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The Lohner C 1
From the original to the model
The more than 1,000 scale models, primarily in the international standards 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32, form an independent part of the collections of the Aviation Museum in Hannover-Laatzen.
Such true-to-original miniatures give visitors to the museum an overview of the history of technology, not only of the individual exhibits (sometimes even as the only opportunity to see a real three-dimensional display if no original survives), but also of the development of aircraft construction through the possibility of sequencing and comparison. Sometimes they even fill gaps in the presentation of the originals. Their craftsmanship alone is a pleasure to behold.
Today, we present the Lohner C 1 from 1914/15 as our “Model of the Month”. With its distinctive wing shape, this single-engine, two-seater biplane was the standard type of domestic production for the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Air Force at the outbreak of war.
Created from the small-series kit by Modellbaustudio Rhein-Ruhr by Günter Gelbke, Hannover, our aviation museum displays the Lohner C 1 multi-purpose aircraft in the colours of the Habsburg dual monarchy as a (potentially) armed reconnaissance aircraft in 1916.
The original
It was only eleven years after the Wright brothers had completed the world's first documented engine powered flight in the USA in 1903 that the Europeans, caught up in a maelstrom of political and economic conditions and developments, stumbled into what would later be called the First World War. The young aviation industry was also enlisted by the opposing forces, but its tasks and capabilities only took shape as the war progressed...
In 1914, the Austro-Hungarian armed forces had nine air companies, each with six to eight aircraft, primarily for reconnaissance and artillery observation, and only sporadically for attacks on ground targets – that was the entire air force of a great power! In addition to a manageable number of its own designs, Vienna acquired various aircraft from its relatives in Berlin during the course of the war, first and foremost the Hansa Brandenburg C 1. This was later followed by fighter planes, fast reconnaissance aircraft and bombers. However, the most significant design of its own at the start of the air war was the Lohner C 1. (In addition, the Austrian aircraft manufacturer Oeffag significantly optimised its licensed production of the Albatros D III, creating a first-class fighter.)
From car to aeroplane: Lohner C 1
The biplane with partially swept wings was actually developed in 1914 in Ludwig Lohner's coach and automobile workshops in Vienna, and 43 examples were built. With a length of just over 9 metres, it had a wingspan of around 13 metres. A six-cylinder Austro Daimler inline engine with 160 hp propelled the aircraft to a maximum speed of 140 km/h via a wooden two-bladed propeller, which was quite respectable at the time for a two-seater – optionally armed with an 8 mm machine gun.
During the course of the war, the Lohner C 1 revealed understandable technical, structural and tactical weaknesses, with flight accidents resulting in massive losses in the fight against the Italian and French, and later also British, air forces on the southern front; against the Russian air force, however, the air forces were able to hold their own throughout the war.
By the end of the war, the air force comprised around 70 flying companies, but their 350 aircraft were outnumbered almost twenty to one by the Western Allies. The life expectancy of Austro-Hungarian pilots at the front averaged four months in the last two years of the war, and the General Staff officially estimated a personnel loss rate of nearly 100%.
The museum
Have we piqued your curiosity about our collections, which include over 40 originals and faithful replicas of gliders, light aircraft, commercial aircraft and military aircraft, as well as twice as many engines and hundreds of pieces of equipment, not to mention our model collection? Then we look forward to seeing you at Ulmer Straße at the Hannover Exhibition Centre!
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You can contact the author of the Model of the Month series here: Autor-MdM