https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.V
German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the
Albatros D.I family, and the last Albatros fighter to see operational service.
Despite its well-known shortcomings and general obsolescence, approximately 900
D.V and 1,612 D.Va aircraft were built before production halted in early 1918.
The D.Va continued in operational service until the end of the war.
The D.V closely resembled the D.III and used the same 127 kW (170 hp) Mercedes
D.IIIa engine. The most notable difference was a new, fully elliptical
cross-section fuselage which was 32 kg (70 lb) lighter than the partially
flat-sided fuselage of the earlier D.I through D.III designs. The new elliptical
cross-section required an additional longeron on each side of the fuselage. The
vertical fin and tailplane initially remained unchanged from the D.III. The
prototype D.V retained the standard rudder of the Johannisthal-built D.III, but
production examples used the enlarged rudder featured on D.IIIs built by
Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW). The D.V also featured a larger spinner and
ventral fin.
Compared to the D.III, the upper wing of the D.V was repositioned 4.75 inches
closer to the fuselage, while the lower wings attached to the fuselage without a
fairing. The D.V's wings themselves were almost identical to those of the
standard D.III, which had adopted a sesquiplane wing arrangement broadly similar
to the French Nieuport 11. The only significant difference between wings of the
D.III and D.V was a revised linkage of the aileron cables, which in the new
aircraft was contained entirely in the upper wing. Idflieg therefore conducted
structural tests on the fuselage, but not the wings, of the D.V.
Role
Fighter
Manufacturer
Albatros-Flugzeugwerke
Designer
Robert Thelen
First flight
April 1917
Primary user
Number built
approximately 2500
The D.V entered service in May 1917 and, like the D.III before it, immediately
began experiencing structural failures of the lower wing. Indeed, anecdotal
evidence suggests that the D.V was even more prone to wing failures than the
D.III. The outboard sections of the upper wing also suffered failures, requiring
additional wire bracing. Furthermore, the D.V offered very little improvement in
performance. This caused considerable dismay among frontline pilots, many of
whom preferred the older D.III. Manfred von Richthofen was particularly critical
of the new aircraft. In a July 1917 letter, he described the D.V as "so obsolete
and so ridiculously inferior to the English that one can't do anything with this
aircraft." British tests of a captured D.V revealed that the aircraft was slow
to maneuver, heavy on the controls, and tiring to fly.
Albatros responded with the D.Va, which featured stronger wing spars, heavier
wing ribs, and a reinforced fuselage. These modifications made the D.Va 23 kg
(50 lb) heavier than the D.III, while failing to cure entirely the structural
problems of the type. Use of the high-compression 130 kW (180 hp) Mercedes
to the D.III's aileron cable linkage, running outwards through the lower wing,
then upwards to the ailerons, to provide a more positive control response. The
wings of the D.III and D.Va were in fact interchangeable. The D.Va was also
fitted with a small diagonal brace connecting the lower section of the forward
interplane strut to the leading edge of the lower wing. This brace was
retrofitted to some D.V aircraft.
Deliveries of the D.Va commenced in October 1917. The structural problems of the
Fokker Dr.I and the mediocre performance of the Pfalz D.III left the
entered service in mid-1918. Production ceased in April 1918. As of May 1918,
131 D.V and 928 D.Va aircraft were in service on the Western Front. This number
declined as the Albatros was replaced by Fokker D.VIIs and other types during
the final months of the war, but the D.Va remained in use until the Armistice
(11 November 1918).
Specifications (D.V)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 7.33 m (24 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 9.05 m (29 ft 8 in)
Height: 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 21.2 m2 (228 sq ft)
Empty weight: 687 kg (1,515 lb)
Gross weight: 937 kg (2,066 lb)
Propellers: 2-bladed wooden propeller
Performance
Maximum speed: 186 km/h (116 mph; 100 kn)
Endurance: 350 km
Service ceiling: 5,700 m (18,701 ft)
Rate of climb: 4.17 m/s (821 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,281 ft) in 4 minutes
Armament
*
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