Albatros J types

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Albatros JI and J.II
Albatross JI
Type: Ground attack aircraft
Design country:

German EmpireThe German Imperium German Empire

Manufacturer:

Albatros Flugzeugwerke

First flight:

1917

Commissioning:

1918

Production time:

1917-1918

Number of pieces:

about 240 JI,
about 90 J.II

The Albatros J-types were German ground attack aircraft that were used for close air support in the last year of the First World War .

Albatros JI (L 40)

development

The Albatros JI, developed in 1917 by the engineers Thelen and Schubert, was designed as an attack aircraft to directly support the infantry; the type designation "J" stood for the new category "infantry aircraft" ("IFL" for short). The design was based on the two-legged Albatros C.XII, which has already gone into series production . The typical Albatros fuselage covered with plywood, the tail unit made of welded tubular steel and the wings covered with linen were adopted. The aircraft should also be powered by a water-cooled six-cylinder in- line engine. In contrast to its sister type, the JI had slightly swept wings and a rectangular fuselage cross-section. In addition, the claw brake on the chassis was omitted. The main features were the downward-drawn bow with the engine suspension kept low and, above all, the five-millimeter-thick steel plates attached to the bottom and sides of the cockpit, which were intended to protect the crew, especially during low-level attacks, against fire by ground troops, which made the aircraft 490 kg heavier and therefore 490 kg made it slow and cumbersome. The firepower was increased to three MG , two of which were rigidly mounted LMG 08/15 and one movable LMG 14 "Parabellum" .

Overall, the Albatros Flugzeugwerke in Berlin-Johannisthal with its branch factory Ostdeutsche Albatros-Werke (OAW) in Schneidemühl and its licensees BFW and Linke-Hofmann delivered around 240 Albatros JI

commitment

The Albatros JI already stood out when they were baptized by fire in April 1918 in the 4th Battle of Flanders . Even bulletproof against infantry fire, the machines attacked enemy positions in extreme low flight, whereby their pilots fought enemy ground troops with the full firepower of the two 45 ° downward-pointing machine guns due to the good forward visibility and the aviator with his movable machine-gun, as well as light bombs and Hand grenades continued the raid. At altitudes between 50 and 500 m, the JI were used in conjunction with the heavy "sheet metal boxes" from Junkers and AEG , under the escort of the unarmored, but fast and agile "cardboard boxes" from Halberstadt and Hanover , which took over the protection against fighter pilots . These types of aircraft formed the core of the German battle squadrons on the Western Front in mid-1918 . In addition to attack missions, these maintained connections to individual bases, supported raiding troops, dropped reports and supplies or explored the course of the front line.

The Albatros JI remained in service with the German air forces until the armistice . Two aircraft were delivered to the allied kuk aviation troops.

After the war the Albatros JI was given the civil trade name L.40. Ten JI served in the Polish Air Force until 1921 . Also, Norway and the Ukraine took over some planes.

Albatros J.II (L 42)

Albatros J.II, 1917

While the JI could still be regarded as a variant of the multi-purpose aircraft of the Albatros C types, its successor, the Albatros J.II, was largely redesigned and hardly resembled the C sister types. The round propeller hood typical of Albatros aircraft has now been dispensed with. Completely set up for combat missions at heights of 50 to 150 meters, it was built much more compactly; their armor had been extended to the bow, which made the aircraft even slower and cumbersome despite the more powerful engine and smaller dimensions.

Although the commissioned factories were already working to full capacity with the production of the Albatros JI, in February 1918 already 50 approval numbers were released for a first series production of the J.II (J.II 125 to 174/18), but the first Albatros J.II arrived to the front only in June 1918.

90 of this type were delivered by the end of the war.

With the dissolution of the German Air Force, most of the J.II were scrapped; three planes left in the Baltic States (J.II 705/18, 710/18 and 714/18) were used by the Lithuanian air force.

Albatros J.III (L 48)

In 1918, an improved J.II with a 260 HP engine was designed, but only test models were built.

Technical specifications

Plan drawing of the JI
Parameter Albatros JI (L 40) Albatros J.II (L 42)
crew 2
length 8.83 m 8.43 m
span 14.14 m 13.55 m
height 3.3 m 3.4 m
Wing area 42.8 m² 43.2 m²
Empty mass 1398 kg 1517 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 1808 kg 1927 kg
Engine Benz Bz. IV Benz Bz. IVa
Starting power 200 hp (147 kW) 220 hp (162 kW)
Top speed 140 km / h
Climbing time to 1000 m 8 min 8:42 min
Climbing time to 1500 m 19:36 min
Ascent time to 3000 m 26 min
Climbing time to 4000 m 55 min
Service ceiling 4500 m 4000 m
Range 350 km 500 km
Flight duration 3:15 h 2:30 h
Armament

swell

Web links

literature

  • G. Kroschel: The German military aircraft 1910-1918 . Lohse-Eissing, Wilhelmshaven 1977, pp. 70, 150, 160.
  • Michael JH Taylor: Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation . Studio Editions, London 1989, p. 55.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 . Lohse-Eissing Verlag, Wilhelmshaven 1977, ISBN 3-920602-18-8 , p. 150 .
  2. ^ A b Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 . Lohse-Eissing Verlag, Wilhelmshaven 1977, ISBN 3-920602-18-8 , p. 160 .
  3. ↑ for production and use figures cf. [1]
  4. ↑ cf. [2]
  5. ↑ Bruno Lange: The book of German aviation technology . 2nd volume, text part. Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz 1970, DNB  457353376 , p. 63 .