In 1916 in Halberstadt, an aircraft was designed that was intended to reverse the tragic situation of crews of two-seat observation aircraft. Such machines, designated with the letter C in Germany, serving as the “eyes of the army,” stood no chance against enemy fighters. For their protection, special escort squadrons (German: Schutzstaffeln) were to be organised, equipped with fast, two-seat fighters with a range matching the long missions of reconnaissance aircraft. This class was designated C-Leicht (light), abbreviated CL.
The product of the Halberstadt Works did not fully meet these requirements: sturdy, streamlined, well-armed (ultimately: 2 fixed machine guns for the pilot and 1 flexible machine gun for the observer with a 360-degree field of fire), it unfortunately had the drawback of a weak Mercedes D.III engine. However, it was sufficiently similar to the single-seat Albatros D.III and Pfalz D.III fighters that many Allied pilots paid dearly for attempting to attack the Halberstadts from behind. Forcing the “mysterious” machine to land on Allied territory solved the mystery. The failure of the Halberstadt CL.II as a fighter began its career as a ground attack aircraft. Assault attacks over the Somme and during the German counter-offensive at Cambrai transformed the would-be escort squadrons into “battle squadrons” (Schlachtstaffeln), while frontline history turned the Halberstadts into “indestructible, armoured aircraft,” which was obviously untrue: the Halberstadt CL.II had a wooden fuselage of semi-monocoque construction with stressed birch plywood skinning and a wooden wing structure covered with fabric.
Only the tail assembly structure, undercarriage legs and struts of the single-bay wing cellule were metal. The upper wing, suspended low above the fuselage, allowed unrestricted fire from the observer’s machine gun, while the shared “bathtub” cockpit ensured good crew cooperation. The 560 machines produced in the parent factory and by the licensee, Bayerische Flugzeuge Werke, left their mark on military aviation history despite average flight characteristics, a weak engine and (contrary to enemy opinion) high vulnerability to gunfire. These shortcomings were also fully confirmed by Polish airmen who used 15 Halberstadts in 1919–1921 – including in the 2nd and 3rd Greater Poland Squadrons. The CL.II Bay specimen with the number 202/18 served for liaison purposes, also operating from the Kraków-Rakowice airfield.
70 years later, on the grounds of the same airfield, the Aviation Museum undertook the restoration of another liaison Halberstadt CL.II with the number 15459/17. This unique specimen served during World War I the Commander-in-Chief of the German Air Force himself – Lt. Gen. von Hoeppner. Until 1943 it was exhibited in the German Aviation Collection, then abandoned on the territory of occupied Poland, where it was found in 1945. Transferred to Kraków in 1963, it survived as the only one in the world – the fuselage together with the tail assembly, engine, undercarriage and canopy. The aircraft was rebuilt here in 1990–1993. The extraordinary camouflage paint scheme was also reconstructed; its remnants are preserved under a layer of washable modern paints.
| Wingspan | 10.8 m |
| Length | 7.3 m |
| Takeoff weight | 1150 kg |
| Maximum speed | 165 km/h |
| Ceiling | 5100 m |
| Range | 450 km |
| Armament | 2 fixed Spandau MG.08/15 machine guns cal. 7.92 mm, 1 flexible Parabellum machine gun cal. 7.92 mm and 50 kg of bombs |
| Engine | 6-cylinder, inline, Mercedes D.III with a power output of 160 hp (118 kW) (the engine was started after overhaul at the Museum) |
