Source: Author's collection
Military aviation in 1918 was, in many respects, a far cry from where it was in 1914. Aircraft were faster, more maneuverable, better armed, and more reliable. Aerial observation was a role aircraft fulfilled throughout World War I where the “eye in the sky” conducted reconnaissance on enemy positions and movements, served as spotters for artillery, and other tasks. Such missions were fraught with danger as the deployment of aircraft in roles which brought them close to the enemy meant the enemy developed the means to destroy them. By 1918, the advances of anti-aircraft weapons from ad-hoc solutions to dedicated anti-aircraft guns made the skies hazardous. In 1917, the Inspektion der Fliegertruppen (abbreviated to Idflieg; Inspectorate of Flying Troops) introduced the “J-class” of aircraft which were armored dual-role liaison/ground attack airplanes fitted with armor plate to reduce their vulnerability to ground fire. Typically, J-class planes were simply existing models with added armor. However, there was one such plane whose features would herald future ground attack aircraft: the Junkers J.I.
In the photograph, a British soldier casts his gaze on the remains of a Junkers J.I (or it could be in the process of being scrapped postwar) and the wreckage amply displays the key features of the J.I. The J.I was of all-metal construction but as can be clearly seen, the J.I incorporated a fully armored “bathtub” which encompassed the 200hp Benz Bz.IV engine, pilot, and the observer. The armor, 5mm thick, also protected the fuel tanks and radio equipment. Other features which were designed to improve survivability included push-rod and bell cranks to operate the flight control surfaces instead of the usual steel cabling and a gravity feed fuel tank which enabled continued fuel flow to the engine in case the fuel pump failed. If the fuel in the gravity tank was exhausted, the J.I had a manual fuel pump the observer could use to move fuel from the main tanks into the engine.
For defensive armament, the observer had a rear firing, flexible mounted 7.92mm MG14 machine-gun with five ammunition drums of 200 rounds each. The J.I could also be fitted with two downward firing machine-guns when deployed as a ground attack craft though this was rarely done.
The first J.I aircraft were taken into service in August of 1917 with the first combat deployment occurring during Germany’s Spring Offensive (Kaiserschlacht; Kaiser’s Battle) which commenced in March 1918. Crews of the J.I nicknamed it the “Möbelwagen” (“Furniture Van”) due to the sluggish handling but they appreciated the protection. Source depending, either no J.I aircraft were lost to enemy fire or only a single J.I was brought down, the French claiming one from an anti-aircraft machine-gun firing armor piercing ammunition. In all, 227 J.I aircraft were built.
