Aviatik
An Alsatian-founded firm that began by copying French aeroplanes in Mülhausen, fled the French border in 1914 and became one of the Kaiser’s key reconnaissance builders before Versailles shut it down.
Aviatik: the company and the aircraft that made its name
Born on the wrong side of the border
Aviatik was founded in December 1909 by the Alsatian Georges Chatel in Mülhausen, then a German city and today Mulhouse in France. Its first aeroplanes were not even its own: the works built French Hanriot monoplanes and Farman biplanes under licence. From 1912 the designer Robert Wild gave the company its own biplanes, starting with the P.13, and they did so well in competitions that the German army ordered 101 of the P.13 and P.14 in 1913. On 1 August 1914, with French guns uncomfortably close, the factory was moved to Freiburg, and in 1916 to new halls at Leipzig-Heiterblick.
The observer sat in front
The war made Aviatik. Its unarmed B.I and B.II two-seaters flew the early reconnaissance sorties, and Italy’s SAML built 410 B.Is under licence. The armed C.I that followed in 1915 became the company’s first true mass-production type, with 548 built by Aviatik and Hannover. Oddly, the C.I seated its observer in front of the pilot, the reverse of every other German C-class machine. It was famous enough that when a British pilot shot one down on 7 November 1915 he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
An Austro-Hungarian twin
Aviatik also had a sibling in Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian Aviatik works, which developed designs of its own. Julius von Berg’s D.I fighter of 1917 was the first locally designed fighter adopted by the Austro-Hungarian air service, and about 700 were built by the firm and its licensees. None of it survived the peace: after the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 the German company did not continue. After the war the Berg D.I flew on with the air forces of Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia.
Aviatik in numbers
The company
- In short
- Founded 1909
- Founded December 1909 in Mülhausen by Georges Chatel
- Moved to Freiburg in 1914 and Leipzig in 1916
- Austro-Hungarian subsidiary in Vienna
Production
- Best known for
- C.I reconnaissance biplane
- B.I and B.II unarmed two-seaters
- C.I: 548 built by Aviatik and Hannover
- Berg D.I fighter: about 700 built in Austria-Hungary
Today
- Now
- Closed 1919
- Did not continue after the Treaty of Versailles
The numbers
- Aviatik C.I built
- 548 (402 by Aviatik, 146 by Hannover)
- Aviatik B.I built under licence in Italy
- 410 by SAML
- Berg D.I built
- about 700
- Pre-war army order
- 101 P.13 and P.141913
Every notable Aviatik aircraft
| Aircraft | Role | First flight | Built | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aviatik P.13 | Two-seat biplane | 1912 | Retired | First Aviatik design of its own, by Robert Wild | |
| Aviatik B.I | Reconnaissance biplane | 1914 | Retired | Unarmed two-seater; 410 licence-built in Italy by SAML | |
| Aviatik B.II | Reconnaissance biplane | Retired | P.15a with a 120 hp engine | ||
| Aviatik C.I | Armed reconnaissance biplane | 1915 | 548 | Retired | First mass-produced Aviatik; observer seated in front |
| Aviatik C.III | Armed reconnaissance biplane | Retired | Developed from the C.I with more power | ||
| Aviatik (Berg) D.I | Fighter | 1917 | about 700 | Retired | Built by the Austro-Hungarian branch to a Julius von Berg design |
Where Aviatik built, who led it, what it achieved
Factories
- Mülhausen works · Mülhausen, Alsace (now Mulhouse, France) — Original factory, 1909–1914
- Freiburg works · Freiburg im Breisgau — Relocated here on 1 August 1914
- Leipzig-Heiterblick works · Leipzig — New facilities from 1916
- Austro-Hungarian Aviatik · Vienna — Subsidiary with its own designs, including the Berg D.I
People
- Georges Chatel · founder — Alsatian who founded the company in December 1909
- Robert Wild · designer — Designed the first Aviatik biplanes from 1912
- Julius von Berg · designer — Designed the Austro-Hungarian D.I fighter
Records and firsts
- First locally designed fighter adopted by the Austro-Hungarian air service: the Berg D.I
- The C.I was the only German C-class type with the observer in the front seat
Aviatik, year by year
Georges Chatel founds Automobil und Aviatik AG in Mülhausen
First own design, the P.13 by Robert Wild, flies
German army orders 101 P.13 and P.14 biplanes
Factory relocated to Freiburg as war begins
C.I armed reconnaissance biplane enters service
A C.I shot down by a British pilot who is awarded the Victoria Cross
Move to new facilities at Leipzig-Heiterblick
Berg D.I fighter enters Austro-Hungarian service
Company does not continue after the Treaty of Versailles
Everything people ask about Aviatik
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Around Aviatik
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Verified 2026-10-03.