austria-Hungary (Imperial and Royal Command)
Key people	Henrik Bier (pilot and factory manager)
Products	Aircraft, aircraft engines, military reconnaissance and fighter planes
Number of employees	400 (1914–1916)

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The Hungarian Lloyd Aircraft and Motor Factory Corporation (Hungarian: Magyar Lloyd Repülőgép- és Motorgyár Rt., German: Ungarische Lloyd Flugzeug und Motorenfabrik AG) was founded in 1913 in Aszód. Operations commenced in the former premises of the Hungarian Royal Institute of Repair Workshop, specifically in the building previously dedicated to chassis and carpentry work.

History

The establishment of the factory was driven by both Hungarian and international stakeholders, initially operating under the name Magyar Lloyd Autómobil- és Motorgyár Rt.

Aircraft manufacturing began in 1914, with the involvement of the Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke (D.F.W.) company, which contributed ten partially completed DFW B.I aircraft to accelerate production at the newly formed plant. D.F.W. also assigned pilot Henrik Bier to oversee factory management.

Leadership responsibilities were entrusted to Hungarian engineers.

During assembly of the initial DFW aircraft, factory engineers identified the complexity of the original design. Consequently, they redesigned the wing structure—originally nicknamed "Flying Banana" due to its curved form—into a straight, backward-swept configuration.

The first Lloyd aircraft

Assigned the designation Aircraft Factory 4 within the monarchy’s system, the Aszód facility produced its inaugural prototype marked as 40.01. Shortly after completion, this aircraft was publicly exhibited. In June 1914, it was transported to Aspern for demonstration purposes and participated in a flying competition on 27 July 1914 under number 20. Piloted by director Heinrich Bier and powered by a 107 kW (145 HP) Hiero engine, this experimental plane achieved an impressive climb to 6,170 metres (20,240 ft), setting a record altitude of 5,440 metres (17,850 ft) while carrying a passenger. This accomplishment paved the way for the factory’s subsequent production of the Lloyd 41 series.

The Aspern event in 1914 was notably covered by foreign aviation publications such as Zeitschrift Für Flugtechnik Und Motorluftschiffahrt in July 1914, and later featured in Hungary’s aviation periodical "Aero" in 1916:

Following the outbreak of World War I, this pioneering Lloyd aircraft was adopted by the Imperial and Royal Command and deployed immediately on the southern front. Over two years, it served as a versatile warplane equipped with bomb-carrying capabilities and radio communication systems alongside its reconnaissance duties. Courageous pilots operating this model undertook numerous missions targeting locations such as Lovcen, Cetinje, Durazzo, Valona, and Nis.

The primary aviators for this first Lloyd aircraft included Captain Dworzák, Lieutenant Pieler, and Sergeant Dobos. Their frequent flights often involved significant peril, evidenced by bullet marks visible on both the fuselage and wings.

After two years of dedicated service, the aircraft was returned to the factory’s possession. Recognizing its industrial, sporting, and military significance, management donated this veteran machine to the Royal Hungarian Transport Museum.

In 1917, the aircraft’s empty frame was displayed at both the Military Aircraft Exhibition and subsequently at the Royal Transport Museum.

Specifications listed in the Object Guide for the 1917 Military Aircraft Exhibition at the Industrial Exhibition Hall:

   Wingspan: 14.4 m 

   Length: 8.9 m 

   Height: 3.15 m 

   Take-off weight: 1060 kg 

   Maximum speed: 140 km/h 

   Engine: Hiero six-cylinder producing 106 kW

Aircraft models manufactured by Lloyd

From 1914 to 1916, the Lloyd aircraft factory, which employed around 400 workers, primarily produced modified versions of their initial successful aircraft, featuring various engines and designated with serial numbers 41, 42, and 43.

These early airplanes were constructed mainly from wood and covered with fabric, except for model 40.01, which featured a fuselage made from steel tubing imported from Leipzig.

Drawing on wartime experience, Lloyd’s design team developed two variants within the 44 series. The second variant differed notably by replacing the traditional canvas wing covering with a thin wooden veneer applied over the entire wing surface. This modification significantly enhanced wing rigidity and surface smoothness, resulting in improved flight speed.

The Series 46, introduced in 1917, represented a thoroughly redesigned model. At that time still innovative, this Lloyd aircraft was equipped with a plywood cowling and powered by a 136 kW (185 hp) MÁG Daimler engine. It was also the first iteration of a two-seat fast-flyer. Due to its success, the Flieger-Arsenal in Vienna commissioned production of the Hungarian-designed Series 82 model through the Wiener Karosserie company. Later versions of this type were upgraded with 162 kW (220 hp) MARTA engines from Arad and outfitted with both forward- and rearward-firing machine guns.

Since design and testing facilities were centralized in Vienna during this period, Lloyd’s management in Aszód sought to compensate for their limited design experience by constructing numerous experimental aircraft. This effort resulted in 16 experimental models used to evaluate structural strength and flight performance. Among these, the most notable experiment occurred during a competition for large aircraft (referred to as type G or Grossflugzeug). Within six weeks, a massive three-engine, twin-fuselage, triple-deck plane (type 40.08) was assembled using many components from existing aircraft. Unfortunately, this ambitious project failed as the aircraft broke down during its initial test flight.

By late 1917, production capacity had reached approximately 20 to 24 aircraft per month, consisting largely of Austrian license-built Aviatik C and D.I Berg reconnaissance and fighter planes.

Production of the two-seat fast reconnaissance Phönix C.I was scheduled to begin in autumn 1918; however, severe material shortages delayed assembly until the period of the Soviet Republic. The aircraft constructed then belonged to the factory’s 49 series. Additionally, Aviatik C.I reconnaissance planes were assigned designation 47, while Aviatik (Berg) D.I fighters—enhanced with more powerful engines—were labeled as series 348.

Fate

Following the comprehensive prohibition on aircraft manufacturing and military aviation in Hungary imposed by the Treaty of Trianon in mid-1920, the Aszód factory was dismantled in 1921. Concurrently, all aircraft, engines, and related documentation within Hungary were confiscated or destroyed under orders from the Allied Control Commission.