AEG PE

The AEG PE (factory designation Panzer Einsitzer – "armoured one-seater") was a prototype triplane fighter built by the Template:Lang (AEG) during the First World War for the Imperial German Army's (Template:Lang) Imperial German Air Service (Template:Lang). It was intended to attack enemy ground-attack aircraft at low level within range of anti-aircraft defenses. The aircraft began flight testing in late 1917, but it was rejected on the grounds of poor flight characteristics.

Development

Documentation on the PE is lacking, but aviation historian Jack Herris believes that it was inspired by the head of the Inspectorate of Flying Troops (Template:Lang (Template:Lang), Lieutenant-Colonel (Template:Lang) Wilhelm Siegert, who believed in "specialized aircraft to fulfill specific roles".<ref name=h3/> The aircraft was an armored fighter designed to attack enemy aircraft at low level and needed to be able survive hits by anti-aircraft guns. To this purpose the PE's fuselage had integral armor that protected the pilot, the engine and the fuel tank. The rear portion of the fuselage was built from aluminium while the two-bay wing structure was constructed from the company's usual steel-tube spars. The aircraft used a water-cooled Template:Convert Benz Bz.IIIb V8 engine. It was armed with a pair of forward-firing Template:Cvt LMG 08/15 machine guns and could carry four small bombs.<ref name=h3/><ref name=g5/>

A document dated 21 October 1917 states that AEG was developing an armored fighter with the factory designation of PE. Another document states that the flying trials were expected to be completed in December. In March 1918 the aircraft reached a height of Template:Cvt in 48 minutes and the test pilot reported that it was easy to fly, but not fast. Template:Lang ordered that work on the PE should be canceled two months later because of "poor flight characteristics". AEG used the same fuselage design in its DJ.I biplane.<ref>Herris, pp. 83–84</ref>

Bibliography

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