History
Description for the photo: The world’s only Aviatik C.III aircraft no. 12250/17, which is at the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow (Czyżyny).
Aviatik in the Polish Army.
In 1919, seven Aviatik C.III planes were seized in Greater Poland. Three copies were used after the war in the Polish Aviation, at the Higher School of Pilots in Ławica. The remaining planes were used as a spare parts warehouse.
On February 4, 1920, lieutenant pilot Wiktor Lang was killed on the Aviatik C.III airplane No. 12342/17.
The only surviving Aviatik C.III plane in the world is located in Poland. The plane is number 12250/17. The plane was found in 1945 near the town of Czarnków on the Noteć River. Probably this plane and others were evacuated from the museum in Berlin so that they would not be damaged during the numerous bombings of the city. Presumably, the planes were to be taken to Konigsberg, which was off the main front line. The Aviatik C.III airplane No. 12250/17 did not have wings and tail which were dismantled for transport. The plane ended up in a depot near Wrocław. In 1993, the plane was restored and moved to a new hangar at the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman