Albatros D

Albatros D.II

During the winter of 1915-16, the Germans enjoyed air supremacy over the Western Front. As the Allies introduced the Nieuport Nie. 11 and Airco DH.2, however, this advantage was lost. The Albatros D.I was introduced in the fall of 1916, a new design that relied not upon maneuverability but rather on increased armament. The design faired well, and within months was replaced by the D.II which altered the positioning of the upper wing to allow a better view for the pilot. The D.II was used from November 1916 until the beginning of 1917, when it was superseded by the D.III. At its peak, 214 aircraft were in service at the front. By 1918, the plane was nearly completely replaced in a combat role, and was used as an advanced trainer.

Manfred von Richthofen scored his first confirmed kill on September 17^th, 1916 in a D.II.

The plane has an endurance of 1½ hours. It burns 6 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage. A full load of fuel and ammo costs $16.

Albatros D.II (L.17)

Subassemblies: Recon Fighter chassis +2; Recon Fighter wings with Biplane option +2; 2 fixed wheels +0.

Powertrain: 119-kW HP gasoline engine with 119-kW old prop and 17-gallon fuel tank [Body].

Occ.: 1 XCS Body

Cargo: 8 Body

Armor F RL B T U

Body: 2/2W 2/2W 2/2W 2/2W 2/2W

Wings: 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C

Wheels: 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3

Weaponry:

2xAircraft LMG/7.92 mm LMG 08/15 [Body:F] (500 rounds each).*

*Linked.

Statistics:

Size: 23'x27'x8.5' Payload: 0.28 tons Lwt.: 0.98 tons

Volume: 96 Maint.: 118 hours Cost: $2,883

HT: 8 HPs: 30 Body, 50 each Wing, 3 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 110 aAccel: 3 aDecel: 18 aMR: 4.5 aSR: 1

Stall Speed: 37 mph. Take-Off Run: 152 yards. Landing Run: 137 yards.

gSpeed: 176 gAccel: 9 gDecel: 10 gMR: 1.25 gSR: 2

Ground Pressure: High. 1/6 Off-Road Speed.

Design Notes:

Historical wing area was 264 sf. Fuel capacity and MG load outs are a guess, but the D.V is listed as having a 17-gallon fuel tank. Design payload was 445 lbs; the historical value has been substituted. Design aSpeed was 106 mph. The chassis weight, cost and HPs were doubled to increase design weight; it was increased 6% more to the historical. Performance calculations were based on historical values for wing area and loaded weight. The front Body MGs are synchronized, lowering RoF by 10% (see p. W:MP8). Using the calculated gSpeed at 1/6 Off-Road speed (29 mph) gSpeed is still 78% of stall speed, so the plane could therefore potentially get airborne in a bumpy field, at the GM's discretion.

Variants:

The D.I (1916) was powered by a 112-kW engine and had a Poor view for the pilot. 75 were built.

The D.III and D.V featured a redesigned wing based on the Nie. 11. See the D.V write-up.

From the Aerodrome for GURPS