The development started back in summer 1916 when the success of the D.I and the D.II was evident. It's not known when it flew for the first time, but it's believed that it was in late August or early September 1916.
It used the same semi-monocoque plywood covered fuselage of its predecessors but with a single significant difference: Its wing arrangement was sesquiplane style, copying the configuration of the Nieuport airplanes that were so successful back then. That way, the upper wingspan was extended and the lower wing was redesigned in order to reduce its chord. The struts were replaced by new 'V'-shaped ones, that's why the British pilots nicknamed the D.III as the 'V-Strutter'.
The official tests were so successful that a contract order was signed for the production of 400 airplanes in september 1916 plus 50 more in February and March 1917, the biggest order to date.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.III
2. The Complete book of fighters
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