Albatros D.II

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.II

The Albatros D.II was a German fighter aircraft used during World War I. After a
successful combat career in the early Jagdstaffeln, it was gradually superseded
by the Albatros D.III.

Albatros designers Thelen, Schubert and Gnädig produced the D.II in response to
pilot complaints about poor upward vision in the Albatros D.I. The solution was
to reposition the upper wing 36 cm (14 in) closer to the fuselage and stagger it
forward slightly. Rearrangement of the cabane struts also improved forward view.
The D.II otherwise retained the same fuselage, engine installation and armament
as the D.I. Basic performance was unchanged. The Idflieg (Inspektion der
Fliegertruppen - Inspectorate of Flying Troops), ordered an initial batch of 100
D.II aircraft in August 1916.

In November 1916, Idflieg banned Windhoff "ear" radiators in operational
aircraft because they were at a lower level than the crankcase of the engine
they were cooling, and a shot into either radiator was likely to drain the
cooling system. Late production D.IIs switched to using a Teves und Braun
"airfoil shape" radiator (the Teves company still exists in the 21st century),
in the center section of the upper wing. This also proved to be problematic as a
leaking or battle damaged radiator could scald the pilot's face. On later
Albatros fighters (late models of the D.III, and the D.V) the radiator was moved
to the right of the centre section to alleviate this problem.

Oeffag (Oesterreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG) also built the D.II under license,
as the Albatros D.II(Oef) / Oeffag Va.53 / Oeffag series 53, for the
Luftfahrtruppen. The 16 Austro-Hungarian machines used a 138 kW (185 hp)
Austro-Daimler engine, and were fitted with a Teves und Braun-style wing mounted
radiator.


Role
Fighter

Manufacturer
Albatros Flugzeugwerke

Designer
Robert Thelen

Introduction
1916

Primary users
Luftstreitkräfte
Luftfahrtruppen

Number built
291

Developed from
Albatros D.I

Developed into
Albatros D.III

D.IIs formed part of the early equipment of Jagdstaffel (Jasta) 2, the first
specialized fighter squadron in the German air service. Famous pilots included
Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke (Jasta 2's first commander) and Manfred von Richthofen.
With its high speed and heavy armament, the D.II won back air superiority from
Allied fighter types such as the Airco DH.2 and Nieuport 17.

Albatros built 200 D.II aircraft. LVG (Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft) produced
another 75 under license. Service numbers peaked in January 1917, when 214
machines were in service. The D.II operated well into 1917. As late as 30 June
1917, 72 aircraft were in the frontline inventory, and even in November 11 D.IIs
and 9 D.Is were still in service, alongside the by now far more numerous D.IIIs
and D.Vs.

Manfred von Richthofen was flying an Albatros D.II on 23 November 1916 when he
was engaged in a prolonged dogfight with the RFC's Lanoe Hawker VC. Hawker's
DH.2 pusher engined fighter had a better turning circle but the Albatros D.II
had twin guns, was faster and could maintain height in a turn better. After
firing some 900 rounds von Richthofen shot Hawker in the head and killed him.
Hawker's machine crashed and von Richthofen claimed Hawker's Lewis gun for his
growing collection of trophies.

Specifications (D.II(Oef) series 53)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 7.35 m (24 ft 1 in)
Upper wingspan: 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
Lower wingspan: 8 m (26 ft 3 in)
Height: 2.71 m (8 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 24 m2 (260 sq ft)
Gross weight: 898 kg (1,980 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Austro-Daimler 185hp 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston
engine, 138 kW (185 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller

Performance
Maximum speed: 170 km (110 mph, 92 kn)
Time to altitude:

1,000 m (3,281 ft) in 4 minutes 30 seconds
2,000 m (6,562 ft) in 7 minutes
3,000 m (9,843 ft) in 12 minutes 30 seconds

Armament

Guns: 2 × 8 mm (0.315 in) Schwarzlose machine guns



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