Alekseyev I-216

We start this week with an unbuilt variant of the Alekseyev I-215.

The Alekseyev I-216 was a ground attack variant of the Alekseyev I-215.
It was designed to carry a pair of 75mm Nudelmann H-76 guns in the nose and, in order to do so, the wings would have needed to be redesigned.

Apparently it would've been powered by the same license-built Rolls-Royce Derwent that powered the I-215.

Something is certain, if this airplane would've been completed and flown, it would've been, for its', time the fighter with the biggest artillery guns in the world.

Sources:
1. http://survincity.com/2012/05/transformer-alexeev-i-211-215-216-okb-21-fighter/

Alekseyev I-215

This Sunday we dedicate it to write about a development of the previously posted Alekseyev I-211.

The Alekseyev I-215 was a Soviet fighter which used a license-built Rolls-Royce Derwent engine (the same ones that the Gloster Meteor used), instead of the original Lyulka TR-1. Even if it seemed difficult at first, it proved to be just the opposite, it proved to be very easy to replace the engines and the larger diameter compressor of the Brisith engine forward of the leading edge.

That's why, apart from the engines and the redesigned wings, the I-211 was virtually identical to the I-211 and it was flown for the first time on 31st December 1947.

The Derwent engines gave a thrust of 1590kgp each, solving the lack of power of the I-211 and, as the original I-211 wings started cracking with these new engines, new, more aerodynamical wings replaced the original ones. The central section was also modified in order to strength it up and, when a second prototype, named I-215D, was completed, it featured a bycicle style arrangement for the undercarriage.

It was flown for the first in the spring of 1948 and, it seems that the test results were good enough that the Kremlin gave it the green light to start producing it. However, for reasons that aren't very clear, the OKB-21 (the Alekseyev Design Bureau) was disbanded and the airplanes were never mass-produced.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. http://survincity.com/2012/05/transformer-alexeev-i-211-215-216-okb-21-fighter/

Alekseyev I-211/DB-83

Today we continue with the Alekseyevs' fighters and now it's the time for a never built project of them.

The Alekseyev I-211/DB-83 was a never-built project in order to create an escort fighter using the fuselage of the I-211.

Featuring the same amount of fuel and the much more economical piston engines, which by the mid-40s they had been perfected to a point that they were very reliable, it was obvious that the Soviet Air Force needed an escort fighter in order to protect their bombers, mainly the Tupolev Tu-4 (which was a copy of the American B-29 Superfortress).

Alekseyev proposed to attach two 1850hp Shvetsov radial engines to the wings (the same type of engine that the Lavochkin La-9 had) , instead of the jet engines.

Anyway, the project never went beyond the paper as the escort role was already performed by the Lavochkin La-9/La-11 or even some early reliable jet fighters like the MiG-9.

Sources:
1. http://survincity.com/2012/05/transformer-alexeev-i-211-215-216-okb-21-fighter/

Alekseyev I-211

We start with a new nation in our symbols: The USSR.

The Alekseyev I-211 was a twin jet-engined soviet fighter developed from 1946 until 1948.

After having worked in the Lavochkin design bureau, the designer Semyon M. Alekseyev received permission to stablish his own design bureau in September 1946.
The first design of this newly stablished bureau was a single-seat fighter powered by two 1365Kgp Lyulka TR-1 axial-flow turbojets. Named the I-211, it had its' maiden flight in the autumn of 1947 but, considering that the engines were only performing at around 70% of their power, even if the handling was highly satifactory.

It was proposed to be armed with three 37mm cannons or two 52mm ones, but, apparently, they were never installed as they were expecting the better TR-1A engines which would be fitted in the second prototype, which was also kwnown as the I-215.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alekseyev_I-21
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Alcock A.1

The Alcock A.1 AKA Alcock Scout AKA Sopwith Mouse (unofficial designation), was a British curious fighter that was made-up from other fighter spare parts.

It was assembled by Flight Lieutenant John Alcock (who, after the war would become famous for performing the first non-stop trans-atlantic flight flying a modified Vickers Vimy from Newfoundland to Ireland) at Moudros, a Royal Naval Air Service base in the Aegean sea,  which was used to perform air raids against the Ottoman Empire.

Alcock took the lower wings from a Sopwith Triplane, the upper wings from a Sopwith Pup, and both the tailplane and elevators from a Sopwith Camel and joined them to a fuselage design of his own.

It was powered by a 110hp Clerget 9Z engine and was armed with a single Vickers 0.303 machine-gun.

