Albatross D series ....... .....................................................................Specifications
Albatros DV as flown during 1917 by Vizefeldwebel Ernst Clausnitzers of Jasta 4. Note the varnished natural plywood fuselage.
The Albatros D I was designed as a two-gun fighter and manufactured by Albatros Werke, in Johannisthal, Germany near Berlin. It was the first German fighter to carry two guns without loss of performance. The D.I first saw combat on September 17, 1916. Soon the Albatros proved its worth, successfully defeating seven British FE.2b Pusher aircraft. These stunning victories immediately made other fighter aircraft obsolete, and the Albatros class soon became the backbone of the German air service.
The Albatros DI scout was a single-seater biplane, in a tractor design with elegantly curved fuselage, streamlined front, square-tipped wings, upper and lower wings being of almost equal size, with a relatively powerful liquid-cooled engine of 160hp with twin radiators on the sides of the fuselage. The biplane design came about as pilots found the monoplanes of the day didn't have enough lift to enable them to climb quickly out of trouble. With more powerful engines and large biplane wings, the DI and later the DII won air superiority back from the Allied D.H.2 and Nieuport 17 fighters who had in turn, wrested control of the air over the trenches from the Fokker Eindecker in 1915. Some 50 of the D I model were built before production switched to the D II.
The D II was a development of the D I with improved vision from the cockpit through reducing the gap between the upper wing and fuselage and adopting a wider "N" shaped cabane wing side strut. The powerplant was the same as for the D I, the Mercedes 6 cylinder, in line liquid cooled, delivering 160 hp. The radiators, at first as with the DI, were mounted either side of the fuselage. These were replaced later by a single one, mounted flush to the upper wing. The Austro - Hungarian Oeffag company (OEF) also built an example of the D II. These were totally revamped and included many refinements. For one thing the OEF D II was equipped with a strong 185 hp Austro-Daimler engine covered by a metal cowling. The wings had increased wing chord (to 170 cm) and armament was installed inside the fuselage - it was a better plane than its German original. The prototype, marked 53.01 flew for the first time in January 1917. The Austro-Hungarian Fliegerarsenal ordered 50 planes, but finally accepted only 15 (53.02-16), due to the development of the D III in Germany, an even better version of the Albatros D series. This version was also offered to the Austro-Hungarians and those D.II fuselages remaining in the factory were used for D.III planes.
So it was that in April 1917, "Bloody April", with the introduction of the Albatros D III, air superiority was returned to the German airforce over the trenches of the western front. Other factors helped of course, especially the withdrawal of Russian forces from the war after the October Revolution, freeing many pilots for the Western Front. Opposition fighters were also of such poor quality that a well armed aircraft in mass numbers could quite easly win the upper hand. But even then, the D III is arguablly the best of all the D series Albratros scouts to have emerged from World War One (especially in the Austrian OEF version). It was the first of the so called "V" strutters which distingushed it predominantely from the DI and DII versions. It incorporated a version of the Merceded D III engine (the D IIIa) with a higher compression giving better altitude performance. The aircraft had new wings with rounded wing-tips. Also visibilty was significantly improved, forward and downward. Much of this was accomplished by increasing the size of the cutout in the upper wing, raising the upper wing and using a smaller, narrower lower wing. The new strut arrangement with V-struts instead of the conventional paired struts of the D I and D II, also bettered vision for the pilot. How ever this proved to bring hazzards with it, as at first, numerous aircraft were lost when the wing structure failed.
The beautifully streamlined shape was effected by the use of curved sheets of veneer screwed to longirons, to make a very rigid body. Some 446 D IIIs were built and due to the massive order by the German Airforce the parent company in Berlin was unable to cope. As a result the quality also began to suffer. The Ost Albatros Werk (OAW) was there fore drafted in to help in the production. OAW ended up making more aircraft than the parent company and the units, which were dinstingushable by the rounded tail rudder, were also of a higher quality, being involved in less accidents then those from Berlin. It was also deemed nessary to offset the wing radiator to starboard (right) of wing center. The radiator once punctured in battle had a nasty tendency of scalding the pilot in the face with terrible consequences. The Austro - Hungarian OEF also made there own versions of the D III. Structurally improved and powered by the better Austro Daimler engine, these were in three sub models; the 53 with the 185 hp engine, the 153 with the 200 hp engine and the 253 with the 225 hp powerplant. This version, reaching a speed of 202 km/h and was the fastest D series to fly. All ot these were built until 1918 and even saw service in the Czec and Polish air forces after the end of the war as well as with numerous civil operators.
