AEG G.I

{{Short description|Biplane bomber aircraft model}} {{Infobox aircraft |name = AEG K.I and G.I |image = File:AEG G.I.jpg |caption = |type = Bomber |national_origin = Germany |manufacturer = AEG |designer = |first_flight = January 1915 |introduction = |retired = |status = |primary_user = ''Luftstreitkräfte'' |more_users = |produced = |number_built = 2 |program cost = |unit cost = |developed_from = |variants = |developed_into = AEG G.II }}

The '''AEG G.I''' (factory designation GZ1) was a prototype twin-engined German biplane built by the {{lang|de|Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft}} (AEG) during the First World War for the Imperial German Army's ({{lang|de|Deutsches Heer}}) Imperial German Air Service ({{lang|de|Luftstreitkräfte}}). The first prototype was designated as the '''K.I'''. Flight testing showed that it performed well enough to justify a second, more heavily armed, prototype designated as the G.I for testing under combat conditions.

==Development== The G.I was conceived as a battleplane ({{lang|de|Kampfflugzeug}}) or aerial cruiser that was to be capable of engaging enemy aircraft with its flexible machine guns as well as attacking ground targets. The Imperial German Air Service's Inspectorate of Flying Troops ({{lang|de|Inspektion der Fliegertruppen}}, or {{lang|de|Idflieg}}) issued a requirement in July 1914 for a three-man battleplane with enough fuel to fly for six hours, a flexible gun for the aerial observer in the nose, the ability to lift a useful load of {{convert|450|kg|sp=us}} and an engine with a minimum of {{convert|200|hp|sp=us}}.<ref>Herris 2014, p. 156</ref><ref>Herris 2015, p. 92</ref><ref>Grosz, p. 2</ref>

No engine that powerful was available in Germany, so AEG had to use two water-cooled, {{convert|100|hp|lk=on|adj=on|sp=us}} Mercedes D.I straight-six piston engines in a tractor configuration. These were mounted on struts located between the two-bay wings. The K.I's fuselage was built from steel tubing and its nose was protected by thin armor plate to protect the gunner; the rest of the fuselage was covered by doped fabric. The pilot's cockpit was located underneath the upper wing. The aircraft made its first flight in January 1915. {{lang|de|Idflieg}}'s designation system had changed from K to G for multi-engined aircraft by the time that the G.I was ordered for combat trials. That aircraft was completed in March and differed from the K.I in that it had two gunners, one in the nose and the other behind the pilot's cockpit. Some parts from the K.I may have been incorporated into the second prototype. The G.I was shipped from the factory to a combat unit on 24 April.<ref>Herris 2015, pp. 92–93</ref>

==Specifications (AEG G.I)== {{Aircraft specs |ref=German Aircraft of the First World War;<ref>Gray & Thetford, p. 238</ref> A.E.G. Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes<ref>Herris 2015, p. 91</ref> |prime units?=met  |crew=3 |length m=8.65 |length note= |upper span m=16 |lower span m=15.2 |height m= |height note= |wing area sqm=61 |wing area note= |airfoil= |empty weight kg=1160 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg=1610 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general=  |eng1 number=2 |eng1 name=Mercedes D.I |eng1 type=water-cooled straight-six piston engines |eng1 hp= 100

|prop blade number=2 |prop name= |prop dia m= |prop dia note=  |max speed kmh=125 |max speed note= |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed note= |range km= |range note= |combat range km= |combat range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling m= |ceiling note= |climb rate ms= |climb rate note= |time to altitude=10–12 minutes to {{cvt|1000|m}} |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |power/mass= |thrust/weight= |more performance=  |guns= 2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) machine gun in flexible mounts |bombs=small bombs }}

==See also== {{aircontent| |related= *AEG G.II |similar aircraft= *Friedrichshafen G.I *Gotha G.I |lists= |see also= }}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== {{commons category}} * {{cite book|author1-last=Gray|author1-first=Peter|title=German Aircraft of the First World War|orig-year=1970|year=1987 |publisher=Putnam |location=London|isbn=0-85177-809-7|edition=2nd|author2-first=Owen|author2-last=Thetford|name-list-style=amp}} * {{cite book |last=Grosz |first=Peter M. |year=2000 |series=Windsock Datafile |title=Gotha G.I |publisher=Albatros Productions |location=Berkhamsted, UK |isbn=1-902207-25-4|volume=83}} *{{cite book |last1=Herris |first1=Jack |title=Rumpler Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes |date=2014 |publisher=Aeronaut Books |location=n.p. |isbn=978-1-935881-21-6|series=Great War Aviation Centennial Series|volume=11}} *{{cite book |last1=Herris |first1=Jack |title=A.E.G. Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes |date=2015 |publisher=Aeronaut Books |location=n. p. |isbn=978-1-935881-28-5|series=Great War Aviation Centennial Series|volume=16}} *{{cite book |last1=Kroschel |first1=Günter |last2=Stützer |first2=Helmut |title=Die deutschen Militärflugzeuge 1910–1918: in 127 Vierseitenrissen im Massstab 1:144 |date=1977 |publisher=Lohse-Eissing |location=Wilhelmshaven, West Germany |isbn=3-920602-18-8 |language=de|trans-title=German Military Aircraft 1910-1918: In 127 Four-page Drawings to 1:144 Scale|name-list-style=amp}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aeg G.I}} G.I Category:1910s German bomber aircraft Category:Biplanes Category:Aircraft first flown in 1915 Category:Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear

AEG G.I

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