Who sat in front in the Aviatik B.I?

Short answer

The observer: in the Aviatik B.I the crew sat in open cockpits arranged in tandem, and the front position was theirs. The type came from the P.15, which from September 1915 was designated B.I in its P.15b version, with a 100 hp engine, and B.II in the P.15a, with a 120 hp engine.

Published: November 4, 2026 · Updated: November 4, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Aviatik B I (2)

The observer, in the front seat

The crew of the Aviatik B.I sat in open cockpits arranged in tandem, with the observer in the front position.

From the P.13 to the B.I

The first of Aviatik's own biplane designs was the P.13, the work of Robert Wild, which flew between April and May 1912. An improved design followed with the 1913 P.14, with two and a half smaller wing sections and aerodynamic and structural refinements. The German air force became interested in Aviatik's aircraft and ordered 101 P.13s and P.14s in 1913. Later a more refined final design was built, the P.15, with two- or three-bay wings and a fin. From September 1915 the P.15-type aircraft were redesignated B.I, in the case of the P.15b with a 100 hp engine, or B.II, in the case of the P.15a, with a 120 hp engine.

Italian licence and locations

The B.I was manufactured in large numbers under licence in Italy by Società Aeronautica Meccanica Lombardia (SAML), which built 410 examples. The Aviatik company had been established in Mülhausen, now in France, in 1909. In 1914 it moved to Freiburg.