Albatros DI

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Albatros DI
Albatros DI
Type: Fighter plane
Design country:

German EmpireThe German Imperium German Empire

Manufacturer:

Albatros Flugzeugwerke GmbH

First flight:

June 1916

Commissioning:

September 1916

Production time:

July - September 1916

Number of pieces:

62 (including 12 pre-production aircraft)

The Albatros DI (factory designation L15) was a German fighter aircraft from the First World War and the first operational single-seater with a double MG.

development

In the spring of 1916, new Allied fighters, especially the French Nieuport 11 and the British Airco DH2 , regained control of the air over the western front against the outdated Fokker monoplane . In view of the critical situation before Verdun and later also on the Somme, the increasing losses of own aircraft and valuable crews were particularly severe, and this was accompanied by the growing threat to soldiers in the trenches from enemy air attacks and artillery monitoring. A new fighter plane was urgently sought to stabilize the situation.

For the first time, the Albatros company also dealt with the development of a fighter aircraft. In April 1916, the technical director of Albatros Flugzeugwerke, Dipl.-Ing. Robert Thelen and his assistants Schubert and Gnädig made the two-seater Albatros C model the DI (designation D was the predefined designation for a single-seat, armed biplane fighter aircraft, Albatros later gave the aircraft the internal factory designation L15), which also had a powerful engine should unite a strong armament. His design was characterized by a hull made of wood in a new half-shell construction, which was particularly stable and, with its slim teardrop shape and the engine block almost completely clad in the hull, was also aerodynamically favorable - however, impaired by the Windhoff coolers attached to the sides of the hull, which were Hit had to lead to engine failure and were banned for use on November 10, 1916. The wings were covered with lines in the conventional design. The water-cooled 150 hp Benz Bz.III or the 160 hp Mercedes D.III six-cylinder in-line engine were available as engines; the choice fell on the Mercedes D.III, which was not only much more powerful than the rotary engines of the Nieuport (80 PS) and the DH2 (100 PS), but also the Albatros DI with its starting weight of almost 900 kg compared to the Nieuport (480 kg) ) and DH2 (654 kg) also made it particularly heavy. However, this brought the important advantage in air combat of an enormous dive speed.

The two synchronized machine guns doubled the firepower of the previous single-seaters. Despite its weight, the aircraft was easy to handle thanks to its powerful engine and balanced elevator. It was much faster than the comparison model of the Entente and had excellent climbing ability, but was not as manoeuvrable as the Fokker monoplane used up to now or the Halberstadt single-seater, developed at the same time . Another disadvantage was the restricted view to the front due to the upper wing. However, these disadvantages were more than offset by the higher climbing ability, speed and firepower.

commitment

General use

The enormous pressure on the inspection of the air troops (IdFlieg) to finally provide the fighting troops with a front-ready fighter aircraft in view of the Allied air domination is shown in the tight time lapse between the first test and the first mission: an order for 12 pre-production aircraft in June The series order for 50 machines followed in July. In August, the 12 pre-production aircraft left the production hall, and in September 1916 the urgently needed machines arrived at the front - at the time when the first seven German fighter squadrons (Jasta), each from the single-seater commandos , were the first measure for the extensive reorganization of the German air force with a nominal strength of twelve combat single-seaters - and were enthusiastically accepted by the pilots given their superior flight performance.

Performance comparison of the Albatros DI with its main opponents

Surname Engine power Top speed Takeoff mass MG Summit height
Airco DH2 100 hp 150 km / h 654 kg 1 4265 m
Nieuport 11 80 hp 156 km / h 480 kg 1 4700 m
Albatros DI 160 hp 175 km / h 898 kg 2 6000 m

On September 17, 1916, the leader of the Jasta 2 , Oswald Boelcke and four other fighter pilots attacked a formation of seven Royal Aircraft Factory FE2b during a test flight with the Albatros DI of their squadron just delivered, five of which they shot down without losing their own. In just 16 days, Captain Boelcke achieved 11 aerial victories with his Albatros, his squadron had killed 25 by the end of September.

However, due to the high-mounted upper wing and the resulting obscured view of the pilot upwards, dangerous situations in aerial combat and formation flight threatened. Oswald Boelcke also fell victim to the fatal collision with the plane of a fellow squadron on October 26, 1916; the air force lost with him their most successful fighter pilot to date.

Because of these problems modified Albatros the wing structure at the next production run and put the top wing 40 cm deep and yielded the following machines under the successor name D.II out.

At the time of their greatest spread in November 1916, 50 Albatros DI were in use. The approaching albatross hunters gradually replaced the variety of types of Pfalz, Fokker and Halberstadt hunters, which could now be handed over to training units step by step. Due to the constantly high demand for fighter aircraft - by spring 1917 the number of fighter squadrons, which had now increased to 14 aircraft, had risen to 37 - individual DIs remained in service for a long time, although they were already considered technically obsolete by early 1917. After Prince Friedrich-Karl of Prussia was fatally wounded in a combat mission with his Albatros DI in March 1917 , the number of machines used at the front steadily declined.

Aircraft in the front line

month Bet number
September 1916 6th
November 1916 50
January 1917 39
March 1917 28
May 1917 20th
July 1917 17th
September 1917 12
November 1917 9
January 1918 8th
March 1918 5
May 1918 6th
July 1918 1
September 1918 3

Technical specifications

Albatros DI of the German Air Force
Parameter Data
crew 1
length 7.33 m
span 8.50 m
height 2.95 m
Wing area 22.90 m²
Empty mass 674 kg
Payload 224 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 898 kg
Top speed 175 km / h above sea level
Service ceiling 6000 m
Climb performance 3.3 m / s
Climbing time to 1000 m 4 min
Ascent time to 3000 m 15 minutes
Ascent time to 5000 m 40 min
Flight duration 1:50 h
Max. Range 230 km
Engine a water-cooled 6-cylinder in-line engine ( Mercedes D III with 160 PS or Benz Bz III with 150 PS)
Armament 2 synchronized 7.92 mm LMG 08/15

See also

literature

  • Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi: The planes. From the beginning to the First World War . Falken-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-8068-0391-9 , ( Falken manual in color ).
  • John F.Connors: Albatros Fighters in Action . Squadron / Signal Publications, Carrollton TX 1981, ISBN 0-89747-115-6 , ( Aircraft 46).
  • Peter L. Gray: The Albatros DI-D.III. Profile No. 127, Profile Publications Ltd., Leatherhead, Surrey, England 1966.
  • Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 . Lohse-Eissing, Wilhelmshaven 1977, ISBN 3-920602-18-8 .
  • Kenneth Munson: Warplanes, fighters and training aircraft 1914-1919 . Füssli, Zurich 1968 ( Planes of the World ).
  • Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Airplanes 1914–1918 . Lehmanns, Munich 1959.

Web links

Commons : Albatros DI  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_albatros_D_I.html Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  2. ↑ accessed on January 5, 2013
  3. ↑ http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_albatros_D_I.html Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  4. ↑ cf. Accident report Vice Sergeant Holler from Jasta 6.
  5. ↑ Peter L. Gray: The Albatros DI-D.III. Profile No. 127, Profile Publications Ltd., Leatherhead, Surrey, England 1966, p. 12