AEG G.IV

AEG G. IV History

German concern AEG (General Electric) delivered another successful war product during the First World War (1914-1918) with its tactical medium bomber G. IV. The aircraft incorporated the advantages of the company's earlier G.I, G.II and G.III models, and the new platform was produced from 1915 to 1918, the last year of the war.

The number of aircraft was sufficient until late 1916, but was able to provide stable service until the end of the war.

When completed, the G. IV model has a traditional twin-engine layout, with a two-wing arrangement and a crew of three. The engines are held in the upper and lower wing assemblies by struts outside the fuselage.

Crews line up in three separate open-air cockpits, sharing views of the surrounding landscape.

Drive is provided by 2 Mercedes D. IVa 6-cylinder water-cooled inline-piston engines, each with 260 hp. This provides a top speed of 103 mph, a service ceiling of 14,760 feet and a mission duration window of approximately 4.5 hours.

The G.IV served the Luftwaffe well over its many years of wartime operations, although its formidable offensive capabilities were partially limited by the inherently limited operational area. The G.IV designation denotes the basic tactical bomber, while the G.IVg is an extended wing shape with an additional bay added to each wing. The G. IVk is a special mission ground attack model - five completed - which is additionally armored and equipped with 2 x 20mm Becker guns for strafing missions.

G. IV bombers were also used for night raids, until the increasing Allied air superiority challenged the bombers and forced them to operate only in low-light conditions, missions with mixed results.

The AEG G.V of May 1918 was originally an improved form of the G.IV, but the war ended before the aircraft entered service.

Nonetheless, the German units equipped with the G.IV recalled an aircraft with excellent performance, strong performance, easy control and a powerful bomb platform. The crews were particularly successful against the Italians on the southern front, and their postwar deployments even included reconnaissance dispatches when necessary.

The G.IV was not exported to German allies, only one survived the last century - preserved at the Canadian Air and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.

AEG G. IV Specification

BASICS

MANUFACTURING

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DIMENSIONS

WEIGHTS

POWER

PERFORMANCE

ARMAMENT

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