Warplane #6-Albatros D.I

Role : Fighter

Manufacturer : Albatros Flugzeugwerke

Designed by : Robert Thelen

Introduced : 1916

Primary user : Germany

Number built : 50

Description :

               The Albatros D.I was a German fighter aircraft used during World War I. Although its operational career was short, it was the first of the Albatros D types which formed the bulk of the German and Austrian fighter squadrons for the last two years of the war.

Development :  

                 The D.I was designed by Robert Thelen, R. Schubert and Gnädig, as an answer to the latest Allied fighters, such as the Nieuport 11 Bébé and the Airco D.H.2, which had proved superior to the Fokker Eindecker and other early German fighters, and established a general Allied air superiority. It was ordered in June 1916 and introduced into squadron service that August.

The D.I used a paneled plywood semi-monocoque fuselage, which was lighter and stronger than the fabric-skinned box-type fuselage then in common use, as well being easier to give an aerodynamically clean shape. On the other hand it was less costly to manufacture than a "full monocoque" fuselage. It was powered by either a 110 kW (150 hp) Benz Bz.III or a 120 kW (160 hp) Mercedes D.III six-cylinder watercooled inline engine. The D.I thus became the most powerful fighter aircraft yet introduced by the Luftstreitkräfte. The additional power enabled twin fixed Spandau machineguns to be fitted without any loss in performance.

The D.I had a relatively high wing loading for its time, and was not particularly manoeuvrable. This was compensated by its superior speed and firepower, and it quickly proved the best all-round fighter available.

Specifications(Albatros D.I)

General characteristics

• Crew: one pilot
• Length: 7.40 m (23 ft 3.5 in)
• Wingspan: 8.50 m (27 ft 11 in)
• Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)
• Wing area: 22.9 m² (247 ft²)
• Empty weight: 645 kg (1,422 lb)
• Gross weight: 898 kg (1,809 lb)

Performance :

•  Maximum speed: 175 km/h (110 mph)
• Endurance: 1.5 hours
• Service ceiling: 3,000 m (9,840 ft)
• Rate of climb: 2.8 m/s (547 ft/min)

 Armament :

• 2 × forward-firing 7.92 mm (.312 in) LMG 08/15 machine guns

Operations :

A total of 50 pre-series and series D.I aircraft were in service by November 1916, replacing the early Fokker and Halberstadt D types, giving real "teeth" to the Luftstreitkräfte's new Jagdstaffeln (fighter squadrons). 

When Jasta 6 was re-equipped with the D.I in the fall of 1916, Vizefeldwebel Carl Holler was noticeable impressed:

"Its rate of climb was excellent. Because of its heavy in-line engine, it had a tremendous diving speed which gave us great advantage when attacking the enemy flying below. Now we did not have to wait very long to obtain a few victories. In short order, one after another, two of my comrades obtained a victory."

Despite poor visibility to the front and above, Oswald Boelcke used this plane to achieve 11 victories in 16 days. The Albatros D.I reestablished German air superiority and made the British "pusher" designs obsolete.

Further production of D.Is was not undertaken, however; instead, a reduction in the gap between the top and bottom planes in order to improve the pilot's forward and upward vision resulted in the otherwise identical Albatros D.II, which became Albatros' first major production fighter.

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