Albatros D

Albatros D.V

The DV model was one in a series of designs by Albatros Werke GmbH. Production of the D series began in 1916, as the German's fought to maintain air superiority against Allied developments. It reached its peak in the D.III, which scored numerous kills against Allied aircraft in the spring of 1917. The D.V model entered service in 1917, and other than some streamlining improvements in the fuselage, was not much different than its predecessor, the D.III. It faired well against the Allies, mostly due to the experience of the pilots flying it and its availability in large numbers.

In addition to being quickly surpassed by the Allied fighters of the time, the Albatros D.III and D.V also suffered one additional weakness: the V-shaped strut used to hold the lower wing was lightened in the design, making it too weak. The lower wing was known to suffer catastrophic failure under combat maneuvers and high-speed dives. Some 900 D.Vs were built.

The D.V has a 2-hour endurance on a single tank of gas. A full load of fuel and ammo costs $7.68.

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

Powertrain: 134-kW aerial HP gasoline engine with 134-kW old prop and 13.4-gallon fuel tank [Body].

Occ.: 1 XCS Body

Cargo: 6.5 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/7.92mm Spandau 08/15 LMG [Body:F] (500 rounds).*

*Linked.

Statistics:

Size: 29'x24'x9' Payload: 0.15 tons Lwt.: 0.81 tons

Volume: 96 Maint.: 130 hours Cost: $2,383

HT: 6. HPs: 15 Body, 50 each Wing, 8 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 117 aAccel: 4 aDecel: 22 aMR: 5.5 aSR: 1

Stall Speed: 36 mph.

gSpeed: 205 gAccel: 10 gDecel: 10 gMR: 1.25 gSR: 2

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

Design Notes:

The historical wing area of 229 sf was used for performance calculations. The HT was arbitrarily lowered by 1 to reflect historical structural defects. The MG load-outs are a guess; no figures are available; they could be significantly higher with the available VSPs. The MGs are synchronized, lowering RoF by 10% (see p. W:MP8). Given the high calculated gSpeed and the High Ground Pressure, this craft could still just about get airborne in a bumpy field, at the GM's discretion.

Variants:

D.I (1916): Designed in response to the loss of air superiority in spring 1916, the plane featured a new 112-kW water-cooled engine and the heavier 7.92mm LMGs that were used through the D series. aSpeed was 109mph; fewer than 75 planes were built before the introduction of the D.II.

D.II (late 1916): The wings were redesigned to improve pilot visibility, and the radiator was redesigned to reduce drag. The Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron) scored his first confirmed kill in a D.II.

D.III (1917): In response to insight gained from the French Nieuport Nie.11, the Albatros was redesigned with a sesquiplane wing (in which the lower wing is smaller than the higher wing), creating the D.III. This plane faired very well against the Allies during the "Bloody April" of 1917, causing high loses among the British. aSpeed 109. At its height, some 446 planes were operational.

D.IV (1917): A failed attempt to redesign the D.III, only one was ever built.

D.Va (1917): This was an attempt to beef up the D.V in response to continued Allied improvements. It functions about the same as the D.V. Some 1,612 were built. Production ended in 1918.

From the Aerodrome for GURPS