As we previously said, it was commonly known as the Sopwith Mouse by the pilots based in Moudros. Alcock never flew his own creation, but one of his fellow pilot did, the FSL Norman Starbuck piloted in various missions, mainly in escort role. The first fly was 15th October 1917 and, unfortunately, it crashed on early 1918 and was written-off.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcock_Scout
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
3. http://warnepieces.blogspot.com.es/2011/09/alcock-a1-unofficially-called-sopwith.html

Albree Pigeon-Fraser Pursuit

Today we leave Germany and we move to the USA in order to present you the very first of the 'pursuit' designated airplanes. It should be pointed that the official 'pursuit' designation for fighters was kept for a very long time.

The Pigeon-Fraser was the first dedicated pursuit airplane ordered by the United States Government.
Designed by George N. Albree, it was manufactured by the Pigeon Hollow Spar Company in East Boston, Massachusetts. The first two airplanes were intended to serve in the Aviation Section of the US Army Signal Corps but, after performing some testing at McCook field, it wasn't found to be suitable for army service and they were rejected.

Of those two airplanes, it's believed that one of them was just a static mockup to perform test without any risks. Apparently that first one was tested until it broke up.
The second one, however it seems that it crashed on it's maiden flight in December 1917, but if that piece of information is correct, it seems to contradict the fact that it was tested in McCook field, unless the tests performed there were non-flying ones.
Anyway, a third airplane was partially completed but it was kept inside the rafters of the Pigeon Hollow Spar Company after the contract was cancelled because the airplane was considered too old-fashioned, unrealiable and slow in comparison with the other fighter airplanes of those years. It was keep there until 1961 when it was bought by an aeronautical museum.

Even if it wasn't a successful design, it should be noted that it included a flat-bottomed airfoil, a completely moveable tail and the entire aft fuselage was also hinged so it could be moved up and down to control pitch.

It was powered by a single 100hp Gnôme Monosoupape (French word for single-valve) engine.

Sources:
1. http://www.airminded.net/pigeon/pigeon.html
2. http://oldrhinebeck.org/ORA/albree-pigeon-fraser-pursuit/

Albatros L.84

Today we finish with the last Albatros fighter aircraft that was completed before the company was taken over by Focke-Wulf.

The Albatros L.84 was a German two-seater biplane fighter that flew for the first time in 1931.

It was powered by a water-cooled 660hp BMW VIu 12 cylinder engine and the fuselage was covered in fabric made by welded steel tubes. The wings were made out of wood and were skinned in plywood. It was armed with a total of three 7,92 machine-guns, two forward firing ones and a third one placed in a ring at the observers ' position. Only one airplane was completed by Albatros Flugzeugwerke before being amalgamated into Focke-Wulf and it was destroyed during a flight test, in fact of the five airplanes manufactured, four were made by Focke-Wulf.
A second airplane was modified in order to instal a modified cooling-system.

Initially, the Reichswehr ordered 12 airplanes but the order was cancelled after only three of them were completed. Of those three, one was powered by a Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIIS, the L.84E and another one, the L.84F featured a more advanced version of the BMWVIu engine with a fuel-injection system.
At least one of them was sold to the Chinese Kuomintang government, but, as we couldn't find graphical evidence of this, that drawing should be considered specultative.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_L_84
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters.

Albatros L.77v

Nice new week for all our readers. This time we bring you another clandestine Albatros fighter.

The Albatros L.77v was a German two-seat reconnaissance-fighter biplane manufactured under license for Albatros Flugzeugwerke by the Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke.
They were completed in 1928 and were heavily based on the previous L.76 design which was an unarmed two-seater reconnaissance biplane.

It was powered by a 600hp BMW VI water cooled V12 engine, and like its predecessor it was covered by a fabric-covered welded-steel fuselage and wooden dual-spar wings with plywood skin supported by N-type struts.
It was armed by a pair 7,92mm forward-firing machine-guns and complemented by another ring-mounted one in the observer position.

The airplanes tested in Germany were flown unarmed due to the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty but the ones used in Lipetsk, USSR, were flown with armament, which some sources claim that at least one airplane was flow with a free-mounted 20mm cannon and other claim that it could carry 2 50Kg bombs.
Anyway, one of the L.77v was destroyed while performing flying tests in March 1929, while the rest were sent to Lipetsk for armament evaluation. In December 1929 they were taken back to the Staaken test centre, in Berlin and were written-off in October 1931.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_L_77v
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
3. http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/albatros_l-77v.php

Albatros L.65/Memel A.F.G. 1

We have included this flag because, as Germany was forbidden to own an air force/air corps, every warplane manufactured (clandestinely) was, organically dependant of the Reichswehr, the armed forces of the German Republic.

