Halberstadt CL.II
Luftstreitkrafte Schlasta 26b, 1918
(Wings of the Great War WW11201)
- Engine: One 160 h.p. Mercedes D.III inline
- Span: 35 ft 4 in
- Length: 24 ft 0 in
- Height: 9 ft 0 in
- Weight: 1,701 lb empty; 2,498 lb loaded
- Crew: Two
- Max Speed: 103 mph at 16,400 ft
- Service Ceiling: 16,600 ft
- Duration: 3 hr
- Armament: One fixed, forward firing Spandau MG, one Parabellum MG14 on ring mount; ten stick grenades, up to five 10 kg mortar bombs
- Notes: The Halberstadt CL.II was a German two-seat escort fighter/ground attack aircraft of World War I. It served in large numbers with the German Luftstreitkrafte (Imperial German Army Air Service) in 1917-18. The Schlachtstaffeln (often abbreviated to Schlastas) were specialized fighter-bomber squadrons. They had their origins in the Schutzstaffeln (escort squadrons, often abbreviated to "Schusta") initially formed to escort reconnaissance aircraft. However during 1917 the Schustas were increasingly frequently employed for ground attack missions and deployed with regular reconnaissance aircraft for what the Allies termed "contact-patrols"; reconnaissance missions at low altitude over the front lines. The aircraft involved in such missions were often subjected to very heavy ground fire, and it became clear to the German High command that new, specialised units and more robust aircraft types were needed for these missions.
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