German Aviation 1916
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 The Albatros D.II was a modified version of the Albatros D.I. Pilots complained that the D.I offered poor visibility from the cockpit. To solve this problem, the D.IIs upper wing was brought closer to the fuselage. Mounted to the fuselage in front of the pilot, the D.IIs twin, synchronous machine guns set the standard for other German and Allied fighters. By the end of 1916, increased production of the Albatros gave Germany numerical superiority in the air war. |
Albatros D.II Manufacturer: Albatros Werke GmbH Type: Fighter First Introduced: 1916 Engine: Mercedes D.IIIa, 6 cylinder inline, 160 hp Wing Span: 27 ft 10 ¾ in 8.5 m Length: 24 ft 3 in 7.4 m Height: 8 ft 6 ½ in 2.95 m Gross Weight: 1,954 lbs 888 kg Max Speed: 109 mph 175 km/h Ceiling: 17,060 ft 5,200 m Endurance: 1 hour 30 mins Crew: 1 Armament: 2 Spandau machine guns |
 Agile and heavily armed, the Albatros D.III looked similar to earlier models. Using V-struts, the size of the lower wing was reduced to improve downward visibility. But the struts allowed the wing to twist in flight. Manfred von Richthofen, one of the first pilots to receive the new plane, experienced this problem first hand when the lower wing of his D.III cracked in flight. |
Albatros D.III Manufacturer: Albatros Werke GmbH Type: Fighter First Introduced: January 1917 Number Built: 1,350 Engine: Mercedes D.IIIa, 6 cylinder inline, 175 hp Wing Span: 29 ft 8¼ in 9.05 m Length: 24 ft ½ in 7.33 m Height: 9 ft 9 ¼ in 2.98 m Gross Weight: 1,949 lbs 886 kg Speed: 109 mph 175 km/h 3,281 ft 1,000 m Ceiling: 18,044 ft 5,500 m Endurance: 2 hours Crew: 1 Armament: 2 Spandau light machine guns |
 This biplane was built using many of the design elements of the Eindecker. The Fokker D-II was not as popular as the albatros D-III, but it was an important step towards what would become a series of excellent aircraft, culminating in the Fokker D-VII. |
Fokker D.II Engine: 1 x Oberursel U.II 110 hp. Wingspan: 9.04 m Length: 6.29 m Weight: 450 kg/708 kg Max. speed: 160 km/h Ceiling: 4720 m Crew: 1 Armament: 2 x machineguns |
 The Halberstadt D.II was not a particularly well received aircraft. It was underpowered, slow, lacking in firepower, and not able to match the altitudes reached by other planes in the German arsenal. |
Halberstadt D.II Engine: 1 x Mercedes D.II 120 hp. Wingspan: 8.80 m Length: 7.30 m Weight: 561 kg/771 kg Max. speed: 145 km/h Ceiling: 5000 m Crew: 1 Armament: 1 x machineguns |
 The D.II was a single-seat escort fighter, based on the structural principles of the C II, a wooden veneer shell fuselage. The deep fuselage filled to gap between the biplane wings completely. The production was hampered by a fire in the L.F.G. factory; about 20 were built. The Roland D.II suffered from a design flaw that limited the forward view of the pilot. |
Roland D.II Engine: 1 x Mercedes D.III 160 hp. Wingspan: 8.94 m Length: 6.93 m Weight: 653 kg/793 kg Max. speed: 169 km/h Ceiling: 5200 m Crew: 1 Armament: 2 x machineguns |
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Original material copyright © 7/8/99 W. Ira Boucher. All Rights Reserved. |
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