The Albatros L.65, AKA Memel A.F.G.1 was a German/Lithuanian two-seat reconnaissance fighter airplane of the mid-1920s.

Under the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany couldn't have an air force or air corps, so, in order to evade those restrictions, the Albatros Flugzeugwerke stablished a subsidiay company in Lithuania called Allgemeine Flug-Gesellschaft Memel located in the Lithuanian city of Memel, hence the secondary name of this airplane.

Two prototypes were built and both of them were made out of wood and were covered in plywood skin in an staggered biplane configuration. Wings were joinced by interplane I-struts of broad aerofoil cross-section.
The first prototype was powered by a 450hp 12-cylinder Napier Lion engine, while the second one used the same up-powered version of the same engine, which had a power of 565hp.

The first prototype was demonstrated to General Kraucevicius, who was the chief of the Lithuanian Air Force at the time, as the airplane that would be the first native Lithuanian aircraft, but it wasn't followed by any acquisition order from the Lithuanian government.
The second prototype was evaluated by the Reichswehr, in order to equip the clandestine flying school located in Lipetsk, USSR, but the better Heinkel HD.17 was choosen.

 Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_L_65
2. Salamander Books - The Complete book of fighters
3. http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/McBrideBill/11500.htm

Albatros D.XII

Here we go again, this time with the last Albatros fighter designed in the first World War.

The Albatros D.XII was a German single-seat fighter prototype that was flown for the first time in March 1918.

As we said, it was the last Albatros fighter that was completed and flown before the end of the Great War and shared the same slab-sided fuselage of its' predecessor, the Albatros D.X.

Two prototypes were built, the first onem completed in March 1918 was powered by a 180hp Mercedes D.IIIa engine and featured balanced parallel-chord ailerons, whilst the second one, completed just one month later, in April 1918 featured unbalanced inversely tapered ailerons and some relatively new feature in the undercarriage: pneumatic shock absorbers. This second prototype, was, at first, powered by the previous Mercedes D.IIIa engine but later was refitted with the 185hp BMW. IIIa in order to take part in the Adlershof Type-D contest held in October 1918. Due to the armistice, no further development was carried-out.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.XII
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Albatros Dr.II

New day, new entry. In this case we deal with a triplane.

The Albatros Dr.II was a German single-seat triplane fighter prototype developed during the very late stages of the World War I.

The Dr.II was a triplane variant of the previous Albatros D.X which, in fact was powered by the same engine, the 195hp Benz Bz.IIIbo engine and was armed by the usual pair of 7,92mm LMG08/16 machine-guns.

Regarding the design, all three wings had ailerons and these were of parallel chord, heavily staggered and were braced by broad I-struts.

The prototype was flown during the spring 1918 and, given that the parent airplane, the Albatros D.X, was discontinued due to the failure at winning the D-Type contest, this one was also discontinued.


Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_Dr.II
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Albatros D.X

We keep going with another of Albatros prototype.

The Albatros D.X was a German single-seat fighter prototype that was developed in 1918 in parallel to the Albatros D.IX. In fact, it used the same slab-sided flat-bottomed fuselage as the later one, albeit slightly modified.

It was powered by a 195hp Benz Bz.IIIbo water-cooled V8 engine which proved to be better than the previous Mercedes D.IIIa straight-six installed in the D.IX.
It was armed with the usual pair of 7,92mm LMG 08/16 forward-firing machine-guns.

It took part in the D-Type contest held at Adlershof, in June 1918 but the development ceased after that event.
A pity, because of all the Albatros late fighter prototypes, this one seems to have been the most successful one.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.X
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Albatros D.IX

This post comes later than usual.

The Albatros D.IX was a German fighter prototype built in early 1918. It was the first Albatros design to feature a slab-sided flat-bottmed fuselage and both the wings and the tail surfaces were identical to those of the Albatros D.VII.

It was powered by the 180hp Daimler D.IIIa engine and was armed with the usual pair of 7,92mm LMG08/15 machine-guns.

The only prototype was flown in early 1918 and the performance was found to be very dissappointing. Further development was discontinued.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.IX
2. Salamander Books - The complete book of fighters

Albatros D.VII

We keep posting Albatros airplanes.

