Lohner L

Lohner

Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1910s
Headquarters	Austria-Hungary
Products	Aircraft, including the Lohner L reconnaissance flying boat

The Lohner L was a reconnaissance flying boat developed and manufactured in Austria-Hungary during the First World War. It featured a conventional two-bay biplane design typical of flying boats from that era, with its pusher engine mounted on struts positioned between the wings. The cockpit was open, accommodating the pilot and observer seated side by side, while both the upper and lower wings were designed with sweepback.

Development

The Lohner L represented an enhanced and more powerful evolution of the earlier Lohner E model and had a significant impact on subsequent flying boat designs. Beyond its production under license by UFAG, the aircraft served as a foundational template for other prominent manufacturers. In Germany, Hansa-Brandenburg adapted it into their inaugural flying boat, the Brandenburg FB. Meanwhile, in Italy, a captured example was utilized by Macchi as a reference to produce the L.1. This Italian variant subsequently became the basis for numerous Macchi designs in the following years.

File:The civil government at Grado Redenta (1917) (14780330784) (cropped).jpg

KUK hydroplane aircraft salvaged at Grado, Italy.

The intact captured aircraft (serial number L.40) was seized near the naval air base at Porto Corsini. Macchi-Nieuport quickly replicated this flying boat, completing the L.1 within a month. These L.1 models were then assigned to Italian maritime reconnaissance and bombing squadrons operating over the Adriatic Sea. An upgraded derivative of this design was later introduced as the Macchi L.2.

A preserved example of an Austro-Hungarian Lohner L (serial L.127) is on display at the Italian Air Force Museum located in Vigna di Valle.

This aircraft model also appears in Studio Ghibli’s 1992 animated film Porco Rosso.

Operational history

Lohner seaplanes were widely utilized both prior to and throughout World War I, with many of the surviving aircraft remaining in service for several years following the conflict. Noteworthy incidents include:

• Shortly after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and Montenegro, between 28 July and 2 August 1914, Lohner L seaplanes operating from Kumbor conducted patrols and aerial photography of Montenegrin artillery installations, marking the inaugural deployment of aircraft in World War I.
• On 16 September 1915, two Lohner flying boats—Lohner L 132, flown by Lieutenant Commander Dimitrije Konjović, and Lohner L 135, piloted by Walter Železni—while performing routine reconnaissance near Cattaro encountered the French Brumaire-class submarine Foucault. They launched a bombing attack that damaged the submarine, forcing its abandonment by the crew. One Lohner landed on the water to capture two French officers and transported them back to Kumbor, while the rest of the submarine crew were rescued by an Austro-Hungarian torpedo boat. This event represents the first recorded aerial sinking of a submarine in aviation history.

Variants

• Lohner L
• Lohner R – Designed for photo reconnaissance
• Lohner S – Trainer model
• Macchi L.1 – Equipped with a Fiat machine gun and powered by an Isotta-Fraschini V.4a engine; 14 units produced

Operators

Template:Country data Austria-Hungary

• Austro-Hungarian Navy

Template:Country data German Empire

• Kaiserliche Marine

Template:Country data Kingdom of Italy

• Regia Marina (operated Macchi L.1)

Template:Country data Kingdom of Yugoslavia

• Yugoslav Royal Navy – operated 4 Lohner TL aircraft

Specifications (Lohner L)

File:Lohner L-1 L127 Mani (6405508905).jpg

Restored Lohner L-1 displayed at the Italian Air Force Museum.