Albatros D.II

The Albatros D.II built upon the success of the D.I design

The Albatros D.II became a further development of the successful Albatros D.I series. The D.I was instrumental in winning back air superiority to the side of the Germans, with their powerful engines and dual-synchronized machine guns. Aircraft technology and weaponry changed substantially throughout the months covering the First World War, so much so that a single series of aircraft could be rightfully superceded by another in a matter of a few short months. The Albatros series was to be no exception.

The Albatros D.II series provided some improvements to the design and development of the original D.I. The top wing was brought down to improve pilot visibility (critical in dog fighting tactics) and also allowed for the radiator to be mounted in the center of the upper wing section - and improved radiator over the D.I series at that.

These minor fundamental improvements led to a significant boost in overall climbing rate, a distinction that the D.I already enjoyed - the D.II simply brought the capability up a notch, allowing the aircraft to reach just over 3,000 feet in only five minutes. Couple that with improved stability and the standard base firepower and the Albatros system continued to dominate the skies.

The development of the Albatros D.II would lead directly to the Albatros D.III, detailed elsewhere on this site. in all, the series would entail the D.I, D.II, D.III, D.V and the D.Va.

Albatros D.I

The Albatros D.I helped the Germany regain control of the skies.

The Albatros series of aircraft is a good study in how aircraft design evolved throughout World War One. The "D" series saw no fewer than five in the D.I, D.II, D.III, D.V and ultimately the D.Va. Such was the newfound weapon of aircraft over the battlefield that the system changed on an almost monthly basis, limiting production life to most models to a mere number of months before ultimately being replaced by the newer, faster and more powerful advancements in the series.

The Albatros D.I was initially designed and produced to counter the Nieuport and de Havilland series of "Fighting Scout" aircraft. Air superiority teetered in the balance, favoring one side first, then another as technology would seem to outdate predecessors with regular fashion. The Allied Fighting Scouts were responsible for ending the dreaded "Fokker Scourge", effectively giving back air superiority to the Allies in 1916. The D.I was a step in the right direction for Imperial German hopes of winning superiority back by 1917.

By now, the Albatros D.I was undergoing some revolutionary design treatments including the use of an aerodynamically shaped fuselage. Initial D.I's were modeled after the Albatros "C" series of aircraft, including some of the internal working components and overall building methodology used in production.

D.I's were powered with a variety of powerplants that included the Mercedes D.III and the Benz Bz.III, both quite powerful in their own right. At the time of the D.I's production, these two engines were by far the most powerful powerplants ever fitted into an aircraft of this type, allowing the system to achieve an advantage in rate-of-climb.

The Albatros D.I also made use of the highly-touted synchronized dual machine guns, firing through the propeller system. This ingenuity made the Albatros D.I a new favored among the top fliers in the German Aerodrome squadrons.

In the end, the Albatros D.I would prove decisive in the winning back of air superiority over France. Further development of the Albatros D.I system would lead directly to the Albatros D.II, detailed elsewhere on this site.

Airco DH.5

The Airco DH.5 tried unsuccessfully to mesh very distinct facets of other previous de Havilland designs.

With the view afforded the pilots of the DH.2, famed aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland set out to create a similar, yet more than capable in terms of performance, off-shoot in the form of the DH.5. The end result would be de Havilland's worst design of the first world war - not highly regarded by either the pilots charged with flying her let alone historians of the conflict.

The Airco DH.5 biplane scout was unique in many facets of her design. Ideally, visual acuity was key in the observation role or dogfighting - spotting your enemy first definitely had it's advantages. As such, the DH.5 placed a great deal of emphasis on the position of the pilot's seating, that being a somewhat unobstructed view towards the front of the fuselage, to the rear and atop the 110hp Le Rhone engine. In a bit of design ingenuity, the top portion of this biplane design was built with a backward stagger, offsetting the top wing assembly from the lower wing assembly. This forced the use of backward leaning struts as a result, though it did provide the pilot a completely unfettered veiw from the front, sides and above. The DH.5 was armed with twin 7.62mm machine guns of the Lewis type. These were mounted forward of the pilot, just above the engine placement, and fired through a two-blade propeller system.

As unique was the DH.5 design was trying to be, the system had a less-than-stellar performance record. The mere appearance of the aircraft to pilots use to traditional biplane design was enough to put off most. The stigma against the DH.5 was so much so in fact that the aircraft earned a reputation for instability without it being proven. Couple that with the fact that the aircraft required a vast deal of knowledge and experience to be able to handle effectively in a firefight and the DH.5 was in operational service for no longer than 8 months on any front. By 1918, the DH.5 was no longer an option.

Airco DH.2

The Airco DH.2 a very nimble and rugged design, capable of making aces out of her pilots.

Though not much to look at by today's fighter aircraft standards - let alone World War One-era aircraft standards, the Airco-produced DH.2 would prove to be a rugged and reliable platform. The DH.2 was the product of one Geoffrey de Havilland and featured a pusher-type engine design that was contrary to the puller-type systems en vogue. Enemy aircraft kills by the DH.2 would rise steadily throughout the year of 1916, to which the DH.2 would amass double-digit scores between June through November of that year.

The DH.2 was a single-seat single engine biplane design. The pilot was seated extreme forward in a type of "tub" cockpit. A single Lewis-type 7.62mm machine gun was fitted in front of him and was set on a flexible mounting, allowing the gun to be trained in left, right, up or down as needed. This was, however, hardly practical in the middle of a frantic air fight and, as such, pilots resorted to flying with the machine gun in a fixed forward position and aiming the entire aircraft at their target. The single two-blade engine was mounted directly behind the pilot and could be of either a Monosoupape piston or Le Rhone rotary engine brand, either engine producing 100hp and 110hp respectively.

AEG C-series of fighter-bomber

AEG C.IV
The AEG-produced C-series of aircraft provided German frontline troops with a versatile offensive performer throughout the course of World War One.

The AEG C-series of fighter-bomber was a development of Allgemeine Elektritzitats Gesellschaft and was a principle aircraft available to Imperial Germany during the First World War. Seeing action on all fronts, the system was of a highly versatile design and fought capably as a fighter but more importantly as a bomber.

The C.IV represented the most potent and mass-produced system in the series. The twin-seat, single engine aircraft was a further development of the AEG company's successful line of B-type unarmed twin-seat trainers and reconnaissance aircraft. Besides the C.IV variant, a night-fighting bomber was also included in production towards the end of 1916. This particular system maintained the capabilities of its daytime predecessor but offered up provision for up to 6 x 110lb bombs to be taken aloft. In all, the system served frontline units well throughout the whole course of the war.