The Albatros D.VII was a German biplane prototype fighter that flown for the first time in August 1917.

It was powered by a 195hp eight-cylinder water-cooled Benz Bz.IIIb Vee engine and was armed with the usual German pair of 7.92mm machine-guns.

It had ailerons on both upper and lower wings and it had were linked by hinged struts.

When tested, the performance was considered insufficient and further development was cancelled.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.VII
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Albatros Dr.I

New week, new airplane.

The Albatros Dr.I was a triplane variant of the Albatros D.V and identical to that other one in many aspects.
It featured three pairs of wings and was flown for the first time in the summer of 1917 and was flown side by side with an Albatros D.V in order to compare it.

It was also powered by a Mercedes D.IIIa and, given that the advantage, compared to the D.V wasn't significant or, even discernible the development was abandoned and it never went beyond the prototype stage. It was armed with the usual pair of 7,92mm LMG 08 machine-guns which was very present in many German airplanes.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_Dr.I
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Albatros D.VI

This is another special post because it isn't accompanied by any pic as there isn't any photo of this airplane and much less blueprints or line drawings. A true pity because, according to the text descriptions, it seemed it was (or, as some sources claim it was never completed) a very interesting design.

Apparently and according both to the Complete book of fighters and wikipedia (which uses the first as source), the D.VI was a twin boom single-seat pusher fighter which was powered by a 180hp Daimler D.IIIa engine built in August 1917 but, due to the lack of a suitable radiator, it wasn't until February 1918 that was completed and when the prototype was flown for the first time.

It seems that it was armed with a single 7.92mm LMG 08/15 machine gun and, maybe the most interesting feature together with the pusher configuration, it was armed with a 20mm Becker Type M2 cannon.

It seems that, when the prototype was tested, the undercarriage was seriously damaged on landing and the project was abandoned, but in September 1918 Albatros proposed to the Idflieg to reactivate the project named as the "special cannon fighter".
Taking into account the characteristics of the fighter, like the pusher configuration, the single machine-gun and the installation of the cannon, we think it's safe to assume that it was going to be a multi-role ground-attack airplane with aerial defence capabilities, probably inspired by other successful identical airplanes like the Halberstadt CL.II. But then, why the Idflieg assigned the D letter, assigned to pure fighters without dedicated ground-attack capabilities and didn't assign the CL letters reserved for those fighter-sized airplanes with dedicated ground-attack equipment?

Considering that there aren't no known photos, there isn't any scale or line drawings so we couldn't draw it.

The technical data for this airplane is as follows:

• Crew: 1
• Length: 7.75m
• Wingspan: 9.8m
• Empty weight: 638Kg.
• Gross weight: 880Kg.
• Powerplant: 1x 180hp Daimler D.IIIa engine
• Armament: 1x fixed 20mm Becker type M2 Cannon plus 1x fixed 7.92mm LMG 08/15

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.VI
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
3. Windsock Datafiles Specials - Albatros Experimentals - Forgotten Fighters 1

Albatros D.V - German users, part five

And with this post we finish the series of posts dedicated to this German fighter.

The D.V entered service in May 1917 and, just like it's predecessor, it suffered from structural malfunctions specially in the lower wing. In fact, accounts from the pilots suggest that it was more prone to failing than the D.III. Same thing happened with the outboard sections of the upper wings, which was solved by adding more wire bracing.

Besides, the performance offered by the D.V was very small in comparisson with the one offered by the D.III, which caused dismay in the German pilots, making them reluctant to fly these one and sticking to their old D.III.

In fact, the famous German Top Ace, Manfred von Richtofen loathed the new aircraft by stating in a letter that this new aircraft was "so obsolete and so ridiculously inferior the the English that one can't do anything with this aircraft". When the British captured a D.V, the flying tests showed it to be slow to maneouver, heavy to control and tiring to fly.

In order to improve the design and cope with those significant problems and bad reputation, Albatros designed the D.Va which had a reinforced fuselage, heavier wing ribs and stronger wing spars and was powered by a high-compression version of the Mercedes D.IIIa engine. Because of that, the D.Va was significantly heavier than the D.III and still didn't solve completely the structural problems of the model.
It used the same wing configuration of the D.III up to the point that they were interchangeable.

The idflieg ordered the production of 262 D.Va in August 1917 which was followed by additional 250 in September and 550 in October. Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (East-German Albatros Works) which had been producing D.III until then, received an order to produce 600 D.Va airplanes in October of the same year.

