Idflieg aircraft designation system

The Idflieg (Inspektion der Fliegertruppen/Inspectorate of Flying Troops) designation system was used to classify German heavier-than-air military (as opposed to naval) aircraft from the early days of the Fliegertruppe/Luftstreitkräfte to the end of World War I.

The "Rs" (giant seaplane), and "CLs" (two-seater seaplane) designations of the Zeppelin-Lindau company are examples, as are the unofficial "Dr" designations of the experimental Euler triplanes, which remained prototypes and were never officially named.

[2] Airships were outside either system, being individually numbered in the same way as German destroyers and submarines, mostly in the "L" series.

[3] As well as serving to identify types, Idflieg class letters were normally included as part of German aircraft serial number markings.

The system ceased to apply with the end of German military aviation following the Armistice; in the nineteen twenties and thirties, although the Fokker company gave its new military types "Idflieg" style numbers, to continue war-time sequences.