During the first two years of the war, the Albatross biplane was one of the types used in the greatest numbers by the Germans. The machine shown is one of the later models captured and its design indicates a number of departures from those taken at an earlier date, the most noticeable of which are the arrangement of the planes and the use of a monocoque (circular, single-cell, or unit-hull, type) fuselage built up entirely of wood without any wire bracing.
Top Speed: 109 m.p.h.
Engine: 170 h.p. six-cylinder Mercedes
Wingspan: 27.8 feet
Weight: 1,954 lb.
Armament: 2 machine guns
Specifications from “Practical Aviation,†by Charles Hayward, 1919
The following notes on its design and dimensions are taken from a description, published in Flight, of one of these machines captured by the British.
Planes
Contrary to the usual German practice, the to is built as a single complete unit without any dihedral, nor is any sweep back given the wings. The wing curve is similar to the Albatross C-III but has a flatter camber, while the angle of incidence ranges from 5 degrees 3 minutes at the center to 4 degrees at the left-hand wing tip and 2 degrees at the right-hand tip. As in some of the other German biplanes, the stagger is made adjustable by moving the wing along the top of the cabane. In each end of the upper horizontal tube of the cabane a slot is formed to take an eyebolt passing through the main spar of the wing. At each slot there are five holes passing horizontally through the tube, any one of which, according to the adjustment desired, may be used to receive the bolt that locks the eyebolt in the cabane. In order to maintain the correct gap for each adjustment of the stagger, the lower ends of the interplane struts and the cabane struts can be made to correspond at their attachment to the planes and the fuselage, respectively, by means of a screw adjustment on the ends of the struts. But one pair of interplane strut* is employed on either side of the fuselage.
These struts are of streamlined steel tubing. As in previous Albatross machines, the main spars of the wings are placed well forward, the front one being about 4 inches from the leading edge, while the rear one is 2 feet x inches from the trailing edge. They are of the usual Albatross rectangular section, are fabric-bound, and are beveled off on the top at the extremities. The ribs are built up of slotted- out webs and rather narrow flanges and are spaced 16^ inches apart in the upper wing and 13J inches in the lower, except where the interplane struts are attached, at which points the ribs are displaced by a tubular steel compression member. Between the leading edge and the front spar the upper surface of the plane is stiffened by a false rib between each of the ribs proper.
The lower plane is attached to an abutment built out from the fuselage and flush with the side of the latter. The mounting consists of a bayonet socket joint, access to which is obtained by means of doors on the under side of the plane. As on other Albatross machines, the ailerons are given a “wash-out” at the tips and have operating cranks working in slots in the plane. They are hinged on auxiliary spars on the upper plane only. The span of the upper plane is 2cS feet 4 inches and that of the lower is 2ß feet 9 inches, the chord being 5 feet 9 inches in both and the gap 5 feet 3 inches. The total supporting surface is 2ti!» square feet.
Tail Unit
The semi-elliptical horizontal stabilizer is divided into two parts and is made of exceptionally thick section, 5f inches. It is nonlifting, that is, has no angle of incidence, and is mounted in the line of flight without any external bracing. The framework is of wood. Hinged to the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer is a single elevator balanced by small triangular extensions forward of the outer extremities. A rounded vertical fin of the same heavy section as the stabilizer is built up of three-ply veneer on a wood frame and is mounted on top of the fuselage some distance forward of the rear extremity of the latter. To its trailing edge is hinged the rudder, which is balanced by a triangular forward extension at the top of the rudder post. The entire rudder is above the fuselage and its trailing edge does not extend beyond the rear extremity of the latter. Steel tubing is employed for the framing of both the rudder and the elevator with the usual fabric covering. The rudder and the elevator control cables are inside the fuselage, in the top of which are two small doors which make inspection and adjustment possible. The junctions of the fin and the stabilizing plane with the fuselage are rounded off with three-ply veneer.
Fuselage
The fuselage, which is a compromise between the standard Albatross construction and the French monocoque, is simple and easily built at a low cost. In section, it varies from circular at the nose to a horizontal knife edge at the rear, being flat-sided with rounded top and bottom at the center. It is built up on six longerons, three at each side, the central ones being of spruce and of rectangular section f by ^ inch back of the cockpit, while forward of it they are of L section J by J inch. The top and middle longerons are placed one above the other, but the bottom ones are closer together. Except at certain points, the top and bottom members are of L section and up to the cockpit are of spruce; forward of it they are of ash, 1 ^ by 1^ inches. The longerons are supported by simple transverse formers, or ribs, reinforced at their junctions with the longerons and spaced at intervals of about 2 feet. These formers are f inch thick and :} inch deep. At the tail there are two of these formers of heavier ¡ on, while forward of the cockpit there are four transverse formers carrying the engine hearers, the sume arrangement being followed as in other Albatross machines. There is no wire bracing nor are there any struts except the continuation of the cabane struts which extend down to the chassis strut attachments. The pilot’s seat is supported by two transverse tubes adjustably mountd on two auxiliary longerons on each side of the fuselage. The latter is inclosed with three-ply veneer screwed and tacked on.
Power Plant
The engine is a six-cylinder vertical water- cooled Mercedes capable of delivering 170 h.p. Neither the engine itself, nor its mounting differ from previous models of the same machine Honeycomb-type radiators, however, are used and are mounted on each side of the fuselage. Above the motor to the left side of the camshaft is a flat water tank, one end of which is connected to the water jacket of the motor and the other, to the two radiator …
The outlets of the radiators at the bottom are connected to the water pump at the rear of the engine. On each side of the engine is mounted a machine gun which is synchronized for firing through the propeller. The guns are centered about 1 foot apart and are controlled by two triggers mounted on the grip of the control lever.
Landing Gear
The landing gear is of the conventional V type with a rubber sprung axle carrying two disc wheels shod with tires x by 4 inches. Behind the axle is a transverse tubular tie- rod and the two rear struts are braced by cables. The chassis is dismantled easily by withdrawing the struts from the sockets mounted on the fuselage.
Controls
The control lever operating the ailerons and elevator is of the Fokker type, the Fokker machine itself being a copy of the Morane-Saulnier (French) with a few modifications. The lever consists of a l 3/16-inch tube mounted on a 1 3/16-inch transverse tube supported on a wood base.