It was started to be supplied in October 1917 and, due to the initial structural problems of the Fokker Dr.I and considering that the Pfalz D.III didn't perform as well as expected the Luftstreitkräfte had not real alternative to the D.Va, until mid-1918 when the Fokker D.VII entered into service. Its production stopped in April 1918 and, in May 1918 131 D.V and 928 D.Va airplanes were in service in the Western Front. Those numbers were reduced as the D.V and the D.Va were being gradually replaced by the much better Fokker D.VII and some other ones, but it remained in active service until the end of the war.

The Jastas (Squadrons) covered in this post are:

• Jasta 76b
• Jasta 17
• Jasta 32b
• Jasta 7
• Seefrosta 1
• Jasta 57

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.V
2. Salamander Books - The Complete book of fighters
3. Osprey - Aircraf fo the Aces 77 - Albatros Aces of World War I (2)

Albatros D.V - German users, part four

We continue with this airplane that was mass produced in Germany during the World War I.

Designed by Robert Thelen it was produced by Albatros due to an order from the idflieg (the general inspection of the luftstreitkräfte) to achieve an improved version of the D.III in April 1917.
Resembling the aforementioned D.III and sharing the same engine, the 170hp Mercedes D.IIIa, the most noticeable difference was the shape of the fuselage, which was lighter than the one of the D.III. The rudder was also different because it incorporated the sub-variant designed by OAW, which became standard. It also had a larger spinner and a ventral fin.

The upper wing was positioned closer to the fuselage and the lower ones were attached to the fuselage without using any fairing, but on the rest, they remained identical to those of the D.III, which had a sesquiplane wing configuration, similar to those of the French Nieuport 11.
The only noticeable difference from the D.III wings was a revised linkeage in the aileron cables which were completely repositioned in the upper wing.

Some early examples included a headrest, but was quickly removed because it obstructed the pilots field of view and it was deleted from the production chain. It's also known that some airplanes deployed in Palestine and Middle-east featured two radiators mounted on the upper-wing in order to deal with the warmer climate.

The idflieg ordered 200 D.V airplanes in April 1917 and was quickly increased in 400 in May and 300 in July. Most of the production was undertaken at the Johannisthal factory, in Berlin.

This time it's the turn for the next Jastas (squadrons)

• Jasta 28
• Jasta 23b
• Jasta 18
• Jasta 37
• Jasta 12

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.V
2. Osprey - Aircraft of the Aces 77 - Albatros Aces of World War I (2)

Albatros D.V - German users, part three

We keep going with this important German fighter of the First World War.

The squadron covered in this post are:

• Jasta 34b
• Jasta 37
• Jasta 40
• Jasta 76b
• Jgr. 8
• Seefrosta 1 (was part of the Marinefliegerkorps - the German navy air service)
• Jasta 23

Sources:
1. Osprey - Aircraft of the Aces 32 - Albatros Aces of World War I
2. Osprey - Aircraft of the Aces 77 - Albatros Aces of World War I (2)

Albatros D.V - German users, part two

Here it's the second part of the native Albatros D.V users.

The squadrons (Jasta) covered in this post are:

• Jasta 15
• Jasta 16b
• Jasta 23b
• Jasta 24
• Jasta 26

Sources:
1. Osprey - Aircraf of the Aces 32 - Albatros Aces of World War I

Albatros D.V - German users, part one

As this was one of the most important fighter of the World War I, it deserves a wide coverage, that's why we are going to give it various posts.

We'll cover the design and the development history later as well as the operational history.

The squadrons covered in this post are:

• Jasta 5 (recognizable by the green tail)
• Jasta 6
• Jasta 7
• Jasta 10
• Jasta 11
• Jasta 12

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.V
2. Osprey - Aicraft of the Aces 32 - Albatros Aces of World War I

A.G.O. DV.3

This is a special post because it doesn't contain any drawing due to the lack of blueprints or profile pictures, it's just a descriptive post.

The A.G.O. DV.3 was a German prototype fighter of 1915 designed by August Häfeli, the same who, after the war would design the native Swiss fighter Häfeli DH-4. It was a two-bay biplane of traditional configuration powered by a 99hp Oberursel engine. As the A.G.O. company was very reluctant about manufacturing fighters (in fact this one would have been the only one they designed) it's said that only one airplane was completed and it's not very clear if any weaponry was installed.


Anyway, when performance tests were performed, it was found to be seriously underpowered and any further development was discontinued.