The D IV also appeared in 1917 using an all enclosed, geared engine. However problems with vibrations, which threatened extreme structural damage to the airframe, ment that only a prototype flew and that the project "geared engine" was finally dropped in 1918. How ever from this project emerged a sleek fuselage shape, oval in cross section as opposed to the flat-sided lines of predecessor models, married to the wings of the D I /D II. The fuselage was later used in the D V /DVa series of aircraft.
The upgrade Albatros D.V was introduced near the end of 1917 to try to cope with the new Allied Sopwith Camel and S.E. 5. The D V had the same fuselage as the D IV but with a brand new wing based on that of the D III and a stronger Mercedes engine. Unfortunately, there were structural problems with the lower wing, making it difficult to manoeuvre at times, and also problems occured with the upper wing which often just collapsed.
The D.Va was then introduced, which was basically the same aircraft as the D.V, with some added structural modifications, including an extra strut from the wing leading edge to combat wing flutter which had made the D.V so difficult to manoeuvre. Also modifications to spars in the upper wing were introduced to strengthen it. Gross weight was thus increased as compared to the D V. This ment that any advantage of manoevrablity gained by the D.V over the DIII through a reduction in weight, was lost.
The D.V series were both powered by the Mercedes IIIa, 6 cylinder, water cooled engine with more advanced compression, delivering up to 185 hp. The head rest of the D IV, just behind the pilots seat was also included. This was removed very often by pilots, as it impaired rear view quite considerably. The armament of two Spandau machine guns although potent differed very little from the D.III or from its opponents such as the Sopwith Camel. How ever its strong point was its use in large numbers. More than 1,050 planes were operational by 1918, making it one of the highest production airplanes of the entire war. The DIIIs and DVs were eventually replaced with the superb Fokker DVII, but it was too late in the war to make much difference to the outcome. Despite being outclassed, the Albatros DV /DVa soldiered on right to the very end of the war.
Albatros D.II OEF made by the Austrian manufacturer Oesterreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG. Note the paired "N" wing struts. Note the fully enclosed powerplant. The engine cowling was hand prepaired with emery paper. .
Albatros D.III of Jasta 11 at the height of "Bloody April" in 1917. This aircraft was the mount of lieutenant Hans Hintsch flying from Roucourt, France during April 1917.
Albatross D.V of Jasta 10 in July 1917. This aircraft shows clearly the head rest behind the pilots seat. It was more often than not removed as it impaired rear vision. On later machines this feature eas completely omitted.
Albatros D.V of Jasta 11, June 1917. Flown by Manfred von Richthofen although he was more famous for his red Fokker Triplane, in which he died in 1918. The myth of "The knight in a shinning red aeroplane" is here totally out of place. The air war of 1914-18 was anything but glourious. The aircraft here has a thin, hurriedly overpainted covering of red over dark green and mauve underneath. Note how the national insignia on fuselage, tail and wings have also just been dabbed over !!
Albatros D.Va of Jasta 18. This mark had a more powerful engine and structural modifications including a small brace to the forward strut on the wing to contain the problem of wing flutter. Note also the crudely applied national markings. This aircraft was flown by Lieutenant Hans Müller.
Albatros D.III 253 as seen in 1920. One of many Albatros D.III aircraft which saw service in Poland after the war. This one is of the famous Polish Kosciuszko Squadron during the struggle with the Russian Bolsheviks in the 1920s. the sub type 253, made by the Austrian OEF had the strongest engine of any Albatros D rated at 225 hp. The aircraft also had a completely redesigned nose.