Albatros D.II - Foreign Users

We keep going with the Albatros fighter series. This time we deal with the foreign users of the D.II.

The Albatros D.II was a German fighter, an evolution of the D.I intended to solve the poor upward visibility issues by repositioning the upper wing closer to fuselage and slightly forward and re-arranging the cabane struts. Otherwise, it was basically the same aircraft as the D.I.

We have to note that at least three variants of this airplane existed:

• D.II Early production model: The initial production version with the upper repositioned in order to achieve better upward visibility and Windhoff 'Ear' radiators on the sides. 
• D.II Late production model: The late production model had the Windhoff radiators removed and replaced by a Teves und Braun type radiator placed on the center of the upper wing. This was done because the German Inspectorate for flying troops banned the usage of 'ear' radiators due to their position at a lower level than the crankcase of the engine they were intended to cool down. 
• Oeffag Va.53/Oeffag series 53: License built Austrian version of the D.II featuring it's own engine, a 138Kw (185hp) Austro-Daimler engine which was intended to achieve better results than the standard Mercedes D.III. It was manufactured during a brief period of time before switching production to the more advanced Albatros D.III. However, as the Austrian D.III proved, the Austro-Daimler engine, with the cylinder heads covered by a cowling proved to be much more suitable for winter operations.

It was employed by the following nations:

• Austro-Hungarian Empire: As we have said, Oeffag produced 16 examples before switching the production to the Albatros D.III. It should be noted that those 16 airplanes were unarmed since they were intended to be equipped with an fuselage-integrated Schwarzlose machine gun. The fate of those 16 airplanes it's unknown. Most probably they were reconverted into Albatros D.III
• United Kingdom: The Royal Flying Corps manage to capture at least one D.II and used it for testing purposes.
• Lithuania: After the Germans retreated from the baltic area many of the leftover airplanes were pressed into service in the newly created countries. It probably saw action at the Lithuanian war of Independence. (1918-1920)
• Ottoman Empire: The 6.Boluk (6th Squadron) was composed entirely by German pilots. It was equipped with D.II until the armistice and it saw action in the famous battle of Gallipolli.
• Poland: As Lithuania, some leftovers were taken over and pressed into service with the newly created Polish Air Force. Although liked by the pilots, it was outdated and, just as the Albatros D.III, it was used in the ground attack role during the Polish-Soviet war.