Albatros Flugzeugwerke

Albatros Flugzeugwerke GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturer best known for supplying the German Luftstreitkräfte during World War I.

Albatros Flugzeugwerke
IndustryAircraft manufacturer
Founded1909; 115 years ago (1909) in Johannisthal, Prussia, Germany
Defunct1931
FateMerged
SuccessorFocke-Wulf
Headquarters,
Germany
Key people
Dr. phil. Enno Walther Huth
Ernst Heinkel
Rudolf Schubert
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Walter Blume
Lothar Wieland
ProductsAircraft

The company was based in Johannisthal, Berlin, where it was founded by Walter Huth and Otto Wiener on December 20, 1909. The company (and its subsidiary, Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW)) produced many capable fighter aircraft, notably the Albatros D.III and Albatros D.V, both designed by Robert Thelen. The Albatros merged into Focke-Wulf in 1931.

History

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The company was founded in Berlin-Johannisthal in late 1909 by Enno Walther Huth as the Albatros Werke AG. The first aircraft the company produced was a French Antoinette monoplane, which they built under licence.

They then produced several versions of the Etrich Taube monoplane, as well the Doppeltaube biplane which used the same basic planform. A variety of other biplanes, with more conventional wing planforms were also built and flown.

In 1912, five Albatros F-2 were built. This was a development of the French Farman III biplane (hence the letter F) with a gondola for the crew and an Argus in-line engine instead of the original Gnome Omega rotary engine. Four were sold to Bulgaria where they took an active part in the 1912–1913 Balkan wars.

On October 16, 1912, one of these carried out the first combat mission over Europe.[1]

During World War I, Albatros Flugzeugwerke produced about 10,300 aircraft, including fighters, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. After the war, production of various civilian types was carried out.

Aircraft

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Company
Designations
Idflieg/RLM
Designations
First
flight
Number
built
Type
Taube n/a Reconnaissance
Doppeltaube n/a 1910 Reconnaissance
L.1 B.I 1913 Reconnaissance
L.2 B.II 1914 Reconnaissance
L.3/GDD n/a 1914 6 Single-seat reconnaissance
L.4 G.I 1916 1 Bomber
L.5/LDD B.III 1917 Reconnaissance
L.6 C.I 1915 629 ca. Reconnaissance
L.7 C.I 1915 qv L.6 Reconnaissance
L.8 C.II 1916 Reconnaissance
L.9/ME n/a Single-seat reconnaissance
L.10 C.III 1915 2271 ca. Reconnaissance
L.11 G.II 1916 1 Bomber
L.12 C.IV 1916 1 Reconnaissance
L.13 C.I 1915 Reconnaissance
L.14 C.V 1916 400 ca. Reconnaissance
L.15 D.I 1916 50 Fighter
L.16 C.III 1915 qv L.10 Reconnaissance
L.17 D.II 1916 291 Fighter
L.18 C.VII 1916 600+ Reconnaissance
L.19 C.VIII N 1917 1 Night bomber
L.20 D.III 1916 1,866 Fighter
L.21 G.III 1916 9+ Bomber
L.22 D.IV 1917 3 Fighter
L.23 C.IX 1917 Reconnaissance
L.24 D.V & D.Va 1917 2500 ca. Fighter
L.25 C.X 1917 300+ Reconnaissance
L.26 C.XI n/a 0 Reconnaissance project
L.27 C.XII 1917 Reconnaissance
L.28 D.VI 1917 1 Fighter
L.29 C.XIII 1917 1 Two-seat fighter
L.30 B.II 1914 Trainer
L.31 C.XIV 1918 1 Reconnaissance
L.32 C.Ia 1915 Trainer
L.33 C.Ib 1915 Trainer
L.34 D.VII 1917 1 Fighter
L.35 D.VIII n/a 0 Fighter
L.36 Dr.I 1917 1 Triplane fighter
L.37 D.IX 1917 1 Fighter
L.38 D.X 1918 1 Fighter
L.39 Dr.II 1918 1 Triplane fighter
L.40 J.I 1917 240 ca. Ground attack
L.41 D.XI 1918 2 Fighter
L.42 J.II 1918 4+ Ground attack
L.43 D.XII 1918 2 Fighter
L.44 D.XIII n/a 0 Fighter project
L.45 D.XIIIa n/a 0 Fighter project
L.46 D.XIV 1918 1 Two-seat fighter
L.47 C.XV 1918 50 ca. Two-seat fighter
L.48 J.III n/a 0 ground attack project
L.49/DA 1 n/a n/a 0 unknown project
L.50 G.IV n/a 0 Bomber project
L.51 C.If Trainer
L.52 C.I Trainer
L.53 CLS.I Ground attack
L.54 F.I n/a 0 Reconnaissance project
L.55 D.XV n/a 0 Fighter
L.56 n/a n/a 0 Airliner project
L.57 n/a n/a 0 Airliner project
L.58 n/a 1923 7 Airliner
L.59 n/a 1923 1 Sportsplane
L.60 n/a 1923 3 Sportsplane
L.65 n/a 1925 2 Reconnaissance
L.66 n/a 1924 10 Sportsplane
L.67 n/a 1924 2 Sportsplane
L.68 n/a 1926 18 Trainer
L.69 n/a 1925 4 Trainer
L.70 n/a 1925 Reconnaissance
L.71 n/a 1925 2 Sportplane
L.72 & L 72A n/a 1925 5 Newspaper distribution aircraft[2]
L.73 n/a 1926 4 Airliner
L.74 n/a 1928 2 Trainer
L.75 Ass n/a 1928 43 Trainer
L.76 Aeolus n/a 1927 6 Trainer
L.77v n/a 1928 4 Fighter/reconnaissance
L.78 n/a 1928 13 Reconnaissance
L.79 Kobold n/a 1929 2 Aerobatics
L.80 n/a n/a 0 Night bomber project
L.81 Elektra n/a 1932 1 Experimental aircraft
L.82 n/a 1929 72 Trainer
L.83 Adler n/a 1931 2 Airliner/transport
L.84 n/a 1935 5 Fighter
L.85-99 skipped
L.100 n/a 1930 1 Air racing
L.101 Al 101 1930 71 Trainer
L.102 Al 102 1932 10 Trainer
L.103 Al 103 1933 1 Experimental
H.1 n/a n/a 1 altitude record (not flown)
W.1/WDD B.II-W 1913 Patrol floatplane
W.2 n/a 1916 1 Patrol floatplane
W.3 Marine 527 1916 1 Floatplane torpedo bomber
W.4 n/a 1916 118 Floatplane fighter
W.5 Marine 845-849 1917 5 Floatplane torpedo bomber
W.6 n/a 1 Floatplane fighter
W.7 n/a 1 Floatplane fighter
W.8 Marine 5001-5003 1918 3 Two-seat floatplane fighter
W.10 n/a n/a 0 Flying boat project of 1922

References

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  1. ^ I.Borislavov, R.Kirilov: The Bulgarian Aircraft, Vol.I: From Bleriot to Messerschmitt. Litera Prima, Sofia, 1996 (in Bulgarian)
  2. ^ "A Flying Boat on Wheels" Flight 1926
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