Hannover CL.II

CL.II
Type	Escort fighter
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Hannover
Designed by	Hermann Dorner
Maiden flight	Template:Avyear
Primary user	Luftstreitkräfte
Number built	439

The Hannover CL.II was an escort fighter produced in Germany during World War One, designed in response to a 1917 requirement by the Idflieg for such a machine to protect reconnaissance aircraft over enemy territory. It was a compact biplane of largely conventional configuration with single-bay staggered wings of unequal span. The main units of the fixed tailskid undercarriage were linked by a cross-axle, and the pilot and tail gunner sat in tandem, open cockpits, with the gunner's cockpit elevated above the line of the upper fuselage to afford him a greater field of fire. For the same purpose, the aircraft featured an unusually compact empennage, with a short fin and a biplane tail unit. Smaller than the usual C-class reconnaissance aircraft, it was easy for enemy pilots to mistake it for a single-seat fighter; a mistake that would bring them into the line of fire of the tail gun when closing from astern.

The type was widely produced, and as the war continued, was increasingly employed as a ground attack machine, remaining in service in this role right up until the Armistice.

References

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 468. 
• World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing, File 986 Sheet 09. 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hannover CL.II".