Specifications
Year: 1917
Status: Retired, Out-of-Service
Manufacturer(s): Hannoversche Waggonfabrik / Opel - German Empire
Production: 617
Capabilities: Fighter; Close-Air Support (CAS); Reconnaissance (RECCE);
Status: Retired, Out-of-Service
Manufacturer(s): Hannoversche Waggonfabrik / Opel - German Empire
Production: 617
Capabilities: Fighter; Close-Air Support (CAS); Reconnaissance (RECCE);
Crew: 2
Length: 24.87 ft (7.58 m)
Width: 38.39 ft (11.7 m)
Height: 9.19 ft (2.8 m)
Weight (Empty): 1,576 lb (715 kg)
Weight (MTOW): 2,381 lb (1,080 kg)
Length: 24.87 ft (7.58 m)
Width: 38.39 ft (11.7 m)
Height: 9.19 ft (2.8 m)
Weight (Empty): 1,576 lb (715 kg)
Weight (MTOW): 2,381 lb (1,080 kg)
Power: 1 x Argus As.III 6-cylinder water-cooled inline piston engine developing 180 horsepower and driving a two-bladed wooden propeller at the nose.
Speed: 103 mph (165 kph; 89 kts)
Ceiling: 24,606 feet (7,500 m; 4.66 miles)
Range: 311 miles (500 km; 270 nm)
Rate-of-Climb: 620 ft/min (189 m/min)
Ceiling: 24,606 feet (7,500 m; 4.66 miles)
Range: 311 miles (500 km; 270 nm)
Rate-of-Climb: 620 ft/min (189 m/min)
Operators: German Empire; Latvia (post-war); Soviet Union (post-war)
The aircraft carried over other established qualities of the CL.II that came before it: the unequal-span biplane wing members (single bay, parallel struts), tail-dragger undercarriage, and tandem seating for its crew of two (pilot in front, gunner/observer at the rear). Armament was increased from two 7.92mm machine guns (one forward, one aft) to three machine guns: 2 x 7.92mm machine guns now featured at the rear cockpit emplacement.
Dimensions included a running length of 24.9 feet, a wingspan of 38.4 feet, and a height of 9 feet. Empty weight reached 1,580 lb against an MTOW of 2,400 lb.
The CL.III was approved on February 23rd, 1918 and a serial production order for 200 units then followed by the German Air Service with first-deliveries tagged for March of that year. However, there proved a shortage of the in-demand Mercedes D.III engines which resulted in just eighty of the aircraft featuring entering service with this powerplant - the remainder were equipped with the original Argus As.III of 180 horsepower and these became the "CL.IIIa" in service. The engines were license-built by Opel and designated "As.III(O)" to mark the origin.
With this engine in place, the aircraft could manage a maximum speed of 103 miles-per-hour, reach an altitude of 24,600 feet, and climb at 620 feet-per-minute while holding a mission endurance of three hours.
The CL.IIIa proved itself the definitive production mark of the series, seeing combat service from entry in April 1918 up until the end of the war in November of 1918 (the 'Armistice') - though by this point the capable fighters were being used in the ground-attack role to help delay Allied advances. At least one other designation emerged as the "CL.IIIb" and this was to feature the NAG C.III engine of 185 horsepower. For this work, a single experimental model, the "CL.IIIc", was to serve as a testbed while also sporting a two-bay biplane wing arrangement.
Despite the signing of the Armistice of 1918 to end the war in full, Hannover continued serial production of the aircraft for a short time later, adding another 100 CL.III and another 38 CL.IIIa forms.
Armament
1 x 7.92mm Spandau LMG 08/15 machine gun in fixed, forward-facing mounting.
2 x 7.92mm Parabellum MG14 machine guns in trainable mounting at rear cockpit.
Variants / Models
• CL.III - Base Series Designation; powered by Mercedes D.III engine; 80 examples completed.
• CL.IIIa - Powered by Argus A.III inline piston engine of 180 horsepower; production by Opel.
• CL.IIIb - Proposed production form to be powered by NAG C.III engine of 185 horsepower.
• CL.IIIC - Testbed form with revised wing mainplanes with twin bays and NAG engine.
