Imperial Conoilithian Air Corps

The Imperial Conoilithian Air Corps was the air force of the Conoilithian Empire's military, established shortly after the beginning of the Conoilithian-Mittelrijkian War. It was mainly used in reconnaissance and bombing roles to support the Imperial Conoilithian Army during the war against Mittelrijk, and also against Arjentrian rebels for a brief period.

AIRCRAFT
The Imperial Conoilithian Air Corps' inventory of flying machines mainly consisted of observation balloons, airships and biplanes.

Initially, the observation balloons were used exclusively for reconnaissance and spotting for field artillery, although later in the war balloon crews carried machine-guns with them to try and shoot at Mittelrijkian troops on the ground.

The earlier airships were developed for scouting and observation purposes. However, Conoilithian officers recognised their potential, and soon airships were developed for bombing roles, whether it be targeting Mittelrijkian defensive positions on the front lines, or bombing enemy bases and production centres. These would be the pride of the Imperial Conoilithian Air Corps, with the Conoilithians purportedly producing 215 airships of different 'classes' by the war's end. The most famous were the Naerrad class and the Imperial class airships (airships were named and classified like naval vessels), a scout/light bomber and a long-ranged heavy bomber respectively.

The Conoilithians even experimented with heavy airships that acted like battleships in the sky, with sponsons and turrets carrying cannons mounted onto them, although these designs proved impractical and sluggish in performance, though they definitely stunned and impressed viewers during parades and airshows, and were able to score around a couple dozen kills against Mittelrijkian airships. The most powerful of these designs were the Naerankor class airships, which carried four 75mm cannons aboard, more than capable of ripping through and destroying Mittelrijkian airships.

The biplanes were developed last in the second half of the war, as the airships and observation balloons proved too slow, cumbersome and most importantly expensive for Conoilithian High Command's needs, along with their vulnerability to Mittelrijkian interceptors aircraft, which could fire incendiary rounds specially made to set dirigeables alight. The most common variant was a two-seater constructed from fabric stretched over a light wooden frame, with a pilot and spotter, called nicknamed the 'Arkar' ('Northern Eagle'). In the later stages of the Conoilithian-Mittelrijkian War, these biplanes would carry bombs that could be dropped by the spotter over enemy positions in a ground-attack role, although they were far outclassed by Mittelrijkian fixed-wing aircraft. The Conoilithians failed to develop a purpose-made fighter that could effectively counter Mittelrijkian interceptors by the end of the war.