Typical armament of the series became a sole 7.92mm Spandau machine gun in a fixed, forward-firing position over the nose and controlled by the pilot. This required use of "interrupter" gear to synchronized the machine gun's rate-of-fire to that of the spinning propeller blade so as to not shoot off a blade in action. The Germans were the first to perfect such hardware and it was immediately followed by an Allied version of the same concept. A 7.92mm Parabellum machine gun was fitted on a ring system at the rear cockpit for the observer/rear gunner. When called to the bombing role, the C.II was cleared for up to 4 x 28lb drop bombs held externally underneath the aircraft.
Introduced in early 1916, the C.II was pressed into service alongside many German aircraft types - those obsolete, some modern, and others of all-new designs mixed into the German Air Service in an attempt to gain the upper hand against the Allied offensives. Control of the skies shifted multiple times during the war - such was the impression of technology pressed upon the war, a single development could render an enter class of aircraft obsolete within weeks of introduction.
Pilots judged the performance of their new C.IIs as strong though they held some reserve about the handling aspects of the aircraft . The wings were a major sticking point as they rendered visibility quite limited from both seating positions, particularly for the pilot when attempting to view the oncoming terrain ahead and below his aircraft. However, the C.II was a naturally fast aeroplane and could simply outrun most aerial threats of the day while ground-based fire had to struggle to train in on the fast aircraft. If an Allied warplane attempted an attack on the C.II series aircraft, it was suggested that it attack the aircraft from above if possible - under the element of surprise. The only other vulnerable attack angle was from underneath though this was a tricky-to-achieve affair. During the war, the C.II undertook various reconnaissance-minded sorties and also managed light bombing and fighter escort missions as called. Within time, the C.II line suffered what other World War 1 aircraft suffered to have it removed from frontline service - it was simply superseded by more capable types before the end of the war in 1918.
The German Air Service took on the C.II through the original base reconnaissance two-seated "C.II" form. This mark was powered by a single Mercedes D.III water-cooled inline engine of 160 horsepower. Performance figures included a maximum speed of 103 miles per hour, a service ceiling of 13,125 feet, and a rate-of-climb of approximately 545 feet-per-minute. The inline engine allowed use of a streamlined spinner on the propeller blade unit, keeping the general profile of the C.II very smooth.
In time, engineers exacted some changes to the base design to produce the "C.IIa" mark which introduced stronger wingtip sections and an enlarged vertical tail fin for better control. The "C.III" was an evolved version of the line fitting a Benz Bz.IV 6-cylinder, liquid-cooled inline engine of 200 horsepower with revised, two-bay wings.
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