The A.G.O. Dv.3 when it was tested back in 1915

Albatros D.V - Foreign users

We keep drawing the Albatros airplanes until it was eventually incorporated into Focke-Wulf, and now it's the turn for the Albatros D.V. This time focusing on the few foreign users.

The Albatros D.V was a German fighter airplane widely used by the Imperial German Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) during the World War I. It was the final development of the Albatros D.I and the last Albatros fighter to be operationally employed. In spite of its obsolescence and faults in many aspects, approximately 2500 D.V were manufactures in both of its variants, the D.V and D.Va.

As this post is dedicated to the foreign users, those are:

• Ottoman Empire: The German Jasta 1F, which operated under Ottoman markings, received at least six airplanes in mid-to-late 1918. As we couldn't only find text references to those airplanes, the drawing must be considered as speculative.
• Turkey: Those ex-Ottoman airplanes were taken over by the Turkish Army which used to equip some fighter squadron which took part in the Turkish Independence war.
• Poland: The Polish authorities bought an Albatros D.V from a German pilot in Gdansk on 13th May 1920 and it was assigned to the newly created Polish Naval Air Squadron based on the city of Puck. It served until November 1922 when it was written-off.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.V

Albatros D.IV

New week comes with a new airplane. Even if it isn't very different from the other ones that we've been drawing during the past week.

The Albatros D.IV was an experimental German fighter which was designed to test a geared, completely enclosed within the fuselage, version of the 160hp Mercedes engine, because of the enclosement, the rpm of the engine had to be reduced from 1400 rpm to 900 rpm due to the lack of cranckshaft.

It was based on the Albatros D.II cellule, enlengthened. Three D.IV were ordered in November 1916 but it seems that only one of them was completed and could flown. Tests were performed with two, three and four-bladed propellers until April 1918, but the excessive vibration and the limited performance provoked the discontinuation of the programme.

Sources:
1. The Complete Book of Fighters
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.IV

Albatros D.III - German Users, part three

We finish with this excellent German fighter by covering even more of its German users.

When it entered service in December 1916 it was quickly acclaimed by the German pilots thanks to its maneouvrability and climb rate, even if, just like its inmediate predecessor, the Albatros D.II, had the same fault regarding the position of the radiator. As it was placed in the center of the upper wing, it could break and scald the pilot. That's the reason why from the 290th airplane onwards, the radiator was placed in the upper wing but at the right, instead of the center while most of the already deployed ones were field-modified to solve that problem.
Some of the aircraft serving in the middle-east were equipped with two radiators to deal with the warmer climate.

Just like one of its inmediate rival, the Nieuport 17 it began experiencing some failures on the lower wing ribs and the leading edge. In fact, on 23rd January 1917 suffered a failure on the lower right wing spar and the next day, Manfred von Richtofens' airplane wing cracked. That's why the German Aviation Corps high command issued an order to keep all the D.III grounded in order to search for a solution for that serious problem. On February, Albatros introduced a reinforced lower wing and the order was called-off.
The new airplanes from then on would already be produced with the new reinforced lower wing, while the already operational D.III were withdrawn from the frontlines and the Jastas were forced to use the already obsolete Albatros D.II and the Halberstadt D.II.

Leaving those problems aside, the D.III was considered a very good airplane which was easy and pleasant to fly, even if it was somehow heavy to control and the sesquiplane arrangement of the wings offered an excellent downwards visibility, climb rate and maneouvrability.

Approximately 500 airplanes were manufactured by Albatros itself until the production was shifted to OAW which was a subsidiary of Albatros.
It's stimated that at the peak of it's service, 446 D.III served just in the western front only and, even when the better Albatros D.V was already in service, the D.III continued serving until the armistice.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.III
2. The complete book of fighters
3. Osprey - Aircraft of the Aces 32 - Albatros Aces of World War I
4. Osprey - Aircraft of the Aces 77 - Albatros Aces of World War I (2)
5. Osprey - Air Vanguard 13 - Albatros D.III

Albatros D.III - German Users, part two

We keep going with this German fighter, now with more German users.

We will write about the fighter operational history in the next post, which will be the last one dedicated to the D.III.

The squadrons covered in this post are:

• Jasta 31
• Jasta 49
• Jasta 57
• Jasta 12
• Jasta 24
• Jasta 28w
• Jasta 34b
• Jasta 34

Sources: 
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.III
2. Osprey - Aircraft of the Aces 32 - Albatros Aces of World War I